itable continent, which (in order to allure
colonists) he called Greenland; "for," he said, "men would be more
easily persuaded thither, if the country had a good name." He landed in
three or four places, but, being dissatisfied, broke up and started in
search of more favorable localities. At the end of three years he
returned to Iceland fought his foes and was defeated, but finally
succeeded, by the backing of friends, in effecting a reconciliation with
them. He spent the winter in Iceland, and sailed the following spring
for Greenland, where he settled at a place called Brattahlid (Steep Lea)
in Ericsfirth. Thirty-five ship-loads of people followed him, but only
fourteen arrived safely. The remainder were shipwrecked, or driven back
to Iceland.

The interest now shifts from Eric to his son, Leif the Lucky, who
becomes the hero of the Saga. Sixteen years after his father's
settlement in Greenland, Leif, as behooved the son of a chieftain,
equipped a ship and set out to see the world, and gather fortune and
experience. He must then have been between twenty and twenty-five years
old. He arrived in Drontheim, Norway, in the autumn, and met there King
Olaf Tryggveson. The king, who had been baptized in England, was full of
zeal for the Christian faith, and was employing every means in his power
to christianize the country. But the peasantry, who were worshippers of
Odin and Thor, refused to listen to him, and even compelled him to eat
horse-flesh and participate in pagan rites. Under these circumstances it
is not to be wondered at that he took kindly to the handsome young
Icelander who displayed such an interest in the new religion, and
listened attentively while the king expounded the faith to him. For Leif
was a courteous and intelligent man, of fine presence, good address, and
indomitable spirit. The king, says the Saga, "thought him a man of great
accomplishments." It was not long before he concluded to accept
Christianity, whereupon he was baptized, with all his shipmates. King
Olaf then charged him to return to Iceland and induce the people to
abandon idolatry and accept the true faith. Leif, knowing how deeply
attached the Icelanders were to their old gods, was very reluctant to
undertake this mission, but finally yielded to the king's persuasions,
"provided the king would grant him the grace of his protection."

He accordingly put to sea; but encountered heavy weather and was driven
out of his course. For a long w