The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-05-14

part would be desirable thing.
Iceland offered an opportunity TO tread
comparatively unbeaten ground, where
the tourist is not everastingly tramping,
ard the patent-medicine people ard soap
makers do not paint their hide0us adver-
tisementS on the side OF the rocks.
Il set out from New York accompanied
by my daughter, and made the first stage 10
Great Britain. From Edn burgh we travelled
by steamer away 10 the north. We made a
short stay at the Farce Isles, which how
ever, have no connection With any gambling
games, as far as my limited stay allowed
me to observe. II is a queer little place
though, inhabited by queer people. Shut
off from the rest Of the world, they are as
simple as children, and have but little
idea Of modern progress.
ION high cliff, thousand feet above
the sea, | came across 4 party of men,
seemingly fishermen, with large nets spread
upon long poles and looking something
like huge lacrosse. | thought it strange
for fishermen to be a thousand feet above
their native element, but found they were
not catching fish, but birds. Armed with
these large nets they hang over the side of
the rocks and deity capture the flying sea
birds as they come to their nests in the
cliff.
AFTER fairly rough passage we arrived
in the ford upon tho site Of which Ice
lands capltal-Reyk javik-stands. Here
we found fair-SiZed town, mostly built of
wood and commanding fine position for
tile carrying on OF commerce, if only the
commerce of the island required it. AS
far as l could see the little trade there was
could have been carried on under far less
favorable circumstances.
LAS l carried good letters Of introduce
ton to leading officials of the capital, l
found everything made far more comfort
able for me while 1 stayed than I could
have expected.
- A.
interior and wild part of the country, so I
set about to find good guide or two, VINO
could conduct me across the wilds of Ice
land and land me safely on the opposite
seabOard.
Men were plentiful andmo ney scarce.
so l lost very little time in securing a
couple Of reliable guides and in making
preparations for the overland journey.
practically there are no wheeled We
hicles in Iceland. and but very few sleighs.
All the travelling and transportation is
upon stout ponies. which are the only kind
Of horsefesh in use upon the island.
I'VE had successful trip across the
land, and saw very many things of great
| interest. The Great Falls, the Niagara of
Iceland, were magnificent sight The
river above the falls is fully 500 yards
wide, but suddenly the banks narrow in
deep and rocky canyon, forcing the river
into high and angry stream of rushing
| and foaming waters. We made the entire
| journey upon our ponies, with an occa-
sional tramp, over difficult places. There
| are several rivers 10 cross, and these have
| to be forded The ponies, however. know
| their business thoroughly, and plunge in
and breast the stream quite as matter of
| course.
En- route we had to sleep just where
| night happened to overtake us. Some
times had to unfold the little tent had
| brought along and make all snug the best
way l could. But the majority Of our
| nights we managed TO make cottage of
some kind before nightfall.
I'VE were always Hospitality received
| and treated as part OF the family. The
| huts OF the peasants, in which we slept
nearly every night, are built Of mud or
stones with roof of turf. They usually
| consist Of one room only, in which the
whole family sleep together. The belated
| traveller always sleeps with the rest, on a
| perfectly even footing, except that the
| more courteous insist upon his taking an
inside berth, where he will be warmer.
| when you reflect that about the only
| specially OF the icelander is large families,
| and that the whole of his numerous pro-
geny camp upon the floor Of his small mud
| hut with himself and his wife together
makes things somewhat uncomfortable for
| the unaccustomed stranger, who perhaps
makes the fifteenth bed-tellow.
! However, these little drawbacks are the
! natural outcome of travel in strange and
| unknown country, and must be taken as
| they come.
Reaching the opposite coast we re-
| turned by another route, seeing fresh lot
of curious sights. One thing L noticed was
| that the Iceland moss. of which we hear
so much. is myth. There is scarcely any
| OF 1t to be found in the island, and as to the
edible quality of it for human use 1t is all
non sense.
"The whole country is dismal and bar
rem looking place. Scarcely anything
grows there at all. There is absolutely no
timber at all worth the name. A very little
brush was seen as great rarity here and
there, but in such small quantities as to be
quite worthless. The largest tree trunk |
saw would not be thicker than mans leg.
There is no agriculture. and the only
thing the land produces is grass. The
farmers grow grass as crop, and that is
their sole staple.
1.-THE interior atounds in fresh-water
lakes which are full of fish, principally
trout, weighing two TO eight pounds. These
lakes are everywhere. From the top of
mountain called Sandafeel dill Of Sand
| could see beautiful lakes as far as the
eye could reach. / counted ninety-three
distinct lakes when they became uncertain,
| the gimmering water fading away into
| the dim distance.
"Of course l made a special journey 10
Mount Hecla, once perhaps the creates
volcano in the world. II is extinct now,
there having been no eruption since 1S43.
1t 10 fearful looking place up there in the
crater-a perfect inferno.
From the top of Mount Hecla / saw
one OF the great 1celandic sandstorms. 1t
was blown from the immense Interior
desert OF Iceland, which is called Spren-
| glTandur, which means drifting sands
These storms occur regularly during the
summer months and are called Sandifogr.
"Once while journeying in the interior
less to get away for three hours. We came
very near perishing before we reached a
place of safety.
when the Icelander gets caught insa
snoWstorm he knows just what to do. He
usually carries stick with him. and when
me snow mas covered him to the depth Of q
foot or SO he punctures a hole with his
| stlek 70 give him air. While be Is In the