92 
THINGEVALLE. 
its descent may be traced with the eye for a com 
siderable length of time. We saw abundance of 
small fish swimming here, some of which we 
caught, and found them to be the young of the 
Thingevalle trout; so that, although at a con¬ 
siderable distance from the lake, in all probability 
some of the numerous subterraneous caves com¬ 
municate with it. A little herbage covers the 
intermediate spaces between the chasms, but the 
more common alpine Lichens and Mosses occupy 
a great part of the surface. Dicranum purpu- 
reum astonished me by its size and abundance. 
In some of the caves, among the drippings of the 
rock, several plants of Veronica fruticulosa were 
displaying their lovely blossoms, and, on the edge 
of the caves and precipices, Polygonum, vivipa- 
rum grew in such profusion as to form thick 
tufts, several feet in diameter, and of great size. 
Cattle are often sent here to graze, but not with¬ 
out the annual loss of several, which fall into the 
holes and perish. The priest Egclosen had him¬ 
self a narrow escape from death, having one 
evening fallen into a chasm that was half filled 
with snow, where he remained till the next 
morning, when he was searched for, and, for¬ 
tunately, discovered in time to save his life. On 
returning to the house, we found the women and 
girls milking the sheep, which were for this pur¬ 
pose enclosed in a large oblong four-sided wall. 
