ICELAND, THE MAID OF THE NORTH

Several thousand years ago a mighty conflict occurred between the sea and the subterranean forces in the north Atlantic five hundred miles northwest of Scotland. A violent earthquake rent the rocks of the ocean bed, and through the broken floor there issued tremendous floods of molten lava. The great conflict manifested itself in explosions of steam, gigantic streams of red-hot lava, frothy pumice, and volcanic ashes. For miles around the water of the sea was seething and boiling.

After awhile the turbulence of the fiery mass was subdued and it stood congealed in the varied forms of rugged peaks, contorted ridges, and deep valleys, subsequently to be seamed and further distorted by earthquakes and piled higher by further volcanic outbursts. A new island had been born.

Ages rolled on; vegetation appeared as the volcanic rock disintegrated; crystal lakes were formed and rivers, fed by frequent rains and melting snows, flowed to the sea. This comparatively new island is Iceland. The book of nature here is open; the print is clear; and the language is so plain that he who can read may learn the story.

The internal fires of the earth seem to have taken their final great stand in this far-off northern land and have waged a titanic battle to the death, as may be seen in many places. In the northern part of the island one may find acres of burning sulphur beds, small geysers, and mud caldrons, all of which attest to the slowly dying volcanic forces beneath. Although a comparative calm now exists, an exciting cause may at any time awaken the slumbering volcanoes and again renew the work of destruction.

Fossilized forests are found, but of trees different from those now existing. Climate and vegetation materially changed as century succeeded century.

The written history of Iceland begins about the year 860, when a viking living on the Faroe Islands who was on his way home from Norway, being driven far northward of his course, came to an unknown coast. Climbing a high rock and looking around, he beheld no signs of life; before he could return to his ship, however, a sudden storm came on, covering the ground with a mantle of snow. From the latter circumstance he named the country Snowland.

Four years after a Swedish master-mariner was driven by stress of storm to this same land, and, building a house, spent the winter there. During the following summer he sailed around the land, demonstrating that it was an island, and called it after his own name, Gardar’s Island. On his return home he gave such a favorable account of the island that a famous Norwegian viking named Floki determined to seek it and to take possession. Having gathered his family and followers, and taking on board some live stock, he set sail for the unknown land by way of the Faroe Islands.

The compass had not then been invented, but knowing that ravens by instinct seek the nearest land when freed on the ocean, he provided himself with three of these birds to serve as guides.

He remained awhile at the Faroe Islands and then boldly sailed northward. When he was several days out he uncaged one of the ravens, which immediately took its flight back to the Faroe Islands. Later, he set free a second bird. This one, after hovering high in the air for some time, seemed bewildered and returned to the ship. Still later, the third raven was set free, which at once flew northward. By pursuing the course taken by the last bird, Floki soon reached the desired land.

The winter that followed was very severe. Deep snows covered hill, rock, and valley, and ice blockaded the fiord. Floki had neglected to harvest the wild grass, and as a result his cattle died. Disheartened by his losses, he returned to his native land, naming the island which he abandoned Iceland.

A few years later another Norse rover, who had slain an enemy and was threatened with vengeance by the relatives of the victim, took refuge on the island where he spent a year. He liked the country so well that he returned home and induced his retainers to accompany him back to his safe retreat. Approaching the land, he threw into the sea the sacred columns which his vessel bore, so that he might learn the will of the gods where to land and found a colony. A violent storm arising, the pillars drifted out of sight, so he sought the nearest harbor and there he established a temporary camp.

Three years afterward the pillars were found on the desolate shore of a lava stream on the west side of the island. Near by was a rivulet from whose bed a spring gushed forth emitting clouds of steam. Thither the colony removed and the present capital, Reykjavik, was founded. The name Reykjavik means “smoking bay.” Other vikings followed and selected such parts of the island as they considered best.

Harold, the king of Norway at this time, determined to curb the rebellious spirit of the chiefs under him. So, many of the sturdy Norsemen, chafing under his arbitrary rule, collected such of their property as they could carry and, putting it on board their stanch vessels, sailed away to the land of refuge.

At this period of history nearly all nations considered that might made right; but no class of plunderers excelled the Norsemen, who were wont to make periodical raids on the various seaport cities and towns of Europe. They swooped upon them, pillaging and killing the inhabitants, and then fled in their swift vessels with booty and captives before they could be intercepted. The audacity of the Norse vikings knew no bounds. They pillaged Paris, Bordeaux, Orleans, and nearly every other city of France accessible by water. Their hands fell heavily on the coasts of Spain and the British Isles.

