TRAVELS IN ICELAND. 



£5 



FISH. 



Whales are rarely seen in the Gulph of Kolle, or at least 

 they are only of the smallest species ; while in the Gulph of Ha- 

 valfiord, which is five miles in length, by one in breadth, several 

 kinds appear in spring, which are easily surrounded and driven 

 on shore by pelting them with stones. The same takes place in 

 the gulph of the western part of the island, where the inhabitants 

 attack them in greater numbers. In the lakes of Heller and 

 Kortolfetade, they take several kinds of salmon, which are to- 

 lerably abundant, and come into low water on the breaking up 

 of the ice. In some seasons the sea-dog makes great havoc 

 amongst the salmon, by watching for them at the mouth of the 

 river. 



BOATS OF THE FISHERMEN. 



At Kialarnes, fishing lasts all the year ; and the men employ 

 boats or canoes, the largest of which only holds four persons, 

 while the smallest will not contain more than one man; in the 

 latter some risk is incurred, particularly in rough weather. 

 These canoes are moved by the oar. 



From different traditions, it is evident that similar canoes were 

 used here in the earliest ages, with the exception that they were 

 then longer and deeper, and that they required two men to work 

 them, one at the prow and the other at the poop, each man 

 using two oars. The inhabitants of Kialarnes use for their 

 canoes sails, made of very fine wollen stuff, woven in the man- 

 ner of linen. The peasantry wear shirts of the same article. 

 Their boats have but one sail, which is a fourth narrower at top 

 than at bottom: the masts are not all of the same height, 

 but the general proportion is two-thirds of the length of the 

 boat. There are no other particulars worthy of notice, ex- 

 cept that, instead of an anchor, they use a stone like those 

 of a mill, perforated in the middle, to contain a stake, through 

 which a rope is passed to let it into the water. 



Amongst the fish which they take, are the chub, the sole, and 

 the thornback ; from the liver of which last they extract an 

 excellent oil. In spring and autumn they catch small soles with 

 hooks made for the purpose ; and it is remarkable, that this fish 

 always comes near the shore, or at least within an eighth of a 

 mile. 



SHELL-FISH. 



Of the different kinds of shell-fish found in the district of 

 Kiosar, four are good to eat, two of which, being very scarce 

 in other parts, we shall describe : the first is the Concha ven- 

 tricosa bivahis, nec auricidata, which is obtained on the 



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