Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1962, Page 86

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TÍMARIT ÞJÓÐRÆKNISFÉLAGS ÍSLENDINGA
the more, so that it is not more than
one mile wide where it meets the
mountain range. Otherwise no land
touches the circumference (of moun-
tains) anywhere. But in many
places the sea is so narrow that one
can see the far side.
And the mountain range covers a
breadth of eight miles (?). And in
the whole circle (said the Minorite)
there is no habitation, except on the
east side where in that narrow land
(isthmus) already mentioned there
were 23 people not above 4 feet
tall . . . whereof 16 were women.
This Monk said that in two other
places further inland he found a
great piece of ship’s planking and
other balks which had been used in
big ships besides many trunks of
trees which at some earlier date had
been hewn down. So that he could
say with certainty that there had
formerly been habitation there but
the people had now gone. And that
the country where they (the pyg-
Arctic regions on Behaim's globe of 1492