CANADA HISTORY

Leif to Greenland

One evening news came that someone was missing: it was Tyrkir the Southerner. Leif was very displeased at this, for Tyrkir had been with the family for a long time, and when Leif was a child had been devoted to him. Leif rebuked his men severely, and got ready to make a search with twelve men.

They had gone only a short distance from the houses when Tyrkir came walking towards them, and they gave him a warm welcome. Leif quickly realized that Tyrkir was in excellent humour.

Tyrkir had a prominent forehead and shifty eyes, and not much more of a face besides; he was short and puny-Iooking but very clever with his hands.

Leif said to him, 'Why are you so late, foster-father? How did you get separated from your companions ?'

At first Tyrkir spoke for a long time in German, rolling his eyes in all directions and pulling faces, and no one could understand what he was saying. After a while he spoke in Icelandic.

'I did not go much farther than you.' he said. 'I have some news. I found vines and grapes.' 'Is that true, foster-father?' asked Leif.

'Of course it is true: he replied. 'Where I was born there were plenty of vines and grapes.'

They slept for the rest of the night, and next morning Leif said to his men, 'Now we have two tasks on our ~ands. On alternate days we must gather grapes and cut Vines, and then fell trees, to make a cargo for my ship.'

This was done. It is said that the tow-boat was filled with grapes. They took on a full cargo of timber; and in the spring they made ready to leave and sailed away. Leif named the country after its natural qualities and called it Vinland.

They put out to sea and had favourable winds all the way until they sighted Greenland

and its ice-capped mountains.

Then one of the crew spoke up and said to Leif, 'Why are you steering the ship so close to the wind?’

'I am keeping an eye on my steering: replied Leif, 'but I am also keeping an eye on something else. Don't you see anything unusual?’

They said they could see nothing in particular. 'I am not quite sure: said Leif, 'whether it is a ship or a reef I can see.'

Now they caught sight of it, and said that it was a reef. But Leif's eyesight was so much keener than theirs that he could now make out people on the reef.

'I want to sail close into the wind in order to reach these people: he said. 'If they need our help, it is our duty to give it; but if they are hostile, then the advantages are all on our side and none on theirs.'

They approached the reef, lowered sail, anchored, and put out another small boat they had brought with them. Tyrkir asked the men who their leader was.

The leader replied that his name was Thorir, and that he was a Norwegian by birth. 'What is your name?' he asked. Leif named himself in return.

‘Are you a son of Eirik the Red of Brattahlid?'

Leif said that. he was. .And now: he said, 'I want to invite you an aboard my ship, with as much of your belongings as the ship will take.'

They accepted the offer, and they all sailed to Eiriksfjord thus laden. When they reached Brattahlid they unloaded the ship.

Leif invited Thorir and his wife Gudrid and three other men to stay with him and found lodgings for the rest of the ship's company, both Thorir's men and his own crew.

Leif rescued fifteen people in all from the reef. From then on he was called Leif the Lucky. He gained greatly in wealth and reputation.

A serious disease broke out amongst Thorir's crew that winter and Thorir himself and many of his men died of it. Erik the Red also died that winter.

Now there was much talk about Leif's Vinland voyage, and his brother Thorvald thought that the country had not been explored extensively enough.

Leif said to Thorvald, 'You can have my ship to go to Vinland, if you like; but first I want to send it to fetch the timber that Thorir left on the reef.'

This was done.