The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1981, Blaðsíða 22

20
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SPRING, 1981
Leif seems to have possessed all the curi-
osity that Bjami lacked. When he found
land that he considered good enough, he
decided to stay for a while and explore. It is
almost as if he had a preconceived idea of
what he was looking for. As soon as his
German crew member claims to have found
wild grapes, Leif decided to pack. He had
obviously found what he thought would
keep his name aloft for centuries to come.
It is clear that Leif never intended to settle
in the new-found land. The object of the trip
was more to test his strength and his abilities
as a leader. Leif’s voyage was a success due
to his careful planning and foresight. He
was in complete control of his men and
displayed both caution in unknown regions
and concern for his crew. After he decided
to stay, he immediately built houses to pro-
vide shelter, sent half of his men on ex-
ploration trips, the rest being left behind to
guard his houses. He went with his men on
alternate days and carefully instructed those
he sent out always to be back before dark.
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When he decided to leave, he gave himself
plenty of time to load the ship of what he
thought the Greenlanders would be most in
need of; timber for houses and grapes to
make wine. It is mentioned in Fostbraethra
Saga, rather regretfully, that drinking
parties in Greenland were few and far be-
tween.
Leif’s willingness to go out of his way to
rescue shipwrecked people also showed the
humanitarian side of a good leader. After
that he was called Leif the Lucky. Leif
gained greatly in wealth and reputation from
his Vinland voyage, and when he was back
in Greenland, there seemed to be no doubt
as to who was to take over the Brattahlid
dynasty.
The Vinland voyages were, however, not
to end there. Leif’s brother, Thorvald,
probably wanted some share in that wealth
and reputation and declared that Vinland
had not been explored enough. Thorvald
was the first to look upon the new lands from
a farmer’s point of view. “It is beautiful