They had the ship which Thorbjorn had brought to Greenland,
and they ventured on the expedition with Karlsefni
and the others; and most of them in this ship were
Greenlanders. There were one hundred and sixty
men in their ships. They sailed away from land;
then to the Vestribygd and to Bjarneyjar (the Bear
Islands). Thence they sailed away from Bjarneyjar
with northerly winds. They were out at sea two
half-days. Then they came to land, and rowed
along it in boats, and explored it, and found there
flat stones, many and so great that two men might well
lie on them stretched on their backs with heel to heel.
Polar-foxes were there in abundance. This land
they gave name to, and called it Helluland (stone-land).
Then they sailed with northerly winds two half-days,
and there was then land before them, and on it a great
forest and many wild beasts. An island lay in
the south-east off the land, and they found bears
thereon, and called the island Bjarney (Bear Island);
but the mainland, where the forest was, they called
Markland (forest-land). Then, when two half-days
were passed, they saw land, and sailed under it.
There was a cape to which they came. They cruised
along the land, leaving it on the starboard side.
There was a harbourless coast-land, and long sandy
strands. They went to the land in boats, and
found the keel of a ship, and called the place Kjalar-nes
(Keelness). They gave also name to the strands,
calling them Furdustrandir (wonder-shore), because
it was tedious to sail by them. Then the coast
became indented with creeks, and they directed their
ships along the creeks. Now, before this, when
Leif was with King Olaf Tryggvason, and the king had
requested him to preach Christianity in Greenland,
he gave him two Scotch people, the man called Haki,
and the woman called Haekja. The king requested
Leif to have recourse to these people if ever he should
want fleetness, because they were swifter than wild
beasts. Eirik and Leif had got these people to
go with Karlsefni. Now, when they had sailed by
Furdustrandir, they put the Scotch people on land,
and requested them to run into the southern regions,
seek for choice land, and come back after three half-days[C]
were passed. They were dressed in such wise that
they had on the garment which they called biafal.
It was made with a hood at the top, open at the sides,
without sleeves, and was fastened between the legs.
A button and a loop held it together there; and elsewhere
they were without clothing. Then did they cast
anchors from the ships, and lay there to wait for
them. And when three days were expired the Scotch
people leapt down from the land, and one of them had
in his hand a bunch of grapes, and the other an ear
of wild wheat.
[Footnote B: Later on in the Saga he is called a son of Eirik. The text would appear to be somewhat corrupt here, as the passage in square brackets from Hauks-bok seems to show.]
[Footnote C: The word “doegr,” both here and above, is translated “half-day,” though it may possibly mean a period of twenty-four hours. It is to be noticed, however, that these Scotch people return after three “dagar,” which can only mean periods of twenty-four hours.]