Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-02-19
,oE nMn,s HOSPITALITY.
,. Manner of Retiring Which

ICELANO'S
..,;t;ve Manner of Retiring winch
The shocks u Traveller.
.,,bors of an Iceland family
All =. ono room, and this, indeed,
S sf,sn serves all purposes save that OF
oi.en hon Very narrow, and from six
hl'' twenty feet long, according to the
Of the family, with a row II low
,"n,s on either side, leaving space
p u = or four feet wide down the center;
t,,ase rooms are lighted by n shiaii
t n;,dow at the end, ventilated by the
W. WIZ ~ the trap through which they
!" entered from below n warmed oy
a us Loat of the bodies collected in them:
N.Y. ano stccplv pitched roof, constructed
li' r,ftcrs and overlapping boards and
Oh rcJ on the outside with a thick
Cow. a. Of growing turf, rests on low
Iasuls and makes it impossible to stand
w WIGHT. except under the ridge. The
UlHhSls. houses and Il few others have
pn,ast chambers, with sometimes a stove,
ss.h;ch is only used on extraordinary
" WIN" owing to the difficulty of
oa"snortine fuel from the seaports.
psrtirs of tourists stop where there is
"ohnrch and shivcr out the night on
Az eight-inch wide benches, the vest
."s chests OF the floor, but if there
a Dro only one or two of you IL no
" ,.st room, or that is already filled. you
.mrrallv share, for experiences sake,
:, tLr somewhat promiscuous nightly
"m,ckinc of the family-for experiences
p l,tr. mind you. and you always get it,
S'"$ 80. tho only pocI iAoo of tho
home life of the people.
Upon this evening found myself in
. room smokily and dimly lighted by
coal oil. burned with a wick of cotton-
Grass in a lamp of brass, much like the
ancient lamps of the Greeks, but
furnished with an overhanging arm and
swivel and boat-hook arrangement,
which permits of its being stuck or
hnnc wherever the user wishes. Two
hunks on one side and one on the other
we're literally full. In one a man and
two boys, in another two women and
children. and in the third three men,
I'll sleeping like sardincs IN a box, the
head of one on the same pillow as the
feet of his next bed-fellows, and the
sn,ce that was not occupied by human
beings probably vas by beings inhuman.
After shaking up the many boxes and
hundlcs under the rude mattress, and
oiyjno an extra poke or two to the
feather or down bed which is the only
form of covering known i'll Iceland, one
Of the Girls motioned us to the beG
where we were to sleep Gan Iceland
Gentleman was to share my bed,) and
then. as if it We're an everyday oc-
o u s,l,Do(- t1,o Sane nc ~ 1, ,,,,lo,&
traveller. while VIC were still undressing
she. with two others, proceeded to take
possession of the bunk opposite ours,
until "tle last in bed put out the light"
NV companion somewhat surprised me
by a warning to secrete any valuables l
might have, but as he was an Icelander
thought it better to follow his advice
than to trust to the proverbial honesty
of his countrymcn, and after an appli-
cation from II box of rough on rats-no,
well never mind-I was soon uncon-
sciouS. breathing carbonic acid gas by
the cubic yard, but in sweet oblivion
until awakened during the general turn
ont next morning.
The daylight revealed nothing new,
except, perhaps. the many little articles
stuffed into every nook and crevice.
Furniture is scarce and q chest OF
drawers a luxury in an lcelandic habi-
tation. and odds and ends are hung on
nails in the roof. stuffed into the cracks
or in boxes hidden away under the
mattresses in the hunks. Horn spoons,
knives and forks, bits Of cloth, needles,
books and tishhooks were tucked pro-
miscnonsly away, and old clothes and
fish hung over lines stretched length
wise of the ridgepolc. It was interest
ing to see the men, after slipping into
the few clothes they had removed upon
retiring, sit on the edge of the beds
chatting and slipping she coffee brought
by the women.
Several times l was reused from my
musings by the rustling of the disar-
ranged covering in a bed which l had
supposed empty, and presently a half
naked child would start up from the
depths and stare in opcn-eyed wonder
at the stranger, who returned the gaze
with a sense of the ludicrous rising
within him. From'a bed where l had
counted three the night before, four
had already risen, and how many more
were to follow? At the further end OF
Ihe isle q mattress spread upon the
iloor had served for the resting place
OF three more girls, whose accustomed
punk myself and companion hadproba-
ply occupied. By this time | had be-
gun to feel the need of a little clean
ar, and. getting into my clothes, I
descended to the guest-room where l
preakfastcd On more mutton and tur-
nlps, but lightcned this time with a cup
OF chocolate and some English crackers.
-ha"g (lcclaudJ Cor. Philadelphia Press.