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dalr, and drilled a hole in the stone, so that, by looking through this, the eye might rest directly on the entrance to the glen. The opening is distinguishable enough from the point; but the slab, though it still stands, has been shaken out of the upright by some of the convulsions of the volcano, so that the hole does not point directly to the vale.

My intention was, to have examined this traditional dale, but the grass was not sufficiently grown to allow of the horses being kept more than a day in the neighbourhood, and it was absolutely necessary that we should have fine weather for the passage of Kaldidalr.

Thorir's vale receives its name from a Troll or mountain being who dwelt there; he is vaguely mentioned in the Gretla, but he is spoken of also in the Bárthar-Saga. In all probability, the Trolls of old Icelandic historical romance were nothing more than ruffians who lived in dens and caves of the earth, robbing bonders and preying on wayfarers. This is remarkably borne out by the fact of one of Grettir's friends, Hallmund, spoken of in the Gretla as a man whose hand was against every man, being named in the Bárthar-Saga as a Troll or evil being.

Several attempts have been made to rediscover Thorisdalr, but all have been unsuccessful. Messrs. Olafsen and Povelsen mention an account of the ascent of Geitland's Jökull by Bjärnarson and Helgi, two Icelandic ecclesiastics, but state that their journal was written in such a confused style that it was difficult to make anything of it. According to this account, they arrived towards evening, in delightful weather, at a large valley situated in the heart of Geitland's Jökull; it was of such depth that they could not distinguish whether it were covered with grass or not, and the descent to it was so steep that they were not able to go down, and consequently they returned. Messrs. Olafsen and Povelsen themselves effected an ascent of the glacier, but without discovering the mysterious vale, probably because they climbed the mountain from the Kalmanstúnga side, whilst the glen lies on that nearest to Skjaldbreith. Their account of the ascent is as follows:

"On the 9th of August we started for Reykholtsdal on our way for the glacier of Geitland; our object was not so much to discover a region or inhabitants different from those we had quitted, as to observe the glacier with the most scrupulous accuracy, and thus to procure new intelligence relative to the construction of this wonderful edifice of nature. The weather was so fine and the sky so clear, that we had reason to expect that we should accomplish our object according to our wish, but it is necessary to state that in a short time the Jökulls draw towards them the fogs and clouds that are near. On the 10th of August in the morning, the air was calm, but the atmosphere was so loaded with fog that at times the glacier was not visible. About eleven o'clock, however, it cleared up, and we continued our journey from Kalmanstúnga. The high mountains of Iceland rise in gradations, so that on approaching them you discover only the nearest elevation, or that whose summit forms the first projection. On reaching this you perceive a similar height, and so pass over successive elevations till you reach the summit of the ridge. In the glaciers, these projections generally commence in the highest parts, and may be discovered at a distance because they overtop those mountains that do not form Jökulls themselves. We found that it was much farther to the Jökull than we had imagined, and at length we reached a pile of rocks which, without forming steps or gradations at the point where we ascended, were of considerable height and very steep; these rocks extend to a great distance, and appear to make a circumvallation around the glacier, for we perceived their continuance as far as the eye could reach. Between this pile of rocks and the glacier, there is a small plain about a quarter of a mile in width, the soil of which is clay, having neither pebbles nor flakes of ice, because the waters which continually flow from the glacier, carry them off. On advancing a little farther we discovered, to the right, a lake situated at one of the angles of the glacier, the banks of which were formed of ice, and the bed received a portion of the waters which flowed from the moun

tains. The water was perfectly green, a colour it acquired by the rays of light that broke against the ice. After many turnings and windings we found a path by which we could descend with our horses into the valley. On arriving there, we met with another embarrassment, as well in crossing a rivulet discharged from the lake as in passing the muddy soil, in which our horses often sank up to the chest. In some parts this soil is very dangerous to travellers, many of whom have been engulphed and perished in it.

