altogether a company of thirty-five men. Leif invited his father, Eric,
to become the leader of the expedition, but Eric declined, saying that he
was then stricken in years, and adding that he was less able to endure
the exposure of sea-life than he had been. Leif replied that he would
nevertheless be the one who would be most apt to bring good luck, and
Eric yielded to Leif's solicitation, and rode from home when they were
ready to sail. When he was but a short distance from the ship, the horse
which Eric was riding stumbled, and he was thrown from his back and
wounded his foot, whereupon he exclaimed, "It is not designed for me to
discover more lands than the one in which we are now living, nor can we
now continue longer together." Eric returned home to Brattahlid, and Leif
pursued his way to the ship with his companions, thirty-five men; one of
the company was a German named Tyrker. They put the ship in order, and
when they were ready, they sailed out to sea, and found first that land
which Biarni and his ship-mates found last. They sailed up to the land
and cast anchor, and launched a boat and went ashore, and saw no grass
there; great ice mountains lay inland back from the sea, and it was as a
[tableland of] flat rock all the way from the sea to the ice mountains,
and the country seemed to them to be entirely devoid of good qualities.
Then said Leif, "It has not come to pass with us in regard to this land
as with Biarni, that we have not gone upon it. To this country I will now
give a name, and call it Helluland." They returned to the ship, put out
to sea, and found a second land. They sailed again to the land, and came
to anchor, and launched the boat, and went ashore. This was a level
wooded land, and there were broad stretches of white sand, where they
went, and the land was level by the sea. Then said Leif, "This land shall
have a name after its nature, and we will call it Markland." They
returned to the ship forthwith, and sailed away upon the main with
north-east winds, and were out two "dœgr" before they sighted land. They
sailed toward this land, and came to an island which lay to the