The Best Adventure and Exploration Stories Ever Told

by Stephen Brennan

  The conversation often turned at Brattahlid, on the discovery of Vinland the Good, and they said that a voyage there had great hope of gain. After this Karlsefne and Snorre made ready for going on a voyage there the following spring. Biarne and Thorhall Gamlason, before mentioned, joined with a ship. There was a man named Thorvard, who married Freydis, natural daughter of Eric Red, and he decided to go with them, as did also Thorvald, son of Eric. Thorhall, commonly called the Hunter, who had been the huntsman of Eric in the summer, and his steward in the winter, also went. This Thorhall was a man of immense size and of great strength, and dark complexion and taciturn, and when he spoke, it was always jestingly. He was always inclined to give Leif evil advice. He was an enemy to Christianity. He knew much about desert lands; and was in the same ship with Thorvard and Thorvald. These used the ship which brought Thorbiorn from Iceland. There was in all, forty men and a hundred. They sailed to the West district [of Greenland], and thence to Biarney; hence they sailed south a night and a day. Then land was seen, and they launched a boat and explored the land; they found flat stones, many of which were twelve ells broad. There were a great number of foxes there. They called the land Helluland. Then they sailed a day and a night in a southerly course, and came to a land covered with woods, in which there were many wild animals. Beyond this land to the southeast, lay an island on which they slew a bear. They called the island Bear island, and the land, Markland. Thence they sailed long south by the land and came to a cape. The land lay on the right [starboard] side of the ship, and there were long shores of sand. They came to land, and found on the cape, the keel of a ship, from which they called the place Kiarlarness, and the shores they also called Wonder-strand, because it seemed so long sailing by. Then the land became indented with coves, and they ran the ship into a bay, wither they directed their course. King Olaf Tryggvesson had given Leif two Scots, a man named Haki and a woman named Hekia; they were swifter of foot than wild animals. These were in Karlsefne’s ship. When they had passed beyond Wonder-strand, they put these Scots ashore, and told them to run over the land to the south-west three days and discover the nature of the land, and then return. They had a kind of garment that they called kiafal, that was so made that a hat was on top, and it was open at the sides, and no arms; fastened between the legs with a button and strap, otherwise they were naked. When they returned, one had in his hand a bunch of grapes, and the other a spear of wheat. They went on board, and afterward the course was obstructed by another bay. Beyond this bay was an island, on each side of which was a rapid current, that they called the Isle of Currents. There was so great a number of eider ducks there, that they could hardly step without treading on their eggs. They called this place Stream Bay. Here they brought their ships to land, and prepared to stay. They had with them all kinds of cattle. The situation of the place was pleasant, but they did not care for any thing, except to explore the land. Here they wintered without sufficient food. The next summer [A.D. 1008], failing to catch fish, they began to want food. Then Thorhall the Hunter disappeared.

  They found Thorhall, whom they sought three days, on the top of a rock, where he lay breathing, blowing through his nose and mouth, and muttering. They asked why he had gone there. He replied that this was nothing that concerned them. They said that he should go home with them, which he did. Afterward a whale was cast ashore in that place; and they assembled and cut it up, not knowing what kind of whale it was. They boiled it with water, and ate it, and were taken sick. Then Thorhall said: “Now you see that Thor is more prompt to give aid than your Christ. This was cast ashore as a reward for the hymn which I composed to my patron Thor, who rarely forsakes me.” When they knew this, they cast all the remains of the whale into the sea, and commended their affairs to God. After which the air became milder, and opportunities were given for fishing. From that time there was an abundance of food; and there were beasts on the land, eggs in the island, and fish in the sea.

  They say that Thorhall desired to northward around Wonder-strand to explore Vinland, but Karlsefne wished to go along the shore south. Then Thorhall prepared himself at this island, but did not have more than nine men in his whole company, and all the others went in the company of Karlsefne. When Thorhall was carrying water to his ship, he sang this verse.

