TRAVELS IN ICELAND. 



37 



shall speak in another part of the causes of devastation in the 

 forests of Iceland. 



FARTHER REMARKS ON THE TURF OF ICELAND. 



The turf explored in this district, and which has been already 

 spoken of, proves, that at one time there must have been many 

 birch-trees in places where there is at present no appearance of 

 wood. A great disruption of rocks, which took place some 

 years ago at Esian, afforded an authentic proof that there was 

 formerly a fine forest of birch-trees in this canton ; and which 

 is recorded in one of the ancient Danish histories. We saw 

 with surprize, in a space exposed by this uisruption, some 

 fragments of birch, which shew that these trees must have been 

 very large, much more so indeed than those in the forests of 

 Housafall and Fnios Kadal, which are nevertheless the finest 

 that exist in this country. 



OF THE LAKE OF HI VALVATN. 



The Hivalvatn is a lake of fresh water, which, according 

 to tradition, takes its name from the carcase of a whale found 

 there. But two well-informed persons assured us, that this 

 said whale is nothing more than a rocky ridge covered w r ith 

 moss. We shall therefore be very cautious how we place it 

 amongst the vestiges of the deluge, which various persons say 

 they have observed in different parts of our globe. 



How ever careful the Icelanders may have been to discover 

 the remarkable events that have taken place in their country, 

 and particularly the volcanic eruptions, there are still many 

 which seem to have escaped them; though it is evident that 

 they have occurred since the island has been inhabited. 

 Amongst those which they have omitted, is the eruption that 

 took place in 1.340, in the chain of mountains that extends 

 towards the south of Mosfell-Bygden, which has certainly 

 suffered considerable shocks from subterraneous fires: they 

 have been partly calcined and even removed from their ancient 

 site. The annalsof Iceland make no mention of this circum- 

 stance. 



FARTHER INTERESTING DETAILS RELATIVE TO THE 

 INHABITANTS OF THIS COUNTRY. 



There has existed from time immemorial, in the western part 

 of Kialaraes, a house or kind of little manorial castle, near which 

 are the ruins of a temple of idols. They are of opinion, that 

 this temple was built about the year 888, in the time of Helge 

 Biaela, the father of Ingolf, who was one of the first inha- 

 bitants of Iceland. 



