﻿106 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 59 



14.— THEIR WINELAND VOYAGE INTERPRETED 



Some romantic matter concerning Thorhall, Thorvald, and Mark- 

 land — which may well be quite true in substance yet should not be 

 treated as historic — has been given above, not only because it is 

 threaded on the very coherent and sensible explorers' narrative in the 

 saga and has a certain literary interest, but because of its helpful data. 



We see that this narrative deals with wide intervals, great areas, 

 impressive features of the coast, and prodigious phenomena, ignoring 

 minor items, except for identification or incidental entertainment. 

 Again, wherever the explorers follow the coast for any great distance, 

 its notable characteristics are carefully given ; so, when these do not 

 appear, we may be sure they sailed out of clear sight of land. 



We may find something artificial in the periodicity of the " two 

 doegr " interval, once repeated in the Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefni, 

 twice in the more precise companion Saga of Eric the Red ; and 

 undoubtedly such conventional divisions are a stock property of old 

 sea-exploring tales. Thus there are three periods in the outward 

 voyage of Edrisi's 1 Magrurin, first about eleven days, then twelve, 

 and then twelve again. But in tracing a coast for suitable settlement 

 sites, a periodical inspection might be planned from the outset for the 

 earlier part of the work by way of saving time, and to keep the 

 record brief, as it should be if in runic characters. This plan would 

 answer very well until they should reach habitable country, which 

 would require to be examined more minutely; and, in point of fact, 

 we hear no more of the " doegr " after the landing at Keelness. 

 It will not do to say that every statement of regularly divided human 

 undertaking is untrue because regular divisions occur also in stories 

 mainly fanciful. Thorfinn comes before us as a wary, systematic, and 

 successful personage, and the method here indicated seems quite in 

 character. The parallel with myths and folk-tales has little value, 

 except where the events narrated and divided are clearly fortuitous. 



Newfoundland cannot be Helluland (as some used to think) for 

 several reasons ; in particular, it is not severe, bare, and stony enough, 

 and has far too few Arctic foxes. Prof. Packard, 2 who had 

 scientifically studied these regions, declares for the eastern face of 

 Labrador, perhaps " near Cape Harrison or along the coast to the 

 northward." Sir Clements Markham, 3 another and very competent 



1 Edrisi : Geographic Jaubert's transl., vol. 2, p. 27. 



2 The Labrador Coast, p. 11. 



3 Remarks on Dr. Nansen's paper. London Geogr. Journ., Dec. 191 1. 