At one time a band of these fearless sea-robbers made their lairs in the Shetland and Orkney Islands and even plundered the coast of Norway, the abode of their kinsmen. Their conduct so exasperated Harold that he determined to destroy the freebooters of the Orkneys root and branch. Gathering a large fleet, he relentlessly pursued the raiders up every bay and inlet. Leaving the ships, he chased them among the rocky islands and the sinuous fiords. When they were overtaken the pursuers showed them no mercy. A few escaped, and, stealing away under the cover of darkness, the hunted sea-robbers fled in their ships to Iceland.

All the while the tide of immigration was augmented by the migrations of disaffected nobles from Norway. This naked volcanic island had more attraction for them than their own country where freedom was denied them.

Sixty years after the first settlement fifty thousand people had made their homes in Iceland. The inhabited parts were along the coast, in the river valleys, and in the vicinity of the fiords, rarely extending farther than fifty miles inland.

In order to better maintain rights and settle disputes, in 930 the chiefs or nobles established an aristocratic republic and adopted a constitution. The republic existed four hundred years. Many just laws were enacted, some of which England was glad to borrow. The legislative meetings were held in Thingvalla, a picturesque valley thirty-five miles east of Reykjavik. This valley was formed by the sinking of a lava area of fifty square miles. In the middle of the valley, flanked by two huge jagged walls of lava, is a triangular floor of lava like a large flatiron having separating chasms meeting at the apex. Here the Althing, or general assembly, met annually to make laws and settle disputes. Toward the south the valley slopes gently to Thingvalla Vatn, a beautiful sheet of water of crystal clearness ten miles long and five miles wide, having in some places a depth of a thousand feet. The scenery here is one of rugged beauty and surpassing grandeur. Hard by, a river comes tumbling over its rocky bed, then calmly pours its icy water into the placid lake. No spot is better suited to inspire freedom of thought and lofty imagination than this primitive meeting-place of a legislative assembly.

Eventually, Iceland became subject to Norway and afterward a colony of Denmark, which it remains to-day. Self-government and the re-establishment of the old Parliament at Reykjavik was granted by Denmark in 1874.

Iceland is not only out of debt but has the snug sum of one million crowns in its exchequer. It is an ideal place for the woman’s rights advocates, since women here have the right to vote and do not change their names when they marry.

Although the island contains forty thousand square miles, five-sixths of it is uninhabitable. The present population is eight thousand.

It may with truth be called naked because it is only partly clothed with vegetation; moreover, such vegetation as exists is scanty and confined chiefly to the river valleys and their slopes. In the interior are large desert areas covered with lava and shifting sand. This desolate expanse is frequently diversified by extensive jokulls, or elevated ice-fields, one of which occupies four thousand square miles.

Strange as it may seem, the winters in the inhabited sections are not so severe as those of New England, owing to the modifying influence of the warm southwesterly wind and the mild temperature of the surrounding waters. The summers are cool, owing to the nearness of the arctic ice-fields. In the interior on the table-land one is apt to encounter snowstorms even in August.

The only wild animal is the fox, of which there are two varieties, the white and the blue. These animals probably drifted on the ice from Greenland. They are hunted not only for their skins but also because they attack the sheep.

The domestic animals are horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, and cats. The horses and cattle are small. The ewes, instead of the cows, are milked. Iceland ponies are famous for their hardiness and are sure-footed. Large numbers of them are exported to England for service in the coal-mines. There they are condemned to hard labor for life in the dark galleries.

Iceland ranks second among the geyser regions of the world, Yellowstone Park being first. The boiling springs and geysers are not confined to one locality but are scattered widely over the island. The most prominent are east of Reykjavik.

According to its area probably no other part of the world except the island of Java has so many volcanoes. More than one hundred craters and cinder cones have been counted, many of which have been active within the historical period of the island. The most destructive volcanic eruption took place in June, 1783. The spring had opened auspiciously; the cattle, sheep, and horses were cropping the juicy young grass; and the air was balmier than usual. In the latter part of May a bluish smoke accompanied by earthquakes began to spread over the land. As time passed the earthquake shocks increased in violence. The surface of the earth heaved like the ground swell of the ocean after a storm; the atmosphere became filled with choking vapors and blinding smoke; the sun was darkened and the low rumbling sounds became heavy peals of thunder. Presently two mighty streams of lava, one of which was fifteen miles wide and one hundred feet deep, came pouring down the sides of Skaptar Jokull. The lava floods filled up the valleys, quenched rivers, and spread destruction over the adjacent country. The intense heat blasted the vegetation far and wide. Nine thousand people and fifty thousand head of live stock were the result of the death harvest.

