THORFINN KARLSEFNI 45 



of mention among the advantages of this fine new 

 land. The method of catching halibut is rather sur- 

 prising: "They dug pits on the shore where the tide 

 rose highest, and when the tide fell there were halibut 

 in the pits." Strange as this may seem, it is probably 

 true. In his history of Bristol W. H. Munro gives 

 an account of a similar method practiced there to this 

 day. The Saga further continues: "There were many 

 species of animals (dyr) in Hop." The Icelandic word 

 "dyr" has in all probability here the same meaning as 

 "deer" in English, referring to various species of deer. 

 Large numbers of deer formerly roamed over the 

 east coast, and many are even found there now. New- 

 foundland was the home of the so-called red hart. 

 Storm quotes an author^^ as saying that an English 

 hunting party killed as many as two thousand of them 

 in one summer. 



The Saga gives a detailed account of the dealings 

 that Thorfinn and his men had with the Skraslings. 

 That narrative is too long to quote here in its entirety 

 but may be found in Hauk's Book (pp. 439-441). 

 Some details, however, must be noted here. 



The people that Thorfinn Karlsefni and his men 

 encountered in Hop were named Skrselings by them, 

 according to the Saga. Later on the name was applied 

 to the Eskimos in Greenland. The noun "skrselingur" 



^2 Aarb0ger for Nord. Oldk. og HisL, 1887, p. 337. 



