34 THE VINLAND VOYAGES 



voyage, it is well to consider the beginning and the 

 end of it in order to trace the course he followed :^^ 



"Now is to be told of Karlsef ni that he went south- 

 ward around the country, and Snorri and Bjarni with 

 their people. They sailed a long time until they came 

 to a river which flowed down from the land into a 

 lake and so into the sea. At the mouth of the river 

 were great bars so that it could be entered only at the 

 height of the flood tide. Thorfinn and his men sailed 

 into the mouth of the river and called it Hop. In the 

 hollows they found self-sown wheatfields and on the 

 hills grapes. Every brook was teeming with fish. They 

 dug pits on the shore where the tide rose highest, and 

 when the tide fell there were halibut in the pits. 

 Wild animals of all kinds were roaming in the woods. 

 They remained there a fortnight and enjoyed them- 

 selves without any disturbance. They had their live- 

 stock with them. One morning, however, when they 

 looked about they saw a large number of skin canoes 

 approaching." The Saga then continues and tells about 

 the encounter between Thorfinn's party and the 

 Skrselings. From the account it is evident that the 

 Skraslings did not come from the interior but from 

 the sea. They left peacefully the first time and rowed 

 south around the cape. Then the Saga goes on: 



"Karlsefni and his men had built their huts above 



^^ Hauksbok, pp. 439-442. 



