96 JOURNEY TO THE GEYSERS. 
merable cracks, rents, and hills of rugged lava, 
which rendered travelling extremely fatiguing 
for the horses, and by no means free from dan¬ 
ger ; for a false step, or a rolling stone, would 
easily have thrown both the animal and rider to 
the bottom of a chasm. The passages between 
many of these chasms were scarcely of sufficient 
width for a single horse, and were, also, so 
full of holes, that it required horses used to this 
country to attempt to go along them ; but the 
most fatiguing part of this day’s journey was 
when we had to go through the three long 
chasms, which I have already mentioned as ex¬ 
tending across the plain. They were of consider¬ 
able depth every where, except in the parts 
where we crossed them, and there, they were 
half filled up with loose pieces of lava, forming 
a rude natural causeway. At the entrance of one 
of these *, we were obliged to have all the luggage 
taken off the horses, and carried over on mens’ 
shoulders. We were then full half an hour in 
crossing a place of not more than two or three 
hundred yards; except that we were occupied 
some little time, in helping the horse of the 
* Called Hrafnagiaa. Povelsen and Olafsen, speaking of 
the numerous openings in the ground about Thingevalle, 
say, “ Celle de Hrafnagiaa embarrasse sur-tout beaueoup 
“ les voyageurs; parce qu’il y a bien peu d’endroits oil Von 
puisse la passer ou la traverser.” 
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