The Norsemen in the West | Page 7

wood, and
that there were small hills inland. Biarne saw that this did not answer to
the description of Greenland; he knew he was too far south, so he left
the land on the larboard side, and sailed two days and nights before
they got sight of land again. The men asked Biarne if this was
Greenland, but he said it was not, `For on Greenland,' he says, `there
are great snowy mountains, but this is flat and covered with trees.' Here

the wind fell and the men wanted to go ashore, `Because,' said they,
`we have need of wood and water.' Biarne replied, `Ye are not in want
of either;' and the men blamed him for this,--but the season was far
spent, he knew not how long it might take him to find Greenland, so he
had no time to spare.--Was it not so?" said Leif, appealing to his friend.
"It was so," replied Biarne, nodding gravely.
"Well then," continued Leif, "it must be told that he ordered them to
hoist the sail, which they did, and, turning the bow from the land, kept
the sea for three days and nights, with a fine breeze from the south-west,
when a third time land was seen, with high snowy mountains. Still
Biarne would not land, for it was not like what had been reported of
Greenland. They soon found it to be an island, and, turning from it,
stood out to sea, when the breeze increased to a gale, forcing them to
take in a reef; so they sailed for three days and nights more, and made
land the fourth time. This turned out to be Greenland, and quite close to
Heriulf's dwelling at Heriulfness. Biarne then gave up seafaring, and
dwelt with his old father as long as he lived; but since his death he has
been sometimes at sea and sometimes at home. Now, these lands which
Biarne discovered, were what I have since called Vinland."
"Yes," exclaimed Biarne, with a look of indignation; "and when I
afterwards fared to Norway they blamed me for not going on shore and
exploring these lands--as if I, at the end of autumn, could afford to put
off time in explorations, when it was all I could do to make my port
before the winter set in!" He finished off by striking the table with his
fist, seizing his tankard, and draining it to the bottom.
"I have often observed," said Karlsefin, quietly, "that people who sit by
their firesides at home, and do nothing, are usually very severe and
noisy in their remarks on those who fare abroad and do great things;
but that arises not so much from ill-will as ignorance."
"But what of your own doings, Leif?" said Thorward, breaking in here
impatiently.
"Well, I didn't do much," replied Leif. "I only took possession, and

didn't keep it. This was the way of it. Fourteen years after this voyage
of Biarne, [about the year A.D. 1000] I was seized with a desire to see
these new lands. I bought Biarne's ship from him, set sail with a good
crew, and found the lands, just as Biarne had described them, far away
to the south of Greenland. I landed and gave names to some places. At
the farthest south point we built huts and spent the winter, but returned
home in spring. I called this part Vinland, and this is the reason why:
We had a German with us named Tyrker, who is with me here still.
One day Tyrker was lost; I was very anxious about him, fearing that he
had been killed by wild beasts or Skraelingers, [Esquimaux or savages,
probably Indians,] so I sent out parties to search. In the evening we
found him coming home in a state of great excitement, having found
fruit which, he said, was grapes. The sight and taste of the fruit, to
which he was used in his own land, had excited him to such an extent
that we thought he was drunk, and for some time he would do nothing
but laugh and devour grapes, and talk German, which none of us
understood. At last he spoke Norse, and told us that he had found vines
and grapes in great abundance. We found that this was true--at least we
found a berry which was quite new to us. We went off next day, and,
gathering enough to load our boat, brought them away with us. From
this circumstance I called it Vinland. Two years after that my brother
Thorwald went to Vinland, wintered three years there, was killed by the
Skraelingers, and his men returned to Greenland. Then my youngest
brother, Thorstein, who was Gudrid's husband, went off to Vinland to
fetch home the body of our brother Thorwald, but was