Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-09-15


possesses as a place Of residence, Il
seems strange that the lcelanders
should be so attached to it. Yet there
never was a prouder people than they,
when, eight years ago. on the one
t%housandth anniversary of the settle
ment of the island, King Christian Of
Denmark granted them a constitution
making them semi-independent.
lcelanders are easily satisfied.
The wealthiest man on the
Island has an income Of only $500.
They raise ponies and sheep,
manufacture wooden jackets and stock
ings, make hay, fish, and dig for sui
phur. No grain can be grown, and
The only tree IN the island is a dwarf
birch. Agriculture is confined to
the raising Of a few vegetables, and
out of the entire area Of 80, 200 square
miles-a little larger than Kentucky
there are only a little over 200 acres
Of land under cultivation. Goldfish
oil, wool and ponies are exported.
The people do but little work, except
during the two months of the hay
making season, and, in fact, there are
only~fve months in the year when they
can work out OF doors.
But the loelanders are a people with
a long history They have treasured
up in fine national ballads the deeds
OF their ancestors. They have plenty
Of time for reflection and study, and
they are we'll educated and naturally
intelligent. A thousand years oil
history has attached them to their
steam clouded valleys, threatening
volcanoes, lava plains, and Wild
mountains. Something Of the heroism
of the old chieitains and small kings
of Norway, who settled in Iceland in
the year Sl4 to escape the suzerainty
Of Harold Harfayr, pervades the
present population. But they
would be much more useful and
practical were they living in a
country where they could be producers
all the year. As it is, their intellects
are somewhat dwarfed by monotony
and stagnation, They are more ami.
mated in %recounting the past in their
sagas than in planning for provision
for the future. They can show Jars of
Roman, Byzantine and Oriental coins
brought by the old Mortimer to their
shores after raids upon the cities of
the old Roman empire. They can re-
peat poems which were sung at the
gatherings of their ancestors in the
ninth and tenth centuries, and by the
Vikings who fed to Iceland TO escape
from the vengeance Of Harold Fair
Hair" They can detail infinitely the
struggles between the worshipers of
Odin and Thor and King Olaf. of
Norway, who proceeded to convert the
pagan Icelanders to Christianity by
the sword and fire, after the fashion
Of the day. The scalde of Iceland
sang we'll and wildly. They embalmed
historic fact and the veriest fable in
their verses. The Ieelandic scenery
and the seven months of abstention
from out door labor engendered reye-
ries and %romancing.
1t seems to us these Icslapders
might do better for themselves else
where. Some day,and the day may not
be very far off, an unusually violent
volcanic eruption will battle the whole
island in liquid, red hot lava. and
completely obliterate every vestige of
the descendants Of the Vikings and
the sweet singing scalde Of old.
lcelanders are a very moral and tenn
perate people. There is not a child
ten years of age on the Island who can
not read and write. They would be
valuable settlers in this country. Our
government could we'll afford to invite
them to Alaska and give them all the
land they want. There are only TO-
600 of them. The climate of the south
ern half of Alaska is infinitely supe-
rior to their own. Better food crops
can be producedt there than in Iceland.
They would be in closer communion
ton with the civilized world than thew
now are, although they are only 500
miles from the north end of Scotland
and $50 miles from the coast Of Green.
land In Iceland these people are
forever threatened by the internal
fires. They live between death by fire
and death by ice. 1t is possible that
even with their great attachment for
their storm grit island they could be
induced to emigrate to Alaska.