THORFINN KARLSEFNI 47 



There has been considerable dispute about this, but 

 the consensus of opinion seems to be that, anthropo- 

 logically speaking, this assumption is not correct. The 

 race that was in Greenland before Eric the Red settled 

 there was doubtless Eskimo j and to them was trans- 

 ferred the name "Skrselings" by the Icelanders, and 

 they have been called so ever since. The people, how- 

 ever, that Thorfinn encountered in Hop were doubt- 

 less some tribe of American Indians. Those who have 

 written most regarding this subject are Gustav Storm^^ 

 and W. H. Babcock,^^ and both are in agreement on 

 that point. 



The question arises whether it was incorrect to call 

 these two by the same name, that is, consider them 

 one and the same? 



K. Birket-Smith begins his article on the Indians 

 in "Salmonsens Konversationleksikon" thus:^^ "In- 

 dians is the common name for the aborigines of Amer- 

 ica, often excluding the Eskimos, although a sharp 

 distinction between Indians and Eskimos is artificial." 



When scientists of today are of this opinion, it does 

 not seem inappropriate to apply the same name to the 

 people of Vinland and Greenland. At least, the natives 

 of those two countries were probably not much more 



^^ Aarb0ger for Nord. Oldk. og Hist., 1887, pp. 346-355. 

 ^^ Babcock, of. cit., pp. 139-158. 



^^ 2nd edit., 25 vols., Copenhagen, 1915-1927} reference in Vol. 

 12, p. 276. 



