Iceland

an island in the North Atlantic. The Arctic circle touches the northernmost points. The name is Danish, signifying a land of ice. It lies about 500 miles north of Scotland, 600 miles from Norway, and 250 miles from Greenland. It is of volcanic origin, being composed chiefly of tufa and basalt. There are still hot springs and at least one active volcano. The area is about 40,459 square miles--almost exactly the size of Kentucky. The extreme width is not over 200 miles. Measured from headland to headland, the circumference is about 900 miles, the actual coast line being over 2,000. The southeastern coast is unbroken. The remainder is penetrated by bays and fjords, affording harborage. The interior is a sandy, stony, high upland of no value, having an average altitude of 2,000 feet. In places there are ice caps. One of these, the greatest elevation in the island, rises to a height of 6,466 feet.

The settlements are confined to a fringe of land about the deep bays and firths. The farms are in no instance over fifty miles inland. Agriculture is confined almost entirely to garden patches, the total area of which is not over 200 or 300 acres. Potatoes, turnips, carrots, and cabbages grow well. Nearly all the arable land is devoted to a kind of self-sown wild rye, making valuable hay. The uplands afford pasture for sheep, cattle, and horses. The Icelandic horse is a sturdy, shaggy animal weighing about 900 pounds. Though larger, it resembles the Shetland pony in many respects. The cat has, of course, been introduced. The Icelandic dog appears to be a cross between the Eskimo dog and the Scotch collie.

The shoulders of the hills and parts of the island are covered with a growth of willow, juniper, and birch, seldom exceeding twelve feet in height. Fuel is scarce. The flowers of the island are delicate and bright in color. Heaths abound. Several wild berries, related to our blueberries, are found in the moors and hills. Almost the only wild animal is the fox. Owing to its liking for young lambs, as well as the value of its pelt, it is hunted assiduously. There are over fifty kinds of water fowl, including the eider duck and the whistling swan. There are also forty other birds, among which are the Iceland falcon and an eagle. The ptarmigan is the only game bird of the interior. In places, the shores of the island are precipitous cliffs, 2,000 feet in height, inhabited by cliff-nesting waterfowl.

The inhabitants are engaged chiefly in fishing and caring for their stock. In July the entire population turns out to secure the hay crop. The rivers abound in salmon. Shoals of cod, haddock, and halibut hover about the coast and enter the bays. Owing to the influence of the gulf stream, the climate is far milder than might be expected. The air is clear, like that of Colorado. Mountains 100 miles away may be seen without difficulty.

Although the ports of Iceland are open to the world, commerce is largely in the hands of the Danes. The exports are whale and fish products, wool, eider down, feathers, sheep, and horses. The country is entirely dependent on outside sources for breadstuffs, groceries, tobacco, and liquors.

The island was settled by Norwegians at an early date. They found a small colony of Irish in possession. Christianity was introduced in 981. For centuries Iceland was an independent republic, a nation of hardy navigators, a period to which the inhabitants still look back with pride. In 1264 the island was annexed by Norway. In 1380 it passed under the control of Denmark. Home rule has been granted. The inhabitants are Scandinavians of Lutheran profession. There is little poverty and less wealth. The largest income in the island is said not to exceed $1,500. The people have been noted for generations as readers. Although public schools have been established the children are taught largely at home. A small university is maintained at the capital. Books and periodicals are in great demand and are passed from home to home. Illiteracy is almost unknown. There is one policeman on the island. There are no saloons and no jails.

The Icelandic language is a subject of much interest to scholars. Chairs of Icelandic are maintained in a number of universities. The Gothic is the parent of Teutonic languages. In some respects the Icelandic tongue is more like the Gothic than is any other modern language. It is thus a more antiquated form than any other Scandinavian language. On the other hand, it has been modified more than the Scandinavian tongues, and in many respects resembles the English. It is, therefore, one of the most ancient, as well as one of the most modern, languages in Europe. During the period of national independence, Iceland developed a literature of its own. Proverbs innumerable, folk tales, songs of victory, elegies, history, and romantic works known as sagas, lives of kings, descriptions of journeys, and accounts of voyages form a considerable body of literature comparing not unfavorably with the riddles, rhymes, nursery jingles, ballads, and early chronicles of England. The masterpieces of Greek, Latin, German, French, and English literatures, as well as the entire Bible, have been translated into Icelandic.

The island has undergone many vicissitudes. Its conquest by Norway killed local pride and arrested development. In 1627 Algerian pirates visited the coasts, killing many of the inhabitants and destroying such property as they could not carry away. In 1707 nearly 20,000 people died of smallpox. In 1783 and the following years there were volcanic eruptions. Severe famines, the latest in 1824-5, have reduced the population. The population in 1903 was returned at 78,470. Reykjavik is the capital.

See Geyser; Hecla; Edda; Vinland