The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1854-08-19
KAMDLES IN ICELAND.

e"c'd''heu Mr. Miles, as he landed, about
this time Of year Its mountains are snow
clad, but It's fields are hcat!-coycr,d and
green. Iceland is nearly as large as the
State OF New York. Of the first impression
it makes, he says:
"On stepping ashore in Iceland. the total
absence Of trees and forests. and the a>;oni,h- :
ing purity OF the atmosphere, strike the spec
tator as among the more remarkable charac-
terlstics OF the country. The fields are beau
t:ully green: the mountains. clothed in pur-
pie heath, appear SO near that YOU are al
most tempted to reach forth YOUR hands ,o
touch their sides. fifteen or twenty miles
distance, they appear but three or four and
at seventy or eighty miles, they seem within
ten or fifteen. Such is the effect of the mar-
ical purity Of the atmosphere. In other
countries YOU 90 and visit cities and rims
here. YOU see nature in her most fantastic
forms. In other States YOU pay a shilling. a
franc, or pa>trc. tor warm bath in a vat
OF marble; here you batlc in spring Of
any desired temperature, or plunge into a
cool lake, and swim to the region of a hot
spring in the bottom, guided by the steam on
the surface. In other lands, you step into
marble palaces, that are lined with cold and
precious stones, and find hereditary lcri>la-
tors making laws to keep the people in sub
Jrction here YOU see grass-grown amphi-
theatre, where an elective Congress met and
leGl>lated IN the open air for nearly a thou-
sand years. In other and more favored
cllmeS. You find comfortable houses. and
fruits OF fragrance blush on every tree :
mere, not fruIt, save one small and ta>telc>>
berry, and not single variety of grain. will
ripen. and their houses are mere hut> of lava
and turf, lookin. as green as the meadows
and pastures. In other lands. coal and wood
fires cnllvcn every hearth, and mines of non
lead. copper. silver and gold. reward the la.
Dor of the deliver: but here. not particle
of coal. not one single mineral of value. and
not one stick ot wood larger than a walkinp-
cane. can be found"
OF the people, Mr.. Miles speaks with
warmth
Yet the lcelandcrs. while ialorinc under
! great disadvantages. are more coNtcn:rI
moral y religious. possess greater attachment
10 country, are less gwen to crime and alter
cation. and show greater hospitality and kind
ness to strangers, than any other people the
sun shines upon Their conientmcnt and
immunity from crime and offence. do not arise
from slu%g>hncSS and Incidence of tcharactcr
nor are they noted alone for their negative
.'rlur' ,trfrI .n.v h"aIni "ani it~r,ry ;,;rv bar.
more scholars, poets and learned men. than
can bc found anon" an equal population on
the face OF the globe Some of their liuujii>t,
speak and write greater number Of Ian
guagcs than those that have ever met in any
other country. Iceland has given 'irih TO a
Thorwald<cn, sculptor whose namc will de-
sccnd to the latest po>tcri.. His parents
were lcclandcrS. but he was a CHI of the
sea. born on the ocean. between Iceland and
Denmark. Amors their poets and hi>'ori-
ans will be tornd the names of Snorro Stur-
Lesson, S;rr.und. Surnamcd Frodc or the
learned" Jon Thorak,en, Finn Magnu>cn.
Stephenson. Egil>on, l!allyrim>on. rhora-
ren>rn. Grondtl, Sirurirr Petersen; and
these. with many others. will a,iorn the ,,y-
cs of lcc!andir literature as lon. As the snow
covers their mols'ttaiu>. aud the heather
blooms in their valleys. Their na,icator,
and merchants discovered and settled Amer
lea lon" before Genoa cave birth 10 Co!um-
bus. and while Europe was Vet immurcl IN
the darkness OF the middle arcs. The work -,
OF their poets and literary men have been
translated into nearly every lanruace in Eu
rope and they IN turn have translated in;o
their own beautiful lan.uaoc more or les of
the writings OF Milton. DRYDEN. Pope. Iounr.
Byron, Burns. klop>'ork. Martin Luther.
Lamartine. Ben lanin Franklin. Washington
Irving. and many others"
And this is how they Get their living:
The Icelander> 1--we principslv Lv farm
ing and fishing. They take cod AID Ill,!o, k
from five to forty miles out to sea. Whales
often visit their harhorS and bav>. and are
surrounded bv boats and captured. Their
season for sea a-fi>hinc is from the Is. Of Feb
ruary to the middle of Nav In The sum
mer they catch large quantities Of trout an,!
salmon IN Their streams and lakes. Thcv
have no an l,cu.;U.a. productions of ,anch vel
ne. except gra>S. GRAIN is not cultivated.
and their gardens are very small, onIv pro-
duclng few roots and vegetables The eli
mate OF tn" county is not what We would
suppose from It's location. Columbus. who
was there Ill February, tells u> he found no
ice on the sea. 1t is not as cold in Winter
as in the Northern States of America. ;hc
thermometer seldom showing a greater de-
gree OF severity than from twelve to cobtccn
dborc zero. In Summer. from June to Sep
tembcr, 1t Is delightfully."- mild and pleasant.
neither cold Mor hot Tie cold season docs
not usually commence until November or
December and sometimes during The entire
Winter there is bnl little SHOW, and not frost
enough to bridge their lakes and streams
with ice. In Summer. fires are not needed.
and the climate during this season /, more a.
grceable than that of Great Britain or the
Cnited States having neither ,hc chill, damn
ness of the one. nor the fierce heat of the 9th
er. Thundcr-storn> in Iceland occur in the
Winter, but not in the Summer
Their domestic animals are sheen. cattle.
horses, and dogs. They rarely keep Iome,-
tic fowls, but from the nests of the wild c;-
der-duck they obtain large quantities OF eggs,
as we'll as down. Reindeer run wild in the
interior, but are not domcStcatcd Blue and
white fexes are common: and these. will, ca
gieS' haw rs, and ravens destroy many of their
sheep and lambs White bears are NOT toun1
IN The country. except as an "importcd' ar
ucle. When they float over from Greenland
on the drIft ice. The domestic animals in
Iceland are estimated i'll the following num-
bers: 100000 sheep, 10000 horses. and 4o.-
600 cattle. All their animals are of rather
small size, as compared to those in more tenn
perate regions. Their horses are a size
larger than ponies Of Shetland. and average
from twelve to thirteen hands high. Their
hay Is short growth, but very sweet ex-