THORFINN KARLSEFNI 35 



the lake, some nearer, others farther away. There 

 they spent the winter. There fell no snow on the 

 ground, and their livestock lived by grazing. At the 

 beginning of spring they discovered one morning a 

 large number of skin canoes rowing from the south 

 past the cape. It looked as if coals had been broadcast 

 over the bay." Karlsefni and his men started barter- 

 ing with the strangers. All went well until a bull, 

 belonging to Karlsefni, came bellowing from the 

 woods. This so frightened the Skrselings that they 

 ran to their canoes and rowed southward. Then noth- 

 ing happened for three weeks. At the end of that 

 time the Skrselings came down in a multitude of 

 boats from the south like a torrent. Then the Skrsel- 

 ings attacked Karlsefni and his men "who had to flee 

 up along the river, because it appeared as if the Skrsel- 

 ings came from all directions, and they did not halt 

 until they reached some crags and resisted there with 

 all their might." The Saga then gives an account of 

 Freydis and the flight of the Skrselings, closing thus: 

 "It now appeared to Karlsefni and his men that, al- 

 though the country had good resources, there would 

 constantly be danger and war brought on by the 

 aborigines. They prepared to leave the place, intend- 

 ing to go back to their country, and sailed northward 

 around the land. . . . Later Karlsefni and his men dis- 

 covered a cape upon which was a large number of ani- 



