VINLAND THE GOOD 



The description of the natives seen by the 

 Norsemen and called Skraelings corresponds 

 very closely with that of the Eskimos. They 

 wore fur clothing and came in skin canoes and 

 were said to live in caves and holes. In the 

 "Saga of Eric the Red" the following pas- 

 sage occurs: "They saw a great number of 

 skin canoes, and staves were brandished from 

 the boats, with a noise like flails, and they 

 were revolved in the same direction in which 

 the sun moves." This, of course, suggests 

 kayaks and the double-bladed paddle of the 

 Eskimos. 



Those who believe that Vinland was on the 

 Nova Scotia or Newfoundland coast are forced 

 to the conclusion that the Eskimos formerly 

 extended their range farther south, or that the 

 Norsemen did not discriminate between the, 

 Eskimos and the Indians and called them all 

 Skraelings. I have found in the ancient shell- 

 heaps of the New England coast bone needles 

 which resemble closely the same articles made 

 and used to-day by the Labrador Eskimos. 

 Such bone implements are, however, made 

 by Indians. Pottery, plainly of Indian manu- 

 facture, is also common in the shell-heaps. 

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