case, poured from numerous openings; but these rivulets ultimately
united themselves into two large currents, which flowed onwards to
the sea. In their progress, these burning torrents filled up the
beds of two considerable rivers. The greater of the two streams,
after it had ceased to flow and had become a solid mass of rock,
measured fifty miles in length, and between twelve and fifteen
miles in breadth. Its average depth on the plains was about a
hundred feet; but in the bed of the river, which it had filled, it
was not less than six hundred feet. The snow and ice, which had
previously covered the mountain, were not only melted, but the
water that flowed from them was raised to the boiling point, and
poured down with destructive effect on the plains. The dust and
ashes thrown into the air darkened the sun; and they were then
strown over the surface of the island, destroying all the pastures,
so that many thousands of cattle, horses, and sheep perished. But
worse than that, upwards of nine thousand persons lost their lives
by this dreadful catastrophe.

About a month before this great eruption of Skaptar Yokul, a
volcanic island was thrown up from the sea, at a distance of about
seventy miles from Iceland. So great was the quantity of ashes and
dross ejected from its crater, that it overspread the sea to a
distance of a hundred and fifty miles, forming a crust which
obstructed the progress of ships. Portions of this crust floated as
far as the Shetland and Orkney islands. The King of Denmark named
this fiery apparition "Nyoe," or "New Island," and doubtless prided
himself not a little on this addition to his limited dominions.
But, alas, for human ambition! About a year after the date of its
first appearance, Nyoe sank into the depths out of which it arose,
and its position is now marked only by a moderate shoal.