Statue Of Another Explorer May Get Revised Message

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The feats of explorers Christopher Columbus and Leif Erikson are now both under scrutiny by Minnesota lawmakers who are trying to rewrite the sayings on their Capitol mall statues.

A bill introduced last week would change the engraving on the Columbus statue from "Christopher Columbus Discoverer of America" to "Christopher Columbus Landed In America." A second bill introduced Monday gives Erikson's pedestal the same treatment.

Erikson is regarded as the first European seafarer to set foot in North America, beating Columbus to the Americas by 500 years.

But historians argue neither man ventured to the part of the continent that is now the United States, making the current engravings incorrect.