Class. 
 Book. 
 
 ,!,+\iO 
 
 COFimrGI{T DEPOSIK 
 
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Wt^t lanlr of Jf rosJt anb Jf ire 
 
1^ 
 
THE LAND OF 
 FROST AND FIRE 
 
 Author of 
 
 "My Three Days In Gilead," 
 
 "By The Overflowing Nile," and 
 
 "The Crimson Trail." 
 
 THE McCLURE COMPANY, Inc. 
 Staunton, Va. 
 

 Copyright, 191 Z^V 
 
 Elmer U. Hoenshel 
 
 Basic, Virginia. 
 
 NOV -8 1917 
 
 V 
 

 who, with strong physical prowess, 
 and in unostentatious manner, 
 battled for nearly a century of tinae 
 to provide for his own, is inscribed 
 this little volume! 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
BOOKS 
 
 By 
 
 ELMER U. HOENSHEL 
 
 •'My Three Days In Cilead" .Illustrated 
 
 Cloth, 5o cts; paper, 30 cts. 
 
 •'By The Overflowing Nile" Illustrated 
 
 Cloth, ^5 cts; paper, 50 cts. 
 
 "The Crimson Trail" Illustrated 
 
 Cloth, $1.00. 
 
 "The Land of Frost and Fire" Illustrated 
 
 Cloth, 75 cts; paper, 50 cts. 
 
Jrtfar? 
 
 In this volume I undertake to tell of what I saw in 
 the **land of frost and fire." My tour will lead to a land 
 not frequently visited by Americans, but nevertheless a 
 land having many interesting features. In it I found 
 many surprises awaiting me. And though the visit that I 
 am to describe had in it much to annoy, yet it was full of 
 experiences that I love to cherish in memory. 
 
 If by following the narrative as I tell it the reader may 
 be able to live for awhile in the environment of the early 
 Vikings and to appreciate the present-day struggles of a 
 people that dwell in perpetual gloom for eight months of 
 the year, then I shall be happy, — for my book will have 
 performed the mission in whose interest I send it forth. 
 **Elra Oaks," Basic, Va. 
 
31l«atrattoita 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 Bird-catching in the Faroes 
 
 In the Faroes 
 
 A Near View of Thorshavn 
 
 Thorstadur Farm House 
 
 Beautiful Falls at Seydisfjord 
 
 A Church at Husavik 
 
 A Herd of Horses 
 
 Loading Horses into the Boat 
 
 A Group: (1) Our Guide Arranging His Packs; (2) 
 
 Mr. Walley, of England 
 A Fisherman's Luck 
 An Icelandic Farm 
 Haymaking in Iceland 
 Blonduos 
 A Group: (1) Steaming Hot Springs; (2) Guide and 
 
 Dog; (3) Partially Dried Up Lake 
 A Group: (1) Loaded with Whale Meat; (2) Dranga 
 
 Island; (3) Largest Tree seen by Author 
 A Fair Virginian in Ordinary Icelandic Dress 
 Icelandic Maiden, in Festive Attire 
 A Common Experience While Travelling in Iceland. 
 A Group: (1) On the Logberg; Thingvellir (2) 
 
 Lake 
 The Almannagja 
 Hecla 
 
 A Scene in Reykjavik 
 West-mann Islands 
 
(HanUnts 
 
 Chapter I. "On the Way— The Fa- 
 roes" 11 
 
 Chapter II. "The Land in General". 19 
 
 Chapter III. "The Eastern Fjords" . . 29 
 
 Chapter IV. "The Northern Fjords" . . 39 
 
 Chapter V. "Preparing for an Over- 
 land Trip" 48 
 
 Chapter VI. "Across the Island" 56 
 
 Chapter VII. "Second Day in the In- 
 terior" 68 
 
 Chapter VIII. "The Third and Fourth 
 
 Day in the Interior". 75 
 
 Chapter IX. "The Valley of Thing- 
 
 vellir" 83 
 
 Chapter X. "Last Day on Horseback" 92 
 
 Chapter XI. "Reykjavik" 99 
 
 Chapter XH. "Good-By" 105 
 
CHAPTER I 
 On the Way — The Faroes 
 
 Iceland! Possibly the very name has caused 
 the reader to shudder and to think that a land 
 bearing such a designation should be shunned by 
 any one seeking a pleasure-ground. But, without 
 anticipating any essential feature of my story, I 
 may now say that to such a one there are in 
 store a number of pleasant surprises. 
 
 To see this land it was in my plan to make 
 Leith, in Scotland, my starting-point. The date 
 of my sailing was July 6, and this date was fixed 
 and the fare paid several months in advance, 
 even before my departure from America. The 
 ship was scheduled to leave port at 11 :00 a.m. 
 
 The morning set for my departure was filled 
 with mist and gloom. And when I walked up 
 the gang-plank of the Botnia, I was not pleased 
 with the general appearance of the vessel that 
 was to be m,y home for the greater part of a 
 month. The crew had not yet finished coaling 
 the boat, and the wet decks were filthy and un- 
 
 11 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 inviting. But I found my cabin and my berth 
 much to my liking, even though my cabin-mate 
 Was a foreigner w<ho could not speak or under- 
 stand a word of my language. 
 
 The Botnia is a merchant-boat ; but it also does 
 a passenger-service, carrying about seventy-five 
 people in addition to the crew. But the fact that 
 the boat does a freight-traffic is favorable to the 
 tourist, as it gives him sufficient time at the ports 
 for him to make short excursions inland — some- 
 times as much as a half-day or mpre being given. 
 The boat is 250 feet long and has a tonnage of 
 only 1,206 tons; it is a small boat; and the 
 smaller the boat, the bigger the sea — or at least, 
 the bigger the effects of the sea. And since that 
 northern ocean has a bad reputation I am half 
 afraid and rather solicitous as to the trip. 
 
 Most of the passengers are foreigners to me. 
 The crew are Danes. But few Englishmen and 
 only three or four Americans are in the company. 
 
 We left port at 1 :40 p.m.; moving slowly out 
 through the maze of docks and shipping; and, 
 Teaching the open bay, we turned our prow north- 
 ward and skirted the east coast of Scotland. The 
 headlands and retiring firths present a constantly 
 
 12 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 changing panorama of beauty and interest. Al- 
 ready I note the late lingering twilight. To me 
 the chief places of interest along this coast are 
 the stacks, or needles, at Duncansby Head, and 
 John O'Groat's House, the latter of which was 
 for many years considered the most northerly 
 habitation in Scotland. At present there are 
 some houses still farther north. John O'Groat's 
 house is in plain view from our boat; it is octag- 
 onal in form — and a Scotchman on board the 
 vessel said that the house was so built that it 
 might provide a part for each of Mr. O'Groat's 
 eight sons who were constantly in hostile mood 
 toward each other. 
 
 Having passed the northern point of Scotland 
 in the night, the morning found us where we got 
 the benefit of the full sweep of ocean winds and 
 waves, and this made it very uncomfortable for 
 me. Through the morning hours we passed the 
 Orkney Islands, and while we were passing we 
 found calmer seas. Beyond the Orkneys the 
 voyage was quite rough, making my experiences 
 the most miserable that I had as yet known at sea. 
 
 On the second morning we reached the Fa- 
 roes. TJiey looked picturesque in the early morn- 
 
 13 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 ing light — at 2 :30 o'clock — and when we anchor- 
 ed a little later at Thorshavn, I was anxious to 
 go ashore. We had careful boatmen, who soon 
 landed us in safety. 
 
 These islands belong to Denmark. There are 
 twenty-one of them, of which number seventeen 
 are inhabited. The combined area is 514 square 
 miles and the population is eleven thousand. The 
 islands rise abruptly out of the water, and, since 
 there is little or no tree growth, they present 
 a desolate and forbidding aspect. Barley is the 
 only cereal raised here. Peat and a poor grade 
 of lignite coal constitute the chief fuel. 
 
 Thorshavn, the largest town in the entire 
 group of islands, has a population of about two 
 thousand, and, to a southerner, is quite odd in 
 appearance. The streets are crooked and almost 
 without pavements; half of the houses are sod- 
 covered, and on many of them is an excellent 
 crop of grass — as good as I saw on any of their 
 lawns. These houses are first roofed with a 
 layer of birch bark, and then covered with sod. 
 Many houses have modern roofs, chiefly of iron. 
 
 Against the weather-boarding of a number 
 of houses I saw mutton in the process of drying; 
 
 14 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 It looked so black and hard that I thought that 
 surely it could never be eaten — but later, in Ice- 
 land, I saw such mutton served on the tables. 
 
 Here I visited the peat fields, and v^as sur- 
 prised to find this kind of fuel so far north; but 
 later I found it much farther north. Another 
 surprise w^as the hearing of a lark — at least the 
 song was like the song of a lark. In the high 
 school, vv^hich I visited, I found the headmaster 
 very respectful, and his pupils courteous in the 
 extreme — removing their hats and standing at 
 proper distance writh uncovered heads while I 
 was in the quadrangle. 
 
 At this port codfish are caught in abundance. 
 And when they are split open (usually the work 
 of the women), and spread on the rocks and 
 shed-roofs to dry, the shore about Thorshavn 
 presents a white appearance as seen from the sea. 
 It was thus when I visited the place. Bird- 
 catching, in season, is also one of the chief in- 
 dustries of the Faroese. Some fine buildings, 
 fairly well stocked stores, and excellent telephone 
 service are to be found in this town. 
 
 In general, the people look healthy, but many 
 have a careworn expression on their faces. Among 
 
 15 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 the women I saw some who were passing fair. 
 Everybody is courteous — even the children lifting 
 their hats in greeting. The women wear lamb- 
 skin slippers over which they wear wooden soles 
 having heels. The temperature here was not 
 colder than I had experienced earlier in the season 
 in Scotland. 
 
 Leaving Thorshavn about noon we proceeded 
 through the narrow straits among the islands, 
 which are sometimes so beautiful, and next 
 stopped at Klaksvig for a couple of hours in the 
 afternoon. At this port was the climax of in- 
 teresting scenery in the Faroes. Then we passed 
 on to the open sea. 
 
 As we left the Faroes, a beautiful view of 
 needles and a tunneled island was afforded us. 
 At 8:30 o'clock next morning, we entered a 
 heavy fog which lasted until 9:30 o'clock in the 
 evening. Frequently the fog was so dense that 
 the range of vision was limited to fifty yards, or 
 less, in every direction. All day we moved slow- 
 ly and cautiously on, the fog horn giving out con- 
 tinually its notes of warning. Frequent soundings 
 were made to determine depth and location. The 
 latter is determined by having tallow on the end 
 
 16 
 
Bird-catching in the Faroes 
 
I' 
 
 In the Faroes 
 
 A Near View of Thorshavn 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 of the plummet, so that when the plummet 
 strikes the bottom of the sea sand will adhere 
 to the tallow. This sand is taken to the captain 
 who studies it in connection with his chart of 
 the bottom of the sea, and by so doing is able to 
 tell with accuracy the position of his boat. In 
 the forenoon we heard the warning signal of 
 another vessel that was plowing its way some- 
 where in the sea-mist — it seemed like some great 
 animal in distress. At two o'clock in the after- 
 noon I saw a twenty-foot whale not more than, 
 ten yards from our boat. At nearly four o'clock 
 a whaling vessel suddenly appeared within our 
 little mist-encircled world, like a phantom ship 
 out of the clouds; after a short conversation was 
 held by the captains it disappeared as mysteriously 
 as it came. The sun tries to pierce the mist- 
 laden atmosphere, but it rests like a pall over the 
 sea; and slowly we move on into mystery. 
 Thrice we make circles of small diameter, in 
 the movement of our vessel, in order to be sure 
 that our compass is not erring in its service. 
 Later there came back an echo to our warning 
 call, and then we knew that we were near land. 
 It was evident that if the veil were to lift a 
 
 17 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 beautiful panorama of southern Iceland would 
 be ours. But it showed no signs of lifting. So 
 the machinery^ of the vessel was stopped. And 
 while we lay idly waiting for the fog to lift, 
 some of the passengers played ring-toss, but the 
 Faroese on board plied their life vocation — they 
 began at once to fish; and notwithstanding the 
 water was over a hundred feet deep they caught 
 some large cod. 
 
 But while we wait for the sky to clear, let us 
 make a brief general study of the land at whose 
 portal we lie waiting for nature's permission to 
 enter, so that when we thread its fjords and 
 tread its fields and fens we shall be on ground 
 with which we are already familiar. 
 
 18 
 
CHAPTER II 
 The Land in General. 
 
 The land on whose shore we wait hidden in 
 sea-mist lies just on the edge of the Artie Circle, 
 250 miles from Greenland and 600 miles from 
 Norway. It belongs geographically to the west- 
 ern hemisphere, but historically and politically 
 to the eastern. Having an area of 39,200 square 
 miles, it is nearly as large as Kentucky. Its en- 
 tire population is scarcely over seventy thousand. 
 Iceland is of volcanic origin ; its rocks are almost 
 all igneous; and there are yet several active vol- 
 canoes, the chief of which is Hecla, over five 
 thousand feet high. Therefore, it is fittingly 
 called a ''land of fire." In its elevations are 
 presented many kinds of scenery and climatic 
 conditions. Much of the island is perpetually 
 covered with snow and ice — one jokul, the Vatna, 
 having in itself an area of four thousand square 
 miles. (A "jokul" is a mountain or high plateau 
 that is never free from its ice covering). Hence 
 this land is also fittingly called a "land of frost." 
 
