Reykjavík
Great Geysir did not favour us with an eruption,
as we had wished, so we stirred up Stroker with the
usual meal of turf, which caused it to spout, but
scarcely to the same height as when I witnessed its
performance in 1874. In the evening we left for
Thingvellir, but as we did not arrive there till one A.M.
we did not awake our friend the priest, who, on rising,
found us lying asleep, with the tent covered over
us, upon the grass just outside his door. This good
gentleman upbraided us for not waking him up,
brought out everything of his best, and gave us a
hearty breakfast, for we were old friends. Five
hours' hard riding later on brought us to Reykjavík,
where I again put up at the house of friend Oddr
Gislasson, who had two Scotch ladies staying with
him. These I found to be Miss Oswald and Miss
Menzies, who had been making a prolonged tour in
the island — a plucky undertaking, which perhaps
may encourage other ladies to seek health and
amusement amongst the wild rocks of salubrious
Iceland, undeterred by the fear of having no other
escort than an Icelander.
Vpon the arrival of the Post ship, I was amused
to receive an extract from the "Evening Echo" of
August giving a most deplorable account of my health
and personal appearance after crossing the Vatna
Jökull. Though it amused us all at Reykjavík, I felt
sorry to think of the unnecessary distress and anxiety
it might cause to my friends at home. If such were
the motive of the writer, it may gratify him to learn
that he succeeded admirably. However, any one of
the Sulphur Company would at once have pronounced
the statement to he false.
I rejoiced in the possession of two pairs of Alpine
boots, but I preferred wearing Icelandic mocassins,
they being easier to walk in. I had also two coats, ,
but always preferred wearing a'tight knitted jersey
and waistcoat, which were much more convenient
for movement, while I generally prefer a knitted
cap instead of a hat, for a cap draws down about the
ears and keep them warm, and is less at the mercy of
sudden gusts of wind. It seemed curious how such
a worthless little piece of pure imagination could
gain access to London newspapers. The simple
facts are, I sent a carefully written letter, giving a
succinct account of my journey across the Vatna
Jökull and my visit to Öskjugjá, the effects of which
volcano were creating much discussion in England
at the time. This letter Capt. Burton kindly
forwarded for me to the "Times," and it was set up in
type (as the proof came into my hand on my return),
but for some reason or another, best known to the
editor, it subsided into the waste paper basket,
while a more lengthy letter I afterwards wrote to the
same journal, giving an account of the eruption in
the Mývatns Öræfi, appeared in full. There are
anomalies in the civilized world which confound one
even more than the idiosyncracies of nature.
With the Post ship came several tourists who
were bent on making a few days' excursion in the
island. We therefore made up a party, including
Miss Oswald, Miss Menzies, Mr. Young, of
Edinburgh, and myself, to pay a visit with Oddr
Gíslasson to some solfataras belonging to him at
Cape Reykjanes, and a very pleasant trip it was,
though the way was extremely monotonous, being
as usual over a series of lava streams flowing from
the Krisuvík mountains. The part of the S.W.
peninsular we were traversing was called the
Vatnsleysuströnd, or waterless strand; here there is no
fresh water to be obtained except upon the beach
where the lava streams terminate. These can often
only be reached at low water, and then, as may
be imagined, the water is brackish. Two days'
journeying brought us to Kirkjuvogr, where Oddr
Gíslasson's mother and brothers-in-law lived. It is one
of the best homesteads in the south, besides having
about the largest piece of grass land on this peninsular.
It is also a fishing station of some importance, lying
as it does upon the south bank of a little boot-shaped
creek named Oscar. We were very kindly received,
and the next day rode on to the solfataras of
Reykjanes at the extremity of the peninsular. The day
was miserable, and we were unable to get a
satisfactory view. These solfataras, however, are remarkable,
as the acid and heated vapours have here, as in other
places, formed extensive pools of calcareo-siliceous
mud, hardened in some instances into almost a
semiopal, coloured and streaked with blood-red stains
from the ferruginous nature of the rocks which have
been decomposed, but the sublimations of sulphur
were very insignificant.
The most remarkable feature of the locality
occurred where the lava was not much decomposed
by the erosive action of the vapours, and upon
splitting such masses of the partially decomposed
rock, scarlet vapours could be seen issuing from
crevices beneath, coating any surface that was
partially exposed to the air with a film of iron pyrites.
Further up the side of the old volcano, at the base of
which these curiosities are to be found, are pools
and pits of blue, red, and green boiling clay. While
in this locality the rain continued and the fog
became more dense, and as it would have been
anything but pleasant to be caught in a thick fog amongst
the lava and solfataras of Reykjanes, we curtailed
our visit, and returned with all speed to Kirkjuvogr.
Return to Reykjavík
The next day, wishing to avoid the tedious road
over the lava by which we came, we rode to
Njarðvík, where we hired a sailing boat, and returned
by sea to Reykjavík. Here I found that Captain
Cockle and Mr. Slimond had returned by the
Postship with the welcome intelligence that the steamer
"Queen" would arrive in about a week, and sail
almost as soon as the old tub "Diana" This was
indeed good news to us all, for we had determined to
return by a small sailing ship belonging to a
horsetrader, Mr. Ascham, rather than subject ourselves to
the floating purgatory of the Diana.
In due time the "Queen" arrived, and I bade
Iceland and Icelandic friends farewell, feeling
satisfied with my summer's work, and consoling myself
with the thought that I had accomplished the little
piece of "utter folly" I had thrice undertaken. I
resignedly committed myself to the evils of
seasickness, from which I had scarcely recovered when
we arrived at Edinburgh, two days before the Diana.
which had sailed from Reykjavík a day before the
Queen. Here I accepted the hospitality of Mr.
Slimond, of Leith, and greatly enjoyed British fare
and a relapse into civilization.
"Ah!" my reader may say with a smile, "after all
the toil and trouble undertaken the wonders seen
could not have been worth the toil and privation."
My readers, like myself, must by this time have
grown somewhat weary of the eternal repetition of
lava, pumice, &c., &c., and therefore we will mutually
congratulate ourselves upon being able to vary the
subject with reference to scenes and subjects more
lively and civilized; but I must most respectfully
demur to that conclusion, for if the general aspect
of nature throughout Iceland be dreary and wild,
there is also plenty to reward a man of scientific and
athletic inclinations. Indeed the same tiresome
pumice and lava and sand, when placed beneath the
power of the microscope, is found to possess such
wonders and exquisite beauty- of form, that the
beholder is struck with admiration and astonishment
to find so much perfection treasured up in such rough
settings, giving material for many an hour of patient
study and enjoyment which has alone fully
compensated for the hardships of the journey across the
Vatna Jökull.