The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-05
DIAL. thought not tho most maSnincSs:.,

DIAL, thought not tho most magntncSS.,
are, perhaps, the most curious among tho
numerous phenomena of this sort In Ice
land. On entering the valley you see col
umns of vapor ascending from different
parts of IL. There is a number of aper-
lures in a sort of platform of rock The
water is at 2l2 degrees Fahrenheit, and It
rises two or three feet into the air. A
river flows through the valley In the midst
of which jet of boiling water issues with
violence from rock raised but a few
feet above the icy cold water of the river.
Not far from this place is the grotto or
cave of Surt, which is so large that no one
has penetrated to its inner end. In form
ing these scenes nature seems to have
deserted all her ordinary operations and
to have worked only IN combining the
most terrific extremes which her powers
can command. Nor Is she yet silent. At
ter the lapse of ages the fire of the vol
cano still bursts out among regions Of
eternal snow, and the impetuous thunder
ing of the geysers continues to disturb
the stiffness of the surrounding solitude.
Iceland is a wide field open for discov-
cry, and the country everywhere presents
objects to fill the mind with astonish-
ment.
on any part of the coast one will find in
Vulnerable gulls, elder ducks, etc. In the
interior, wild ducks, grouse, whimbreds,
plover and snipe are plentiful on the
moor and heaths. Here are the best stock
ed unpreserVed moors in the world; TWEEN
ty to thirty brace of grouse can be bagged
by fair shot in the course of a few
hours. Besides, here are swans, curlews
and the chance of a shot at reindeer.
A picturesque scene is the annual kill
ing of blackbirds and auks, which nestle
in the almost inaccessible rocks along
the coast. Some of these are as high as
1000 feet, and their clefts and lodges
can only be visited by letting yourself
down in a line fastened on the top. The
line consists of four to seven thongs
of OK hide twisted together, strong enough
TO carry a man and his booty.
The rock climber has a long stick in
his hand to balance himself; one of it's
two ends is an iron crook, the other a
snare of horsehair to entrap the birds.
Some lines are sixty to eighty metres
long and every climber has two, one of
which he pulls when ne wishes to be
hauled up. Coming to a ledge in the
rocks he unties himself and walks along,
picking up eggs and killing birds. OF
course great dangers are attached to
this manner of fowling A sharp edge
projecting from the rock may cut the
line The climber may inadvertently
loosen a stone or make false step,
Then the unhappy man is invariably
torn to pieces by the projecting angles
and edges in the rock before he finds
his grave in the merciful deep below.
The water of the aerated springs in Ice
land possesses a strong but grateful de-
gree Of pungency, very much like that of
soda water after II has been exposed to
the air for a few seconds. The water is
kept in constant and violent agitation by
the escape of carbonic acid gas, and, TAX
en- in large quantities, may cause intoxi-
cation. The natives call these springs ale
wells.
The accommodation in Iceland is not
equal to that which the Land of the Mid
night Sun and Switzerland give to the
traveller The only hotels to be found are
in the half a dozen towns on the coast
In the interior one must take lodgings
on farm or camp out in tent. 1t
should not be omitted to state that the
only mode of conveyance is on horseback.
on the well known ponies which have been
praised so much by every traveller who
has written upon Iceland.
Iceland has the same rights as Norway
to be called 1.-The Land Of the Midnight
Sun" The midnight sun can be seen in
the north Of the island. There Is the diff
ference that this seagirt land of the Mid
night Sun is fresh and unexplored