  People said when hither I

  Came, that I the best

  Drink would have, but the land

  It justly becomes me to blame;

  I, a warrior, am now obliged

  To, bear the pail;

  Wine touches not my lips,

  But I bow down to the spring.

  When they had made ready and were about to sail, Thorhall sang:

  Let us return

  Thither where [our] country-men rejoice,

  Let the ship try

  The smooth ways of the sea;

  While the strong heroes

  Live on Wonder-strand

  And there boil whales,

  Which is an honor to the land.

  Afterward he sailed north to go around Wonder-strand and Kiarlarness, but when he wished to sail westward, they were met by a storm from the west and driven to Ireland, where they were beaten and made slaves. As merchants reported, there Thorhall died.

  It is said that Karlsefne, with Snorre and Biarne and his comrades, sailed along the coast south. They sailed along until they came to a river flowing down from the land through a lake into the sea, where there were sandy shoals, where it was impossible to pass up, except with the highest tide. Karlsefne sailed up to the mouth of the river with his folk, and called the place Hop. Having come to the land, they saw that where the ground was low corn grew, and where it was higher, vines were found. Every river was full of fish.

  They dug pits where the land began, and where the land was highest; and when the tide went down, there were sacred fish in the pits. There were a great number of all kinds of wild beasts in the woods. They stayed there half a month and enjoyed themselves, and did not notice anything; they had their cattle with them. Early one morning, when they looked around, they saw a great many skin boats, and poles were swung upon them, and it sounded like reeds shaken by the wind, and they pointed to the sun. Then said Karlsefne, “What may this mean?” Snorre Thorbrandson replied, “It may be that this is a sign of peace, so let us take a white shield and hold it towards them.” They did so. Thereupon they rowed toward them, wondering at them, and came to land. These people were swarthy and fierce, and had bushy hair on their heads; they had very large eyes and broad cheeks. They stayed there for a time, and gazed upon those they met, and afterward rowed away southward around the ness.

  Karlsefne and his people had made their houses above the lake, and some of the houses were near the lake, and others more distant. They wintered there, and there was no snow, and all their cattle fed themselves on the grass. But when spring came [A.D.1009] they saw one morning early that a number of canoes rowed from the south around the ness; so many, as if the sea were sown with coal; poles were also swung on each boat. Karlsefne and his people then raised up the shield and when they came together they began to trade. These people would rather have red cloth; for this they offered skins and real furs. They would also buy swords and spears, but this, Karlsefne and Snorre forbade. For a whole fur skin, the Skraellings took a piece of red cloth, a span long and bound it around their heads. Thus went on their traffic for a time. Next the cloth began to be scarce with Karlsefne and his people, and they cut it up into small pieces, which were not wider than a finger’s breadth, and yet the Skraellings gave just as much as before and more.

  It happened that a bull, which Karlsefne had, ran out of the wood and roared aloud; this frightened the Skraellings, and they rushed to their canoes and rowed away towards the south. After that they were not seen for three whole weeks. But at the end of that time, a great number of Skraelling’s ships were seen coming from the south like a rushing torrent, all the poles turned from the sun, and they all yelled very loud. Then Karlsefne’s people took a red shield
and held it toward them. The Skraellings leaped out of their vessels, and after this, they went against each other and fought. There was a hot shower of weapons, because the Skraellings had slings. Karlsefne’s people saw that they raised upon a pole, a very large ball, something like a sheep’s paunch, and of a blue color; this they swung from the pole over Karlsefne’s men, upon the ground, and it made a great noise as it fell down. This caused great fear with Karlsefne and his men, so that they only thought of running away; and they retreated along the river, for it seemed to them that the Skraellings pressed them on all sides. They did not stop until they came to some rocks where they made a bold stand. Freydis came out and saw that Karlsefne’s people fell back, and she cried out, “Why do you run, strong men as you are, before these miserable creatures whom I thought you would knock down like cattle? If I had arms, methinks I could fight better than you.” They gave no heed to her words. Freydis would go with them, but she was slower because she was pregnant; still she followed after them in the woods. She found a dead man in the woods; it was Thorbrand Snorreson, and there stood a flat stone stuck in his head; the sword lay naked by his side. This she took up and made ready to defend herself. Then came the Skraellings toward her; she drew out her breasts from under her clothes and dashed them against the naked sword. By this the Skraellings became frightened and ran off to their ships and rowed away. Karlsefne and his men then came up and praised her courage. Two men fell on Karlsefne’s side, but a number of the Skraellings. Karlsefne’s band was overmatched. Next they went home to their dwelling and bound up their wounds, and considered what crowd that was that pressed upon them from the land side. It now seemed to them that it could have hardly been real people from the ships, but that these must have been optical illusions. The Skraellings also found a dead man and an axe lay by him; one of them took up the axe and cut wood with it, and then after another did the same and thought it was a fine thing and cut well. After that one took it and cut at a stone so that the axe broke, and then they thought that it was of no use because it would not cut stone, and they cast it away.

