This Country of Ours

there dwelt in Greenla

hty in war, and men h

seas, and when he came home he had ever some fresh tale of marvel and adventure to tell. But this time he had a tale to tell more marvelo

arni could tell them little, for he had not set foot u

"else you had gone ashore, and seen for yourse

was great talk about voyages and discoveries, and many longed to sail forth and find again the land which Bjarni the Traveler had s

rni the Traveler has seen. Give me gold that I may

. "Go, my son," he said, "buy the ship of Bjarni th

ng the gold, went to Bj

ring. He was also a man of wisdom, and just in all t

were a company of thirty-five men. They were all men tall and of great strength, with fair go

eager to go with Leif upon this adventurous voyage. Tyrker was very little and plain. His forehead was high and his eyes small and restless. He wore shabby clothes, and to the blue-eyed, fair-hai

t to his father and, bending his knee

he said, " I am old and stricken in years, and n

Leif, "for of a certainty if yo

upon it once again ere he died. So he yielded to the prayers of

not far from the ship the horse upon which he was riding stumbled, and he was thr

, "It is not for me to discove

home, and Leif went on his way

ssel in order. And when all was ready they spread their g

nought was about them but the restless, tossing waves. But at length one day to their watching eyes there appeared a

"this is the land which Bjarni saw. Let it no

y had come. Far inland great snow-covered mountains rose, and between them and the sea lay flat and barren rock,

elluland or Stone

after some time, and again they cast anchor and launched a boat and went ashore. This land was flat.

, "shall also have a n

it Markland

upon the sea. And now fierce winds arose, and the ship was driven before the blast so that for

ne forth once more. Then again they saw land

with a thousand diamonds. When the men put their hands upon the grass, and touched their mouths with their hands, and drank the dew, it seemed to them that never before had they tasted anything s

hammocks ashore and set

Leif called his companions

half shall stay at home, and the other half shall explore the land. But they who go to explore must not go s

mes Leif went with the exploring party, and sometimes he stayed at home. But each

ed. Thereat Leif was sorely troubled, for he loved his foster-father dearly. So he spoke sternly to his men, reproaching them for their carelessness in letting Tyrker separate from them, a

her?" cried Leif, as he ran to him. "Wh

spoke in German which no one understood. At length, however, he grew calmer and spoke to them in their own language.

rue, my foster-fa

replied Tyrker. "For I was

the vines which Tyrker had discovered. But it was already late, so they all r

them he called the land Vineland because of them. He also decided to load his ship with grapes and wood, and depart

eceived with great rejoicing. Henceforth Leif was called Leif the Lucky, and he lived ever afte

for his father's kingdom was now his, and he must needs stay at home to rule his land. But Leif's b

e said to him, "If it be thy will, brothe

ty men he set sail, crossed the sea without adventure

the spring they set forth to explore the coast. After some ti

t is so fair a country that I sh

near they saw that these three mounds were three canoes, and under each were three men armed with bows and arrows, who lay in wait to slay them. When the Norsemen s

ow them they saw several mounds which they took to be the houses of the savages, and knew that it behooved them therefore to be on thei

cry aloud, "Awake, Thorvald, thou and all thy company, if ye would save your

tering fearful yells, rushed upon them. They cast their arrows at the Norsemen, and fought fiercely for some time. But seeing that

fled, Thorvald, turn

of you

nswered, "we

ou, turn homeward with all speed. But carry me first to that headland which seemed to me to promise so pleasant a dwelling-place, and lay me there. Thus it sh

med to him so fair. And as he had commanded they set a cross at his feet and another at his head

nd. And there they told Leif of all the things they had s

land to bring home his brother's body. So once again Leif's ship was made ready, and wi

driven hither and thither for many months, he lost all reckoning, and at last came t

orfinn. And when he saw Gudrid he loved her and sought her in marriage

ut these strange lands. And more than all the others Gudrid urged him to go. So at length Thorfinn determined to undertake the voyage. But

ose who had wives took also their wives with them,

ch he had built in Vineland. And Leif replied, "I

y sailed out to sea, and without adventures

ack of food either for man or beast, and the cattle they had brou

the Norsemen very ugly, with great eyes and broad cheeks. The cattle were near, and as the savages appeared the bull began to bellow. And when the savages heard that sound they were afraid and fled. For three whole weeks nothin

their furs for weapons. This, however, Thorfinn forbade. Instead he gave them strips of red cloth which they took very eagerly and bound about their heads. Thorfinn also command

he first white child to be born on the Continent which later men called the New World. Thus three years went past. But the days were no

turn to Greenland. So he and all his company made ready their ship,

the rest of his life, the people holding him in high honour. Snorri also,

old Norse stories o

which Leif called Hel

Newfoundland, and V

re so often these old Norsemen had no idea that they had discovered a vast continent. They thought that Vineland was merely an island, and the discovery of it made no stir in Europe. By degrees too the voyages thither ceased. In d

fairy stories. They have come to believe that hundreds of years before Columbus lived the Vikings of th

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