THE FLETCHER STONE — WEBSTER. 211 



having landed at Yarmouth. Mr. Brown identifies both the 

 place in Vinland where Lief* wintered, and the frith or fiord of 

 Karlsefne's — two different places — as Yarmouth ! We know that 

 they are two different places from the descriptions ; and because 

 we are told that a party set out from Karlsefne's fiord, and went 

 north to find Vinland, Lief's wintering place.* 



In order to examine them, it will be necessary to take from 

 the narratives what gives us any clew to the locality.j- Lief 

 (c. 1000) sailed from Greenland to Helluland, which was a snowy 

 country with a plain near the shore, and mountains further 

 inland ; thence seaward to Markland, a flat wooded country with 

 stretches of white sand ; then seaward again for two days w^ith 

 the wind northeast, to an Island which was north of the main- 

 land ; they sailed west through the sound, past a cape jutting 

 north, to a place where there were flats at low tide ; here a river 

 from a lake a short distance ofl' emptied ; they took their vessel 

 up the river to the lake and wintered there ; this place they 

 named Vinland. Another account says that the Island was east 

 of the main, and that they sailed east past a cape jutting north- 

 east. Mr. Brow^n takes an account the same as this 

 latter, excepting that it gives their course as west instead of 

 east, like the first account. " Lief," says Mr. Brown, " shaped 

 his course from Newfoundland, last seen by Biarne : then passing, 

 through the straits of Belle Isle, he discovered Prince Edward 

 Island ; thence, standing out to sea to the eastward of Cape Breton 

 he came to the Gut of Canseau, which he entered ; and thence 

 sailed westward along the coast, wintering perhaps at Yarmouth. ":j: 

 Let us look at this. Granting that Helluland may be Newfound- 

 land, and not Labrador, yet passing through the strait of Belle 

 Isle is certainly very little like putting to sea, as the narratives 

 say they did ; and it would suppose the Northmen to have turned 

 right back on their course ; unless indeed they had happened 

 to strike exactly at the mouth of the narrow strait, which is 

 improbable. Markland is taken to be Prince Edward Island, 

 tho' we are not told that it is an island : and it would as likely 



*Laing:'s Sea Kinas of Norwaj', I. 5. Longman, Brown, Green and Longman, London, 1844. 

 tTaken from Laing's Sea Kings of Norway. I. 5. 

 IThe Sequel, p 21. 



