DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD. 187 



always found in its inside. Cod-fish is their prin- 

 cipal merchandise, which they exchange for most 

 other goods they want ; they fish with line and hook, 

 and bait with raw flesh, or with the heart of a fish 

 just caught. TremarecVoyage in the North Sea. 



Iceland Salmon Fishery. The salmon fishery 

 in Lax Elbe afforded an extraordinary gay scene 

 on the appointed day for catching the salmon, 

 which is a regular festival, when all Reskiavik, 

 and the country round far and near, assembled at 

 a particular spot, to which the fish had previously 

 been driven, and in such multitudes as would ex- 

 ceed belief. Nothing was to be seen but happy 

 faces among all ranks, men, women, and children, 

 of all ages and conditions ; and with regard to the 

 fish, the men and women had only to wade into 

 the pool, seize the fish in their arms, and heave 

 them out upon land, where others collected them 

 in wooden panniers, to be conveyed toReikiavik, 

 and there prepared for drying and salting. It was 

 not unusual to catch from two to three thousand 

 in one day. After this the fish were caught in a 

 more rational way, once or twice a week, accord- 

 ing to the demand ; the quantity of fish did not 

 appear to be diminished in this river ; it was still 

 a curious sight to see multitudes of large fish at 

 the foot of the falls in the river. A little way be- 

 low the falls, a kind of weir was formed of large 

 stones, and two or three wooden boxes, with open- 



