﻿108 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 59 



of the old Norse pattern ; why then could not Thorfinn's big sloops, 

 with everything in their favor, duplicate the " America's " feat, or at 

 least make 450 miles in 48 hours ? That is less than ten miles an hour, 

 a speed which has been exceeded for a long stretch by ordinary coast- 

 ing craft on the Chesapeake. Twelve miles an hour would give 140 

 miles more than we need. 



We are told that this northern wind held, and that they sailed 

 another 48 hours to Markland, at first eastward then southward. Dr. 

 Nansen thinks this direction unwise and unlikely, but the coastline 

 trends that way ; they had to get around the southeast corner of Lab- 

 rador, and hugging the shore might be dangerous. Exactness is im- 

 possible, but it would seem that the interval stated might well bring 

 them to the forested front of Newfoundland near Bonavista Bay, 

 allowing for loss of speed in change of course. The experiment might 

 be made by some of our enterprising yachtsmen and would be 

 watched with interest. 



Newfoundland has some claims to be called Markland still, accord- 

 ing to Bishop Howley's 1 description, even most of its northern part 

 being fairly well wooded. We have no reason to infer any other aspect 

 then, excepting that the forest would be more general and more heavy. 

 Whitbourne 2 early in the seventeenth century averred that " No 

 country can show pine and birch trees of such height and greatness," 

 and Blome, 3 about the same time, testified to the " abundance of 

 stately trees fit for timber." The vegetation of Markland has perhaps 

 hardly changed at all, and the abundance of wild game mentioned 

 by the saga has always characterized the island. 



Thorfinn could not be expected to know it as such, having quite 

 skipped the Strait of Belle Isle in the loop around the bending 

 coast from upper or middle Labrador to middle or lower Newfound- 

 land ; but if they had followed this closely, it might have made little 

 difference, for both Cortereal and Davis (according to Wallace) 

 took that passage for a mere cul-de-sac, like Hamilton's Inlet farther 

 north. 



The island called Biarney to the southeast of Markland may be 

 the large Avalon peninsula, even now almost cut off by water. If 

 it were not quite wholly cut off then, it might well appear so, being 

 incompletely investigated. We must not charge any early voyagers 

 with modern knowledge of geography. Besides instances above 



1 Vinland Vindicated, already cited. 

 2 A Discovery of Newfoundland, p. 10. 

 3 R. Blome: Isles and Territories, p. 1 (325) 