"Our object was so far attained, that we were now on Geitland, but we found it a very disagreeable place. We discovered a mountain peak rising above the ice, and which, as well as the other mountains, had been formed by subterranean fires. We led our horses over the masses of ice, after which we left them, and travelled the remainder of the way on foot. We had taken the precaution of providing ourselves with sticks armed with strong iron points, and with a strong rope in case of any of the party falling into a crevass, or sinking in the snow. We had also a compass which we regarded as indispensable, as well for guiding us, as to observe whether at so considerable a height there was any perceptible deflection of the needle. Thus prepared, we began to escalade the glacier at two o'clock in the afternoon; the air was loaded with a thick fog which covered the whole mountain; but, hoping that it would disperse, we continued our dangerous and troublesome route, though at every instant we had to pass deep crevasses, one of which was an ell and a half in width, and the greatest precaution was required in crossing it.

"As we mounted higher, the wind blew much stronger, and drove larger and more abundant flakes of snow before it: fortunately we had the wind in our backs, which facilitated our ascent; but we met at the same time with heaps of snow, which rendered our progress difficult. Hoping, however, that the weather would change, we agreed not to return till we had gained the summit, from which arose a black rock that we could perceive at intervals.

"At length, after travelling for two hours longer, we found that we had made no additional observations, since we could discover nothing in the distance. A rampart of burnt rock of no considerable height rose above the ice, and at this we paused to rest. The snow-flakes now obscured the air so much that we hardly knew how we should get back: we examined the compass, but without observing any change; and we were prevented by our guides from going towards the north-west, where the mountain is highest and least accessible. The weather continued the same on the Geitland, so that we found it impossible to resist the cold much longer, and deemed it prudent to return.

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Although the sky was very heavy and dark, we discovered, on our return, the entrance to a valley; if the weather had been more favourable, we should doubtless have had the pleasure of investigating it; but we doubt whether we should have found Thorir's dale. As we descended, we found the wind in our face, which threw the snow so much against us, that we could not discover the traces of our ascent, and it therefore only remained for us to take the road which was least steep.

"By this means we again met with ravines and crevasses, which rendered our descent very dangerous, because they were from three to three ells and a half wide, whilst the soil that separated them was very uneven; insomuch that we were obliged often to go out of our way, or to run the risk of being precipitated to the bottom."

Of the existence of Thorir's dale I can have no doubt. The words of the Gretla are simple and explicit; the stone which Grettir set up to mark the entrance of the vale still stands, the Icelanders who live anywhere near are unanimous in their opinion that a vale does lie among the Jökulls in the direction indicated by the Saga, and, indeed, an opening which may lead to it is visible from Skjaldbreith. That the valley produces grass now and is full of hot springs, I do not pretend to assert, as there took place an eruption from Ball Jökull, of

which Geitland's is a spur, in 1716, which may have altered the character of the dale, destroyed its grass, and choked its springs.

I unfortunately missed seeing M. Gunnlaugson, the compiler of the great Icelandic map, who could have given me some information on the subject; but, if it please God to spare me, on my next visit to Iceland, I shall thoroughly explore Thorisdalr.

Skirting a desert of new lava which has gushed from that treacherous Skjaldbreith, we reached a high lake-district, where Martin shot three northern-divers, and missed several swans. Mr. Briggs was lucky this day, and my saddle-bags were filled with the results of his and the Yankee's shooting.

I had been suffering for the last two days from a feverish attack with cramps, so that I could hardly walk; and, as we pitched our tents amidst a drizzle, under a snow-patch, with two cold springs near us, trickling into a tarn thronged with wild duck and swans, I felt so giddy and ill, that I would willingly have coiled myself in my rugs and gone to sleep. But this was impossible: wood had to be got, and the birds to be cooked. The only fuel which can be procured is willowroot dug from the soil. No willow grows on this spot now, but the roots remain for the use of the traveller, and, as this is the only grass spot between Kalmanstúnga and Meyjar-skarth, it is a favourite camping-place. Grimr told me that, however much of the roots was dug up, the store never failed. It would have failed us, however, had I not collected a provision during the day, and carried it in a bundle before me on my saddle, tightly strapped together: besides, we had to send Gúthmundr back some way to a spot where we had noticed a considerable amount of root which had been laid bare by the wind.

My companions started in pursuit of swans, whilst I cooked the supper, and boiled the water for tea and toddy. I strove hard to make oatmeal cakes, but they were failures; the dog even would not touch them; the tea also was spoiled by Grímr having put the pepper into the teapot for safety.

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