quarters.
They went hungry, and suffered much that winter; but by leading the
cattle far into the woods they managed to keep them alive, and Gudrid
did not fail of milk. Her boy was born on Christmas Eve, and
christened by Karlsefne himself. He named him Snorre after his own
grandfather.

After that things went better. There came rain which broke up the ice
and thinned off all the snow. They began to get fish again; mild
westerly winds enabled them to go farther afield. Biorn came up from
his anchorage to see Karlsefne, and debates about the future were
renewed.

Karlsefne was now bent on going south, and Biorn, with Thorhall,
equally set upon the north. It was clear that the two ships must part
company; and so they did as soon as the spring weather was come. The
tale has little more to say of Biorn and his party. It is supposed
that they fell in with bad weather in the north, and that they were
driven over the ocean. Thorhall was heard of long afterwards in
Ireland, as having fought and died there.

XXVII

But Karlsefne, the prosperous man, did well. He sailed along the land
in and out of beautiful wooded islands until he came to the mouth of a
great river.[1] He entered that on the flood and sailed up for many
days. It was a broad and noble river which came, as they discovered,
out of a lake. Here was such a land as they had never seen before, so
beautiful, so fruitful that they had no desire to seek further. They
called this land Hope, for here was the utmost they had dreamed of.
There were broad acres of wheat growing here, self-sown; upon the
slopes of the hills wild vines were thick and full of bud; the streams
were full of fish; there were deer in the woods, and everywhere in the
early mornings the piping of birds. Karlsefne said: "My Gudrid, we
have found Wineland the Good. Here we will stay awhile." She was
happy to be in so good a place.

They made their camp on the shores of the lake, and built themselves
houses of timber, with a stockade and trench about the whole
Settlement. There was abundance of food for the animals, abundance for
themselves, with promise of a harvest both of corn and of wine. No
signs of human occupation had been found as yet. They began to think
that they had Wineland to themselves, and used to go far afield, even
to being out for days together and sleeping in the open. But Karlsefne
kept his eyes wide for some possible attack, and was proved to be rig