THS KRISUVIK SULPHUR-BANKS OF ICELAND, 87 



instead of ever-varying gales, the. sulphur sublimated from these sources 

 would be precipitated in regular banks : as it is, it hardly ever falls twenty- 

 four hours in the same direction, the wind blowing it hither and thither, 

 capriciously distributing the sulphur-shower in every quarter. What 

 between the roaring of the caldron, the hissing of the steam-jets, the 

 stink of the sulphur, the clouds of vapour, the luridness of the atmosphere, 

 the wildness of the glen, and the heat of the soil increasing tangibly at 

 every inch, I could not help occasionally glancing round to assure myself 

 that his Satanic Majesty was not present, and nestled up to my companions 

 to be ready in case of any such emergency as " Pull devil, pull governor," 

 arising. 



Such, with little variations save in locality, were the numerous soufrieres 

 and solfataras that we visited ; and they extend over a space of twenty-five 

 miles in length. The riches of the district consist not so much in these 

 numerous crusts of almost pure sulphur, as in the beds of what I must be per- 

 mitted to term sulphur-earth, which are promiscuously scattered in all direc- 

 tions, averaging from six inches to three feet in thickness, and containing 

 from fifty to sixty per cent, of pure sulphur, the creation of extinct subli- 

 matory sources in ages past* 



In the North, the sulphur is found in great quantities, in the more 

 extended districts round Myvatn and Husavik ; but it is far less pure, and 

 not so easy of access ; though in the past century a considerable amount 

 was exported from those sources. The mud-cauldron of Krabla, situated 

 amongst a range near the Myvatn, is, however, well worthy of notice, and 

 hardly inferior as a natural phenomenon to the great Geyser. Its basin, 

 literally a lake of boiling mud, is 300 feet in circumference, with numerous 

 jets scattered about on its surface ; the central one, about ten feet in 

 diameter, erupts every five or six minutes, and attains an altitude 

 varying from twelve to thirty feet. That caldron, it is needless to observe, 

 is one suffione. 



Apart from the natural phenomena of these districts, one cannot help 

 wondering that Danish enterprise has never developed what M. Robert, in 

 Gaimard's work, most justly terms a mine of wealth, and which must be 

 done when the Sicilian supply is consumed : at least, at present we know 

 of no other mines to take their place, unless it be the very remote ones 

 recently discovered in Japan. M. Robert also adds that they ought never 

 to be allowed to fall into the hands of Great Britain, on account of their 

 importance in time of war. But this, I am happy to say, has taken place 

 within the last few years, — the entire southern district being purchased 

 by an Englishman, Mr Bushby, who likewise holds the refusal of that in 

 the North. That gentleman visited the island in 1857, in H.M.S. ' Snake,' 



* Dr Murray Thomson, analytical chemist, of Edinburgh, examined some of the 

 crude sulphur or sulphur-muds from the sulphur- beds of Krisuvik. The first deter- 

 mination gave 98 '20 per cent, of sulphur ; the second determination, 96 '39 ; the mean 

 of the two analyses "being 97 '29. This is an unusually high percentage of sulphur, 

 the crude Sicilian sulphurs usually containing not more than 80 to 90 per cent. 



