New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-08-08
ON THE WAY TO ICELAND.

al
SopsExpN TO AMEMCA-THE INTRODUCTION "
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES AUGUsiAN A'h
CLINE OF HER INDEPENDENCE
-, Dvorrt AR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRIboNh'I
oo.xry ISLANDS, July 23.-The afternoon ua, d
,rht To Aberdeen Yesterday Mr.. OladsVono o.
Mr. William Nelson, our Edinburgh hos'
eiaed at the last moment TO accompany US "o Hall
the Shetland Islands. Mr. Appleton anu .i';, else
burton were among the missing E,e.' Albion re-
being in readiness Capt Howhng u w ~ the Local
ouested Ms 70 60 with him Ill uo.' :. enteredn
Marine Office for the purpose Oh IT, IT, Albion NOT
or ..inscrihedD according to law - aho conld
being pas ,enger steamer IL s 80: 90 opr heinp
-. ,aLo ma on board ON condi''on y, o"i -;
oh'y 'aNo - regular seamen "a hollow techhi-
-. 90 course bat il satisfied the law ,
~ eicials had evidently been prepaleu iot INV
.ro of their duty, when we reachcu '"o ~
,,ine Office for there was general suiie anu 'no
ct hearty politeness. We signed soune'hins'
n have not the slightest idea what 1t was' auuine
onr aces and places of birth, after when sone'ns
else WAS rapidly and mechanically read' u 'io
effect that We would obey the captain "ouiu oo"-
dnct ourselves with deceucy aud order whenever
we went ashore and would observe all the reeui"
tions apphcable to persons in marine service one
of tho Marty manfred whether there was any Zee
,berepnon the official with an additional SMILE III
fo,,ned ne that on the contrary we would DE en-
,,tlod 10 a acksheesh of one shilling per month"; IL
we returned without having made ourselves ameha-
ble IN the mutiuy laws during Our absence! ms
was comfortmg-and, inasmuch as the regulations
were not administered in the form OF an oath' we
left the office without any special weight on our
conscences.
By this time slow drilling rain had SET IN, and
we made haste to get on board the steamer small
rrowd of men and boys collected to see us OIL, anu
were evidently little startled when we gave three
farewell cheers. The only enthusiastic respondent
was q gamin with an empty cofee-bag, wnlch lie
waved wildly around his head he rushed along
the pier following us. There was a little delay at
the dock gates another crowd of curious spectators
and finally, between & and o'clock, we issued into
the outer bav and thence into the open sea.
The clouds hung low, with watery CLEANS of sun
between them; the waves hardly rocked under our
keel and so we sped northward, skirtlng the coast
so Peterhead whence the Scotch shore trends an
ruptlv westward, and our course lay northward loI
the Orkneys The night was eXquiSitey calm ana
mild and now, in the early morning, as 90 on
deck | see the interrupted lines of the far, ancient
Orcades rising above the horizon line. In three OF
four hours We shall reach krkwali, the capital on
the eastern coast of Pomona, Mainland, the
largest island. where propose spending the rest
of the day. Iu the mean time let me collect my
scattered historical notes of Iceland, and give the
promised brief outline which the reader has right
"a demand i'm order the better to comprehend the
story of thousand years, nOwa about to be cOmmeln-
rated.
The earliest history of Iceland is something like
the picture which most travellers give Of the first
sight of its shores-a land glimmering for moment
through mist and cloud, disappearing, reappeanng,
and then hiding itself for hours if reluctant TO be
discovered Wherever the famous Ultima Thule OF
the ancients may have been, il was certainly not
Iceland The Irish monk, Dicuil, in chronicle the
date of which is referred to the year S5 states that
lust one hundred years before "A. d. 7&5 some Irish
priests sailing for two days and nights due north
ward from Ireland, discovered some islands In the
sea am not acquainted with any earlier record OF
exploration.
Dicun relates that Irish hermits settled on these
islands, and occupied them until they were dlscov-
cred by the Morse Vikings, when the former thought
i, better to leave In SIS the islands uninhab
tied. save by great numbers of sheep, whence the
name, Far-OT-Sheep Islands. Before this latter
date however, Iceland also had been discovered by
the wandering Irish monks, and various traditions
concur in mentioning the year 9j the date Of TINS
event. The intercourse between Norway, the Shet-
lands Orknevs aud Hebrides must have made both
discoveries known 10 the Norsemen. The Irish ap-
pear TO have used Iceland as sort of Thebaid where
tie jealous anchorites of that day could withdraw
from the world without the least chance Of being
ever disturbed. 1t was a singular perverson of
Christianity which sent them 10 that Northern
Wilderness to delight the God of Humanity by alb
iuring all knowledge Of or sympathy with, their
brother men.
Earyn the year SCI the Norwegian rover, Grim
Gamle old Grimes - rediscoycrcd the Farce Islands.
When be brought the news to Norway, a famous
Tina 1,,-t Ia. 81 I'll g. 70 +oio
possession of the new territory, but was driven by
To the coast of Iceland before the close of the
same gear. The mountains being all covered with
snow, he called the land SujOland (Snow-landl.
Three years aiterward in S6l Gardar, Swede sail
ing for the Hebrdes to take possession of an inner
iance which had fallen to his wife was also driven
ny adverse winds TO the shores OF Iceland. He
landed, afterward sailed entirely around The island
snd gave it the name Of Gardar,holm.
In So, Floke Of Norway, in consequence Of the re-
ports given by Naddodd and Gardar, sailed directly
tor Iceland. The flight OF raven, which lac let
loose at sea, served him a guide. BE found the
island, and on account of the quantity of drifting
ice on the northern coast gave it the name of Ice
land, which from that time used by the Morse
men. The position and size of the island being now
generally known. Ingolf of Norway sailed ththcr IN
So voyage of exploration, the results of which
not recorded. We only know that he returned
TO Norway, killed man. and in order TO escape the
blood-Teyenge sailed again for Norway ia his own
ship, in the year S14 He accompanied by his
brOther-in-law, Left of the Sword and the families
and servants of both. They landed at Reikianes
Vlo' lar fIom Rejkiavik the present capital, aud
,u'ie made settlement. 1t is thus exactly
tlou'luo years this Summer, since the Scandina-
vans nr'' planted themselves on Iceland.
iHe "His Oh harald Haarfager Fair-hair) with
the three rival kings of Norway. occasioped tine emf