810 



REPORT — 18S4. 



h; 



* Vt'iretatioii abounded, bein^r e\ct'e<liii;.'ly luxuriant as comparud with Cape 

 Hawks, Capo Sa'iuic, or dtlicr ].(ants fartluT .soutii V'jited by inc. Dciid willow 

 was found in such abundaucc as to servo lor fuel, and in inoro than one iiistaniH 

 willow, saxifrages, jrrasses, and otiier plants jrrew in sucli i)rol'usion as to coniplBtfly 

 cover bu'fjfe tract.s of ground. These valleys aflbrd excellent pasturage fdr nmsl; 

 cattle, wliich, feeding tDwards tlie .>eacoast during sinnmer, withdraw to lliu interior 

 as winter advaiices. 1 frequently noted evidences of the recent elevation ahovn 

 the sea of the region now free fi-un ice-cap; sucii imlicatiotrs consisted of raisod 

 beaches, uaarlne shells, and drill wood. At one place the 1 nudes of two large fonj. 

 ferous trees were found in such state of preservation as to allow of their use us fuel. 

 It seems probable that tiie two ici-caps were originally united. It is certain tkt 

 both the noithern and southern ice-caps hnw n.^eutly retreated, even if .sucli pr,)- 

 ce.s> is not going on now. Along the front of th^ -outhern ice were found manv 

 small glacial lakes and moraines. To the north, lane Ilazen, for some fifty miles, 

 Ijorders the ice-cap. In front oflleurietta Xasniith glacier there weretliree'paralifl 

 uioniines between the face of the glacit-r and tlit; main lake. 



• At the junct ion (d' Lake Ilazen and lluggles Kiver, 1 discovered tlie reniaiiin ut' 

 permanent J'lsquimo huts — nniuy relics were obtained at that place, and at vnrinu.H 

 points along the .southern shore of Lake Ilazen; but no traces of any kind \vm' 

 found on the northern shore of the lake. It is perhaps worthy ol remark that tli" 

 reindeer, whicU must have lu'en ])lent iful in that count ry, have entirely disapi)ei!nd, 

 having either migrated or become extinct. In coimectinn with the line nl' p.i. 

 petual sno.v, I may state that on Mount Ai'tbur it was not far from ;),oU0 I'wi 

 above tluA sea. From barometrical mi'asiiremeuts, it appeared that the crest ot' 

 ( riinuell Land was of about i?,o(X) feet elevation in front of the s(jutliern ic(!-cap, and 

 0,000 feet near .M(nint Arthur. 



' Your indulgence is asked for ariy imperf'Ct ions in these notes, Streiifrtli iia- 

 failed f<ir their elaboration, and my memory has necessarily served me in tlitdr 

 pri'paration, as all records and journals are on file in Washington.' 



3. .1 Search In, Brltit^h XortJt Amcrifn for lo^t Colonies of Northmen 

 awl rorlufjucsc} Bij U. G. LlAi.inuia'ON. 



The paper <lealt first with Vinland the Good (A.n. !t04), which Danish and 

 Amei'ican writers have placed as far .-outli as Rhode Island. They have tri>at>'d 

 the Norse poems or Sagas whi(di refer to (his subject as truthful narratives. Only 

 one of them can -"laim any weight, and that is the Saga of I'Iric the Red, written in 

 ("reenland. The significant foot iia> escaped attention that Erie was a niuriLrer, 

 wl.o tied to Iceland, whence he was soon after banished and outlawed foranulher 

 murder. lie therefore sailed wc-t to n land the existence of wdncli was known ti 

 the Northmen ; and though covereil with, snow it was called l)y him (ireeuland, 

 because, said he, * people will l)e attracted to the country if it has a good name.' 

 Some time after be was induced by rumoms of a still more western country tusail 

 to it; but the fact of his horse stumbling and throwing him when on his way to 

 the ship was a bad omen, lie therefore let his son Leif go without him ; but k' 

 probably had a m\me all ready, one even more taking with emigrants tlinn (iiveii- 

 land, and that was Vinland the Good. 



Late Danish authorities fix the latitude of Vinland by the lengtli of the shortest 

 day til ere, and make it that of Greenland or Newfoundland. The E.skiiiMwere 

 then, as now, the inhabitants n{' Lnlirador, and were a])parently the only native* 

 known to the Northmen. The geographicd notices ajipended to llal'ii's (.Teat 

 work all agree together in pointing to a country situated like Newfoundland. 

 Grapes, too, are found on tlie wi}st coast of that island, Canadian yaebt-owmr- 

 should crui.se along it, and try to discover trat.'es of Vinland, which, if found, imi-; 

 be a very dilferent country from what I'ric ov his bnrd lias ])ictured it. 



Eric and his family have been connected with two puzzling problems, for it wa- 

 liis sons and ilaughters and lis sons-in-law and daughters-in-law that founder 



' Published in r.r^riiiti^ in Proc It.G.S. vol. vii. No. 1. 





