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THE NORSE OR VIKING SHIP—EARLIEST VESSELS IN OUR OCEAN WATERS

The ships of the Norsemen, often called Viking ships, were the first ocean vessels definitely known to have entered our Canadian seas. In these vessels the Norsemen, already established in Iceland, made their way to Greenland in 980 A.D. where they planted a colony which lasted for over three centuries. From Greenland they reached the American mainland, discovering first a barren land of slate and stone (Labrador) and south of it a land of forests (Nova Scotia) and a land of corn and wild grapes (Massachusetts). Attempts at settlement led to attacks of the savages. The Norsemen preferred their empty Greenland.