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The National Geographic Magazine 



So much for the discovery of the 

 islands and its first settlement. Whether 

 or not natives of Ireland had lived in 

 Iceland previous to its discovery by Nod- 

 dodd seems to be a disputed question. At 

 any rate, the evidence relied upon in sup- 

 port of the supposition is very meager. 



The early colonization of Iceland was 

 greatly promoted by the tyrannical rule 

 of Harold the Fair-haired in Norway. 

 His relentless oppression drove from that 

 country many of the petty kings, who 

 preferred independence in a strange and 

 unknown land to persecution and humilia- 

 tion at home. These nobles took to them- 

 selves considerable districts in Iceland, 

 and for nearly 400 years governed the 

 island with no interference from the out- 

 side world. Internal feuds, however, had 

 been going on over a good part of this 

 period, and at last, in 1261, Hacon, the 

 king of Norway, succeeded in effecting 

 the subjugation of Iceland to Norway. 

 In 1387 it passed to Denmark and is to- 

 day one of her colonies. 



NOT A BITTERLY COLD COUNTRY 



Many misconceptions as to Iceland ex- 

 ist in our country. It is, perhaps, gen- 

 erally thought of as a cold and snowy 

 land, inaccessible except after much in- 

 convenience and possible hardship. It 

 may seem surprising to many to know 

 that the Icelanders who have emigrated 

 to America are said by their relatives 

 at home to complain bitterly of the ex- 

 treme cold of our winters. Mr Halldor 

 Bjarnarson, a Lutheran minister, resid- 

 ing at Prestholar. a parsonage on the 

 north coast of Iceland, writes "me of the 

 past winter in his district, that at no 

 time did he observe the temperature to 

 drop below -|-.q° Fahrenheit, and that 

 in the north of Iceland, almost on the 

 Arctic Circle. 



Two lines of steamships maintain regu- 

 lar all-the-vear sailings between Den- 

 mark. Scotland, and Iceland by wav of 

 the Faroe Islands. The single passage 

 to Reykjavik, the capital of the island, 

 on the southwest coast, reouires from 

 three to four days from Leith, or five 



to seven days from Copenhagen, and 

 the steamers of these lines are annually 

 carrying more and more tourists to an 

 island which is but just becoming recog- 

 nized as one of the most interesting and 

 fascinating lands in the world. The trip 

 is usually taken from Leith, as this 

 avoids the extra two days required in 

 the passage across the North Sea from 

 Copenhagen, a passage often rough and 

 disagreeable, in a steamer of the size of 

 those employed in the Iceland trade, 

 which average, perhaps, 1,000 tons gross. 

 Excluding meals, which cost one dollar 

 a day, the round-trip fare between either 

 Copenhagen or Leith and Iceland is about 

 thirty dollars — certainly moderate in view 

 of the distance covered. I have thought 

 it best to include these items as to the 

 time required and the cost of the trip to 

 Iceland because of the inconvenience of 

 ascertaining them. 



Most of the steamers go direct to Reyk- 

 javik, some of them stopping at the 

 Faroes on the northward voyage and 

 others on the southward voyage. Some, 

 however, proceed up the east coast of 

 Iceland, thence westward along the north 

 coast, and south to Reykjavik, and thence 

 back to Leith, while others make the 

 trip in the reverse order. 



UNCHANGING THROUGH THE CENTURIES 



So far I have said nothing as to travel 

 on the island itself. The method em- 

 ployed is unique and primitive. Barring 

 the possibility of driving on a narrow car- 

 riage road for about one day's ride from 

 the capital, and possibly a less distance 

 from some of the smaller towns, all travel 

 must be made on pony-back. Much has 

 been written about the Icelandic ponv. 

 He is individual, a type by himself, and 

 the word "sturdy" is his best description. 

 Those who contemplate long journevs on 

 the island must be provided with two 

 riding ponies, in addition to one or more 

 pack ponies apiece, dependino- on the 

 needs of the partv. With such an out- 

 fit, qo miles a dav is easilv possible. 



The Iceland of today is little dififerent 

 from the Iceland of over one hundred 



