n\I.A\Ii. 



that winter and caught fish for food. In the spring Thor- 

 vald told them to make the ship ready, and scut the boat 

 with some men to go west and explore the land during the 

 summer. The country seemed to them fair and covered \\ith 

 forests; there was a short space between the forest and the sea, 

 and the sands were white. There were shallows and many 

 small islets. They found no abodes of men or animals, except in 

 a westerly island, where they found a corn barn of wood. They 

 found no other traces of men, and went back and came to the 

 booths of Leif in the autumn. The next summer Thorvald 

 went with his ship north-east along the coast. A strong gale 

 burst on them off a cape, where they were driven ashore, and 

 the keel of the ship was broken. They stayed there long and 

 repaired it. Thorvald said to his followers : ' I want you to 

 raise the keel upright here on the ness, and call it Kjalarnes 

 (Keel cape). This they did. Then they sailed thence in an 

 easterly direction off the land, into the fjord mouths nearest 

 the cape, which projected there, and which was covered with 

 trees. They cast anchor and took their gangways ashore, and 

 Thorvald walked up with all his followers. He said : ' This is 

 a fine country, and here I should like to raise my boar.' Then 

 they walked down to the ship, and saw three marks on the 

 sand inside the cape, where they found three skin-boat* (canoes) 

 with three men under each. They divided their men and took 

 them all, except one who escaped with his boat. They killed 

 the other eight, and then again went to the cape and looked 

 round, and saw some eminences in the inner part of the fjord, 

 which they thought were houses. Thereupon such drowsiness 

 came over them that they could not keep awake, and all fell 

 asleep. Then they heard a voice shouting which roused them 

 all, saying : ' Wake Thorvald and all thy men if thou wishest 

 to save thy life. Go on board thy ship with all thy men, and 

 leave the land as quickly as you can.' Innumerable skin-boats 

 came out along the fjord and attacked them. Thorvald said : 

 ' Let me put war hurdles on the sides, and defend ourselves as 

 best we can, but kill few of them.' This they did, and the 

 Skroslingjar * shot at them for a while, and then fled, each one 

 as quickly as he could. Thorvald asked his men if they were 

 wounded. They said they were not. ' I have got a wound 

 under my arm,' he said, 'an arrow flew between the gunwale 

 and the shield under my arm, and here is the arrow ; this will 

 cause my death. I advise you to prepare to go back as soon 

 as you can, but you shall take me to the cape, which appeared 

 to me to be the most habitable. It may be that truth has come 



' Probably Indians, as Esquimaux did not live so far south. 



