28 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. IO7 



Skrelliiigs other than this, but the Saga says that they had "war- 

 sHngs" and the skull of one Norseman, Thorbriand, Snorri's son, was 

 cleft by a flat stone, presumably projected from one of these. And 

 naturally, as the Skrellings are supposed to have advanced by land, 

 nothing is said in the Flat Island Book of the "flails" of which the 

 Saga speaks. It is interesting to note that one can make out the 

 nature of the terrain on this first intercontinental battleground by 

 close reading of the narratives. After the Norse had been frightened 

 in the manner just indicated, the Saga goes on to say that "they 

 could think of nought but flight, and of making their escape up 

 along the river bank, for it seemed to them, that the troop of the 

 Skrellings was rushing towards them from every side, and they did 

 not pause until they came to certain jutting crags, where they offered 

 a stout resistance," and after the victory they "returned to their 

 dwellings, and bound up their wounds, and weighed carefully what 

 throng of men that could have been, which had seemed to descend 

 upon them from the land ; it now seemed to them, that it could have 

 been but the one party, that which came from the boats, and that 

 the other troop must have been an ocular delusion." Now, the Flat 

 Island Book says: "The lie of the land was such that the proposed 

 meeting-place had the lake upon the one side, and the forest upon the 

 other." The two narratives might be reconciled by supposing that 

 the Skrellings had actually landed part of their company at some 

 point from which they could come upon the Norsemen from the 

 rear through the woods, while on leaving they all took to their boats. 

 The nature of the country where the contest occurred seems evident, 

 but there is some doubt as to which party ambushed which. 



If we compare these two narratives on the ground of their relative 

 plausibility, we find the balance inclines rather to the much-con- 

 demned Flat Island Book, aside from the cargoes of grapes with 

 which the author of that narrative seems to have been obsessed. 

 First, we do not know of skin canoes this far south. They belong to 

 more northern regions. The weapons used also belong rather to the 

 north, and the employment of flails swung in the air to declare war- 

 like or peaceful intentions is otherwise unknown. These "flails" may 

 have been spear throwers which are related to slings though never 

 used so far as we know for hurling stones. They could hardly have 

 been double paddles, for they are used with kayaks, and the skin 

 canoes of these Skrellings do not seem to have been of that nature. 

 Moreover, to continue our criticism, in making their attack, American 

 aborigines would not ordinarily paddle in directly in front of the 



