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It was about one o'clock in the morning when we sat down to dinner, and as light as day. By the time we reached its brim, however, the noise had ceased, and all we could see was a slight movement in the centre, as if an angel had passed by and troubled the water. Irritated at this false alarm, we determined to revenge ourselves by going and tormenting the Strokr.

The earth trembled and throbbed during the explosion, then the column sank, started up again, dropped once more, and seemed to be sucked back into the earth. We ran to the basin, which was left dry, and looked down the bore at the water, which was bubbling at the depth of six feet." In the case of Strokr, the cause of this eruption is not difficult to understand.

The next morning he reappeared so unusually radiant that I could not help inquiring what good fortune had in the meantime befallen him: upon which he gave me such an account of his last night's reception at the farm, that I was almost tempted to bundle tent and beds down the throat of our irritable friend Strokr, and throw myself for the future upon the hospitality of the inhabitants.

Being very anxious to have one more trial at photographing Strokr, I ventured to suggest that the necessary bolus of sods should be administered to him. In a few minutes two or three cart-loads of turf were seething and wallowing within him.

This occasions a succession of bursts, the last expiring effort, very generally, being the most magnificent. Strokr gives no warning thumps, like the Great Geyser, and there is not the same roaring of steam accompanying the outbreak of the water."

Strokr or the churn you must know, is an unfortunate Geysir, with so little command over his temper and his stomach, that you can get a rise out of him whenever you like. All that is necessary is to collect a quantity of sods, and throw them down his funnel.

We had already attempted both Strokr and the Great Geysir, but in the case of the latter the exhibition was always concluded before the plate could be got ready; and although, as far as Strokr is concerned, you can tell within a certain period when the performance will take place, yet the interval occurring between the dose and the explosion varies so capriciously, that unless you are content to spend many days upon the spot, it would be almost impossible to hit it off exactly.

In the case of one of the smaller ones, which is called Strokr, or the Churn, an eruption can be induced by artificial means. A barrow-load of sods is thrown into the crater of the geyser, with the effect of causing an eruption. The sensitiveness of Strokr is due to its peculiar form. An observer states that, "The bore is eight feet in diameter at the top, and forty-four feet deep.