 The summers in Iceland are short, and warm 
 
 19 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 considering the latitude ; the winters are long and 
 cold, yet tempered somewhat by the Gulf Stream. 
 For four months in the year the stars do not 
 shine, and for four months the sun does not shine. 
 Thus the year in Iceland may be thought of as 
 one long day — four months light, four months 
 night, four months twilight. 
 
 Strange as the assertion may seem, it is said 
 that two-thirds of the population are farmers. 
 But since no cereal can be matured here because 
 of the shortness of the season, the farmers devote 
 themselves to the cultivation of short-season veg- 
 etables and grass, and to the raising of stock. 
 The horse, sheep, cow, dog, and cat are their do- 
 mestic animals. Live-horses, wool, tallow, and 
 fish-oil are the chief products and articles of 
 export. 
 
 Seven thousand men are engaged in the fisher- 
 ies of the country. And the story of daring and 
 privation of these fishermen in a single season 
 would stir the hearts of the thousands in Ameri- 
 ca who think their own struggle for a living a 
 hard one. 
 
 The only wild animal is the fox, and it is 
 becoming rare. High in the interior a few 
 reindeer may be found; but tourists seldom see 
 
 20 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 them. Of birds the raven, the falcon, the ptar- 
 migan, the curlew, and the eider-duck are the 
 most noted. I saw not many ravens. The fal- 
 cons to-daj^ are few; but it is the national-bird 
 of Iceland, as is the eagle for America. At one 
 time they were numerous here and were exported 
 to the countries of southern Europe for the use 
 of hunters in the chase, organized, or otherwise. 
 The falcon is a bird of prey, like a large hawk 
 in appearance and habits. It can be trained to 
 soar aloft to sight game and then to swoop down 
 quickly to catch and hold it for the hunter. 
 '"Hawking," as it was called, was a favorite 
 pastime a few centuries ago, in which the falcon 
 took the place of trained dogs. 
 
 As just stated, the falcon is the national em- 
 blem, and its representation is seen on flags, and 
 in devices over the doorways to public buildings, 
 and is used extensively on pins and brooches. 
 
 The curlew is a bird that interests at first ; 
 but, because of its peculiar mocking cry, it becomes 
 a menace to the peace of the traveler overland. 
 The eider-duck is of a brownish-gray color, and its 
 down, not plucked from the bird but gathered 
 from its nest after the j^oung are hatched, is 
 valuable in commerce. 
 
 21 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 Upon returning from my tour in Iceland there 
 were those who asked me if the island were not 
 peopled with Eskimo! And some asked if they 
 were not savages! Such questions as these fre- 
 quently repeated cause me to know that informa- 
 tion concerning this interesting land is very 
 vague; and it is an inducement for me to put in 
 print my knowledge gained in the land itself. 
 
 That you may know the Icelander as seen 
 and studied by men capable of expressing opinion, 
 I quote from a paper by Prof. James Mavor, 
 prepared in 1891 and read before the Philosoph- 
 ical Society of Glasgow in that year: 
 
 **The Icelanders are not wholly barbarous; 
 on the contrar>^ they are supremely civilized. 
 They are among the most expert horsemen, the 
 best caligraphists, the best printers, the best 
 archaeologists, the best makers of coffee in the 
 world; and if these accomplishments were not 
 enough, they are musical, learned, and courteous, 
 and their moral tone is distinctly higher than 
 that of any other people in Europe." 
 
 This high moral plane is probably due not 
 so much to careful religious training as to the 
 '^absence of any desire for display and emulaticn, 
 
 22 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 and to the prevailing simplicit}^ of life and the 
 rudimentary development of luxury/' 
 
 Their intimate family association — all mem- 
 bers of the family ordinarily occupying the same 
 bed-chamber, and even guests, at times, compelled 
 by circumstances to share a place in the same 
 room — would suggest to us shocking, if not im- 
 moral conditions. But no such thought ever 
 seems to enter the Icelander's mind. The women 
 of the home take care of the guest with a modest 
 simplicity that commands admiration and semi- 
 reverence for the sex. In innocency and artless, 
 open manner they seem like grown up children. 
 
 It is said that one custom, known in primitive 
 marriage lore as ^^hand-parting," yet prevails to 
 an extent in Iceland. It is this: "A man and a 
 woman contract to live together for a year. If 
 at the end of the year, the parties agree thereto, 
 they are married; if not, they separate without 
 stigma on either side. The contract may be 
 made conditionally binding from the first; it 
 may bind the parties to marry in the event of 
 issue, or in the event of no issue, as the case may 
 be." 
 
 For centuries the educational work was done 
 
 23 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 almost exclusively by the ministry of the land, 
 and in the interior it is so done to-day. But it is 
 said that the public-school system is good; that 
 not a child over ten years old can be found that 
 cannot read, and that many of the peasants are 
 proficient in the classic languages. There are a 
 number of new^spapers printed in Iceland, in one 
 of which I saw a unique way of printing a con- 
 tinued story. At the bottom of the page was 
 printed in nicely and carefully arranged and 
 paged columns, on both sides of the sheet, the in- 
 stallment of the story for that issue. By cutting 
 out, and preserving each installment, until the 
 story is finished, there is only need to fold and 
 stitch the sheets together and the book is com- 
 plete, except that it lacks a back. I had never seen 
 such arrangement elsewhere. 
 
 Yes, they are courteous to strangers and to 
 each other to a degree that I have not seen ex- 
 celled, if equaled, in any other land. And at no 
 time in my experiences in Scandinavian countries 
 did I see any one indicate a desire for a gratui- 
 ty. (In southern Europe just the opposite is 
 true.) 
 
 I quote further from the paper already re- 
 
 24 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 ferred to: "The Icelander is a creature pursued 
 by frost and fire. His short summer is a time of 
 incessant toil, and his long winter a period of 
 shivering inaction. The gloom of the eight 
 months of winter, the perpetual desolation of a 
 vast part of the whole island, the frequent storms 
 that make the life of a fisherman on the coast 
 a series of campaigns in which the dead are many 
 and the living few; the toilsome cultivation of 
 sterile soil, the prevalence of disease due to ex- 
 posure, these are reasons sufficiently potent to ac- 
 count for the strain of subdued sadness in Ice- 
 landic manners. It is no wonder that the Ice- 
 lander is deficient in humor. Life to him is a 
 tragedy — the comic element is crushed out in the 
 stress of a hard-won and a hard-kept existence." 
 
 It is said that the Icelander has but few games, 
 and that until quite recently the children had no 
 dolls or toys. You hear little hilarity about the 
 hom,es or on the streets. But enough of this for 
 the present; we shall know the people and their 
 land better when I have finished my story. 
 
 My sketch of the history of Iceland will be 
 very brief. It was anciently known as Thule. 
 In the eighth century the Culdees were in the 
 
 25 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 land. In 866 A.D., a Norse Viking by the name 
 of Raven Floke spent the winter there, a sort of 
 prisoner behind ice-barriers; and it is said that he 
 gave the land the name that it bears to-day. In 
 874, Ingolf and Lief settled, or founded, Reyk- 
 javik. Because of tyrannical measures by Harald 
 Fairhair, king of Norvs^ay, many of his subjects 
 emigrated to Iceland and joined Ingolf and Lief 
 in their new settlement. Two hundred and fifty 
 years after the founding of Reykjavik, Iceland 
 had a population of fifty thousand people. 
 
 The Althing was formed in 930 and lasted 
 for several hundred years as the government 
 of the land ; it met for two weeks every summer 
 at Thingvellir. While it was in session laws 
 were made, cases tried, and sentences executed. 
 In the year 1,000, the Althing made Christian- 
 ity the religion of Iceland. And with the lib- 
 eration of the intellect there began to develop 
 a literature. It was the age of the Sagas, 
 (family legends and traditions) and of the Ed- 
 das, (productions similar to the Sagas, but more 
 poetical ) . 
 
 T!he development of feuds and internecine 
 strifes led to Iceland's becoming subject to 
 
 26 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 Norway in 1264. In 1380, Norway with Ice- 
 land became subject to Denmark, and remained 
 so until 1814., In that year Norway went 
 over to Sweden, but Iceland still remained 
 subject to Denmark. In 1874, the thousandth 
 anniversary of Iceland's history, the king of Den- 
 mark attended their great celebration at Thing- 
 vellir, and on that occasion granted the island 
 complete home rule ; though she is still recognized 
 as a Danish possession. 
 
 The modern government is composed of a 
 Governor and a Congress consisting of two 
 chambers, or houses. Six members of Congress 
 are appointed by the king of Denmark and thirty 
 members are elected by the people. This Con- 
 gress is to-day called by its ancient name, the 
 Althing. 
 
 Iceland has no army or munitions of war ; nor 
 is any military service required of the people. 
 It is said that in 1910 there were only ten police- 
 men on the island; and that for a good part of 
 the time there is not a prisoner in any jail. 
 
 These people have taken advanced steps rela- 
 tive to the liquor question. They saw how the 
 strength of their people was failing through 
 
 27 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 strong drink and they rose to meet the emergency. 
 In September, 1908, they voted on the question 
 of prohibition for Iceland with the following re- 
 sult: For prohibition 4,645 votes were cast; 
 against prohibition there were 3,181 votes. The 
 measure carried with a majority of 1,464 votes. 
 Then they passed a law prohibiting the importa- 
 tion of intoxicants, such law to take effect on 
 January 1, 1912, and prohibiting the sale after 
 January 1, 1915. The following is quoted from 
 their bill relative to ships doing business in her 
 ports, — "All ships must have their liquors under 
 seal from the time they are three miles from 
 land, and the ships must not sell liquors to pas- 
 sengers inside this limit.'' 
 
 Of course, it is not new to the intelligent read- 
 er that Iceland claims the honor of discovering 
 our country about five hundred years before the 
 visit of Columbus. And thus they teach their 
 children. The records seem to be in favor of the 
 '^children of the Vikings,'' so let them be happy 
 in claiming this great honor. 
 
 28 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 The Eastern Fjords. 
 
 But to take up the story as left off at the 
 dose of the first chapter. Our boat lay idle in 
 the fog until after nine o'clock that evening. 
 Then we began to see the dim outlines of moun- 
 tains appearing through the dissipating mist. But 
 it required some time before the captain could 
 definitely locate us. When all had cleared we 
 found ourselves near the coast, and that we had 
 passed a little way beyond the mouth of the 
 fjord that we wished to enter. 
 
 While passing up the fjord I see for the first 
 time a whaling station. But the object that 
 I see anchored to a buoy and floating there is not 
 a large row-boat bottomside up — it is a whale 
 nearly or quite fifty feet in length. 
 
 Eskifjord, the fjord that we are now entering, 
 is my introduction to that peculiar feature of 
 northern scenery known as fjords. A fjord (pro- 
 nounced as though an *'i" were substituted for the 
 ''j" and then considered as one syllable), as I 
 
 29 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 would describe it, after seeing scores in those high 
 latitudes, is a land-locked bay, usually very nar- 
 row and deep, many of them extending in angled 
 or serpentine course far inland with high pre- 
 cipitous walls of rock on either side. 
 
 On this evening, when the fog lifted, a beau- 
 tiful panorama of sea and land stretched out 
 before us. The waters of the fjord were quiet 
 and restful to us after rocking all day in our mist- 
 draped "cradle of the deep." Here and there on 
 the upward sloping land I could see a farm with 
 some domestic animals browsing about in the 
 open; higher up I saw snow. 
 
 As the evening wore on a strange silence fell 
 on the passengers, all of whom stood — just look- 
 ing. I seemed to be all eyes and emotions as I 
 stood on deck in the bright after-glow, at nearly 
 eleven o'clock p.m., while we steadily pushed on 
 into the quiet fjord which seemed sentineled by 
 majestic mountains standing guard in quiet. It 
 seems to me like a dream-visit to a dream-island, 
 and the low-toned voices of those about me seem 
 at times coming out of the shadowy past. I look 
 upon the brown-ledged mountain walls with snow- 
 patches in depressions, in some places even as low 
 
 30 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 down as the water line. Numerous streams find 
 their way down the slopes — some with steady 
 flow, others in cascades and cataracts with splash- 
 ing and foaming rebound. When the heights 
 with their jagged skyline and snow-flecked sides 
 were kissed by the lingering light of a day that 
 here scarcely knows death, and the soft somber 
 shadows took on lilac and roseate hues, it was 
 like a bit of heaven, I think, lent to guide us 
 into the port of the great home of light and 
 peace. 
 
 When we reached Eskifjord, the town at the 
 head of the fjord of the same name, it was nearly 
 midnight, although it was still light enough to 
 read ordinary newspaper print. We anchored 
 about two hundred yards from the shore, and 
 while we lingered some of the passengers went for 
 a little trip on land. The town has only about 
 fifty houses, and they are strung along the water's 
 edge. At a large building an auction, or general 
 distribution of goods, was in progress — it pre- 
 sented an interesting pantomimic sight as viewed 
 from the boat. It seemed much like a shadow- 
 graph performance, for all was quiet except a 
 low murmur of voices at times. Near Eskifjord 
 
 31 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 are the richest and best mines of Iceland Spar in 
 the world. One of the joint owners of the mines 
 brought some fine specimens of the spar on board 
 and exhibited its peculiar property of double 
 refraction; and since he joined our cruise at this 
 point he took occasion to tell a few times of the 
 worth of the mines, and referred with pride to 
 his anticipated wealth when the mines would be 
 fully developed. 
 
