Leif+Eriksson-MJM

Dear Journal, 1000 My name is Leif Eriksson and I am a Christian viking. I am setting off to find (my friend Bjarni has told me about it) a plentiful land to the far south that he was scared to set foot on. So I set off (after buying Bjarni's boat) with my foster father Thyrker (not Eric the Red) and a small crew for the new land.

I am now about 600 miles to the south and I have discovered slab of rock that I call Helluland (now Baffin Island) but I am disapointed because this does not seem like the land that Bjarni told of. I shall keep sailing to see what I find.

I have sailed for 3 days and I have found more land that I call Markland. This is more like what Bjarni spoke of but it is not exactly like it. I will sail some more.

I have sailed for 4 days and have found wonderous things. Bjarni was right, this land is plentiful. It has so many vines I shall call it Vinland (now supposedly L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland.)

Dear Journal 1001 We have stayed here through the winter and found new thing's. We have also finished this map of my expedition. We have also discovered it does not always snow in the winter. I would like to stay but I must tell other people about Vinland.

Dear Journal 1001

I've not wrote in you for a while because nothing happened this time on the ship. Now that I'm back in Greenland things arn't good. My wife doesn't want me to go back to Vinland (even though everyone's excited about the new plants) and my brother went and was killed by men with strange skin color. I wonder what happened?

Dear Leif's Journal 1020

This is Leif's friend Bjarni sadly saying that Leif has died. He gave me this journal a while ago so I could say what has happened. They had just started learnig about his life in school (because he discovered three different viking territorys in one trip and because no one has come back here with a ship full of grapes) when his son came in late shouting, "He's dead! He's dead!" No one knows how he died but everyone knows he did.

Matthew MacLean

Viking Ship information