Norsemen’s route from Greenland to Wineland. 175 
may add what the saga said, that there is a strong current about the 
island — which must mean on both sides of the island — and this does 
not agree so well with Green Island as with Hare Island. 
This latter island was excellently suited for such a purpose as that 
for which the Norsemen used their Straumey. It lies in the centre of the 
current and forms a natural cattle-fold, which was protected from the 
visits of the large beasts of prey. Likewise the Norsemen must have 
regarded it as fairly protected against possible visits of the human inhabi- 
tants of the continent; partly on account of the tidal-streams and partly 
on account of the distance, which is about 11 km from the eastern shore 
and about 9 km from the western shore. Hare Island may thus be said 
to be quite excellently adapted as a temporary base for the investiga- 
tion of the country. And by virtue of the various views set forth above, 
I dare declare it to be the most probable conclusion that Straumey was 
the present Hare Island. 
Another peculiarity of Straumey, that there are so many eiderducks, 
is mentioned. Also this is a circumstance in the question Green Is- 
land versus Hare Island which is favourable to Hare Island, and un- 
favourable to Green Island, as the latter lies so near land that the 
island could be visited by the foxes and by other enemies .of the 
eiderducks. But have there been any eiderducks on Hare Island? I 
have found no direct information concerning this, but one knows that 
eiderducks — the socalled Labrador eiderduck (Somateria labradoria 
Gm.) — formerly bred in great quantities near the mouth of the St. 
Lawrence River and in Labrador, their colonies lay on the rocky islands, 
protected against foxes and other beasts of prey. Now, however, they 
have become extinct, owing to the severe persecution they were subjected 
to by the Europeans}. 
They were distributed from Long Island in the south, and likely to 
Hudson Strait in the north, but they can hardly have bred at the coast 
of New England, as they have been mentioned from there only during 
the winter. One would think that an island like Hare Island was emi- 
nently adapted as a breeding-place for this bird. Accordingly the sta- 
tement about the numerous breeding birds can only strengthen our 
surmise that Hare Island was that Straumey where Karlsefni and his men 
spent their first winter. 
Up to this point there seems to me to have been just such very accur- 
ate agreement between the account of the saga and the geographical cir- 
cumstances — as these must have been apprehended by those ancient 
visitors — as one dared after all expect. And I do not know of another 
1 cf. K. C. ANDERSEN. The article Eiderduck (Ederfugl) in Salmonsen’s En- 
cyclopedia 1= Ed. [Copenhagen 1896]. — A. Newton, A Dictionary of Birds 
[London 1896]. р. 221—223. —- J. Macoun and J.M. Macoun, Catalogue des 
Oiseaux du Canada [Ottawa 1916] р. 126. — W. Ротснев, The Labrador 
Duck, “The Auk” Vol. XI [New York 1894].| 