 At 6 a.m. we left this port. The trip out of 
 the fjord was scarcely less interesting than was 
 the going in. On reaching the open sea we again 
 encountered fog and had to make our way slowly 
 northward along the coast until we reached the 
 mouth of Seydisfjord, at the head of which was 
 our next port of call, and which we reached at 
 11 a.m. This fjord is about twelve miles long, 
 the upper portion being quite out of sight of the 
 sea. ''The rocks on one side of the fjord are 
 like wild castellated ruins, on the other side the 
 mountains are higher and are dotted with gla- 
 ciers." About a quarter of a century ago an 
 avalanche from impending crags cut the village 
 in two. 
 
 The town of Seydisfjord is said to rank fourth 
 
 32 
 
Thorstadur Farm House 
 
 Beautiful Falls at Seydisfjord 
 
A Church at Husavik 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 in size of the towns in Iceland. It has a popula- 
 tion of about a thousand people. In it there are 
 a splendid school building, a hospital, and a num- 
 ber of up-to-date looking stores and homes. I 
 was surprised to find so many frame houses in 
 a land where there are no trees for timber or lum- 
 ber. On our approach we noted an unusual 
 display of national colors and emblems. Many 
 flags were seen unfurled on buildings; and pro- 
 vision for the hoisting of flags was seen on almost 
 every house of note in the town. The people 
 seemed very patriotic — proud of their 'land of 
 frost and fire." 
 
 On reaching the pier the captain told us that 
 the vessel would not leave until five o'clock that 
 evening. Several miles inland are the beautiful 
 Skogafoss falls ; but as it is Sunday, I prefer not 
 to make the trip, but rather to go to church and 
 quietly to study the people and that wonderful en- 
 vironment that largely made them what they are. 
 So, in company with two Englishmen, I start to 
 find the church. I pass around the head of the 
 fjord, cross a dashing glacier-torrent, move on 
 through the town by the fish-drying areas, and 
 then follow a foot-path down the other side of 
 
 33 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 the fjord, until, four miles from the boat, I 
 find the village church. In passing through the 
 town I noted the people. Many of the females 
 are fairly pretty and dress with neatness. Usual- 
 ly they wear their hair in long curls or braids 
 down the back. Miany of them wear the lamb- 
 skin shoes or slippers. The men wear similar foot- 
 wear, but often over the slippers they wear low 
 wooden shoes. Some of the men here wear knee- 
 breeches with brass buttons. The tendency in 
 color of hair is light — a sort of rusty yellow — 
 though some have black hair. 
 
 The three of us found the church, but in it 
 were only two men — the preacher and the chor- 
 ister, both in the choir loft. Later a woman came 
 and left. Then the preacher left. The building 
 in its exterior and interior would not be a dis- 
 grace to any rural community in our country. 
 It belongs to the Lutheran denomination. There 
 is scarcely any other faith represented on the 
 whole island. Finally the chorister came down 
 to apologize; we couldn't understand what he 
 said, but we knew what he meant. We wanted 
 some kind of service, so we took him back to the 
 choir loft and persuaded him to play and sing 
 
 34 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 some of the music used in their services. We 
 found it harder to get him, to stop than to get 
 him to begin. But it was interesting to us. 
 
 After singing a couple of English hymns for 
 him we went down to the door of the church. 
 The day was ideally beautiful. We heard a 
 rushing roaring as of waterfalls somewhere 
 near ; but we could not see them. Beautiful falls, 
 five hundred or a thousand feet high could be 
 seen across the fjord, but this sound did not come 
 from them^ In trying to find the source of this 
 nature-music coming out of the mountain-side 
 we began climbing up the steep slope, picking 
 our way over grassy swards where purple colum- 
 bine, buttercups, and saxiphrage were blooming. 
 Thus we continued for half an hour or so, and 
 then we stood on the edge of a deep chasm in 
 the side of the mountain, in which rushing and 
 fighting its way down the fjord was a stream of 
 medium size fed by the perpetual snow a little 
 higher up. Selecting a strategic view-point from 
 which three falls in the stream proper and two 
 smaller ones in a tributary are in the range of 
 my vision, I sit on the grass, pluck flowers, look, 
 
 35 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 listen, meditate. And while I watch a beautiful 
 rainbow spans the ever-ascending mist. 
 
 It is warm; the temperature in the shade is 
 70 degrees F. by the thermometer we have with 
 us. Wild flowers about me! And this is Ice- 
 land! 
 
 As I sit under the noise of the roaring of 
 these five falls, I think of that awful struggle 
 in a death chamber, just nine years ago almost 
 to the hour, when they said concerning my moth- 
 er — **she is dead." And the thought induces 
 anew a feeling of sadness and loneliness. But 
 when I look upon the beautiful rainbow swinging 
 radiant over the symbol of destruction it be- 
 comes a messenger of cheer to me. Storms and 
 stress may prevail in the world, but over all, and 
 occasioned in part by them, hope, peace, and 
 rest in the sweet after while are written in the 
 iris-hued angel-path of the bow. 
 
 Then we go a little farther up to the snow, 
 where in good natured fashion we snowball each 
 other and slide or skate over the hard crust, and 
 then land almost in the midst of wild flowers! 
 Then we return to the boat, where in the warm 
 summer breath of that evening I put away my 
 
 36 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 flowers, and enclose one in a letter with in- 
 structions to place it, though withered, on the 
 grave of her who was willing to go into the 
 * Valley of the shadow'' that I might live. 
 
 We left Seydisf jord at 7 p.m., two hours later 
 than the expected hour for loosing from the 
 pier. Alfter a pleasant sail of four hours we 
 found ourselves at the mouth of Vopnafjord. 
 It was 11 p.m. and the sun was just disappearing 
 below the horizon. And just as the sun set the 
 cloud obscuration was such as to present for 
 some minutes the exact representation of a gold- 
 en boat skimming along on the surface of the sea. 
 
 The little tow'n of half a hundred houses is 
 soon reached and then some of the passengers go 
 ashore. But I prefer to remain on the boat to 
 read and to watch the heavens until the sun 
 should appear again — this it did at half-past one 
 o'clock. The changing glory of the sea, land, 
 and sky in those two and a half hours is beyond 
 description. 
 
 Across the fjord at this point the cliffs are 
 very high and have large patches of snow on 
 them. On these the after-glow kept playing in 
 changing hues and tints until a purplish brown, 
 
 37 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 or chocolate, was reached at the moment of 
 deepest shadow (but still it was light enough for 
 one to read fine print), and then changed again 
 and again so subtly that the royal light of a new 
 day was shining full on the snowy crests before 
 I was aware of its sure approach. And the golden 
 glory of the northern sky! Bare your heads and 
 be silent, in this land of silences! A heavenly 
 gold-dust fills the whole atmosphere! 
 
 I am now ready to retire, but it is not to im- 
 mediate sleep. 
 
 Experiences such as these make one reverent. 
 God is here. 
 
 38 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 The Northern Fjords. 
 
 We weighed anchor at Vopnafjord at 7:00 
 a. m. On reaching the sea we again encounter- 
 ed a heavy fog that lasted until about 3 :00 p. m., 
 and during that time we rounded the extreme 
 northeastern part of Iceland and were for a short 
 time within the Arctic Circle. But though so far 
 north the temperature ranged at about seventy 
 degrees Fahrenheit, and for a while stood at 
 eighty degrees. The air was summer-like. At 
 6:00 p. m., we reached Husavik, our next port 
 of call, and here nearly all the passengers went 
 ashore. 
 
 Most of the houses at Husavik are modern 
 in construction and some homes are surrounded 
 with pretty lawns — now so green. And flowers 
 abound. There were acres of yellow buttercups. 
 I never saw a more luxuriant growth of rhu- 
 barb anywhere. Currants were half-matured. 
 Here was an excellent church with very fine 
 exterior, and above the altar was an old painting 
 
 39 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 of regarded merit. The telephone service was 
 quite commendable. Caravans of horses were 
 seen in the town, and some were coming from 
 the interior, and still others were returning to 
 the interior. Here were sunshiny children, 
 rather somber looking men, and some attractive 
 girls sitting on the porches or on the rich grass 
 of the lawns in summer dress — presenting a 
 scene not unlike what might be observed on a 
 May evening in the Valley of Virginia — and yet 
 it was on the northern shore of Iceland, within 
 a few miles of the Arctic Circle. The fisher-folk 
 were busy drying cod — the harvest of their 
 labor at sea. 
 
 We left Husavik at about 9.00 p. m., with a 
 half-assurance from the captain that we might 
 get a glimpse of the midnight sun if the weather 
 conditions were favorable; but we were a few 
 days too late in the season for us to see the sun 
 at midnight. But as I shall go next month as 
 far north of Iceland as Iceland is north of Lon- 
 don, I feel sure of seeing the phenomena there 
 that I missed seeing here. But still this night 
 was by no means a disappointment to me— there 
 
 40 
 
A Herd of Horses 
 
 Loading Horses into the Boat 
 
Guide Arranging His Pack Mr. Walley, of England 
 
 A Fisherman's Luck 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 was so much color-beauty, enhanced even by the 
 clouds. 
 
 Sometime in the early morning we tied to the 
 excellent pier at Akuereyri. At all other ports, 
 except Seydisfjord, we had to cast anchor and 
 then go ashore in row-boats. Here we may 
 walk down a gang-plank. And here we shall 
 lie all day. 
 
 This town is second in size of the towns of 
 Iceland, having a population of nearly two thous- 
 and people. In Akuereyri there are two or three 
 fairly good streets, a fine hotel, splendid stores, 
 and beautiful homes — a number of the houses 
 having art-glass windows. When we went to 
 secure the services of a telephone we found the 
 equipment quite up to date — the offices even being 
 supplied with a tape-recording machine. I note 
 but little smoking among the men, and uniform 
 courtesy prevails. The men on parting are some- 
 times seen to kiss each other. Buttercups, violets, 
 wild thyme, and asters are here in profuse abund- 
 ance. The largest tree that I saw in the whole 
 island is here; it is only about twenty feet high, 
 and stands in the dooryard of one of the homes. 
 The people of the town are quite proud of it. 
 
 41 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 Modern manner of locomotion is also recognized 
 here, for I saw one carriage and two bicycles. 
 
 In the evening, I walked up a grassy ravine 
 that was lined upon both sides with houses to 
 
 where hay-making was 
 in progress. The grass 
 was short, but very 
 dense in growth. It is 
 what is called native 
 grass, like our Ameri- 
 can blue grass — it needs 
 to be fertilized, but not 
 resown. The scythe is of peculiar construction 
 and is used in a vigorous downward stroke very 
 unlike anything I have ever seen used in mowing. 
 I did not try to use the scythe. 
 
 Next I passed over to a field where a man was 
 engaged in making meadow-land. Nearly all 
 the arable land-surface of Iceland is covered 
 with little hummocks of irregular shape and 
 size. Tib mow such land is very tedious ; but they 
 have been doing it for centuries. They literally 
 shave these hummocks, for every blade of grass 
 is valuable in Iceland. Some of them seem to 
 think that there is an easier way to harvest the 
 
 42 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 grass than by trimming and shaving the hummock- 
 covered meadows; and so they are making the 
 surface level. Where this man v^as working he 
 had stripped off all his sod and had heaped it 
 on piles at the side of his small plot ; then he had 
 leveled down the hummocks, and had covered the 
 surface with a layer of dead fish — fish that were 
 too small for value in commerce, but had been 
 caught in the nets along with the better fish. 
 This covering was for fertilizer. Then he re- 
 placed the sod. 
 
 When I approached the man I had to walk 
 over the fish-covered ground, and the stench was 
 awful! Sea gulls were hovering about in great 
 number, like flies near a carcass. To the sur- 
 prise of the workman, I walked up to him, took 
 his crude shovel and laid a wheelbarrow load 
 of sod for him. When I returned the shovel 
 he smiled, bowed, and quietly said, ''Tahk'' 
 (thank you). 
 
 Then I passed down to the town to go aboard 
 the vessel. But before going to the boat it was 
 a beautiful sight to watch the children playing 
 with the wild-flowers that bloom so profusely 
 here. They had their hands full of violets and 
 
 43 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 had wreaths of wild thyme hanging over their 
 shoulders or made into bracelets. One little 
 girl on seeing my interest courteously removed 
 a wild thyme bracelet from her dainty wrist and 
 held it out smilingly to me as an offering. And 
 when I took it she tripped gaily back to her asso- 
 ciates. To-day I prize the little memento of 
 her kindness above many other things whose in- 
 trinsic values are far greater. 
 
 Before we loosed from the pier over one hun- 
 dred and fifty live horses had been loaded onto 
 our boat and stabled in the hold. They were 
 swung up one at a time to a point over the 
 open hatchway and then lowered quickly to 
 their place in the hold. Icelandic horses usu- 
 ally are pretty; they are small, but somewhat 
 larger than the Shetland pony. On our rough 
 voyage back to Scotland the presence of these 
 horses and the hundred more that were loaded at 
 Reykjavik did not add any pleasure to our ex- 
 periences. 
 
 That night was most beautiful. The sun 
 sank below the horizon at about twenty minutes 
 of twelve o'clock, and the afterglow was most 
 gorgeous, even lighting up the spray-drops caused 
 
 44 
 
 1 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 by the movement of our boat until they looked 
 like little globes of amethyst. And I never 
 before saw such blue in clouds — and such gold — 
 and such cloud-shapes! The sun was below the 
 horizon not more than an hour. 
 
