The first settlers probably knew little of agriculture, but made their living by fishing and hunting. In time, however, they commenced to clear away the timber that covered the land in the valleys and the sides of the mountains and to till the ground. At the earliest times of which the historical tales or _Sagas_ tell us anything with regard to the social conditions, the land was divided among the free peasant-proprietors, or _bonde_ class. Bonde, in English translation, is usually called peasant; but this is not an equivalent; for with the word peasant we associate the idea of inferior social condition to the landed aristocracy of the country, while these peasants or bondes were themselves the highest class in the country. The land owned by a peasant was called his _udal_. By udal-right the land was kept in the family, and it could not be alienated or forfeited from the kindred who were udal-born to it. The free peasants might own many thralls or slaves, who were unfree men. These were mostly prisoners captured by the vikings on their expeditions to foreign shores; the owners could trade them away, or sell them, or even kill them without paying any fine or _man-bote_ to the king, as in the case of the killing of a free man. As a rule, however, the slaves were not badly treated, and they were sometimes made free and given the right to acquire land. In early days Norway consisted of a great number of small states called _Fylkis_, each a little kingdom by itself. The free peasants in a Fylki held general assemblies called _Things_, where laws were made and justice administered. No public acts were undertaken without the deliberation of a Thing. The _Thing_ was sacred, and a breach of peace at the _thing_-place was considered a great crime. At the Thing there was also a hallowed place for the judges, or "lag-men," who expounded and administered the laws made by the Thing. Almost every crime could be expiated by the payment of fines, even if the accused had killed a person. But if a man killed another secretly, he was declared an assassin and an outlaw, was deprived of all his property, and could be killed by any one who wished to do so. The fine or man-bote was heavier, the higher the rank of the person killed. For a thrall or slave no man-bote was paid.