Life on the Markagunt Plateau
The Viking kingdom was pressed to adapt to the arid conditions to which the island had been delivered. The palm trees and other tropical foliage soon died in the bleak mountain climate and were replaced by juniper and sagebrush. Tropical clothing was inadequate for the harsh winters and new clothing had to be sewn. Out went the tapa cloth and back came the fur of the Vikings. The village, burned by the fiery discharge of the volcano, was rebuilt. The royal stave palace, destroyed at the same time, was also restored to its former splendor. Incredibly, the lighthouse had emerged from the ordeal without a single rock out of place and once more the fire of thanksgiving was kindled in it.
For centuries the small western kingdom remained unknown to but a few bands of Native Americans who happened on the village, were warmly greeted by the Vikings, and sent away after having been well fed and entertained. The Himmelskns, themselves, were convinced the land beneath their feet was theirs by divine intervention and none, save a few adventurous souls, dared venture more than a few miles from the former island shoreline. The few Himmelskns who elected to defy their gods and strike out to explore the surrounding territory never returned, proof, many felt, that the people's collective safety was assured only if they continued to reside on the land that constituted their former island home.
The ancient Kingdom
When Columbus "discovered" America in 1492, the western kingdom of Himmelsk had already been in existence for 325 years, and when the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620, Himmelsk had passed its 453rd birthday. When the eastern American colonies broke away from England in 1776, Himmelsk was a matronly 604 years old.
For centuries, the Blodoks ruled their diminutive kingdom. The succession line moved from king to oldest son, each taking in turn the traditional names of Harald, Eric, and Knut. Thus King Harald would be succeeded by King Eric who in turn would be succeeded by King Knut. Knut's son would again be called Harald.
The 'discovery' of Himmelsk
The Viking kingdom would not be discovered by the United States until 1845--the kingdom was then 678 years old--when a secret expedition led by Lt. John Addison was sent to explore the West by President James Knox Polk in anticipation of a war with Mexico. The Addison Expedition's purpose was to trace an overland route for a future army to follow to California, the prize the United States coveted. In the early spring of 1845--some insist the date was April 1--Addison stumbled upon the modest and heretofore unknown nation. The kingdom had eluded many earlier explorations, including the one in 1776 by Catholic fathers Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante, who passed within miles of Himmelsk in an attempt to reach Monterey in California. Numerous other explorers as well as travelers along the old Spanish Trail failed to learn about Himmelsk, in major part because the friendly Paiute Indians, who inhabited the area and had been well treated by the Vikings, diverted the visitors away from their Himmelskn friends.
Lt. Addison and his fellow army personnel, however, arrived in the area while the Paiutes were staging their annual powwow, and were able to walk into the kingdom without being detected, having previously noticed the light being emitted by the lighthouse fire. The existence of such a beautiful kingdom, dominated by its five-story wooden castle, surprised and delighted the explorers, who were well treated by the Norwegians and welcomed as guests.
The President gives the order to wipe out the Kingdom
When Addison returned to Washington, D.C., and reported on his discovery, he anticipated President Polk would be pleased to learn that a civilized country had been found in the southern Utah highlands. Polk, however, was not pleased. The presence of a Norwegian kingdom in the middle of the American West could prove an embarrassment to the United States. Norway could claim the land for itself and might even ally with Mexico in the war Polk was planning. The kingdom, he determined, must be destroyed lest Norway learn of it.
Addison, promoted to captain in the U.S. Army, was sent back to raze the kingdom. His orders were to negotiate the kingdom's demise. He was to offer the king payment for purchase of the land, disperse Himmelsk's inhabitants, and burn the village to the ground. The king and his family were to be sent into exile. No evidence was to remain that a Norwegian style kingdom had ever existed there, President Polk insisted.