And uninhabited, so that they could have found nothing to prey upon.
In fact, I turned over in my mind every probability, and can only
say that it appeared to me a most remarkable circumstance to find in
this desert place, so far from any living thing, a number of bones,
which, moreover, looked as fresh as if the poor animals to whom they
once belonged had been eaten but a short time ago. Unfortunately I
could obtain no satisfactory information on this point.
It is difficult to imagine any thing more laborious than to wander
about in this cavern. As the road had shewed itself at the entrance
of the cavern, so it continued throughout its whole extent. The
path consisted entirely of loose fragments of lava heaped one upon
the other, over which we had to clamber with great labour. None of
us could afford to help the others; each one was fully occupied with
himself. There was not a single spot to be seen on which we could
have stood without holding fast at the same time with our hands. We
were sometimes obliged to seat ourselves on a stone, and so to slide
down; at others, to take hands and pull one another to the top of
high blocks of stone.
We came to several immense basins, or craters, which opened above
our heads, but were inaccessible, the sides being too steep for us
to climb. The light which entered through these openings was
scarcely enough to illumine the principal path, much less the
numerous by-paths.
At Kalmannstunga I had endeavoured to procure torches, but was
obliged to consider myself fortunate in getting a few tapers. It is
necessary to provide oneself with torches at Reikjavik.
The parts of the cavern beneath the open craters were still covered
with a considerable quantity of snow, by which our progress was
rendered very dangerous. We frequently sunk in, and at other times
caught our feet between the stones, so that we could scarcely
maintain our balance. In the by-paths situated near these openings
an icy rind had formed itself, which was now covered with water.
Farther on, the ice had melted; but it was generally very dirty, as
a stratum of sand mixed with water lay there in place of the stones.
The chief path alone was covered with blocks of lava; in the smaller
paths I found only strata of sand and small pieces of lava.
The magical illumination produced by the sun's rays shining through
one of these craters into the cavern produced a splendid effect.
The sun shone perpendicularly through the opening, spread a dazzling
radiance over the snow, and diffused a pale delicate light around
us.
