As has been stated in a former chapter, poor Bjarni has been severely handled by Storm and most of the accepted authorities. The case for and against his voyage has been already dealt with, and it is hoped that some readers may have been persuaded that Bjarni has a solid claim to be regarded as the first seaman who sighted American shores. But, whether or no the personal claims of Bjarni can be substantiated, I submit that we have here a very clear and correct account of the way in which America was discovered, whether by Bjarni or another. The first discovery must necessarily have been accidental, and must almost certainly have been, as stated of Bjarni, from south to north, as subsequent exploration in a southerly direction would not otherwise have been encouraged. The northern part of America offered few attractions to the practical minds of early explorers, whose criterion was ‘that it would be a profitable country to visit’; Labrador or Newfoundland from the sea would seem at first sight to deserve Bjarni’s epithet ‘ogagnvaenligt’—good-for-nothing. Storm-driven mariners, with stores running short, would hardly have pursued investigations from north to south, while in the reverse direction discovery was forced upon them by circumstances, and their experience might well prompt further exploration on the part of the inhabitants of Greenland. Whatever criticisms have been passed upon Bjarni’s voyage by those who are unable to bring it into line with their theories, it seems to me that if all the rest of our material had been destroyed, this voyage would be regarded as in itself sufficient to substantiate the fact of Norse discovery. Slight and sketchy as it is, it presents fewer real difficulties than any other. The chronicler, like his hero, was not interested in the lands seen, but in the adventures of the ship, and both courses and distances are given with perhaps greater precision and accuracy than any others in these sagas. Probably this arises from the fact that but few copies were ever made of this narrative. It was, as has been already hinted, of little interest to the general reader of a pre-Columbian age; it could appeal only to sailors and navigators, who would be more interested in the accurate preservation of the data supplied by it than would a mere scribe, wholly ignorant or misinformed as to the actual topographical details.