The Arkansaw traveler., 1882-12-03
Iceland. Our Coatsneat.

Dur (oatsneat
 The leeland,e women have preserved the national characteristics of thesr dress for many hundred ycarx That tor cr<ii. nary wear consists ot a plain, daik. wool- en material. the waist made somewhat hke vest. From aat cap. ~orn little to one side. hangs . black tasscl reach ing to the shoulder. bound in the middle by metal band. The tall dress is more elaborate the neck-hAnd. sleeves and froat down 10 the waist. being orna. nented with leaves and 6lagree work in gold and silver. with broad beis os met.
 al plates hinged together, frosted and en- araved. and having pendant ornaments very much resembling those ~osn m America to-day. The "Faldt' (head- dresss. made of stiff. white muslin. high and projecting m troat. with white .e,l depending from the back and reaching to the ground, completed the costume ot an leelandlc lady aitired for high social occasions The men sa the eleventh cen tury wore ,unic. white leggings bound ~ith lacing ,o the knee. and metal belt with ornamcntS 'to-day the farmcrs wear home-.pun cloth. no, unlike but ,ernu,. and the ,o~nspeoplc the ordinary European dress.
 Waking through the streets, where no carriage has ever passed. one IS impressed with the tidy appearance ot the houses. and the stree, commissioners of almos, any Amcnean city might consul, ~i,h the authorities oi kclkiasik. With the ex- cepton of a. few recent, constructed houses, the dwellings and warehouses arc wooden structures and have peCahaIiy flat appearance from the absence of lin- tels or any projecting surfaces The ,n- teriors are comfortable. eleanly aud as well ordered as any American tam,l, could desire. Much of the business of the place is carried on by Danish mer- chants, who in winter return to Denmark In summer the population ,s stated to be about ,,ooo.
 To guide the traveller in winter. ~hen the deep snow obliterates all traces of the road, there are placed along the road in height. Although the temperature is not remarkably lo~, the weather m win ter is stormy and dlsagrceable. The win ter of 1880 and iSSi was the eeldest that had been experienced m twenty years keikiaNik hsfhof MAS frozen for a shnn time The ets,. .ai tet etd ei temper aiute recorded hourly. shows that the mean temperature tday and night. for The .eaf ending May 3r. isSI. was J6.7o tahrcn- hei,. The mean for January, soS4 |. and fos July. S7.so C That winter the water between the north coast and 1.tin- sea Island, fifteen miles distant, was froren. No grain grows m Iceland. and hI trees imported from Norway do no, attain neigh, oi more than three feet II IS stated that q; one tune gram "as produced. but the soil now freeze to so great an extent that II does not ihaw sufficiently during the short summer The sol of the fiat lands IS broken up in- 10 regular rows The short grass grow ing along the banks of the streams al lords pasture for sheep and ponies. Wool ,o the amount of f.2So,ooo pounds was exported iast year-fi fi,r sheep are no. sheafed in the ordinary manner the wool being pulled of by the handful, leaving \ coat of coarse hair. like wool, remain ing. IL IS not painful operation, for the wool, fl allowed to remaIn until warm weather, would drop of. The lcciandiC ponies resemble the shetland. bat arc heavier bodied They are exported m large numbers ,o scotland and Denmark
 The codhsh bAnks to the south and cast of the island, which were kno~n ,o the ancient Brtons. s,il afford employ Inen,to large majority of the rnhabi- tants ot the coast, Last year s.5oo.ooo iish were exported by Europe. The fish heads. which uc used for home con sumption. may be seen hanging in tes- ,oons on the palings along the rosdside. undergoing the drying process. Every portion of the cod |, utilized the hseI yields oil, the head. boiled 70 Ieily. af lords food. and the hard bone are used