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 "doegr" before they sighted land.
They sailed toward this land, and came to an island which lay to the
northward off the land. There they went ashore and looked about them,
the weather being fine, and they observed that there was dew upon the
grass, and it so happened that they touched the dew with their hands,
and touched their hands to their mouths, and it seemed to them that they
had never before tasted anything so sweet as this. They went aboard
their ship again and sailed into a certain sound, which lay between the
island and a cape, which jutted out from the land on the north, and they
stood in westering past the cape. At ebb-tide there were broad reaches
of shallow water there, and they ran their ship aground there, and it
was a long distance from the ship to the ocean; yet were they so anxious
to go ashore that they could not wait until the tide should rise under
their ship, but hastened to the land, where a certain river flows out
from a lake. As soon as the tide rose beneath their ship, however, they
took the boat and rowed to the ship, which they conveyed up the river,
and so into the lake, where they cast anchor and carried their hammocks
ashore from the ship, and built themselves booths there. They afterwards
determined to establish themselves there for the winter, and they
accordingly built a large house. There was no lack of salmon there
either in the river or in the lake, and larger salmon than they had ever
seen before. The country thereabouts seemed to be possessed of such
good qualities that cattle would need no fodder there during the
winters.