THE F.^ROES AND ICELAND 269 



fast and never lets go before it is dead, which makes the 

 catch easier ; but the man must take care of himself, that 

 the birds should not get hold of his hands, for that would 

 hinder him in his work. 



" On Pujgarsdreng and Eleatidreng, of which the first 

 is 30 and the second 20 fathoms high, the Solans sleep on 

 the flat top. People climb these Drongs with the help of 

 poles which are lifted up to the cliff, to the different places 

 where foothold is to be got. and then others are hauled 

 up to them. When they are come to the top of the Drong, 

 four or six men steal along the edge on the Solans, and when 

 they have surrounded them, they all at a given signal spring 

 at once upon them and drive the Solans in a heap into the 

 middle of the Drong, where they kill them. As many as 

 50 may be taken in one night on the Drongs. This 

 proceeding is carried on every night so long as the weather 

 keeps fine until the Solans' breeding-time. They commonly 

 catch about 300 old Solans yearly. The catch of the young 

 [Solans] goes on from the 8th to the 29th of September, 

 and they are taken in the nest. They are commonly hit 

 on the head with a bit of wood. One or two boats lie under 

 the breeding place to pick up the young as they fall down. 

 Of the young about 600 are taken yearly. The flesh of 

 both old and young is salted down against the winter. The 

 feathers are of little value, for they smell so strongly." 



