Evening star., 1941-09-07
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star staff Correspondent.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland. - When
blue green Iceland rises out OF sea-
fog American troops, eagerly crowd
ing troopship decks after nearly
5000 miles at sea, look upon an al
most continuous high wall of noun
tains with farmsteads and British
camps at the foot of them.
Now and then a green valley seems
to cut far into the interior. The
mountain slopes are decked with sill
yer threads-the ice-cold brooks
from the glaciers which lie beyond.
Across the 2,000-feet-high hills is
realm of mystery which the troops
take the first opportunity to ex-
plore.
From the sea the encircling noun
tains do not look so difficult but
when parties are allowed on shore
only the hardest are able to make
the crests after rather dangerous
ascentS.
The slopes are extremely steep;
above the grass line they are COM
posed largely of loose, rotten rock
which affords precarious toe and
finger holds and is likely to give way
at any moment Also, where brooks
spread out from their channels
these rocks are slippery and as cold
as ice. There is constant danger OF
broken ankles or legs.
Persistence Rewarded.
When, with palpitating heart, one
reaches what appears to be the crest
it is only to see another steep In
cline ahead. But the persistent are
rewarded-perhaps with an expanse
of sublime desolation or perhaps by
the sight of bright-green, brook
watered valley with two or three
thatch-roofed farmhouses and
typical Icelandic churchyard.
1t seems completely shut off from
the world Only after year are the
British soldiers beginning to pene-
trate these valleys after learning the
precarious pony paths winding
through the hills are the extremely
circuitous roads by which the Ice
land farmers are able to come two
or three miles by covering Is or 20
miles.
Iceland never has gone far with
roadbuilding. Considering the ma
ture of the country and the eX-
treme scattered population any good
roads program would be extremely
expensive Only with the coming
of the airplane has it been possible
to get easily from one village to an
other.
The soil of the farm-lined shore
seems fertile enough from the sea
but troops ashore quickly are disil-
luSioned. 1t Is very thin. 1t is
stonier than New England at its
worst. Much of what appeared to
be grass is green moss.
Only by infinite and loving labor
can it be induced to yield a slim
crop of quick-growing vegetables.
Potatoes are about the only crop in
which Iceland comes near being
self-sufncient.
Flowers in Great Variety.
Many troops start at once making
collections of rocks and flowers for
the home folks. The latter grow
sparsely but, as is usual in the far
north, in great variety. In early
August they are extremely colorful.
Americas May and June dandelions
are in full bloom. Buttercup buds
are opening.
The three-colored Icelandic violet,
found nowhere else in the world is
in its full glory and by the brook
sides the Iceland rose is blooming
a purplish flower which is no rela-
tive of the rose family and which is
a favorite food for sheep. Very
rarely one finds dwarfed mountain
ash whose berries are just begin
ming to turn red, or a gray Iceland
willow tied into knots by the winds.
All around is an extreme profu-
sion of bird life. These Iceland hills
are one of the worlds great summer
nesting places, comparable to Lab
rador or Baffin Land. Here come
the birds that spend the winter in
Algeria and Egypt in f1ocks that
darken the sky. Among them are
the red-billed elder ducks.
Elder Down Major Export.
The down with which they line
their nests is a major export of the
island. There are geese seemingly
of a score of varieties and the land
is paradise for Sportsmen, al
though the shooting of many birds
Is frowned upon. Icelanders love
these birds, harbingers of summer,
and resent strangers shooting them.
Lonely fjords are alive with fish,
the islands chief source of wealth,
and line over the side of the ship
any day will yield a dinner. The
clear water is filled with a strange
sort of jelly-fsh. umbrella like in
shape with a center of four red cir
cles arranged in geometric pat
tern.
With nothing else to do, thousands
of American and British troops
promise to become enthusiastic ma
ture students in the next few
months.