Dawn Trbaisp age 10 of Miranda. Calif..

Did the Vikings ever see any Indians?

The Norsemen were great ones for telling and retelling their adventures. Their tales are called sagas and they were very careful to be accurate. We Know about Viking visits to America from the sagas about Eric the Red.

The sagas tell how Leif Ericson son of Eric the Redi took his Viking ship over the North Atlantic and down the coast of North America. Leif wintered in a place rich with timber and rape vines. He was sure the land was inhabited and kept strict watch over his camp. but he spotted no Indians.

On his return homes the great Eric was dead. It was now Leif's duty to stay home and run the settlement in Greenland. So it was Eric's other son Thorvalds who next went as a Viking to America. He found Leif's old camping ground. One morning they found nine Indians asleep. In the fight that followed only one Indian escaped alive. Thorvald received a fatal arrow in his side.  He was buried where he had wanted to make camp.

A third group of Vikings so the saga says came to the New World to settle here. At first the Indians were friendly and came to trade. But when they were chased by a bull belonging to the Norsemen they returned to fight. Greatly out numbereds the Viking band left the New World for home. The New Worlds they reported was too full of dangerous Skraelings  which was their word for Indians.