The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1981, Page 23

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
21
here,” he said. ‘‘Here I would like to make
my home.” (p. 60) That was not to be,
however, Thorvald was not endowed with
the same good luck as his brother. He
showed a lack of judgment in killing un-
suspecting Indians whom he found sleeping
under their canoes. He should have known
that there would be more Indians around
than those eight. Thorvald was later killed
by an Indian arrow and acquired the dubious
honour of being the first white man buried in
North America. Later his brother, Thor-
stein, set out with the intention of bringing
his brother’s body back, but he never made
it past the coastal waters of Greenland.
Settlement attempted
Finally, a man of stature comparable to
that of Leif Erikson attempted the first
settlement in Vinland. This man was Thor-
finn Karlsefni, an Icelandic merchant who
Statue in Reykjavik ofThorfinnur Karlsefni.
came to Greenland from Norway, and spent
the winter with Leif at Brattahlid. There
people talked of little else than Vinland
voyages and Thorfinn was urged to go there.
The description of rolling hills and fertile
fields must have sounded promising for he
took along livestock of various kinds with
the intention of making a permanent home
in Vinland. The small settlement of 60 men
and 5 women seemed to have managed quite
well for there was never any shortage of
food. ‘‘They made use of all the natural
resources of the country that were available,
grapes and game of all kinds and other
produce.” (p. 65)
Sooner or later, however, they were
bound to come into contact with the Indians.
In the beginning both sides seem to have
been equally afraid of each other. But Thor-
finn realized that he could not fight them off
so he tried to establish some trading rela-
tions despite difficulties of communication.
The Indians gave Thorfinn valuable furs and
both sides seemed satisfied. It was not until
one of his men, through no fault of Thorfinn
himself, killed one of the Indians that this
truce is ended. Realizing that the small Vin-
land colony could not withstand the con-
tinuing onslaughts, Thorfinn decides to
move back to Greenland. By then he and his
crew had stayed in Vinland for three years
and his wife had given birth to a son whom
they named Snorri.
Thorfinn went back to Greenland with a
valuable cargo of furs and other commodi-
ties. And in spite of the threat of attacks by
the Indians the Vinland voyages still offered
a good prospect of fame and fortune.
The next voyage to Vinland was under-
taken by Freydis Eiriksdottir, the sister of
Leif the Lucky. The expedition set out in
two boats, one led by Freydis and the other
by two brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi. Lack
of planning and disunity brought this
voyage to a disastrous end. Freydis neither
won fame nor fortune; instead everyone
thought ill of her and her family after their
return to Greenland.
The women in the Vinland sagas
Saga characters are mostly delineated
by their own actions. By placing them one
after another in similar situations the author