LIFE OF THE ICELANDIC COLONY 107
up the coast and probably brought back cargoes of timber from
Markland; they built substantial houses and churches, using
huge stones in some cases. But they had to import grain, iron,
FIG. 18 Sigurdr Stefansson's map of Greenland, 1590, showing the severance of
Greenland from Europe and its union with the western land mass which includes
Helluland, Markland, and Vinland. Cf. with Fig. 14. (From Torfaeus' "Gron-
landia antiqua," Copenhagen, 1706, in the library of the American Geographical
Society.)
and many other articles from Europe; and the infrequent visits
of ships from Iceland, Norway, and elsewhere must have made
a break in the monotony of their lives which they could ill
afford to forego. One would expect them to be especially kind
to such visitors.
