colony in Vineland. Some people have tried to claim that
certain ancient ruins on the New England coast--an old
stone mill at Newport, and so on--are evidences of such
a settlement. But the claim has no sufficient proof behind
it.

On the whole, however, there seems every ground to conclude
that again and again the Norsemen landed on the Atlantic
coast of America. We do not know where they made their
winter quarters, nor does this matter. Very likely there
were temporary settlements in both 'Markland,' with its
thick woods bordering on the sea, and in other less
promising regions. It should be added that some writers
of authority refuse even to admit that the Norsemen
reached America. Others, like Nansen, the famous Arctic
explorer, while admitting the probability of the voyages,
believe that the sagas are merely a sort of folklore,
such as may be found in the primitive literature of all
nations. On the other hand, John Fiske, the American
historian, who devoted much patient study to the question,
was convinced that what is now the Canadian coast, with,
probably, part of New England too, was discovered, visited,
and thoroughly well known by the Norse inhabitants of
Greenland. For several centuries they appear to have made
summer voyages to and from this 'Vineland the Good' as
they called it, and to have brought back timber and
supplies not found in their own inhospitable country. It
is quite possible that further investigation may throw
new light on the Norse discoveries, and even that undeniable
traces of the buildings or implements of the settlers in