GEIR ZOEGA.
Wishing to see as much of the island as possible during the short time
at my disposal, I made application to young Jonasen for information in
regard to a guide, and through his friendly aid secured the services
of Geir Zoega, a man of excellent reputation.
A grave, dignified man is Geir Zoega, large of frame and strong of
limb; a light-haired, blue-eyed, fresh, honest-faced native, warm of
heart and trusty of hand; a jewel of a guide, who knows every rook,
bog, and mud-puddle between Reykjavik and the Geysers; a gentleman by
nature, born in all probability of an iceberg and a volcano; a
believer in ghosts and ghouls, and a devout member of the Church. All
hail to thee, Geir Zoega! I have traveled many a rough mile with thee,
used up thy brandy and smoked thy cigars, covered my chilled body with
thy coat, listened to thy words of comfort pronounced in broken
English, received thy last kind wishes at parting, and now I say, in
heartfelt sincerity, all hail to thee, Geir Zoega! A better man never
lived, or if he did, he could be better spared at Reykjavik.
To my great discontent, I found it indispensable to have five horses,
although I proposed making the trip entirely without baggage. It
seemed that two were necessary for myself, two for the guide, and one
to carry the provisions and tent, without which it would be very
difficult to travel, since there are no hotels in any part of the
interior. Lodgings may be had at the huts of the peasants, and such
rude fare as they can furnish; but the tourist had better rely upon
his own tent and provisions, unless he has a craving to be fed on
black bread and curds, and to be buried alive under a dismal pile of
sods.
[Illustration: GEIR ZOEGA.]
The reason why so many horses are required is plain enough. At this
time of the year (June) they are still very poor after their winter's
starvation, the pasturage is not yet good, and, in order to make a
rapid journey of any considerable length, frequent changes are
necessary. Philosophy and humanity combined to satisfy me that the
trip could not well be made with a smaller number. I was a little
inquisitive on that point, partly on the score of expense, and partly
on account of the delay and trouble that might arise in taking care
of so many animals.
If there is any one trait common among all the nations of the earth,
it is a natural sharpness in the traffic of horse-flesh. My experience
has been wonderfully uniform in this respect wherever it has been my
fortune to travel. I have had the misfortune to be the victim of
horse-jockeys in Syria, Africa, Russia, Norway, and even California,
where the people are proverbially honest. I have weighed the
horse-jockeys of the four continents in the balance, and never found
them wanting in natural shrewdness. It is a mistake, however, to call
them unprincipled. They are men of most astonishing tenacity of
principle, but unfortunately they have but one governing principle in
life--to get good prices for bad horses.
On the arrival of the steamer at Reykjavik the competition among the
horse-traders is really the only lively feature in the place.
Immediately after the passengers get ashore they are beset by offers
of accommodation in the line of horse-flesh. Vagabonds and idlers of
every kind, if they possess nothing else in the world, are at least
directly or indirectly interested in this species of property. The
roughest specimens of humanity begin to gather in from the country
around the corners of the streets near the hotel, with all the
worn-out, lame, halt, blind, and spavined horses that can be raked up
by hook or crook in the neighborhood. Such a medley was never seen in
any other country. Barnum's woolly horse was nothing to these shaggy,
stunted, raw-backed, bow-legged, knock-kneed little monsters, offered
to the astonished traveler with unintelligible pedigrees in the
Icelandic, which, if literally translated, must surely mean that they
are a mixed product of codfish and brushwood. The size has but little
to do with the age, and all rules applicable as a test in other parts
of the world fail here. I judged some of them to be about four months
old, and was not at all astonished when informed by disinterested
spectators that they ranged from twelve to fifteen years. Nothing,
in fact, could astonish me after learning that the horses in Iceland
are fed during the winter on dried fish. This is a literal fact. Owing
to the absence of grain and the scarcity of grass, it becomes
necessary to keep life in the poor animals during the severest months
of the season by giving them the refuse of the fisheries; and, what is
very surprising, they relish it in preference to any other species of
food. Shade of Ceres! what an article of diet for horses! Only think
of it--riding on the back of a horse partly constructed of fish! No
wonder some of them blow like whales.
[Illustration: ICELANDIC HORSES.]
In one respect the traveler can not be cheated to any great extent; he
can not well lose more than twelve specie dollars on any one horse,
that being the average price. To do the animals justice, they are like
singed cats--a great deal better than they look. If they are not much
for beauty, they are at least hardy, docile, and faithful; and, what
is better, in a country where forage is sometimes difficult to find,
will eat any thing on the face of the earth short of very hard lava or
very indigestible trap-rock. Many of them, in consequence of these
valuable qualities, are exported every year to Scotland and Copenhagen
for breeding purposes. Two vessels were taking in cargoes of them
during our stay at Reykjavik.
I was saved the trouble of bargaining for my animals by Geir Zoega,
who agreed to furnish me with the necessary number at five Danish
dollars apiece the round trip; that is, about two dollars and a half
American, which was not at all unreasonable. For his own services he
only charged a dollar a day, with whatever _buono mano_ I might choose
to give him. These items I mention for the benefit of my friends at
home who may take a notion to make the trip.
I was anxious to get off at once, but the horses were in the country
and had to be brought up. Two days were lost in consequence of the
heavy rains, and the trail was said to be in very bad condition. On
the morning of the third day all was to be ready; and having
purchased a few pounds of crackers, half a pound of tea, some sugar
and cheese, I was prepared to encounter the perils of the wilderness.
This was all the provision I took. Of other baggage I had none, save
my overcoat and sketch-book, which, for a journey of five days, did
not seem unreasonable. Zoega promised me any amount of suffering; but
I told him Californians rather enjoyed that sort of thing than
otherwise.