Other moving towards the east and along
Sida, where it burned the country about
Skalarstapa, and forced itself with incredible
fury up to Skalarfiall; but, as this mountain
checked the more rapid progress of the fire
towards the north, the lava rose considerably
in height, and, in ascending the sides of the
mountain, rolled up its covering of moss in
the same manner as a large piece of cloth
might be done by human means. In the
evening the stream was not above an hundred
and twenty yards distant from the church of
Skal, when the inhabitants quitted it. They
had been in hopes that the fire would have
spared this place, as it had passed by, four
days preceding, without doing any in ju ry ;
but just at this moment, contrary to the
expectation of every one, the fire broke out
afresh, and carried away every thing that
had before been left by the lava. This
eruption was accompanied by a strong and
constant trembling of the earth, which had
much abated since the 12th day of June,
the first of the eruption. On the ensuing
day, the fire-stream proceeded to the farm
Holt, overflowing the tract between that
place and Skal, by which means the lava
that had lately reached that spot, rose considerably
in height. ... The other branch,
previously mentioned as having bent its
course towards the south, along the river
Melquiol, extended itself widely on both
sides of it.
0 1 _
Destructive Notwithstanding that the farm
consequences. Qf § ] ca J wag placect in an elevated
situation, at the farthest extremity of the
great valley, or Skaal, whence it takes it
name ( Skaal in Icelandic signifying a
b o w l yet the lava had prevented all access
to it; and when, on the ensuing day, the
21st of June, great torrents of rain had
swollen the brooks, proceeding from the
mountains on both sides of the farm of Skal,
this place was, together with the church and
adjacent houses, entirely overflowed with
water, which the next morning was boiling
excessively. At the same time that the
flood destroyed Skal, the western branch of
the fire-stream spread itself with great rapidity
farther to the eastward, over the river
Steinsmyrarfliot, and all the way to the
parsonage, Holmasel, which, as well as the