Iceland: Horseback tours in saga land - 1

Transcriber’s Note: Obvious printer’s errors have been corrected. Discrepancies in spelling and hyphenation have generally been left as is, unless there was an overwhelming majority for one option, in which case an error was assumed and rectified.

The map is clickable for a larger version (if the device you’re reading this on supports that) but unfortunately, some of the place names on it got lost down the fold.

MAP OF ICELAND

AFTER ÞORVALDAR THORODDSEN

1900

Mrs. Russell in the Festal Costume of Iceland.
The Author in the Full Dress of the Faroese.

ICELAND
HORSEBACK TOURS IN SAGA LAND

W. S. C. RUSSELL

Illustrated from Photographs
By the Author

BOSTON: RICHARD G. BADGER
TORONTO: THE COPP CLARK CO., Limited

The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A.

TO MY WIFE
GRACE
WHO TWICE COURAGEOUSLY ACCOMPANIED ME
OVER ICELANDIC TRAILS
AND TWICE
DISPLAYED THE GREATER COURAGE
REMAINING AT HOME
ALONE
THIS SIMPLE RECORD OF OUR WANDERINGS
AFFECTIONATELY
I
DEDICATE

FOREWORD

This Foreword, were it not for the tyrant Custom, might as well be omitted, since a preface is seldom read. Boldly I make my first appearance before the critical public with no excuses to offer and no apology to the reader for adding another volume to the long list of travel books in the English tongue. But I have reasons why I have ventured into print.

First,—Iceland has a fascination for all who know it. Its history, its ancient and modern literature, its legends and folklore, the people with their customs of a thousand years unchanged, the magnificence and grandeur of its scenery, its bird and plant life, its unexcelled opportunities for the student of geology,—all these and many more, are reasons why all the English speaking people should know something of this ancient branch of the Gothic line from which time and circumstance have separated the Angle and the Saxon.

Second,—There is little or nothing in the English language that is authoritative concerning present conditions in Iceland. Henderson, publishing in 1819, and Miss Oswald in 1882, are the only writers in English who have given to the public a fair and appreciative story of Iceland and its people. True it is that there are a few brief works, mainly the accounts of a sojourn of two or possibly three weeks in the country, but they are of necessity limited in scope of observation and lacking in appreciation of real conditions. A character study of the conservative Icelander may not be completed in a single season, one must live with him to know him.

Third,—The kindness with which my numerous lectures on Iceland have been received by the public and the manifest lack of any definite knowledge concerning this country and its people have led me to place before the public this straightforward, simple tale about the Icelanders with some descriptions of their fascinating land. It is the result of extended travels during the summers of 1909, 1910, 1911 and 1913 through the well known sections and in the out-of-the-way places as well as the unknown portions.

I desire to make the following acknowledgments:—I have both Henderson and Miss Oswald to thank for my first interest and their observations and remarks have ever been in my mind for a comparison with my own experiences. My thanks are due to many Icelanders, to all those who unselfishly opened their doors that I might share their hospitality, more especially to those who in kindness answered my numerous questions, often quite personal, about their countrymen and customs,—in particular do I mention Helgi Zoëga, who has been untiring in furnishing ponies, provisions and sound advice; Steffán Steffánson, who has written many lengthy letters in answer to inquiries; Ólafur Eyvindsson, my friend and trusty guide, whose name frequently occurs in these pages and Dr. Geir T. Zoëga, First Master of the Latin School at Reykjavik, for his advice and council. Finally, I acknowledge my indebtedness to her, to whom this volume is dedicated, for her kindly criticism of these pages while in progress of composition and for the final reading and examination of proofs.

Sir Walter Scott has said in reference to one of his poetical works:—

“…, though scarce my skill command

Some feeble echoing of thine earlier lay,

Though harsh and faint and soon to die away,—

…

Yet if one heart throb higher at its sway,

The wizard note has not been touched in vain.”