  Karlsefne and his people now thought they saw, that although the land had many good qualities, they still would always be exposed to the fear of attacks from the original dwellers. They decided, therefore, to go away and to return to their own land. They coasted northward along the shore and found five Skraellings clad in skins, sleeping near the sea. They had with them vessels containing animal marrow mixed with blood. Karlsefne’s people thought that these men had been banished from the land; they killed them. After that they came to a ness, and many wild beasts were there, and the ness was covered all over with dung from the beasts which had lain there during the night. Now they came back to Straumfiord, and there was a plenty of everything that they wanted to have. [It is thus that some men say that Biarne and Gudrid stayed behind and one hundred men with them, and did not go farther; but that Karlsefne and Snorre went southward with forty men with them, and were no longer in Hop than barely two months, and the same summer came back.] Karlsefne then went with one ship to seek Thorhall the Hunter, but the rest remained behind, and they sailed northward past Kiarlarness, and thence westward, and the land was upon their larboard hand. There were wild woods over all, as far as they could see, and scarcely any open places. When they had sailed long a river ran out of the land east and west. They sailed into the mouth of the river, and lay by its bank.

  It chanced one morning that Karlsefne and his people saw opposite in an open place in the woods, a speck which glittered in their sight, and they called out towards it, and it was a Uniped, which thereupon hurried down to the bank of the river, where they lay. Thorvald Ericson stood at the helm, and the Uniped shot an arrow into his bowels. Thorvald drew out the arrow and said: “It has killed me! To a rich land we have come, but hardly shall we enjoy any benefit from it.” Thorvald soon after died of his wound. Upon this the Uniped ran away to the northward. Karlsefne and his people went after him, and saw him now and then, and the last time they saw him, he ran out into a bay. Then they turned back, and a man sang these verses:

  The people chased

  A Uniped

  Down to the beach,

  Behold he ran

  Straight over the sea—

  Hear thou, Thorfinn!

  They drew off to the northward, and saw the country of the Unipeds, but they would not then expose their men any longer. They looked upon the mountain range that was at Hop, and that which they now found, as all one, and it also appeared to be of equal length from Straumfiord to both places. The third winter they were in Straumfiord. They now became much divided by party feeling, and the women were the cause of it, for those who were unmarried would injure those who were married, and hence arose great disturbance. There was born the first autumn, Snorre, Karlsefne’s son, and he was three years old when they went away. When they sailed from Vinland they had a south wind, and then came to Markland, and found there, five Skraellings, one was bearded; two were females, and two boys; they took the boys, but the others escaped, and the Skraellings sank down in the ground. These boys they took with them; they taught them the language, and they were baptized. They called their mother Vathelldi, and their father, Uvaege. They said that two kings ruled over the Skraellings, and that one was named Avalldania, but the other Valldidia. They said that no houses were there. People lived in caves or in holes. They said there was a land on the other side, just opposite their country, where people lived who wore white clothes, and carried poles before them, and to these were fastened flags, and they shouted loud; and the people think that this was White-man’s land, or Great Ireland.

  Biarne Grimolfson was driven with his ship into the Irish ocean, and they came into a worm sea, and soon the ship began to sink under them. They had a boat which was smeared with sea oil, for the worms do not attack that. They went into the boat, and then saw that it could not hold them all. Then said Biarne: “As the boat will hold more than half of our men, it is my counsel that lots should be drawn for those to go in the boat, for it shall not be according to rank.” This, they all thought so generous an offer, that no one would oppose it. They then did so lots were drawn, and it fell to Biarne to go in the boat, and the half of the men with him, for the boat had not room for more. But when they had gotten into the boat, an Icelandic man that was in the ship, and had come with Biarne from Iceland, said: “Dost thou mean, Biarne, to leave me here?” Biarne said: “So it seems.” Then said the other: “Very different was the promise to my father, when I went with thee from Iceland, than thus to leave me, for thou said that we should both share the same fate.” Biarne said, “It shall not be thus; go down into the boat, and I will go up into the ship, since I see that thou art so anxious to live.” Then Biarne went up into the ship, and this man down into the boat, and after that they went on their voyage, until they came to Dublin, in Ireland, and there told these things; but it is more people’s belief that Biarne and his companions were lost in the worm sea, for nothing was heard of them after that time.

  THE ACCOUNT OF THORFINN

  That same winter [A.D. 1006–7], there was much discussion about the affairs of Brattahlid; and they set up the game of chess, and sought amusement in the reciting of history, and in many other things, and were able to pass life joyfully. Karlsefne and Snorre resolved to seek Vinland, but there was much discussion about it. It turned out that Karlsefne and Snorre prepared their ships to seek Vinland the following summer. [A.D. 1007]. In this enterprise Biarne and Thorhall joined as comrades with their own ship and crew, who were their followers. There was a man named Thorvald, a relation of Eric. Thorhall was called the Hunter. He long had hunted with Eric in summer, and had the care of many things. Thorhall was of great stature, large and swarthy face, of a hard nature, taciturn, saying little of affairs, and nevertheless crafty and malicious, always inclined to evil, and opposed in his mind to the Christian religion, from its first introduction into Greenland. Thorhall indulged in trifling, but nevertheless Eric was used to his famil
iarity. He went in the ship with Thorvald, and was well acquainted with uninhabitable places. He used the ship in which Thorbiorn came; and Karlsefne engaged comrades for the expedition; and the best part of the sailors of Greenland were with him. They carried in their ships, forty and a hundred men. Afterward they sailed to West bygd and Biarney-isle. They sailed from Biarney-isle with a north wind, and were on the sea a day and night, when they found land, and sending a boat to the shore, explored the land, where they found many flat stones of such great size, that they exceeded in length the size of two men. There were foxes there. They gave the land a name, and called it Helluland. After this, they sailed a night and a day with a north wind. They came to a land in which were great woods and many animals. South-west, opposite the land, lay an island. Here they found a bear, and called the island Bear Island. This land, where there were woods, they called Markland. After a voyage of a day and a night, they saw land, and they sailed near the land and saw that it was a cape; they kept close to the shore with the wind on the starboard side, and left the land upon the right side of the ship. There were places without harbors, long shores and sands. When they went to the shore with a boat they found the keel of a ship, and they called the place Kiarlarness; and they gave the shore a name, and called it Wonder-strand, because they were so long going by. Then another bay extended into the land, and they steered into the bay. When Leif was with king Olaf Tryggvesson, he sent him to establish the Christian religion in Greenland; then the king gave him two Scots-folk, a man named Hake, and a woman named Hekia. The king told Leif to take them with his men if he would have his commands done quickly, as they were swifter than beasts. These folks, Leif and Eric gave to Karlsefne, as followers. When they were come opposite Wonder-strand, they put the Scots on the shore, and told them to run southward and explore the country, and return before the end of three days. They were thus clothed having a garment called a Biafal; it was made so that a hat was on the top, open at the sides, without arms, buttoned between the legs, and fastened with a button and a strap; and the rest was bare.