years later than this voyage of Bjarni, which was said to have been in A.D. 986—­that is, in the year 1000 or thereabouts—­Lief, the same who had brought the Christian priest to Greenland, taking with him 35 companions, sailed from Greenland in quest of the land seen by Bjarni, which Lief first found, where a barren shore stretched back to ice-covered mountains, and, because of the stones there, he called the region Helluland.  Proceeding farther south, he found a sandy shore, with a level forest country back of it, and because of the woods it was named Markland.  Two days later they came upon other land, and tasting the dew upon the grass they found it sweet.  Farther south and westerly they went, and going up a river, came into an expanse of water, where on the shores they built huts to lodge in for the winter, and sent out exploring parties.  In one of these Tyrker, a native of a part of Europe where grapes grew, found vines hung with their fruit, which induced Lief to call the country Vinland.

Attempts have been made to identify these various regions by the inexact accounts of the direction of their sailing, by the very general descriptions of the country, by the number of days occupied in going from one point to another, with the uncertainty if the ship sailed at night, and by the length of the shortest day in Vinland—­the last a statement that might help us, if it could be interpreted with a reasonable concurrence of opinion, and if it were not confused with other inexplicable statements.  The next year Lief’s brother, Thorwald, went to Vinland with a single ship, and passed three winters there, making explorations meanwhile, south and north.  Thorfinn Karlsefne, arriving in Greenland in A.D. 1006, married a courageous widow named Gudrid, who induced him to sail with his ships to Vinland and make there a permanent settlement, taking with him livestock and other necessaries for colonization.  Their first winter in the place was a severe one; but Gudrid gave birth to a son, Snorre, from whom it is claimed Thorwaldsen, the Danish sculptor, was descended.  The next season they removed to the spot where Leif had wintered, and called the bay Hop.  Having spent a third winter in the country, Karlsefne, with a part of the colony, returned to Greenland.

The saga then goes on to say that trading voyages to the settlement which had been formed by Karlsefne now became frequent, and that the chief lading of the return voyages was timber, which was much needed in Greenland.  A bishop of Greenland, Eric Upsi, is also said to have gone to Vinland in A.D. 1121.  In 1347 the last ship of which we have any record in these sagas went to Vinland after timber.  After this all is oblivion.