And so I say,—if one person acquires an interest in Iceland and its noble people, its history and its ancient tales,—this labor has not been in vain.

Springfield, Massachusetts,
February, 1914.

Chapter		Page
I	HISTORICAL	[13]
	Outline of Discovery and Settlement.
II	THE LURE	[31]
	Why I Go to Iceland.
III	THE WAY	[34]
	How to Get There.
IV	FAROE	[37]
	The Faroe Islanders, their Manners and their Islands.
V	VESTMANNEYJAR	[50]
	The Westman Islands on the South-west Coast.
VI	REYKJAVIK	[60]
	Educational and Sociological.
VII	THINGVELLIR	[76]
	The Mecca of Iceland, Historical, Descriptive.
VIII	GEYSIR	[98]
	The Greatest Geyser Known.
IX	GULLFOSS	[117]
	Waterfalls, People and Customs.
X	HEKLA	[131]
	Its Ascent, Its History, Its Grandeur.
XI	KRISUVIK	[157]
	Descriptive Customs and Information.
	ICELAND REVISITED	[182]
	An Appreciation.
XII	SEYÐISFJÖRÐR	[184]
	The East Coast, the Scenery and the People.
XIII	MÝVATN	[204]
	The Fairest Spot in All That Land.
XIV	KRAFLA	[229]
	Volcanic, Historical, Experiences.
XV	VATNSDALR	[243]
	Descriptive, Sagas and Romance.
XVI	REYKHOLT	[275]
	Caves, Waterfalls, Hot Springs and Snorri.
XVII	APPENDIX	[300]
	Notes and Corrections.
	INDEX	[306]

ILLUSTRATIONS

	FACING PAGE
Mrs. Russell in Festal Costume of Iceland, the Author in Full Dress of the Faroese,	[Frontispiece]
Cutting up Whale Meat at Thorshavn,	[38]
Heads of the Bottle Nose Whale,	[38]
Helgafell, Volcanic Cone, Vestmannaeyjar,	[56]
A Chain of Basalt Pyramids in Faroe,	[56]
The Hay Market and the Harbor at Reykjavik,	[66]
An Odd Corner in Reykjavik,	[66]
The Latin School at Reykjavik,	[72]
The Thinghús, Parliament Building, Reykjavik,	[72]
Foot of the Öxerá in Almannagjá,	[96]
Lögberg, Mount of Laws, between the Rifts, Ármannsfell in the Distance,	[96]
Bridge River, Brúará, near Geysir,	[114]
Tube of Geysir Filling, Photographed from within the Basin,	[114]
Favorite Ponies, Sunlocks and Greba,	[158]
Mountains of Sulfur, Solfataras, at Krisuvik,	[158]
When the Fog Lifted,—Entrance to Seyðisfjörðr,	[184]
Washing Split Cod at Faskrudsfjörðr,	[184]
Goðafoss, the Icelandic Niagara, on the Skjalfandafljöt,	[204]
Island Craters in the Mývatn, from Skútustaðir,	[204]
Fording a Shallow Arm of the Mývatn, Turf Cottage in the Distance,	[218]
Contorted, Twisted and Crumpled Lava at Skútustaðir,	[218]
A Hot Water Fall at Hveravellir, (Hot Spring Valley),	[226]
Slútness, Crater Island in the Mývatn, Home of the Golden Eyed Duck,	[226]
Flag of the Arctic Club of America On the Summit of Krafla,	[238]
Obsidian Ridge, Hrafntinnuhryggr, near Summit of Krafla,	[238]
Thverá, a Highland Home in the Öxnadalr,	[248]
Vatnsdalshólar, Numberless Conical Hills in Vatnsdalr,	[248]
The Glacier of Láng Jökull in the Kaldidalr,	[276]
Glaciers and Moraine on Arnavatnsheiði,	[276]
Árhver, River Hot Springs near Reykholt,	[292]
Reykholt, Ancient Stead of Snorri, Typical Icelandic Farm,	[292]

FOREWORD

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS