1902 Some Deep- Sea Plunder 315 



consequently most welcome at the outset of a trip, was 

 scarce, and the skipper determined to try his luck elsewhere. 

 So we hauled in our gear, and steamed away along the 

 southern coast to Reykjanes, the rocky and dangerous 

 south-west promontory. Here two interesting objects were 

 to be observed. The first was one of the famous hot springs 

 of Iceland, its rising cloud of steam being plainly discernible 

 in the clear atmosphere; and the other was the " Gannet 

 Rock " (as the fishermen call it), a huge, bluff, and solid 

 mass standing sheer and solitary in the deep waters, but 

 connected, so the skipper told me, with the far - distant 

 shore by a chain of submerged reefs. Snowy - white, in 

 marked contrast to the burnt tints of the volcanic shore of 

 the mainland, the rock looks at first sight like a transplanted 

 chunk of Albion's chalk cliffs ; but this aspect, as may be 

 guessed, is due to the droppings of countless generations of 

 countless myriads of gannets, puffins, gulls, petrels, and other 

 sea-birds of the numerous varieties that followed in our wake 

 or disported themselves, unconcerned, above and below the 

 surface of the water in close proximity to the ship. One 

 stands amazed at the thought of. to what extraordinary 

 depths the deposit of guano on this desolate rock must 

 have reached by this time. Rounding Reykjanes, we made 

 our way up the western coast to Faxe Bugt, a vast bay 

 some sixty miles in width, with the great snow mountain of 

 Snaefells Jokull keeping watch and ward at one extremity. 

 On the shores of Faxe Bay lies Reykjavik, capital of Ice- 

 land, within distant sight of which we recommenced our 

 fishing operations. 



Some curious differences were to be noticed. Haddock 

 were still very plentiful, but of a smaller size than at Port- 

 land. The fish of Faxe, however, is famed for its finer and 

 more delicate quality, the bay being reckoned, indeed, the 

 best although the farthest of the fishing - grounds. The 

 plaice, for example, like the haddock, seemed here of a 

 more refined variety, approaching very nearly, in freshness 

 of appearance, to the much-sought North Sea fish. Hahbut 

 was almost entirely absent, and such few as were brought 

 up were all of diminutive size, contrasting strangely with the 

 giants of Portland. Cod was still scarce with us, this state 