 Early on the following morning we stopped 
 a few hours at Kolkuos, well up in Skag- 
 affjord. At the mouth of this fjord is Dranga 
 Island. This island is of interest because about 
 700 years ago, as recorded in a Saga, an outlaw 
 by the name of Grettir, a Samson in strength 
 and daring, when fleeing from Iceland made it 
 his home and held it for several years against 
 the attacks of the government to take him. But 
 he was finally .wercome. The island is very high 
 and has a flat, gr?issy top with a; area of about 
 a square mile. But the sides rise so abruptly 
 from the sea that it is almost impossible to scale 
 them. A great fissure which can be plainly seen 
 from one viewpoint almost completely cuts the 
 island in two. It is said that 80,000 birds are 
 killed annually at this island. Near it is a pic- 
 turesque rock chimney, or needle, rising many 
 feet (maybe as many as a hundred feet), out 
 of the sea. 
 
 45 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 At Sauderkrok, a town of about seventy houses, 
 just at the head of this same fjord, I went 
 ashore at 1 1 :00 a. m. The "villa nova'' is the 
 most beautiful home here, and its hostess is a 
 queen in bearing and courtesy. She brought 
 out eider-down for me to see, after I had mani- 
 fested interest in the eider-ducks that were at 
 this place. This seems to be quite a business 
 town. The farmers are bringing in their wool; 
 it must be carried on their little horses, but still 
 the packs are large. The sacks are tied on the 
 panniers with ropes that the natives have made 
 out of the manes of their horses. Rings for 
 harness are made from sheep's horns. They also 
 utilize fish bones to good purpose. The farm- 
 ers take whale-meat, flour, and other supplies 
 for their long dreary winter back into the inte- 
 rior in exchange for the wool. 
 
 At Sauderkrok there is no grassy sward as 
 at the other towns we have visited. The houses 
 skirt the sandy, rocky shore. But I climb the 
 heights just back of the village, rising one hun- 
 dred feet or more above sea-level, where I found 
 men at work in a cemetery. Approaching them 
 I saw a coffin already in the grave that they were 
 
 46 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 digging, and that they were digging besides the 
 first corpse to make room for another to take 
 his long rest on the hill above the site of his life- 
 struggle to live. The view from this height — 
 above the quiet fjord — is one of rare beauty. 
 May the tenants of this, "God's acre," have rest 
 from their labors! 
 
 Weighing anchor at 3 :00 p. m., we pass around 
 into the next fjord, by the wreck of the Laura, 
 of this same steamship line, and stop at Skag- 
 astrond for six hours. On leaving Skagastrond 
 at 2:30 a. m., I am in high expectations, for it 
 is only a little way to the next port and when we 
 have reached it, then ''good-by" for a week to the 
 Botniaj for I have planned to go across the island 
 on horseback instead of going on around by boat. 
 
 47 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 Preparing for an Overland Trip 
 
 In Sailing around Iceland one can see much 
 of beauty and interest, but one can have but little 
 knowledge of the interior of the island by staying 
 on board the vessel, or even by going ashore at 
 the coast towns and villages. So a number on 
 board the Botnia planned to go into the interior 
 by crossing the island; but all so doing did not 
 leave the boat at the same port. 
 
 I wanted to cross the island. I wanted to see 
 the life and customs that are practically unchanged 
 since the days of Grettir, Gisli, Sigmund, and the 
 other heroes of the Sagas, But as there was no 
 other way by which to go than on horseback I 
 shrank from the undertaking. But an intelligent 
 and companionable Englishman, Thomas Walley 
 by name, was also especially anxious to go; and 
 since he desired only one companion other than the 
 guide, the arrangement appealed to me, and I soon 
 found myself eagerly planning with him for the 
 trip; and had our plans failed to materialize, as 
 
 48 
 
i-i 
 
 < 
 
 mMiiiiit III! mill III nil mum iii i iniiiii luinii 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 did the plans of some, I would have been as bit- 
 terly disappointed as he, even though such fail- 
 ure to go would have meant deliverance from 
 much suffering that was to come. Our minds 
 were definitely made up when we reached Akue- 
 reyri. At that place, with some help from in- 
 terpreters, we had succeeded in getting reply to a 
 telephone message sent on to Blonduos. We had 
 sent word for a guide to meet us at the landing 
 with six horses, ready for a trip across Iceland to 
 Reykjavik. The answer had come back that we 
 would be met by a trusty guide, in whom we could 
 place every confidence — but one who could not 
 speak a w^rd of English. It was not to our lik- 
 ing, but since now it was this or no overland trip, 
 we had sent word back that everything should be 
 in readiness for us at the arrival of the boat. 
 
 We thought we could reach the landing-place 
 by midnight, but we were late; and the hour of 
 our arrival being uncertain, we did not retire. 
 So the night passed without our getting any sleep. 
 Later, we hoped we would not reach port until 
 after breakfast, for we knew that on the boat 
 we should fare well — yonder in the little village 
 of Blonduos was uncertainty as to a palatable 
 
 49 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 meal. But at five o'clock in the morning we 
 reached the place of anchoring, and then we had 
 to leave the vessel. Not expecting to find En- 
 glish-speaking people here, we asked the resi- 
 dent German Consul of Iceland, a native of the 
 island, and who himself was a passenger on the 
 boat, to accompany us ashore and to give our 
 guide all the instructions that we had to offer. 
 This gentleman was glad to go and help us; and 
 he prepared to accompany us with manifest cour- 
 tesy and kindness of manner. Then we said 
 good-by to our friends on the Botnia^ hoping to 
 see them a week later at Reykjavik. 
 
 The name of the consul was Thomsen. And 
 here I digress to call attention to the peculiarity 
 of Icelandic names. The children do not take the 
 family name of their parents, but the Christian 
 name of the father becomes the surname of the 
 child. To illustrate: Our overland guide's 
 name was Pall Jansson (Paul Johnson) ; this 
 meant that his own name was Paul, that he was 
 John's son, therefore, Paul John's son (Pall 
 Jansson) . Further, had he a brother by the name 
 of Eric, that brother's full name would be Eric 
 John's son (Eric Johnson). And had he a sister 
 
 50 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 whose name was Helga, her full name would be 
 Helga John's daughter (Helga Jansdottir). And 
 had he himself a son whose first name was Lief, 
 his full name would be Lief Paul's son (Lief 
 Pallsson). 
 
 And so it happened when I wrote down the 
 name of the consul as I was accustomed to spell 
 the name, he, looking over my shoulder, pointed 
 to the last syllable and said, *^Spell it s-e-n/' I 
 said, **Why?" He answered, *'My name is 
 Thomsen; I am not Thomas son!' And then 
 I understood. 
 
 When our little boat reached the shore no 
 one in the village was stirring, except two or 
 three persons who were waiting on the pebbly 
 beach to take care of any freight that might be 
 landed. We had left behind all unnecessary lug- 
 gage, so needed no helpers. In company with 
 Mr. Thomsen, the consul already referred to, 
 we walked up the sandy slope and into the little 
 village. After winding around through a few 
 alleyways and back yards, we fronted a fine res- 
 idence with shell-bordered walk leading to the 
 front porch and having flower beds on both sides 
 of it. Here lived the man who had phoned to 
 
 51 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 us about our trip — so said the interpreter. Then 
 we all tried to wake the occupants, but failed. 
 The consul left us to attend to some business 
 on the other side of the Blanda, a river of consid- 
 erable size, flowing into the fjord at this place. 
 
 Mr. Walley and I watched the house alter- 
 nately and simultaneously, now and again knock- 
 ing to get recognition. Then as the morning 
 wore on th^ thought of a good breakfast caused 
 us to make a search for food. But nothing could 
 be found until about eight o'clock, when a man 
 half opened his store — he was not open for bus- 
 iness, but I went in. I could find nothing to 
 eat, except some stale sugar cakes — not fit to 
 eat. We gave up the search. 
 
 And just about that time our sound sleeper 
 awoke. And though he had arranged for our 
 trip he could not talk English. But our inter- 
 preter has returned. After holding a short con- 
 versation with this man, he tells us that the guide 
 has been engaged for our service, that he lives a 
 few miles inland, and that he was in the village 
 the evening before to make inquiry concerning 
 the arrival of the boat ; and that all we could now 
 do was to wait. But we had already been in port 
 
 52 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 three hours, and we did not know how soon the 
 boat would call our interpreter from us. But at 
 that moment a man came down the hill-path 
 leading to the village riding like Jehu. His horse 
 stopped suddenly and he was off like an auto- 
 maton and stood before us looking interest. Yes, 
 it was our guide — a man about thirty years of 
 age, five feet and ten inches tall, and well propor- 
 tioned physically. His face was red, but pleas- 
 ing, giving assurance of honesty and good-will. 
 
 Through the consul we quickly came to an un- 
 derstanding. Our guide was to furnish six horses 
 (but for emergency he said he'd take along an 
 extra horse at his own expense) ; he was to take 
 us over the route that we had designated; he 
 was to show us things of special interest along 
 the way; he was to secure lodging and food for 
 us; and he was to make the trip in such time as 
 to reach Reykjavik a day or two before the sched- 
 uled time for the departure of the Botnia for 
 Scotland. 
 
 He soon agreed to all this, shaking his head at 
 some of the things that we wanted to do, and 
 which later we were glad to eliminate from our 
 list of things to be seen. It was agreed to that 
 
 53 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 we should pay him six kroner a day for his ser- 
 vices, and two kroner a day for each of the six 
 horses, making our obligation to him eighteen 
 kroner (about $5.00) a day. And we were to 
 pay him at the same rate for his return, which he 
 estimated would require about two days less time 
 than the outward trip. We were to pay for our 
 lodging and food; he was to provide food and 
 lodging for himself and horses. 
 
 TJien I had a request to make. I said to Mr. 
 Thomsen, "Tell the man that I want an easy- 
 going horse, and I want a comfortable saddle, 
 and I want him to put a sheepskin on my saddle, 
 and / want the woolly side up!" He agreed to 
 it, and smiled. Then all having been arranged 
 for, as we thought, the consul gave us an inter- 
 ested good-by, hoping that we would enjoy our 
 trip through the land that meant home to him, 
 and after a cordial inviation to call upon him 
 in Reykjavik, and some further admonition to 
 the guide, he returned to the boat whose warn- 
 ing signal for departure had already been given. 
 
 Our guide sprang to his beast and was away 
 like a flash to get the horses that were being 
 "rounded up" in his absence. In half an hour he 
 
 54 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 returned with his herd, about twenty horses, 
 running loose, and being driven by his assistant 
 and his dog. In a little while he had picked out 
 seven horses, saddled the three that we should 
 ride first, collected our little amount of lug- 
 gage and tied it on another horse; and then he 
 chose each horse for its particular rider. 
 
 Then, in the saddle, he thought of a possible 
 need upon our part for whips — ^he already had 
 one, a typical Icelandic whip — one with short 
 stock richly ferruled and with long strap and 
 lash. He went into a store and bought a long 
 rattan reed, cut it into two, and gave each of us 
 a half. My whip did good service for the entire 
 trip, and now, still in my possession, it serves 
 to recall with vividness some of my experiences 
 in that far-away island. 
 
 All is ready. The four riderless horses are 
 separated from the rest of the herd, and without 
 bridle run ahead of us, kept in the chosen route 
 by guide and dog. Thus at length, after a sleep- 
 less night and a breakfastless morning, we, astride 
 little Icelandic horses turned our backs upon the 
 sea and faced the interior to experience — we 
 knew not what. 
 
 55 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 Across the Island 
 
 It was at 8 :45 o'clock that the signal of read- 
 iness was given. With a little help our guide, 
 Mr. Pall Jansson, of San Lanesi Farm, Blonduos, 
 succeeded in getting the four horses that for the 
 time being were to be without rider, but which lat- 
 er were to serve their turn as burden-bearers, sep- 
 arated from the rest of the herd, and started on 
 the path leading to the south. In this first work, 
 and all through the trip, his dog was an important 
 member of our party. 
 
 The Icelandic dog is the farmer's best friend, 
 almost having human sagacity. It is of medium 
 size, with a heavy coat of clean hair, and gentle, 
 pleading brown eyes. He seems instinctively to 
 know his master's will, and thus is of incalcula- 
 ble service to him in caring for his sheep, herding 
 his cattle, and driving his horses. On this trip 
 our dog never for a moment lost his alertness. 
 He kept the path or way cleared of all stray ani- 
 mals by racing ahead and chasing them to the 
 
 56 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 right or left over rugged hummocks or rocky 
 wastes for a quarter of a mile or more, and then 
 he would come back immediately to help our 
 guide in caring for the horses that were running 
 loose before us. 
 
 Mr. Walley and I are both in high spirits, and 
 we feel a sense of pride in our cavalcade, com- 
 posed of seven horses, a dog, a guide, and our- 
 selves. Though our guide could not talk with 
 us except by signs, we felt that we would find 
 each other companionable. But in very few 
 places could we ride side by side, and a good part 
 of the time we were so far separated from each 
 other that conversation, except at very infrequent 
 intervals, was scarcely possible. Mr. Walley 
 left it to me to get desired information from, 
 and to give additional direction to our guide, at 
 times no great pleasure to me, accommodating, 
 courteous, and anxious as he was at all times. 
 
 And so we started, with barking of dog, and 
 shouting of guide and temporary assistants. 
 When we reached the elevation above the fjord 
 shore a curlew, with a joyful cry, welcomed us. 
 Its song consisted of a '' kirriwirriwirri* trill, a 
 series of distinct notes, rather shrill in quality, 
 
 57 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 and varying in pitch. The curlew is a bird, or 
 fowl, considerably larger than a dove, and has a 
 long neck, and a long hooked bill. 
 
