The Ely miner., 1930-08-01
,<r-pared by the National Geographic
Society, Washington, d. C.)

| Society, Washington. d. CD
| T GLANDS celebration this sum-
| mer of the thousandth anniversary
| L of the organization of her popular
assembly, the Althing, finds a
| country that has advanced like the
rest of the world in its chief city, but
has retained the simple life in its rur-
al districts. So simple is rural life
that in many parts of the island the
villages and farms are not connected
! by roads; only trails exist, and all
travel is done on pony back.
The Islands one sizable city is
Reykjavik, the capital. OF the 104,-
600 people in Iceland. about 25,O0O
live in Reykjavik.
! Politics was responsible for the first
settlement in Iceland, and fish brought
about its development. Ingolf and
| HjOrleif, two disgruntled chiefs of
Norway who refused to acknowledge
! Harald Haafager, the first Norwegian
king, settled on the southern shore of
the island in S71 A. d. When the
value of the fishing grounds found by
| these pioneers became known, num-
| ber of Scandinavian settlements came
| into existence
For hundreds of years Reykjavik
was only small fishing village and
| trading post. But the village had the
| good fortune to be situated on one of
| the best available harbors. AS the
! population of Iceland increased and
commerce grew, this spacious harbor
became popular haven for trading
vessels, and steadily the city grew.
To the visitor approaching by water,
Reykjavik's commercial aspect con-
ceals all evidence of the fact that
this city has been the capital of Ice
land since 1900 and its seat of learn
ing. Scores of fishing craft and COM
mercial vessels, battered by the sea
and in need of paint, dot the anchor
age. The quays are lined with ware
houses, and here and there along the
shore are cod-drying grounds, white
with slabs of fish. Anchored vessels
may be seen filling their holds with
| alternate layers of fresh fish and salt,
! thus preserving the fish for quick
trip to northern European ports.
Scenes in Reykjavik.
After one lands, however, and enters
the city, commerce is no longer domi-
nant. Broad streets are lined with
rather gaudily painted wooden and
! corrugated iron houses. Along the
streets American automobiles dart.
The Asturvollura, the city square,
is the center of interest in Reykjavik.
Facing it is the great stone house in
which the thousand-year-old Althing
side is the cathedral, built of stone,
but with a tower of wood. 1t was
built in 1S47. In the center of the
square is a statue of Thorvaldsen, ia
nous sculptor of Iceland. This statue
was a gift from the city of COpen-
hagen in 1874.
In another part Of the city are the
| buildings of the Iceland university,
which was only recently established
1911. In the same section are the mu-
scum and library, the latter housing
| $4,000 books and manuscripts. In the
museum is a collection of Icelandic
antiquities, geological specimens, and
objects of industrial art.
! A unique feature of the capital city
is its public laundry of naturally heat
ed water from hot springs that were
once geysers.
| Because Of the lack Of roads in
many parts of the island all the travel
is done on pony back. But out from
Reykjavik, Akureyri, and even smaller
| towns, roads are reaching farther and
! farther; and Icelanders vision the day
many of them not without sadness
when the pony will lose his all impor-
! tant place in the Icelandic transpor-
tation system, and when automobiles
will bowl along over a network of
| highways that penetrates even the
scared volcanic wastes of the interior.
Farming and fishing are the chief
| industries. Forty-seven thousand Shet-
land ponies are raised, chiefly for ex-
port, and the sheep number about 9OO,-
VI
| many vegetables can be raised, but
| the potatoes grow only to the size of
walnuts. The grass is usually cut by
| hand because it is so short, and the
whole family takes part in the haying
process. The hay is brought to mar
ket by ponies, the chief method of
| TRANSPORTATION on the island, each
pony carrying two huge bundles. Thus
the crop is estimated as so many pony
| loads.
Its Ancient SaDas.
Iceland is the land of the Sagas,
| the oldest literature of Europe, of
which Sir Rider Haggard says: TOO
smple, too prolix, too crowded with
detail, they cannot vie in art with the
epics of Greece; but in their pictures
of life, simple and heroic, they fall be-
meath no literature in the world, save
the Iliad and the Odyssey alone"
The language in use today is the
same as the ancient language of all
| Scandinavian countries, the Icelanders
alone having preserved it. chiefly due
| to the remoteness of their island.
Since December /, 1918, Iceland has
been recognized as an independent
state, united with Denmark only
| through the identity of the sovereign.
/ ;-1o,5 about 910 poilaS IOOo