The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-08-30

IL - ~ 6eyserx and Extinct
Volcanoes.


ssa Frarwastso eisaesss
Apart frosa the interest that sass -
1t proposed ~hesesafs transfer d tfss
1csjandir nation T. AIasas. the people
a. tie Denmark island Sosaifalafs hare
Other claims upon the atssafsssss -
Americans. To feeianssers tfss sossssf
~ oeing the DISCOVERIES "a America =
clais0ed By them To ~ due. shortly
after the ssrss colonization u leesASiss
a. u. s-4D = mariner named t8aaF-
bjOrd was driven b. . seiaYsst 10 the
SHORES Of t;rseaIand, souss 30 Eeaiss
distant, and from that tine aF settle
npenfs were founded ansi Fsxisizf
intercourse established. Ia sssas oHs
Biarnj Herjalfsssuus it Il Nels that
school children should rssnes1sFssr tisas
name while on = voyage froEB issFs
land TO Greenland VAS arsvea ~ a
storm out into the Atisnise. After
sailing for some DAYS ~ ssiseeTsresi .
teautiftI wooded sxsan$gE @fefE
plains and rising gTusinsfs slisfDats1
with each other along fas sssAst. f'ass ~
be could not prsysll 90 his sFe# u
land he returned 81 Greenland diN
glowing descriptions q The country
Implanted desIr. for further ifasesti-
cation In his epantryiasfis one %
whom named I.sifr msou after sst ssif
for IL ina ses&ei manned ~ thiftF-
I've men. fo tie ssnihwess ~
ts,seuland he discovered safssi
which according Is the Dc Grip
zion given il salsysosssi - have tsea
Labrador. but farther - the ~stsss As
found the same wsssiei isaa which
Biarni had discovered. fhsget4Tvsfs
H. determined r. explore Is coast iar
some distance. and is9 days after
vaYd he came wifh a norshwesierly
wind 20 Ar /. land that Was Separated
from the mainland b. strait. After
sailing through this stfaft he came -
: t.eantifsi. inland sea. GA tie shores 81
which be erected a Dwelling The ses
teened with splendid salmon, and the
9yaxs retained is fresh appearance
throughout The winter. The days
here We're not 50 short a. in Greenland
and Iceland for on the shortest Tisl-
ter day the Sun sa- nins hours sas9Es
the horizon. ODe 81 The crew who
wasa German. has discovered That
grapes grew Wild here IeIir named
The land ylnsland, @sbse4 aeutiY II
vas visited by I4~ifr's brother. Who
vas killed by the natives. bsst a settle.
meut which after little foa3k root in
the country continued u trade with
them for no years II Is, perhaps
NJ vel, ~ add that klnesana Is sap
Dosed 10 have been Massachusetts In
the Vicinity Of Boston, the other part
of this country in which the North
men are supposed to have scstiesi
being near Mount Hope bay, Rhode
Island. ard a. lar south a. Cape May
In the next place The country pop
s<sses A history of almost uuestuaiesi
antiquity among modern Eafcpeaa
nations. and a ri b and unique liter
allure, As has been said above. lee.
land was settled in sd. but MANY
wears before that IL had been visited
by the Norwegian vikings The pro-
ductiseness ot the islands bret At
tracted the visitors. but what ehsefs
promoted colonization was the DT--
pressire rule of Harold the fair.
haired king Of Norway At Hrst a
patriarchai govarnsnent prevailed. bit
tablished free republic. which re-
manned In existence - yssrs. The
Norwegian faonArehs bad Tong looked
GENEROUSLY upon this stardy eanimun.
tty. however aud NJ last, h ~. King
Haker succeeded ia bringing H under
his SWAY. though with the expless
reservation that Iceland saeaid re.
tain Its independence ard be GOV
erned by les own Laws. That engage.
snent has not heen repealed and IL i
still the basis II union with Denmark
~ IL was with Norway. ~ Present
the feeling between the two eoun,
tries ICELAND and Denmark i
not ms friendly as II might te. Den
marks attitude, however. being
largely one Of indifference To this
rentinen, is added that the isi@a that
the icelanders are antiquatesi In
their ideas, AMI stu fubued
with an exclusively national tend
ency. In i3Si Iceland became
part of the nano Norwegian kingdom,
and So remained until the PARTITION 81
the two countries in the beginning of
the present century when Iceland
WAS Incorporated with Denmark. The
exact relations between the
two countries does not scent
Ia be un,ierstao3 bv the
principal parties faf even In oflic}at
Language iceland is sometimes calls.i
a colony sometimes a province and
sometimes dependency. The Icg.
fanders, however, nse none of these
terms, bat simply call their couatry
''the Land "
The ieslandie tongue is the old
scandinavian, or original Norse. heinz
the oldest living language Of the Ten.
tonic family. The stationary char
arter at the language is partly sx
planned hy ITS secluded petition ia an
island and partly hv the fealous ssudv
al the ieeiandefs of the ancient songs
and sagvs. The first character IN
which iceiandie was written Mere the
knnics, which are supposed to ~
adaptations from the rhanlclau alma,
eet ~ toe tine OF the introduction
ot christianity these were supereeslet
~ TIE Roman alphabet in the fartn
the'a used hv The Anglo Saxons and
setmans The alphabet consisted a
thifts.sis letters thirty Tour ~ whith
are stt1 used The language has a
great faculty for forming new wurstS
ou, u docs not afcnt tina cosanien fer
s,sn nante~ ut sfispec and rew invea,
lions. Thus telegraph Is ralle,l
"ttettaiieygir. hssrgr ~ news. ard A
telegram hsaafrett sla!ek news
The icelsndic literature. which With
the exception az fee nnim,sarsaet
Norwegian productions. has l,ean
written wholly io Iceland. consists
frenefallv ei songv ~ victory as az
praise. esegic. epseganss and @asss AMI
sksidS, or Eivticfou~ eF historical 70
nanees. These woFks rsstiv lselanss "a
the ancient period ~ lcelaulie htars
tarc. the secnnd ~ n,sisyn t.s4t..,s
dating from a revival uf the : vrn
tecnth century Histefy torailses
Jurisprudence, Essetrv. were al taken
up. and with such spiTis ausi fvuis ttsat
during the fast hundred wears ua other
nation can shoW ss isrrv pf.sfstrtron
III literary men
Iceland - ina shsge a ess,.l heal hke
that nj ths heart she greatest ient.th
heiug 80 miles ant the s-~.st.si
breadth 40 niiaes ttsarea tneia.itnr
the adjacent isists. il 83rN. s.faar,,
miles. 81 whieh lGg&S arr hal.tah3a
The population in SIS st,s~t t3aaefshfps
perissd exceed tto. Sc. seceul eeNsasses
giving the figures az tollaas t~st
ts> .s$g i1ss ga So. f~-H ss8~t8 a.
present it T. ira tbe fseieh9e,Fhfsat I'D
.N,tss, has Is again on the sfertf.sn .tuss
60 the gradual exhaustion ~ fb4 fer
aiitN ct The island ssf.l tile lps f~szsfts
severity ~ its winters. TIE hytaesftt
prolecs N moving she BATON net
Che hrSt- In tf>t starvation aff
dtsssse hal brought tise f.lsu.sfs.ss,
down Ia something Ike s. a. nss-s