 The curlew that gave us greeting on this morn- 
 ing would sit on a rock or hummock until we 
 would come near to it, or if at times it happened 
 to be a few yards from our path it would wait 
 until we had passed, and then it would rise on 
 wing and swoop down near us and on to another 
 hummock or rock fifty or seventy-five yards ahead, 
 giving that chattering '' kirriwi'hriwtrri' song of 
 greeting. At first it seemed half musical, and it 
 was interesting to watch the dog at times turn 
 from the horses to give chase to the curlew. La- 
 ter in the day the song seemed like mockery, and 
 the fact that the dog could not catch the bird 
 was exasperating to us. Not only this day, but 
 almost throughout the entire trip there was at 
 least one curlew at a time following. I do not 
 know, but perhaps in their bird councils it has 
 been planned that each one must do duty over 
 one's own section, or beat, and thus see to it that 
 the overland tourist of Iceland shall never get 
 lonely ! 
 
 The way is only a path, but for the first ten 
 
 58 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 miles or so of the trip there is a rather excellent 
 roadbed for carriages; but there are as yet no 
 carriages in northern Iceland, save two or three 
 to do a little service in the immediate environs 
 of a coast tow^n or tw^o. So, when noting the 
 telephone poles in the far interior, the furniture 
 of the homes, the lumber used in the houses, and 
 knowing that all this was brought from the coast 
 towns by these little horses, I feel much inter- 
 ested in them. They carry their master on their 
 back where other horses could scarcely go; they 
 carry his produce to the coast and bring back 
 from the sea his provisions and other supplies; 
 and they give their master his last ride when in- 
 cased in his rude cofBn, he lies across the back 
 of one of his horses, supported by a man on either 
 side — a ride out amid the sighs and tears of his 
 loved ones ; a ride to the quiet, windowless palace 
 of those who come not back again. 
 
 One of the first sights of interest on the trip 
 were the fishers at Salmon River. Here were 
 a number of salmon just pulled from the stream 
 that were at least two feet long. We met one 
 of the happy fishermen on his horse with the fruits 
 of his labor across his shoulder. He seemed proud 
 
 59 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 that we should want his picture, not knowing 
 that it was the fish, and not he, that especially 
 appealed to us. 
 
 A menace to all tourists in Iceland are its un- 
 bridged streams. These are numerous, usually 
 swift-flowing, and, being glacier-fed, are subject 
 to sudden rise on a bright, sun-shiny day. In 
 many places quicksands are to be found in the 
 river-courses ; so it is strongly urged that no one 
 unacquainted with the country undertake a trip 
 through it without a competent guide. On this 
 day we forded six rivers, in three of which I got 
 my feet wet, and in one of which my horse 
 stumbled on the rocky bottom and came near 
 precipitating me headlong into the stream. As it 
 was, I simply measured the water while still 
 astride my horse and while he was with difficulty 
 recovering himself. My clothes were wet and my 
 shoes were filled with water. I did not mind it 
 much in the middle of the day, but when the chill 
 of that evening fell there came with it a numb- 
 ness and coldness and cramps that resulted in 
 extreme discomfort and misery. 
 
 In one place we rode for a mile or two through 
 a region of lava and black sand-heaps where 
 
 60 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 evidently at one time was an active volcano. 
 Lakes, mountains, brown, bleak, and far-stretch- 
 ing moorlands, and marshes in turn, or simulta- 
 neously, gave variety to the landscape. 
 
 At intervals of every two or three hours, on 
 reaching a grassy spot, a halt would be called, 
 that our horses might *^pick'' for a few minutes; 
 and this picking was all the food that the ani- 
 mals got while on the trip. I understand that 
 they feed no grain on this island. I know that 
 they raise none. On dismounting, the reins were 
 thrown down over and in front of the horses' 
 heads, and they had been trained to consider 
 themselves hitched when the reins were hanging 
 thus. There is very little opportunity to hitch 
 a horse in Iceland. Seldom are trees found, and 
 there are no fences except the sod walls about the 
 cluster of buildings at each farm. So the people 
 resort to other ways of hitching. If a horse is 
 inclined to wander away when left alone, one 
 way of hitching him is to place him alongside 
 of another horse, but facing the opposite direc- 
 tion ; then they are hitched to the crupper of each 
 other's saddle. Thus hitched, it is almost im- 
 possible to have a runaway, for neither one can 
 
 61 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 run while the other has to go backward. At 
 night they tie the two front feet of a horse tight 
 together, if they want to find him quickly in the 
 morning. And such treatment does not seem to 
 interfere in the least with the serviceableness of 
 the horse. He is ready next day for fifty or 
 seventy miles of travel, and thus for several days 
 in succession. 
 
 We passed a number of sod houses and a few 
 sod villages, but did not stop. We had no lunch, 
 therefore did not need to take time to eat. With- 
 out sleep the night before and with no food for the , 
 day, the ride grew in bitter experience as the day 
 advanced, so that when the thirteen and a-half 
 hours had ended I could say, without need of any 
 qualification, that it was an awful ride. 
 
 Not a bush or a tree did we see, and no song- 
 bird was anywhere to cheer us. But flowers were 
 everywhere, even in the clefts of rocks, and in 
 many places there was a rank growth of grass. 
 In only a few places did we see snow on our 
 first day, and what we saw was high up in depres- 
 sions on some of the mountain ranges. Pestifer- 
 ous flies swarmed about us at times with an affec- 
 tionate clinging that was irritating in the extreme. 
 
 62 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon our guide 
 noticed that two of the horses had lost shoes, so 
 he called a halt at a sod house, and, securing aid, 
 proceeded to place shoes where needed. (A guide 
 must always carry horseshoes with him). 
 
 While he was thus engaged, my friend and I 
 tried to get off our horses — a difficult thing to do 
 without falling. Then, stumbling to a couple of 
 hummocks, we sat down and held a council of 
 misery. Said I : ^'Mr Walley, twice in my life 
 I have been very foolish; but I want you to 
 record a resolution that I now make: If ever 
 I get to the end of this trip there will be no long 
 horseback ride again for me!'' And then he 
 made confession. Said he: **In England I 
 often ride for an hour or two, and enjoy it; but 
 this, ah, this ride! I am on the verge of tears! 
 I fear a nervous prostration!" Then he told me 
 that he had not been on horseback since he had 
 had a surgical operation performed in which 
 a bone had been removed from his knee. And 
 then I feared for him — and also for myself. 
 We are now only midway in the first day, and 
 four more days like unto it are to follow, if we 
 survive ! 
 
 63 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 We had lost no time in our riding. Our guide 
 was in a hurry, but fast riding was a punishment 
 to us. I couldnt keep up with him, and Mr. 
 Walley just wouldnt make his horse go, but 
 followed **afar off," satisfied simply to keep in 
 sight of us. 
 
 But we must not linger in description of the 
 last few hours of this day; the very thought is 
 painful to me. Suffice it to say that at 10:15 
 p. m. I saw our guide, far ahead of us, stop, 
 turn about, and ride slowly back to meet me. 
 He tried to tell me that we must hurry forward 
 to ferry the head of a fjord in order to find 
 lodging for the night. We were then at the sod 
 wall of a farmhouse. When Mr. Walley came 
 up, we together decided that we would go no 
 farther, if only these people would take us in. 
 By signs and leadings I made known our decis- 
 ion to our guide. He at first shook his head, 
 but finally led us to the front of the sod house, 
 above the door of which, on a wooden lintel, 
 was the word **Thorstadur" — it was the name of 
 the farm. And there we stood face to face with 
 a woman of about fifty years and an attractive 
 girl of about twenty years, both straight and 
 
 64 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 dignified in bearing and wearing hufas. They 
 listened to our plea. We were led through a 
 passageway between walls of sod about five feet 
 high, on which hung saddles and bridles. Soon 
 we reached a passage crossing this one at right 
 angles. To turn to the left would probably be to 
 enter the kitchen; to go straight forward we 
 would find the living-room and "bad-stofa/* or 
 bedroom, combined. We turn to the right, pass 
 a ^.ittle sod-walled room, and then enter the 
 special guest-chamber that the exterior of the 
 house would never suggest as present here. 
 
 This room had a wooden floor, curtains at the 
 windows, pictures on the walls, chairs, narrow 
 bed, center-table and books and was quite cozy, 
 indeed. The ladies retired from the room and 
 the guide went to hobble his horses for the night. 
 Left alone, I began to remove shoes and socks, 
 that I might change to drier footwear. When 
 midway in making the change the young lady 
 came in, without knocking, to set the table for 
 supper ! It was an embarrassing moment for me, 
 but she was too modest even to note the cause of 
 my embarrassment. I hid my feet as best I could 
 under my chair during this visit of hers, and 
 
 65 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 when next she came in I was ready to give her 
 my shoes and socks to take to the fire that I 
 knew was somewhere about the place, to be 
 dried. They were returned to me next morning 
 in good condition. 
 
 Formerly in Iceland guests and family occu- 
 pied the same sleeping apartment, and I under- 
 stand that in many parts of the island the same 
 practice is necessitated even today. But at no 
 place where we stopped did we find such condi- 
 tions obtaining. And for this I was thankful. 
 
 The table this evening, or night, was set with 
 clean linen, cutlery, and dishes, and, to our sur- 
 prise, the food was plentiful in quantity and vari- 
 ety, and was quite palatable. It consisted of 
 white and black bread, fresh eggs, milk, bologna, 
 sardines, fresh salmon, dried mutton, butter, 
 cheese, sweet cakes, and coffee — a most delicious 
 and satisfying meal after our long, almost un- 
 broken fast of about thirty hours. We ate by 
 the light of the afterglow at about eleven o'clock, 
 no other light being necessary. 
 
 My friend had insisted on carrying his cap 
 in his pocket all day instead of wearing it, and 
 the sun and wind had so tanned his face that his 
 
 66 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 complexion now was quite ruddy, and the skin 
 had begun to scale off and his lips were cracked 
 and bleeding. We were too wearied to want 
 to talk, so sat dozing while our beds were being 
 supplied with pure, fresh linen. 
 
 Wlhen all was ready, Mr. Walley came sham- 
 bling to where I sat, and, placing his arm about 
 my shoulder, said in tremulous tones (as though 
 he felt that he might not have opportunity 
 to say it in the morning, and I, too, half feared 
 he would not), *'I hope you will forgive me for 
 getting you into this dreadful experience.'^ I 
 assured him it was all right and that the worst 
 was over, notwithstanding we had yet four days 
 to be in the saddle. But I nevertheless had some 
 misgivings about it. Then he w^ent to his little 
 room, and soon in our narrow beds we gave our- 
 selves over to "tired nature's sweet restorer,'' 
 and forgot the woes of the day in dreams of 
 fairer climes. 
 
 67 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 Second Day in the Interior 
 
 After a most refreshing sleep, I am recalled 
 to consciousness by the gentle opening of my door 
 and the beautiful young lady, with hufa on her 
 head and bearing a tray with steaming coffee, 
 two kinds of cake, and bread, came softly to my 
 bedside, and, drawing up a chair, placed the tray 
 on it, and then retired without further attempt 
 at speech than a simple morning greeting. I 
 thought it was my breakfast that she had brought, 
 and ate and drank heartily. It seemed nice to be 
 waited on thus. 
 
 Then, rising and preparing for a continua- 
 tion of our trip, I found Mr. Walley apparently 
 ready also, but shuddering at the thought of a 
 possible repetition of the experience of yester- 
 day. But imagine our surprise when the young 
 woman of the home began to set the table for our 
 breakfast; and a meal as sumptuous as the one 
 on the evening before was soon before us. The 
 only trouble was, we had eaten and drunk too 
 
 68 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 freely of the first serving — like the man who ate 
 his fill of soup, not knowing anything else was to 
 follow, and when he saw one delicious course 
 follow another, but of which he could not eat, 
 sat ashamed, chafed and angry at his evident 
 loss. The lodging and two meals cost us three 
 kroner (about eighty-five cents) apiece. 
 
 Twice in my story I have referred to 
 women wearing hufas. It is well that I now ex- 
 plain. All Icelandic women from about twelve 
 years old and upward wear on their heads a 
 little circle of knit material, black and about 
 five inches in diameter. In the center of this 
 circle, and a continuation of the knit work, is 
 an extended portion like the finger of a glove, 
 but about six inches long; to the end of the ex- 
 tension is fastened a silk tassel, a foot in length. 
 At the union of the tassel with the knit-work 
 there is always a ferrule of silver or gold, some- 
 times highly ornamented and costly; the ferrule 
 is usually about two inches in length. The ef- 
 fect when upon the head of the wearer is quite 
 pleasing, suggesting modesty and a semi-scholastic 
 appearance. On festal occasions the women 
 
 69 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 wear a high, white ornamental head-garment 
 instead of the hufa. 
 
 Though very sore, I am ready at 9:45 a.m., 
 and our second day's ride begins. When we had 
 proceeded about a mile, Mr. Walley discovered 
 that he had lost an important piece of his camera. 
 We sent our guide back to find it, while we tried 
 to hold our herd together. After waiting some 
 time, I turned the herd over to my friend and 
 rode back to assist in the search. Soon I found 
 the missing part, and then we were ready to move 
 on. But we had tried to tell our guide not to 
 move so rapidly as on the day before. 
 
