Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1940, Síða 141

THE VINLAND VOYAGES
05
which he thereupon followed towards east until he reached the
Strait of Belle Isle which he passed through and naturally pro-
ceeded along the east coast of Labrador until he calculated that
there was time to cross Davis Strait towards Greenland.
The failure of Thorstein Eriksson to reach any land probably
was due to his starting from the southern portion of the Eastern
Settlement and having been caught by winds and currents was
carried out in the Atlantic. It is barely possible that Karlsefni
learned a lesson from Thorstein’s failure and chose a more nor-
therly starting point, although his final departure from the West-
ern Settlement more probably may have been due to he, or
rather his wife, having property there which they wished to dis-
pose of before they started on their expedition. We may assume
that some companions of Leif on his western voyage accomp-
anied Karlsefni as guides or pilots, but even with them on board
the difficulty of finding the route by going in the opposite di-
rection is obvious. Karlsefni’s first landfall was one he called
Helluland because of the stony nature of the country. It seems
to be generally agreed that this is the northernmost part of La-
brador, although Baffin Land has also been mentioned as a pos-
sibility. On his southeastward course Karlsefni thereupon reached
another country he called Markland because it was heavily
wooded. The opinions vary greatly as to its location, but I
believe it was the region immediately south of Hamilton Inlet
which would fit quite well the description of that country in
the Saga, and the explorers may very well have taken the inlet
for a strait. The white sands in Markland mentioned in the Tale
most likely refer to the same phenomenon still to be observed
at Blanc Sablon on the Strait of Belle Isle. Through that strait
they must have passed, possibly taking the northernmost penin-
sula of Newfoundland for an island. Then Furdustrands (Won-
derstrands) are next mentioned, low, desolate, sandy, harbourless
beaches the sailing along which took a long time. Nowhere on
the Atlantic coast of America can such strands be found now-
adays, but on the south coast of Labrador, as Professor Steensby
was the first to point out, such a coastline is to be found, and
it is tempting to identify it with Furdustrands. Proceeding farther
west in this direction Karlsefni must have finally seen the moun-
tains of the Gaspé peninsula, and it probably was a welcome
sight after the tedious sailing along Furdustrands. Following the