194 H. P. STEENSBY. 
an open place in the forest, a spot shining towards them, and they called 
to it. Ц moved, and it was a uniped, which pushed itself down to the 
river bank, near to which they lay. Eric the Red’s son, Thorvald, sat 
at the helm, and the uniped shot an arrow into his bowels. Thorwald 
drew the arrow out saying: ‘There is fat about my entrails; we have 
come to a fertile country, but yet we shall scarcely enjoy it.’ 
Thorvald died of this wound shortly afterwards. The uniped then 
ran away again northwards. Karlsefni and his men pursued him and 
saw him every now and then. The last time they saw him he ran out 
into a creek. They then returned, and a man chanted this little song: 
Eltu seggir 
(allsatt var pat) 
einn einfeting 
ofan til strandar 
en kynligr maör 
kostaôi râsar 
hart ofstopi: 
heyr Karlsefni.! 
They travelled away northwards, as they thought they saw the 
land of the unipeds. They would not expose their men any more. 
They considered the mountain range at H6p and the one they now 
met with to be one and the same, and it was found that there was 
nearly an equal distance from Straumfjord to both places.” 
This part, which presents itself textually as an interpolation in the 
saga’s account, gives a more obscure impression than the rest of the 
saga. The brief but otherwise fairly clear account of the saga here 
becomes difficult to follow. 
Thus, for instance, one could with difficulty reconcile the various 
statements as to direction. Karlsefni travelled first northwards — there- 
after westwards — and finally, when he had to return, went northwards 
again. This shows either that something must have been omitted in the 
account, or that something must be wrong with it in one way or another. 
It is this and similar comments which have induced me to leave the 
completely geographical paths for a moment and, as an exception, 
try my hand as a textual critic. Or more correctly I will set forth a hypo- 
thesis as to the likely origin of this interpolation. 
It seems to me that there are several things mixed up in the inter- 
1 According to Finnur Jönsson’s Danish version (Den norsk-islandske Skjalde- 
digtning. B. Vol. I. Copenhagen 1912 p. 394) it is translated thus: 
“The men pursued — it was really true — 
an uniped down to the shore, 
but the strange man ran 
as hard as he could, the arrogant one: 
hear Karlsefni’’. 