 When we started, and until noon, the 
 air was warm and sultry, and at times a light 
 rain fell. The day was cloudy throughout, and 
 from noon on we faced a cold wind. We crossed 
 streams at least fifteen times, but, having learn- 
 ed from yesterday's experience, I kept my feet 
 dry by drawing them up to the back of my 
 horse. We passed a number of good farms, 
 each with its cluster of sod houses, the first of im- 
 portance being Stadur, where there is a telephone 
 station and a church. 
 
 About noon we began climbing steadily into 
 
 70 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 the interior. Our path was rugged, and at times 
 we descended into river-courses by steep and 
 slippery banks where safety suggested that we 
 dismount. 
 
 Throughout the afternoon the snow-covered 
 mountain, Banda, looms majestic to the right of 
 us. The numerous streams at times present 
 beautiful cascades and falls. Now we find ice 
 and snowdrifts that have not yet yielded to 
 the summer warmth. Occasionally we follow 
 river-courses where the canyons are deep and in- 
 duce a strange thrill because of our nearness 
 to the rim. There were not so many curlews 
 to-day. I saw three eider-ducks. In one of the 
 streams I saw a primitive water-wheel which was 
 turned by the water's passing at its side, and the 
 upright post to which the wheel was fastened 
 led up to a small hopper where whatever was 
 to be ground was fed to the crushing-stones. 
 
 At three o'clock I saw the first bushes yet 
 seen on the trip, and here I heard for the first 
 time in Iceland a song-bird. A little later we 
 rode across a small glacier, and soon were in 
 front of a refuge-house. In many places along 
 the way to-day we found high heaps of stones to 
 
 71 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 mark the way for travelers in winter-time when 
 the snow is very deep. Nobody has permanent 
 residence in the refuge-houses; they are simply 
 shelter from the storm for man and beast until 
 they dare venture out again. 
 
 From one of the high ridges that we crossed 
 we saw a beautiful panorama of hill, mountain, 
 barren plain, rocky ravine, and dashing river. 
 The largest river that we crossed to-day is the 
 Nord. At the last river that we crossed, my 
 friend, weary and taking his time, had dropped 
 so far behind as not to see where we had crossed. 
 Attempting to cross where he thought it best, 
 his horse mired to the depth of half his body, and 
 only with difficulty could he be extricated. We 
 learned of this only on waiting for him and not- 
 ing his dripping horse and garments. 
 
 About ten o'clock in the evening we entered 
 what the natives called the "forest". It is of 
 dwarf birch and covers several square miles of a 
 wide-stretching river bottom ; in it there is scarce- 
 ly a tree over three inches in diameter or ten feet 
 high. And here again I hear song-birds. How 
 much a bird seems to need a tree or bush ! There 
 is no certain path through the "forest," and our 
 
 72 
 
A Fair Virginian in Ordinary Icelandic Dress 
 
Icelandic Maiden in Festive Attire 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 way is found with some difficulty. A half mile 
 beyond is Norstunga, our destination for the 
 night. At this place is a frame house, a small 
 church, and a bridge, the materials for all having 
 been brought from the coast on the backs of the 
 little horses, or were in part dragged by them. 
 It is 10:45 p.m. 
 
 We found everybody in bed except one man 
 down at the river, waist deep in the water, 
 fishing. Our approach in the weird half-light 
 and quiet of that night reminded me of the ap- 
 proach of ^'night riders*' to the home of unsus- 
 pecting victims. Two beautiful girls in night- 
 dress and slippers came out in response to the re- 
 peated knocking of our guide. Then the man 
 of the house and one who was evidently his wife, 
 a queenly woman in appearance and bearing, 
 appeared. We were ushered into a comfortable 
 and well-furnished room, and immediately they 
 began preparations for our supper. 
 
 And while we waited, three other men ar- 
 rived, two of whom had been with us on the 
 boat. These two had undertaken to make the 
 trip across the island by sharing a bicycle between 
 them. They started on their trip at Bordeyri, 
 
 73 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 in opposition to the wishes and counsel of all on 
 board who knew Iceland. All had said, "You 
 can't go across Iceland on a bycicle." But the 
 Scotchman, who owned the wheel, persisted in 
 the thought that he could do it and in the de- 
 termination that he would do it, and his English 
 companion championed the enterprise. But to- 
 night they came in without the wheel; they had 
 three ponies and a guide instead. Upon our ask- 
 ing about the wheel, the owner said, ''Aye, such 
 roads! such rivers! I got tired carrying my 
 wheel and shoes above my head as I crossed the 
 streams. And then the fording was so rough 
 that my feet are so bruised that I can hardly 
 walk! I left my wheel back yonder at a farm- 
 house with word to send it back to Scotland at 
 the first opportunity. Aye, we find the ponies sur- 
 er." (After reaching my home a few months later, 
 I received a letter from this gentleman, stating 
 that his wheel had come to him all right.) 
 
 At twelve o'clock midnight we were seated 
 at an excellent meal, and we ate again by the 
 simple light of the after-glow, and then im- 
 mediately sought the rest we so much needed af- 
 ter the stress of thirteen hours in the saddle. 
 
 74 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Third and the Fourth Day in the 
 Interior. 
 
 Last night I again had a clean bed to myself 
 and slept on feathers and under feathers. I 
 fose early to write the story of yesterday. On 
 making an inventory of my aches and pains I 
 am emphatic that to-day the rate of speed will 
 be at the minimum. 
 
 We were late starting this morning, it being 
 10:20 o'clock when we mounted our horses. 
 Then we separated company from the late-com- 
 ers of last night and began our weary way. 
 
 To-day we crossed immediately a bridge, one 
 of two that will accommodate us on this stage 
 of our trip, and one of three or four on the whole 
 overland trip. In a little while we sighted a 
 number of steaming hot springs, a novelty to my 
 companion, but not to one who had previously 
 seen the Yellowstone Park of my own country. 
 Nevertheless, the sight was beautiful and interest- 
 ing. The largest river to-day was the seething 
 
 75 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 glacier-colored Hvita. Surely, had there been 
 no bridge here we had not been able to cross it. 
 
 In the course of to-day we passed near Star- 
 holt, where there is a church. We later passed 
 immediately in front of Lunder, where there is 
 a church and a few graves — the first grave I 
 had seen since leaving the coast. The way was 
 rough throughout the day; the weather was not 
 so cold as yesterday, but we had some drizzling 
 mist-like rain, and later, bright sunshine. Some- 
 times we followed an indistinct path over rocky 
 ridges, and then we would be picking our way 
 through miry sulphur marshes, or following no 
 path at all. Occasionally we would pass where 
 the path had been worn about two feet deep 
 and barely wide enough for the feet of our horses 
 to pass each other in it. To escape injury I had 
 to throw my feet over my horse's back. But 
 even with all my care, on rounding a rocky ledge 
 the path was so narrow that my knee was crushed 
 against the rock wall with such violence as to 
 cause an involuntary cry of pain to escape me. 
 
 Toward evening when we began to ascend 
 a river-course between mountain ranges I felt 
 sure that our guide was in error, and, experiment- 
 
 76 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 ing with my compass, I felt additional certainty 
 in the matter, and tried to tell him that he was 
 wrong; but either he did not understand me, or 
 did not care to understand. He simply said, 
 ^'Yauf' (which means ^V^s"), and rode on. To 
 add to my annoyance, my English friend just 
 would not whip his horse to keep up with me. So 
 the guide indicated for me to get behind and 
 switch-up his horse for him. I have much of this 
 to do, and it wearies me nearly as much as my rid- 
 ing. But we have planned an easy day and shall 
 reach our destination early. So in the late after- 
 noon we permit our horses to pick their way as 
 best they can over hummocks and rocks while 
 we note the beautiful river-courses in the black 
 lava-rock mountains, with here and there a 
 waterfall of no mean significance, until 5 :45 
 p.m. Holt is reached; here two hours later we 
 retire that we may get the rest necessary to 
 endure the to-morrow's trip of anticipated hard- 
 ships. 
 
 In the light night I awoke to hear voices in 
 undertone just beneath my window; then there 
 was quiet, stealthy moving about; but several 
 times they came back and low conversations 
 
 77 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 were heard at my window. Had I not been in 
 Iceland, I'd have suspected intentional mischief; 
 as it was, it simply created an air of mystery 
 that I was not able to understand, even next 
 morning. 
 
 We wanted an early start this time. The 
 hostess served a delicious breakfast in which I 
 ate the sweetest and most palatable fish that I 
 had ever tasted. I do not know the Icelandic 
 name for the fish, but I think the English name 
 is "char.*^ It is a species of salmon, but much 
 better than even fresh salmon, to my taste. 
 
 Before starting, at 8:15 a.m., the lady of the 
 home explained in signs and Icelandic names a 
 map of her country that was on the wall of the 
 room in which we ate; and then she took us out 
 and pointed out by name some of the jokuUs 
 that were seen towering near or far. 
 
 I felt somewhat anxious to get onto my horse 
 this morning. Our way led over a high and 
 rocky mountain. But almost everywhere were 
 flowers — silver-leaved lady's mantle, lady's bed- 
 straw, grass of Parnassus, sea-pink, saxiphrage, 
 buttercup, wild thyme, spotted orchis, and other 
 varieties that I cannot name. For about an 
 
 78 
 
 I 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 hout to-day we had to have a local guide, as 
 there was no path to follow. On a high ridge 
 near us and silhouetted against the sky a few 
 ravens sat and watched us, it seemed with 
 hungry interest. Until noon Ok jokuU was in 
 plain view to our left; also the Skjaldsbreid 
 jokuU, near which we rode while keeping Sula 
 mountain on our right. After crossing several 
 small steaming sulphur streams, and climbing 
 wearily the rocky slope we reached at noon the 
 highest point attained on our trip. Here the 
 heavy branching moss was about a foot deep and 
 strong enough to support the weight of a man — 
 it seemed like walking over a heavy brussels car- 
 pet. 
 
 Leaning against a great rock and studying 
 the snow-capped mountains and upper ice-fields 
 extending for miles backward and skyward, the 
 traveler is apt to be reminded of Switzerland, 
 save that here shrubbery and tree-growth are 
 lacking. The air is pure and bracing, bringing 
 a message of health from the heights, and slight- 
 ly scented with the flowers that in the short 
 summer seem doing double duty swinging their 
 
 79 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 censers to perfume the breezes for the poor na- 
 tives of this land of the long winter night. 
 
 Just ahead of us is a great depression now 
 filled with water, forming what would be a 
 beautiful lake were it fringed with grasses and 
 ferns. One time it was the crater of a vast and 
 terrible volcano. Riding around this we spent 
 half the afternoon in winding and zigzagging 
 down the farther slope, sometimes over danger- 
 ously steep and rough places, over great stretches 
 of volcanic sand and by scroll-like lava beds, 
 rent in great crevices, or fissures, and everywhere 
 showing forth the story of awful fire-struggle 
 in ages past, and with here and there steam- jets 
 pregnant with sulphur even to-day. 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon we reach 
 a great depressed area in the farther end of which 
 there is yet a lake of considerable size. At some 
 seasons the water covers many times the area it 
 occupies at present. We ride for an hour over 
 soft>-yielding, moist sand skirting the water's 
 edge. Then we climb a steep ridge and only a 
 little way ahead we sight ^Xady's Seat," some- 
 where beyond which is the Valley of Thingvellir. 
 
 80 
 

 o 
 
On the Logberg 
 Thingvellir Lake 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 in which is to be our destination for the night. 
 It is now six o'clock. 
 
 "Lady's Seat" is a semi-isolated height running 
 out with a gradual incline upward, from the 
 ridge on which we now are, for a few 
 hundred yards, very narrow at the beginning, 
 but gradually widening as you proceed, and 
 ending suddenly with a precipitous height of 
 several hundred feet above the plain. Dismount- 
 ing and turning our horses over to the guide, we 
 pick our way out over the deep springy moss to 
 the end of the "seat." What a scene! Grassy 
 meadow just in front with a number of horses 
 "picking" and a number of men and women 
 lounging about. Beyond the meadow is the 
 wide-stretching valley, the historical center of the 
 whole island. On the farther side of the valley 
 is the beautiful island-dotted lake. All around 
 the valley and lake are precipitous cliff-walls 
 from twenty-five feet to several hundred feet 
 in height. 
 
 When we came from "Lady's Seat" the guide 
 had already taken the horses down to the mead- 
 ow; and we were glad, for the way down was 
 very rough — rude steps had been formed of big 
 
 81 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 boulders. It was difficult to walk down; riding 
 was scarcely possible. I was told that there are 
 only four places where entrance can be made into 
 the valley — one at each of the cardinal points of 
 the compass. 
 
 Then we rode for two hours over a desolate 
 lava-bed (only passing a few farms in that 
 time), with great fissures here and there yawning 
 at either side, twenty to fifty feet deep, in the 
 bottoms of some of which I could see water, as 
 my horse trod within a foot or two of the edge. 
 A struggling dwarf birch growth lies twisted 
 over the rocks, scarcely finding enough nourish- 
 ment to give it strength to raise its head. 
 
 After eight o'clock we reached our destination 
 for the night — Thingvellir Hotel; and here we 
 found interested friends to greet us. They 
 had come out to this place after the boat had 
 reached Reykjavik. We were glad to see them, 
 but not proud that they should see us as we 
 found ourselves after our hard four days ; for my 
 friend's face was red and blistered, and I felt 
 too weary to hold my head erect. But thus we 
 were compelled to run the gauntlet of their 
 interested scrutiny. 
 
 82 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Valley of Thingvellir. 
 
