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June 16.

Friday houses together in Iceland. About two o'clock the next morning, we discovered Westman's Isles, or Vestmannaeyer, as the natives call them. These islands are so named, from the circumstance of some Irish fugitives, who had killed their master, having escaped to them in A.D. 875; for the Irish and Scotch were both called by the ancient Norwegians Vestmen. According to Povelsen and Olafsen, some places in the principal, and the only inhabited, island, are still known by the names of these Irish runaways. The whole groupe appears perfectly barren, and they rise to a vast height, and of the strangest shapes, perpendicularly from the sea. We had a magnificent view, as we passed close by them with a light breeze, which, however, was scarcely sufficient, in our captain's opinion, to take us out of the force of the currents, which run here with great velocity. As we proceeded, the different sides which came to our view presented different shapes and appearances; in some, these sides hung over the deep, as if they would fall every instant; others had a perforation at their bottoms, through which a boat under sail might pass: all of them were of a

dark brown color, but whitened in places by the dung of the immense quantity of birds which constantly frequent them. In the afternoon, we saw other Jökuls, which were covered with snow, and extended in uninterrupted lines almost as far as our sight could reach. Hence, we bore a little more to the southward, in order to double a dangerous chain of rocks running out from the southeast corner of Iceland, and called the Fugle Skiers. We soon lost sight of our snow mountains, and, instead of feasting our eyes with these wonders of the northern regions, had to encounter three days of almost incessant squalls, sleet, rain, and a most boisterous sea. When, at length, we supposed we had sailed far beyond the outermost rock (for we gave it a birth of twenty-five miles), we steered to the northward, and reckoned the next morning upon entering the great bay of Faxa-fiord. We were all thrown into confusion, however, by Mr. Jorgensen's accidentally looking out a-head, and discovering, within a few minutes sail, some breakers dashing over a sunken rock directly in our course. He immediately gave orders for putting the vessel about, and flew himself, with

the greatest alertness, from one part of the deck to another, to assist, by his own exertions, where fear or hurry prevented the common sailors from doing their duty. Although it blew a gale of wind, so that, in getting about, our decks were completely washed by the seas, yet, it was done so rapidly, that no one, except Mr. Jorgensen, knew the extent of the danger, till we had escaped from it. Unfortunately, almost at the same time the wind shifted, and we were obliged to beat about to the southward for two days, before we could get round this dangerous reef, which was not laid down in any of our charts. At length, with more favorJune 20. able weather, on the 20th we entered Faxa-fiord, and steered pretty nearly due east, to get into Reikevig Bay. On our right was a long flat extent of land, which is called Guldbringue Syssel, or District: from it, rose several insulated mountains, and one of a remarkably conical figure, but none of any Wednesday, great height. Early on the followJune 21. ing morning, as we continued our course, other larger mountains came in view, on the mist's clearing away; and, after an interval of several hours from the time of our firing the signal, we saw a boat, with some

Tuesday,

pilots on board, approach us. We were delighted at seeing some new faces, in spite of their nastiness and stench; and their grotesque appearance afforded us much amusement. I cannot say that I observed any thing strikingly peculiar in their features: their faces were mostly broad, and, as to color, none of the fairest. Their stature was in general small, but one or two of them were rather tall, and, I think, not much less than six feet high. Some had pretty long beards, while others had as much only, as would remain after the operation of shaving had been performed with a blunt knife, or a pair of scissars: as to their hair, it was altogether in a state of nature, untouched by a comb, and hung over their backs and shoulders; matted together, and visibly swarming with those little vermin, and their eggs*, which are

* Much, and universally as the common people of Iceland are infested with these troublesome creatures, and greatly as they are sometimes distressed for food, I never saw or heard of their applying them to that use, which Kracheninnikow observes is common among the Kamtchadals, of whom he says, "Ces peuples sont remplis d'une si grande quantité de vermine, qu' en soulevant leurs tresses, ils ramassent la vermine avec la main, la mettent en un tas, et la mangent." Vol. i. p.21.

the constant attendants of that part of the human body, when cleanliness is neglected. Their dress was simple enough, and warm; it consisted of a woollen shirt, a short waistcoat, and a jacket of coarse blue cloth or wadmal, and still coarser trowsers of the same materials, but undyed: the buttons were mostly of horn, and were, probably, from Denmark. Their stockings were of coarse worsted, and their shoes made of seal or sheep skin. Their gloves, too, were of the same materials as the stockings, that is to say, knitted worsted, made without divisions for the fingers, but having two appendages on each of them for the thumb: by this contrivance, when a boatman, in rowing, feels his hands galled, from the inside of his glove being wet and dirty, he turns the glove on the same hand, and has a dry and clean side against the palm. An Iceland hat is well contrived to keep the rain from the neck and shoulders; for it is furnished with an immense brim, which hangs down behind, in a manner not much unlike that which our London porters to the coal vessels make use of, but is equally large before. This, and the buttons, appeared to be the only articles of their dress which were of foreign

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