desire of distinguishing himself by making discoveries and planting
colonies, immediately fitted out a vessel carrying thirty-five men; and
taking Biorn along with him, set sail in quest of this newly discovered
country. The first land discovered in this voyage was barren and rocky, on
which account Lief gave it the name of Helleland, or Rockland. Proceeding
farther, they came to a low coast having a sandy soil, which was overgrown
with wood, for which reason it was called Mark-land, or the Woody-land. Two
days after this they again saw land, having an island lying opposite to its
northern coast; and on the mainland they discovered the mouth of a river,
up which they sailed. The bushes on the banks of this river bore sweet
berries; the temperature of the air was mild, the soil fertile[2], and the
river abounded in fish, particularly in excellent salmon. Continuing to
sail up the river, they came to a lake, out of which the river took its
rise; and here they passed the winter. In the shortest day of winter, the
sun remained eight hours above the horizon; and consequently the longest
day, exclusive of the dawn and twilight, must have been sixteen hours. From
this circumstance it follows, that the place in which they were was in
about 49° of north latitude; and as they arrived by a south-westerly course
from Old Greenland, after having cleared Cape Farewell, it must either have
been the river Gander or the Bay of Exploits, in the island now called
Newfoundland. It could not be on the northern coast of the Gulf of St
Lawrence; as in that case, they must have navigated through the straits of
Belleisle, which could not have escaped their notice. In this place they
erected several huts for their accommodation during winter; and they one
day found in the thickets a German named Tyrker, one of their own people,
who had wandered among the woods and been missing for some time. While
absent, he had subsisted upon wild grapes, from which he told them that in
his country they used to make wine; and from this circumstance Lief called
the country _Winland det gode_, or Wine-land the good[3].