'
11*,
the water, totally denuded of all verdure, shapeless,
and disrupted, presenting to the navigator a
most hideous appearance, and forming a great contrast
to the beautiful mountains of snow which
had first attracted our attention on approaching
Iceland.
The number of birds that were everywhere
flying about, or resting on the Avaves, was quite
surprising. Gannets and puffins, guillemots and
aAvks (Alca) were very abundant, and so Avas th a t
lively little bird the tern, or sea-SAvallow. The tAVO
gulls named by the Dutch the mallmoke and the
kittiAvake, generally the most plentiful in the arctic
seas, Avere here the least numerous.
We had hoped, as Ave approached Shagen, that
Ave should have fallen in Avith a p ilo t; but it
appears there Avere none stationed at this place,
and th a t a vessel must run close to the entrance of
the harbour of Reikiavik before she has a chance
of procuring one. Skagen is the next point of land
Ave had to round to get into the Faxe Bugten, or
hay, improperly named in most of the charts Faxe
fiord, Avhich it is not, but an open bay, of at least
fifty miles from Cape Skagen to Snsefelness. In
fine weather the chances are that information
may be obtained from fishing-boats respecting the
approach to the capital of Iceland, Avhich is so
completely hidden by a projecting point of land
as not to be A'isible from the hay. With a strong
breeze, and compai’cdiA’ely smooth water, the Avind
b e i n g f a i r , a a 'C r a n o n a t a g r e a t r a t e t i l l A v e
f o u n d o u r s e l v e s s A i d d e n l y s t o p p e d b y a l o n g r e e f
o f r o c k s , s o m e u n d e r A v a t e r , s t r e t c h i n g o u t from
t h e f o o t o f a h i g h m o u n t a i n , A v h i c h Av e c o n c
l u d e d t o b e Ahhre f i - e l d . We h a d e v i d e n t l y p a s s e d
o u r p o r t , a n d a s t h e e v e n i n g A v a s g e t t i n g l a t e ,
a n d t h e d a y s h a d a l r e a d y s o f a r s h o r t e n e d t h a t
i t b e c a m e d u s k f o r t h r e e o r f o u r h o u r s d u r i n g
t h e n i g h t , a n d a s t h e r e w a s l i t t l e h o p e o f o u r
f i n d i n g i t b e f o r e t h e m o r n i n g , w e h a d n o a l t e r n a t
i v e b u t t o b e a t o u r w a y b a c k . At d a y - b r e a k Av e
v e n t u r e d c l o s e i n - s h o r e , b u t c o u l d n o w h e r e s e e a
h u m a n h a b i t a t i o n , o r a n y s i g n s o f l i f e . In e v e r y
d i r e c t i o n a l l A v a s d e s o l a t i o n — t h e b l a c k n a k e d r o c k s
t h a t b o u n d e d t h e c o a s t , a n d b o u n d e d a l s o o u r
v i e A v ,— f o r n o t h i n g w a s v i s i b l e b e y o n d t h e m , — w e r e
r e n t a n d t o r n , a n d h e a p e d o n e a c h o t h e r i n s t r a n g e
c o n f u s i o n .
We tried for one or two narroAV openings, boldly
—I might say rashly enough—as our small Danish
chart Avarned us th a t there were numerous rocks
under Avater. W^e had nearly paid dear for our
temerity, and might have left the “ Flower of
Yarrow” to finish her career in the Faxe Bugten,
for Ave ran her over a sunken rock, which had just
Avater enough upon it to let her pass, not, hoAV-
ever, Avithout grazing her k e e l; and fortunately
there was just Avind enough to force her over it,
Avithout sustaining any damage. I have learnt,
since my return, that the good people of Tronyem
f■1^.