 The valley into which we have entered is the 
 historic center of the whole island. When the 
 Althing, the government of Iceland, was estab- 
 lished in 930 A. D., here was its seat, and here 
 it remained several hundred years. To this 
 valley the people of the whole land were ex- 
 pected to come once every year to tarry for two 
 weeks. In that ifortnight controve'rsies were 
 settled, cases were tried, sentences were pro- 
 nounced, and executions were carried out, relating 
 to the year ending ; and new laws and regulations 
 might be made for the year beginning. Any man 
 might come and plead his own case before the 
 Althing. 
 
 To the visitor, familiar in part with this 
 history, this valley, bearing evidences on every 
 hand of awful cataclysms and terrors in geologic 
 ages, becomes the arena of struggle between men 
 before the tribunal of justice, where the fires of 
 hate and strife were either quenched, or one or 
 
 83 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 both of the parties executed. What jargon of 
 tongues in this annual gathering — men and wom- 
 en who have fled to this place as to a city of 
 refuge to claim the protection of the council, and 
 pleading with the eloquence of tears and sobs 
 for recognition of their pitiable plight! And 
 men and women, criminal in every intent and 
 act, waiting in dogged and sullen silence the 
 sentence — and also the execution that must sure- 
 ly follow the awful arraignment in court! For, 
 in those days, it is said, before the session of the 
 Althing had ended and the people had dispersed 
 to their homes, the execution of every sentence 
 was carried out in the presence of the people. 
 Yes, Thingvellir is to Iceland to-day what 
 the Forum is to Rome and the Acropolis to 
 Athens. And when the Icelanders celebrated 
 their thousandth anniversary of history in 1874, 
 it was to Thingvellir that every eye and heart 
 turned as the fitting place for the crowning 
 feature of the event. And though it is fifty kilo- 
 meters from Reykjavik, and though they had as 
 guest of honor the King of Denmark, their own 
 king, they took him on horseback to the place of 
 their national beginnings. 
 
 84 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 This valley surrounded by high mountains, 
 an area once lowered suddenly by the hand of the 
 Almighty, and to-day with its deep and fearful 
 chasms, its blasted vegetation, its steaming hot 
 springs, might suggest that it is in awful poise, 
 or suspense, liable again to sink until perhaps 
 buried in the bosom of the earth. What a place 
 was this in which to mete out justice when both 
 the criminal and the judge were in the same val- 
 ley of decision — and that whole valley itself 
 mysteriously held from sinking into oblivion! 
 Of course, the fact that it has not sunk deeper 
 within the history of man gives unusual bold- 
 ness to the visitor; but the evidences are on every 
 hand that this that is now called a valley did sink 
 at least seventy-five feet and then stopped, — to 
 sink no farther? Who knows? 
 
 Of this valley of erstwhile terrors we shall 
 note a few things of special interest. On the 
 evening of my arrival I walked out a little way 
 from the hotel, but was soon stopped by deep, 
 yawning fissures in the rocky earth ; and far down 
 I could hear the gurgling, lapping water like a 
 great fiend reveling in delightful but forbidden 
 gratification of desire. Then looking about me 
 
 85 
 
The Land of Frost ai^d Fire 
 
 in the weird light, I concluded to postpone fur- 
 ther investigations until the morning. 
 
 The following morning found me ready early 
 to begin sight-seeing. I first go to the Logberg, 
 the tribunal rock-island, where the judges of the 
 Althing sat in council — the Areopagus of the 
 Icelanders. There is only one way in which 
 to reach the Logberg. It is an island formed 
 by the separating of one large fissure into two, 
 each of which is nearly as large as the one of 
 which it forms a part. The island formed by 
 these two fissures is probably fifty feet wide at 
 the widest place, and it is probably one hundred 
 yards long (dimensions are given from memory 
 and may vary materially from being accurate). 
 At one end of the island the displacement of a 
 great rock and its lodgment in the fissure forms 
 a natural bridge over which one may walk to 
 the Logberg. 
 
 On this island one must walk very carefully, 
 for while on one part of it there is a luxuriant 
 growth of forget-me-nots and other flowers, one 
 must be careful in approaching the sides of the 
 island. Here are the great fissures, ten to fif- 
 teen feet wide and forty to fifty feet deep to 
 water, and with a depth of water in some places 
 
 86 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 of fifty or rri/ore feet. Standing on the edge of 
 such a chasm is by no means a pleasure-giving 
 experience to most people, and, because of a 
 prenatal event for my friend, he is quite ill at 
 ease. 
 
 Onto a jutting rock in one of the fissures re- 
 ferred to, it is said, criminals, sentenced here to 
 die, were thrown to break their backs; and then 
 their limp bodies would fall to the dark depths 
 where the water with demon-like gurgle would 
 swallow them up and hide them away forever 
 from the sight of those they had wronged. Think 
 of It! Just here where I stand the accusation 
 was brought against him in the Althing— maybe 
 with tears he pleaded for mercy, but he is ad- 
 judged guilty; he is sentenced to die. He is 
 now in the hands of the executioner. There is 
 no dangling at the end of a rope for people to 
 see him, and then in the night to dream of the 
 contorted face and writhing body; no bleeding, 
 headless trunk with headsman wiping his gory 
 ax, the lingering, subconscious memory of which 
 to cause children to gasp and cringe in sleep. 
 No! A quick movement on the verge of the 
 abyss — then — gone forever! 
 
 87 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 As has already been said, here, in the year 
 1000 A. D., by action of the Althing, Christian- 
 ity was made the religion of the land. And then 
 began its literary age resulting in the best of its 
 Sagas and Eddas, And here were witnessed 
 deeds of valor and many contests of gory renown. 
 
 But to-day, how different ! Think not of deeds 
 of blood; look not into the abyss of groans and 
 despair-laden tradition. But rather linger among 
 the flowers so profuse in growth and rich in 
 color; and though growing on soil oft drenched 
 with human blood, let their beauty and fragrance 
 point to the "Rose of Sharon'* and the "Lily of 
 the Valley," whose life-teachings were memorial- 
 ized here nine hundred years ago in government 
 decree ; and let that beauty and fragrance tell of a 
 future grand in hope. 
 
 A merry party of natives, men and women, 
 gallop along the road leading by the lake. 
 I envy their horsemanship. Later I try to pene- 
 trate farther over the moss and straggling 
 low bushes beyond the Logberg, but find- 
 ing that it requires much care because of the 
 ruggedness of the surface and because of fissures, 
 large and small, I return to look at the church 
 
 88 
 
I 
 
 < 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 and parsonage which, either in themselves, or 
 in the buildings that preceded them, bear a 
 close relationship to much of historic interest in 
 the region. The church is quite small, eighteen 
 by twenty-eight feet, and is a frame structure. 
 But notwithstanding its insignificance of size and 
 structure, kings have stood within it. By it are 
 a few graves. The parsonage is not an inviting 
 building, but it is good, for the interior of Ice- 
 land. It is a wooden building. 
 
 I next visit the Almannagja, or "AU-Men's- 
 Rift," a great rift, or chasm, at one edge of the 
 sunken valley, and near the Logberg. When the 
 valley sank, the river Oxara, that formerly flow- 
 ed into and through this region, then necessarily 
 flowed into the rift, or chasm. Though the rim 
 of the chasm on the valley side was lowered 
 seventy-five, or more, feet below the outer rim 
 (that did not sink), the chasm itself was still 
 much deeper. Through this chasm, after the 
 plunge resulting in beautiful falls of possibly one 
 hundred feet, the river flows for about a quarter 
 of a mile and then makes a sudden turn through 
 the inner rim and out into the valley, and a 
 
 89 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 little later flows into the beautiful island-dotted 
 lake of Thingvellir. 
 
 Just where the river turns through the inner 
 rim, there is a sort of whirlpool, which, through 
 the centuries, has been known as the "drowning- 
 pool.'^ Tradition says that in this pool women 
 who were adjudged unfaithful to their husbands 
 were sentenced to be drowned. And then these 
 heights were covered with people to witness the 
 executions, hence the name, *'All-MenVRift," 
 or '^Almannagja/' 
 
 Seated on this rift, where to-day wild thyme 
 and other flowers grow in rich profusion, but 
 from which place, if the traditions be true, one 
 could plainly have witnessed the executions in 
 the **drowning-pool," or at the *'blood-stone" on 
 the Logberg, I dwell for a time in that dreamy, 
 dreadful past — and then urge myself out of the 
 •reverie to look at the present scene. In front of 
 me is the Almannagja, with the rushing Oxara 
 and the frowning west wall; to the north are 
 desolate, somber-hued mountains; to the east is 
 the valley, and hazy heights are in the distance; 
 to the south- — ah, here is beauty! The historic 
 places already referred to are in the foreground, 
 
 90 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 beyond is the glassy lake mirroring in strong 
 shadow the islands that rise from its bosom, and 
 at the farther side the mind sees the river Sog 
 spring lightly from the pent-up valley and carry 
 the crystal treasures of its mother-lake to hide 
 them forever in intermingling with the vast and 
 open sea. 
 
 91 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 Last Day On Horseback. 
 
 When we thought we were ready to leave the 
 hotel at ThingvelHr, and were on our horses, 
 it was discovered that our dog had not been 
 fed. And of such value had he proven himself 
 that to look into his pleading, almost human eyes 
 and know that he was hungry at the beginning 
 of a six or eight hours' trip in which he was to 
 serve us well, was sufficient to make us willing 
 to tarry an hour, if need be, to secure him food, 
 even though it should make us late in reaching 
 Reykjavik, our destination for that night. 
 
 Slightly past noon we started; and soon we 
 crossed the bridge over the Oxara, just below the 
 "drowning-pool." Here v^e met a train of 
 horses bearing lumber into the interior. Each 
 horse carried two bundles, one on either side; 
 and these two bundles were tied together and 
 the uniting cord or chain was thrown across the 
 saddle, or pannier. The front ends of the bun- 
 dles were elevated above the horse's head while 
 
 92 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 the rear ends dragged upon the ground. Some- 
 times a very heavy stick of timber is carried be- 
 tw^een two horses. 
 
 Almost immediately after crossing the stream 
 wt began a remarkable ascent. Up through the 
 high rock-wall left exposed when the valley sank 
 there is a deep narrow cleft, in places barely wide 
 enough for vehicles to pass through. While the 
 ascent is rather steep, it is gradual. When the 
 road from the capital was pushed through to this 
 valley, here was the only place that it was pos- 
 sible to enter. Nature opened the passage, and 
 then man graded it and put up protecting walls 
 and pillars. It is indeed a romantic and exceed- 
 ingly interesting gateway to Thingvellir through 
 which we are now passing outward. On either 
 side high, dark walls of rock, heavy shadows on 
 the path, pretty flowers in nooks and on narrow 
 ledges — all so impressive. And when we reached 
 the western summit and turned to look down that 
 great crack in the Wall through which we had 
 just ridden, we were grateful that the fissure 
 had made it possible for us to get out of the val- 
 ley, and that it did not close its terrible jaws 
 while we were passing through it. We entered 
 
 93 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 Thingvellir by walking down a very rocky cleft, 
 or ravine, and left it as just described. 
 
 After a lingering view of the valley from this 
 most excellent viewpoint, we move forward on 
 this last stage of our horseback riding. If all 
 goes well, we shall reach our destination by early 
 twilight. The distance is scarcely more than 
 thirty-five miles and the road is excellent — a 
 splendid carriage-road of recent construction, 
 about the only one that I saw in Iceland. 
 
 We thought that by walking our horses the 
 greater part of the way we would still have 
 plenty of time for our trip; but later we found 
 it would require the usual rapid movement if 
 we would reach Reykjavik at the designated hour. 
 
 Though the road is good, it proves to be a 
 monotonous and very wearying ride. Then the 
 flies, or gnats, are so very annoying — getting into 
 our nostrils, mouths, ears, and eyes — and very 
 tenacious in their devotion to us. There are 
 few grassy plots, but flowers apparently every- 
 where — even on what seemed endless waste 
 lands. 
 
 For about one-third of the distance between 
 Thingvellir and Reykjavik there stretches out in 
 
 94 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 bigness and loneliness of desolation the ^* Moss- 
 fell Moor." In the glare of the afternoon, 
 notwithstanding the little flowers and the oc- 
 casional trill of the curlew, the spirits are de- 
 pressed. It seems as though nature would say to 
 all, "Enter not here," were this highway not 
 already established. And along this road are 
 mute evidences of the awful winters that reign 
 here supreme. At intervals of every few rods 
 are rock-built pillars or pyramids eight or ten 
 feet high, to mark the road when deep snows 
 lie on the moor; and that there may be no 
 doubt as to the side on which the road lies, there 
 is a rock at the top of each pillar that is made to 
 project toward the road. And two or three 
 refuge-houses are along the way — uninviting in 
 appearance, but a haven of hope to one caught 
 here in a merciless winter storm. 
 
 As we rode over this bleak stretch of melan- 
 choly-inducing waste and thought of the gather- 
 ing winter tempest, when even the rocks would 
 seem to ring in challenge to the smiting blast, 
 and when the storm-king would shout his com- 
 mands from Hengill Mountain, and the air would 
 be filled with blinding powder of snow — ah, what 
 
 95 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 then could a poor stray wayfarer do on Moss- 
 fell Moor! Many lives are said to have been 
 lost where we now ride. Said Mr. Walley, 
 ''I can't help thinking of a phrase of Cardinal 
 Newman's hymn, 'Lead, Kindly Light'; it is 
 this: 'O'er moor and fen.' " And then we re- 
 peated the last stanza of that sweet hymn: 
 
 '^So long thy power hath kept me. 
 
