SOME YEARS AGO I came upon the historical story of the discovery of America by Leif Ericsson in A Read Online Free PDF Page A

Eric goes to look for the new land that Gunnbiorn saw, I'm going with him, with my people; so will we all. There are too many people in this country anyway; there isn't enough decent land to go round, so that most of us are hungry half the time.
    THINGMAN That's nothing to do with this Thing. The man
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    has killed four men in a quarrel which a reasonable person would have settled peaceably, and he will do it again if he stays here. We say that he should be outlawed in one month from now.
    ERIC That's all right with me. Only a fool would want to stay in a poor land like this, where a man can't even get his rights. ( Turning to his friends) Let me go first this year, alone with my own people to the Gunnbiorn-land. If we survive the winter in the place of rocks and glaciers, and if so many can exist in such a place, I will come back for you next year, and we'll make a new colony far from this stinking hole.
    ( He turns and spits upon the plain, and stalks away, his family following behind him, Little Leif, following behind his father, turns and spits in exactly the same way. )
    [DISSOLVE TO:
    The Harbour
    ( This is a scene in a small, rocky cove with a sandy beach. Eric is setting off in a small ship of the same general design as the previous one; he is going to the new land, which was subsequently known as Greenland. His friends are all there to see him off. The ship is heavily laden with all his farm goods; there are cattle and sheep and pigs and poultry on board, and ploughs and farm implements, and a farm sledge or two, and a stack of hay, and a pile of manure, and carved household furniture, and piles of bedding and pots and pans, all in a glorious mixture. His wife and children are on board; the ship is manned by his Thralls and a few other men. One very ugly, small man, Tyrker, should be noticed. There are perhaps fifteen persons in the ship all told.)
    ERIC (To his friends) Well, boys, good health to all the lot of
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    you, and thanks for all you've done to help me. Look for me next summer; if it's anything like reasonable over there, I'll be back to tell you all about it.
    HERIULF Good luck, you old redheaded rascal. If you don't turn up next year, I'll come and look for you; I'm fed up with this place. Tell me, when you reach the Gunnbiorn-land, which way will you turn, north or south?
    ERIC I shall go south. In the south a little land goes further. Tyrker here comes from a place far south of Norway; he says they get two crops in the same year there, off the same land.
    STYR It's a good story, but I bet it's a lie.
    TYRKER Lord, it is quite true.
    ERIC (Laughing) I'll come back and tell you if it's true or not next year. Good health to all of you.
    ( He goes on board the ship, which pushes off from the land and makes towards the open sea.)
    EYIOLF There goes the best chap in this country. I hope he gets away with it.
    HERIULF I shall join him if it's possible at all. I'm quite serious about that. It may be a hard life over there, but there'd be never a dull moment in a place with Eric.
    STYR (Laughing) He'll get away with it all right.
    [ DISSOLVE TO:
    The Ship
    (The ship is sailing forward over a rough sea, littered with small ice. It is a misty, rainy scene. Eric stands at the steering
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    oar at the stern, peering anxiously ahead; Tyrker is beside him. In the body of the ship Thorhild is cooking a meal over a fire made upon the rough stone slabs which are the ballast. One or two of the men are sleeping in their leather sleeping bags. An iceberg passes slowly by, half seen in the murk. )
    [FADE TO:
    The Classroom
    ( Callender is indicating on the map. The attention of the class is utterly fixed; they sit intent upon him. )
    CALLENDER They sailed due west along the latitude of southern Iceland, taking an observation by the mark upon their thwart whenever the sun shone. They hit the coast of Greenland somewhere south of Angmagsalik—here. It's a rocky, desolate country, that, with no sort of vegetation—hopeless