TRAVELS IN ICELAND. 



31 



wool, and letting them run off with the load, till the sheep, out 

 of breath, falls down, when the fox tears open its throat, and 

 sucks the blood, which it drinks with such delight and avidity, 

 that it often becomes stupified, and drops as it were in a swoon. 

 JBy this time an active shepherd generally comes up with it, and 

 easily kills it, by blows on the head with stones. It often hap- 

 pens that a fox, fixing to the wool, as above described, is, by a 

 strong and vigorous sheep, carried off with such rapidity, as to 

 become completely giddy, and infallibly to die. There is a re- 

 ward of a rix-dollar allowed for those who succeed in destroying 

 a litter of foxes ; and the anecdotes related by the people of this 

 animal's cunning are innumerable. 



mouse (Mus Muscuhts). 

 Iceland abounds too much in mice and rats, and yet there are 

 some parts in which they are not to be seen ; for example, the 

 present canton is absolutely free, both from mice and w T ood 

 rats. 



sea-dog (Rocca). 

 There may be seen in Iceland several species of sea-dogs, of 

 which uo description have hitherto been given ; but in the dis- 

 trict of Kiosar there are seldom found any other kinds than that 

 known to all Europe, and which the Icelanders call Land-selo?i?\ 

 Many naturalists, and particularly Pontopp, in his Natural His- 

 tory of the North, boast much of the instinct and prudence of 

 this animal : in this country, however, the people are ignorant 

 of all the wonders related by so many writers on this subject, 

 especially with what is said by Glaus Magnus, who asserts, that 

 this animal is not afraid of the female sex, for which reason in 

 England men dress themselves in women's clothes to catch it. 

 Shildrey also, in his <f Bacon of Yorkshire," gives a number of 

 wonderful anecdotes concerning this animal. In Iceland the sea- 

 dog is seldom taken by the net, as they prefer shooting its, which 

 renders it fearful, that it seldom breeds its young in the country. 

 The people, notwithstanding, have a very ingenious and amusing 

 manner of taking this animal ; which is, to construct little 

 bridges or crafts, on which it gets to feed its young, and thus 

 may be taken at any hour of the day. The Icelanders and Nor- 

 wegians formerly derived great advantage from this method ; but 

 as the greatest variety of the seal is to be found in the wes- 

 tern and northern parts of Iceland, we shall say more about it, 

 particularly of the manner in which it is hunted, when speaking 

 &f those districts. 



OF BIRDS. 



The inhabitants of this country are deprived of a great advan- 