 Sure it still will lead me on 
 O' er moor and fen^ o' er crag and torrent. 
 
 Till the night is gone; 
 And blest with the morn those angel faces smile, 
 
 Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile,^' 
 
 At one point on our way we caught sight of 
 Hecla, that king of volcanoes in Iceland, but 
 to-day wearing a cloak and cap of snow. It is 
 not far from the southern coast, and is about 
 centrally located in the longitude of the island. 
 
 When about half of our distance was covered 
 we reached the summit of a rise in the road and 
 far to the west I saw the great shining ocean. 
 Almost involuntarily my cap was removed from 
 my head, and I said in joyous exclamation, "Yon- 
 der is the sea; and beyond is home!" And then 
 
 96 
 

The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 I felt a strange tugging at the tense strings of 
 an emotion that must exist somewhere in the 
 heart of every man. And the people of this land 
 claim to have found that home for me! 
 
 At the same time far to the northwest is seen 
 Snaefell's jokuU — eighty miles away, yet not 
 looking more than twenty. (Distance is very 
 deceptive in these northern latitudes.) New 
 vigor seemed induced by the sight of the sea and 
 the thought of home. So for the rest of the way 
 we rode more rapidly. The heaviest rainfall of 
 our trip was encountered near its close, but it 
 did not delay us. We were considered very 
 fortunate in escaping so well. 
 
 Just a little before reaching the capital city 
 we crossed another bridge, and in an hour or less 
 time, at 8:30 p.m. we were riding through the 
 streets of Reykjavik to a resting-place in the splen- 
 did hotel bearing the same name as the city itself. 
 Here we parted temporarily from our guide who 
 had to take his horses outside the city limits 
 that he might find grass for them in the night. 
 But we strongly urged him to return to take sup- 
 per with us, as a kind of joyous recognition of 
 his services rendered us. We waited for him; 
 
 97 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 but he did not come. We shall know why in 
 the morning. 
 
 After supper, the Botnia not being in the har- 
 bor, I went to the Hotel Iceland for the night. 
 It was an evening of repose, and a night of sat- 
 isfying, refreshing sleep. 
 
 98 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 Reykjavik. 
 
 It was late (ten o'clock) when I arose the 
 next morning, and, feeling somewhat the effects 
 of my five days on horseback, I determined to 
 ievote myself leisurely to seeing the sights of 
 the city. I first went to find my English friend. 
 Our guide soon appeared to receive his pay and 
 to say good-by. He was visibly perturbed. An 
 interpreter said that he had lost his dog. In the 
 city the dog had strayed or had been enticed away 
 from him. How would the man be able to take 
 all his horses back over the almost trackless 
 waste without his dog? He missed him in the 
 early evening and had hunted for him until 
 nearly midnight, this being the reason our guide 
 could not come to our supper. He had renewed 
 and continued the search in the early morning 
 hours. It was hard on our guide to lose his dog, 
 and even we felt that we had lost a friend. 
 
 It is no light thing to say good-by to a guide 
 that has served you well; who has led you to 
 
 99 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 sights that please and scenes that awe; who has 
 picked out a path to safety for you where you 
 know there are dangers of quicksand and flood. 
 But we have said it to Pall Jansson,, and have 
 watched his retreating figure as he passed into the 
 street and out to his horses and on to his dwelling- 
 place on the northern shore of his bleak island 
 home. He is gone, but he is not, nor shall he 
 ever be, forgotten. 
 
 Reykjavik is a town of about twelve thousand 
 people, and in some of its aspects is quite modern. 
 It has some fine streets, pretty homes, good stores, 
 two banks, telephone and telegraph, fairly good 
 sewerage, and gas lighting. Its chief industries 
 are fishing and commerce. Great sheds are filled 
 with fish packed for the markets. In other 
 parts of the city are stone-paved areas on which 
 fish are being dried. 
 
 But to-day, after writing many letters, I go 
 to the Senate House, a rather imposing structure, 
 to the Cathedral, and to the Museum; but the 
 last-named place was not open at the hour of my 
 visit. Then I walk the streets and enter stores, 
 surprised at the air of progressiveness that pre- 
 vails. There are three newspapers published 
 
 100 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 here; one of them is the "Isafold," the paper 
 having the peculiar manner of printing a serial 
 story (as already referred to) that when it is 
 finished the subscriber has the story in book form 
 by simply clipping out and stitching together. 
 The Botnia came into port this evening about 
 seven o'clock and anchored nearly a half mile 
 from the jetty (there is no pier at Reykjavik). 
 I wanted to go to the boat, but I had difficulty 
 in persuading any boatman to take me, for the sea 
 was rough and the waves were high. But by agree- 
 ing to pay more than double the usual price, two 
 men undertook to row me to the Botnia, They 
 placed me in the stern of the little boat and indi- 
 cated that I must steer the vessel — a thing that I 
 never before in my life had attempted to do; and 
 to thread our way among other boats and over 
 boisterous waves was more than enough for one 
 so unskilled as I. But after a few semi-serious 
 blunders on my part we arrived safe, and a 
 feeling of restfulness and security came to me as 
 I climbed the side-ladder of the boat I had left 
 a week earlier at Blonduos, on the northern 
 coast of the island. And on board the Botnia, 
 in my own berth, I slept in quiet peace that night. 
 
 101 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 On shore again next morning at eleven o'clock, 
 I first visit the **Laguar," or hot springs, which 
 can be reached in less than an hour's v^alk from 
 the landing-place. When I reached the springs 
 I saw every evidence that the water was hot, 
 nevertheless, I wanted to verify my opinion by 
 testing it. When I approached the water I saw 
 a boy that seemed only half-witted watching 
 me, and when I thrust my fingers into the water, 
 but drew them out again with such celerity as 
 surprised even myself, and then saw the unfeign- 
 ed delight of that boy I knew that I was not 
 mistaken in my surmisings as to his sanity! 
 
 This place, because there is no expense for 
 fuel, is made the chief washing-place for Reykja- 
 vik ; and the stream has been made to pass through 
 convenient permanent channels, and buildings 
 have been erected to serve the people well. When 
 I visited the place there were possibly a dozen 
 women and several men engaged at work wash- 
 ing. Clothes were spread out over large areas 
 or were hanging on lines to dry: A woman 
 once fell into the stream and was scalded to 
 death ; and so they had to place curved iron bars 
 over the channels in such positions and arrange- 
 
 102 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 ment as would permit washing and at the same 
 time protect the persons from falling in. 
 
 Near this place is the Leper Hospital. At 
 one time there were many lepers in Iceland ; but 
 in recent years there was established this hos- 
 pital, a large imposing building on the shore of 
 the harbor. So carefully and scientifically have 
 they treated the cases, and dealt with the dread 
 peril, that it is said there are only about fifty 
 inmates now in the institution. And this num- 
 ber, I think, represents the number of lepers on 
 the entire island. 
 
 On returning to the city I went to the museum, 
 which in the main is surprisingly good for the 
 far North, and which in its exhibits of ancient 
 native-work in wood and stone and bone are ex- 
 ceptionally fine. 
 
 Leaving the museum, I study the architecture 
 of the buildings, which is, ordinarily, severely 
 plain, but in many instances it bears marks of 
 the distinctively artistic. And the people interest 
 me. I see girls and women in their homes, in the 
 stores, or on the streets wearing hufas and lamb- 
 skin slippers, and some wearing the beautiful 
 ermine-trimmed eiderdown cloaks. And some of 
 the girls are unmistakably attractive. The men 
 
 103 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 as a rule wear no distinctive national garment. 
 My experience leads me to say, with no uncer- 
 tainty in the statement, that I found the Icelander 
 almost universally courteous. 
 
 Then I walk to the farther limit of the city 
 studying the view of the bay and of far-oif, yet 
 apparently near, SnaefelFs jokuU, from every van- 
 tage viewpoint. Then I return by way of the cem- 
 etery to look at the lake and the governor's man- 
 sion, and to tarry awhile in the park, or central 
 square, about which the chief public buildings 
 of the city are located. In the center of the 
 park is a statute of Thorwaldson, known as 
 the great Danish sculptor, but who was born of 
 Icelandic parents, at sea. Thorwaldson carved 
 the *Xion of Lucerne" in Switzerland; and his 
 **Twelve Apostles,'* to be seen in a church in 
 Copenhagen, is one of the world's master-pro- 
 ductions. And his great hall of statuary in the 
 same city, containing none but the works of his 
 own hands, is a marvel to any beholder. In an 
 open central court in this Copenhagen hall of 
 statuary, under a bed of ivy, with no marble or 
 bronze above him, sleeps the great sculptor whose 
 statute we have just seen in the park at Reykjavik. 
 The Icelanders do well to claim him, and thus 
 to honor him. 
 
 104 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 **Good-by;' 
 
 At four o^clock in the evening I went again 
 to the boat, and my tour in Iceland was ended. 
 But still I studied the city from the boat. Just 
 a little way from where we lie at anchor are 
 the two small islands, Vithey and Engey. The 
 latter of these two is distinctively the home of 
 the eider-duck, and is said to be a place of unique 
 and unusual interest when the young are hatching 
 and the owners of the island are gathering the 
 down which we value so highly. 
 
 Having visited the land, and having associated 
 with and studied the people, I must modify my 
 former conceptions of both very materially. But 
 the same is true of all places, persons, and things — 
 the more we know about them the more must 
 out original thought concerning them be changed. 
 With respect to Iceland my change of thought 
 is all favorable to the land and her people. I 
 am glad for this trip. 
 
 At 7:30 p.m., on that evening, July 21, we 
 
 105 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 weighed anchor to begin our return to Scotland. 
 The twilight was filled with haze, and in the 
 weird after hours the city and the land, receding, 
 seemed swallowed up in a sort of lead-colored 
 mist — the land to be seen once more on the mor- 
 row. 
 
 The sea was rough and the boat rocked and 
 pitched considerably in the night. And since 
 we had on board about three hundred horses 
 (over a hundred more had been taken on at 
 Reykjavik), I feared for them. 
 
 At 6:30 o'clock the next morning we made 
 our last stop before reaching Leith, our starting- 
 point for the trip. It was at the Westmann 
 Islands, lying only a little to the south of the 
 coast of Iceland. Here the sea was too rough 
 for us to get to the town, so we anchored some- 
 what to the leeward of the great cliffs. These 
 islands are noted for the multitudes of their birds, 
 or sea-fowls, which the natives catch by daring 
 feats, and, it is said, then use the dried oily 
 bodies as fuel in the winter time. The natives 
 also draw up their sheep by means of ropes to 
 the grassy spots on the upper heights for them 
 there to feed. 
 
 106 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 The quiet of the morning is like a Sunday, 
 and the waves playing against the cliifs make a 
 solemn music, which I think must be continuous 
 here. But we stopped for only an hour and then 
 weighed anchor for our final run to Scotland. 
 
 The morning was bright and sunny, and a 
 very fine view of southern Iceland was ours all 
 through that forenoon. I had excellent views 
 of headlands, barren wastes, mountains, and snow- 
 fields extending far inland. I could plainly see 
 Hecla (over 5,000 feet high), Eyjafjalla jokuU, 
 and Myrdals jokull. The scene will not be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 And then came the heavy sea! For nearly 
 two whole days the waves were very boisterous 
 and seemed continually to want to wash the 
 deck of our vessel — and our boat rolled and 
 pitched like a plaything among them. In the 
 hours of the tempest one night a child was born 
 to one of the passengers. A purse of ninety-nine 
 and three-fourths kroner was made up and given 
 to the proud parents; and they named the child 
 "Botnia," in honor of the boat and in recogni- 
 tion of the kindness shown them on it. 
 
 This return voyage ranks first for miserable 
 
 107 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 experiences in all of my seafaring. I was un- 
 deniably sea-sick! For thirty-six hours I tasted 
 not a mouthful of food. Sometimes it was with 
 difficulty that I could maintain my place in my 
 berth, because of the rocking and pitching of 
 the boat. In the midst of my distress I sent for 
 my friend of the overland route; and when he 
 had reached my cabin I said, **Mr. Walley, I 
 want you to record another resolution — *When 
 I get home, if that boon be granted me, there 
 will be no more long sea voyaging for me!" 
 
 But I love the sea, and even now I have 
 forgotten the serious nature of that vow, and 
 should fortune smile and beckon me, there would 
 be a responsive thrill in answer to the call. 
 
 But the memory of those awful days! In 
 thought of them the following not very classic 
 lines (slightly modified) by Joseph Bert Smiley, 
 very aptly express my feelings and pleas: 
 
 ^^ Briny Ocean, ere we part. 
 Give, oh, give me hack my heart. 
 
 Give me hack my walking- gear. 
 Give me hack my hreakfast dear. 
 
 Or since that's a vain request. 
 Keep it now, and take the rest, 
 
 108 
 
The Land of Frost and Fire 
 
 '^ Briny Ocean j heaving high. 
 Kiss me once and let me die, 
 
 I've an awful goneness now — 
 Cold drops plenty on my brow. 
 
 Angry Ocean, rolling by. 
 Wash me in, and let me die. 
 
 "Briny Ocean, still thy tide. 
 
 As thou rock' St from side to side. 
 How I wish that I were dead! 
 
 Then thou stand' st me on my head! 
 Ocean, rock me safe to sleep 
 
 In thy cradle of the deep!" 
 
 109 
 
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