NO. 19 NORSE VISITS TO NORTH AMERICA BABCOCK 125 



It is now to be told of Karlsefni, that he cruised southward off the coast, 

 with Snorri and Biarni, and their people. They sailed for a long time, and 

 until they came at last to a river, which flowed down from the land into a 

 lake, and so into the sea. There were great bars at the mouth of the river, 

 so that it could only be entered at the height of the flood-tide. Karlsefni and 

 his men sailed into the mouth of the river and called it there Hop. They 

 found self-sown wheat-fields on the land there, wherever there were hollows, 

 and wherever there was hilly ground, there zuere vines. Every brook there 

 was full of fish. They dug pits, on the shore where the tide rose highest, and 

 when the tide fell, there were halibut in the pits. There were great numbers 

 of wild animals of all kinds in the woods. They remained there half a month, 

 and enjoyed themselves, and kept no watch. They had their live-stock with 

 them. 



Now one morning early, when they looked about them, they saw nine skin- 

 canoes, and staves were brandished from the boats, with a noise like flails, and 

 they were revolved in the same direction in which the sun moves. Then said 

 Karlsefni &quot;What may this betoken?&quot; Snorri s son Thorbrand, answers him: 

 &quot; It may be this is a signal of peace, wherefore let us take a white shield and 

 display it.&quot; And thus they did. Thereupon the strangers rowed toward them, 

 and went upon the land, marvelling at those whom they saw before them 

 .... [For description see p. 143 herein] and then rowed away, and to the 

 southward around the point. 



Karlsefni and his followers had built their huts above the lake, some dwell 

 ings were near the mainland, and some near the lake. Now they remained 

 there that winter. No snow whatever came there, and all of their live-stock 

 lived by grazing. And when spring opened, they discovered, early one morn 

 ing, a great number of skin-canoes rowing from the south past the cape, so 

 numerous, that it looked as if coals had been scattered broadcast out before 

 the bay ; and on every boat staves were waved. Thereupon Karlsefni and his 

 people displayed their shields, and when they came together, they began to 

 barter with each other. Especially did the strangers wish to buy red cloth, 

 for which they offered in exchange peltries and quite grey skins. They also 

 desired to buy swords and spears, but Karlsefni and Snorri forbade this. In 

 exchange for perfect unsullied skins, the Skrellings would take red stuff a 

 span in length, which they would bind around their heads. 1 So their trade 

 went on for a time, until Karlsefni and his people began to grow short of 

 cloth, when they divided it into such narrow pieces, that it was not more 

 than a fingers breadth wide, but the Skrellings still continued to give just as 

 much as before, or more. 



It so happened that a bull, which belonged to Karlsefni and his people, ran 

 out from the woods, bellowing loudly. This so terrified the Skrellings, that 

 they sped out to their canoes, and then rowed away to the southward along 

 the coast. For three weeks nothing more was seen of them. At the end of this 

 time, however, a great multitude of Skrelling boats was discovered approaching 

 from the south, as if a stream were pouring down, and all their staves were 

 waved in a direction contrary to the course of the sun, and the Skrellings were 

 all uttering loud cries. Thereupon Karlsefni and his men took red shields and 



1 W. H. Ball : The Tribes of the Extreme Northwest, p. 238. Exact parallel 

 in early trading. See also as to red headwear in southern New England, a later 

 quotation from Champlain. 