Iceland is well watered, having many streams, all of which are rapid, for the greater part flowing over beds of lava and quicksand. In some of the wider fords stakes have been set so that the traveller may not get lost in crossing them on horseback during a dense fog. In the summer the frequent rains make travelling very unpleasant unless one is suitably equipped with water-proof garments. In the Hvita, or White River, is the celebrated Gullfoss literally, “goldfall” a fall that rivals Niagara in the height of its two cataracts.

A few garden vegetables excepted, little or no agriculture is attempted; the chief dependence of the people is the rearing of sheep, cattle, and horses, fishing, and the collecting of eider-down. The streams are filled with excellent fish, including the salmon; off the coast are codfishing grounds equal to, if not surpassing, those of Newfoundland.

The most valuable mineral is sulphur, the supply of which appears to be inexhaustible. The chief exports are wool, oil, fish, horses, eider-down, knit goods, sulphur, and Iceland moss.

Transparent calcite, a mineral commonly called “Iceland spar,” is found, one mine of which furnishes an excellent quality. It is highly prized by mineralogists on account of its double refractive qualities. If a piece of this mineral be placed over a word, the letters forming it will appear double. Iceland spar is used chiefly in the optical instrument known as the polariscope.

Eider-down consists of the soft, fine feathers growing on the breast of the eider-duck, great numbers of which frequent the coast and lakes of Iceland. This duck is wild except at the nesting season; then it is as tame as the domestic fowl and makes its nest not only around and on top of the buildings but frequently inside them. A heavy fine is imposed on any one killing a duck at this season.

When about to lay, the duck carefully lines her nest with down plucked from her breast. Then people remove it from the nest and the duck pulls more down from her breast to replace that taken. This process is repeated several times. When the duck has stripped her own breast the drake comes to the rescue and furnishes down from his. A certain number of the eggs are also taken. These, though inferior to those of the swan, are esteemed a great delicacy. Swans also are killed on many of the lakes.

Iceland is the resort of the fishing fleets of several nations; the value of the annual catch averages about ten million dollars. Much of the catch consists of food fish, but many are caught for the oil.

The only trees found growing on the island are birch and ash, and they seldom exceed ten feet in height. A few juniper bushes and willows are found here and there.

In the remote and isolated sections most of the dwellings are built of blocks of lava laid one upon another, making a wall six feet thick. Upon these are placed rafters made from ribs of whales, drift-wood, or anything else that will answer the purpose. The roof is then covered with grass and turf. In the hamlets many of the houses are constructed of imported lumber, there being no trees of sufficient size on the island for building purposes.

The inhabitants are very hospitable and every house is open to the traveller. They live in a simple manner, drink sour whey and milk, eat rancid butter, fish, mutton, and occasionally the lichens called Iceland moss. When well cooked, the last named is quite palatable. It is also a sovereign remedy for bronchial ailments.

Notwithstanding their many privations, the people are loyal to their country and lovingly call it “The Maid of the North.” They lead pastoral lives and their customs are much like those of the Homeric age. Story-telling is much appreciated by all classes. There are wandering minstrels who gain their livelihood by going from house to house to recite the stories in prose and poetry which they have learned by heart. Spindle and distaff are used in spinning the wool into yarn, which is then knit or woven into cloth on a hand loom.

Education is universal, and no child of twelve years can be found who is unable to read or write. The families are so isolated that there are few schools outside of the capital; but the parents diligently teach their children whatever they themselves have learned.

During the long winter evenings one member of the family reads aloud while the others are busily at work, the men making nets and ropes, or removing the wool from the sheepskins, the women embroidering, sewing, or using spindle and distaff.

In no other country of Europe are so many books and papers published in proportion to the population as in Iceland. On the average one hundred books are issued annually from Icelandic presses. Several excellent newspapers and periodicals are also published.

Every Icelander to-day knows perfectly the sagas, the legendary stories that commemorate heroes and heroic deeds and which are so dear to his heart. It is not uncommon to find an Icelander who is well versed in the ancient classics or one who can speak several languages. They are well acquainted with the writings of Milton and Shakespeare, which have been translated into their own language. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Iceland produced a literature equal to that of any other nation in Europe within the same period.