Lögberg-Heimskringla - 26.03.1999, Blaðsíða 9

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 26. mars 1999 • 9
The Icelanders of Kinmount
Map ofKinmount and environs during the 1870s. The shanties were likely built on
the south-facing terrace of the Burnt River. Photo courtesy Guy Scott.
Don Gislason
Toronto, ON
On February 6, 1998 the Lögberg-
Heimskringla featured an article about the
“Kinmount Memorial Project, ” to honour a
large group of Icelanders who settled in
Ontario in 1874. Further adventures of
these immigrants will appear in subsequent
issues of the paper. Their passage was on
the S.S. St. Patrick.
What happened to those immigrants
reads like a series of unusual mishaps and
government blundering. They struggled
their way from hard times in lceland to
sickness, unemployment, and other disas-
ters in Ontario. And then, after a bitterly
cold winter (1875) in Manitoba, they suf-
fered through a terrible smallpox epidemic.
These people were the bulk ofthe 1875
founders of New Iceland on the shores of
Lake Winnipeg. In spite of their personal
trials in Canada, they endured. Tlieir
descendants can also be found scattered
across the United States and worldwide.
Therefore, the Icelandic National
League has decided to erect a memorial
cairn in Kinmount to commemorate this ill-
fated attempt to settle in North America, an
event which became the springboard for
Nýja ísland. Dedication of the memorial
will be in the year 2000—one hundred and
twenty-five years after thefact. It will com-
prise one part ofthe INL’s millennium pro-
gram.
Contributions to this memorial fund
should be sent to: John Gilmore, Treasurer
(ICCT), 31 Wild Cherry Lane, Thomhill,
ON, Canada, L3T3T3. Ph. (905) 889-9937.
Cheques are payable to: The Icelandic
Canadian Club of Toronto and earmarked
as “Kinmount Memorial Project. ”
Those in the group who decided
to support themselves, rather
than rely on the agency kitchen,
found provisions exceedingly expen-
sive. As adequate supplies were difficult
to obtain in Kinmount—with frequent
shortages of goods—Sigtryggur
Jonasson, with Fridjon Fridriksson as
manager, opened a store for the group.
However, his prices tended to be higher
than some of the other merchants in
town. A letter written to Iceland from
the shanties explains that:
“Everything is rather expensive here,
as can be expected, having landed in
the worst spot possible in Ontario.
Jonasson brought us here and built his
house, where he set up a store, and sells
to the Icelanders... he has tofetch prod-
ucts from Toronto which is 100 miles
away. He has to price them high to
cover his costs. Beef costs 6-7 cents a
pound, bacon 10-12 cents, a barrel of
flour $5-6. A barrel of rye flour is $5-6.
A pound ofcoffee is 30 cents, a pound of
sugar 12 cents. Footwear is better
priced here than at home.... ” (Sigurpall
Gudlaugsson)
To avoid high costs a few men
banded together, purchasing an old ox
for fifty dollars, which realized 690
pounds of meat, 62 pounds of suet, and
a 135-pound hide. But still, most people
patronized Jonasson. He had been
instructed by the Ontario Department of
Immigration in Toronto to supply all
those willing to work, but not to exceed
the amount of their earnings. However,
that could not be backed by available
jobs. By the end of January, several
men were destitute due to lack of work
for over a month, and were in consider-
able debt to him. Even so, he continued
giving support, hoping that the govem-
ment would eventually take over. On
January 22, 1875 he outlined his plight
to David Spence, Secretary for the
Department:
“I have to inform you that I Cannot see
that anything has been done here in
regard to providing work for the
Icelanders as there at present are over
twentyfive men out of work of whom
quite a number are married with fami-
lies. I cannot supply them any longer, so
they have either got to get work or
starve, or some other measure taken
providing for them.” (Sigtryggur
Jonasson)
He wrote Spence again at the end of
the month, reinforcing the issue.
Through no fault of their own, the men
were unable to provide for their fami-
lies, and he had felt obliged to help. He
hoped that since the govemment was
willing to defer payment for two of the
Conquest stoves in use that it might also
reimburse his costs and/or take respon-
sibility for the poor, for he couldn’t con-
tinue doing so. After all, he was sup-
porting over a hundred souls. Credit
and goodwill had to come to an end!
The outcome of this is not clear.
As time went on, they began to feel
like pawns in a large game, open to mis-
understandings and exploitation. The
Department of Immigration had
engaged lumberman W. H. Greene of
wrote David Spence that:
“.../ handed D.D. Hay the bill of the
Icelander’s time, which Greene had not
sent in with his bills... Hay said that the
Icelanders should be paid at the same
rate as others. This however, the
Icelanders don’t ask, as $1.00 per day
would satisfy them, while Greene was
charging the Govemment at the rate of
$1.50 per dayfor the Canadians. ”
Time passed however, and D. D.
Hay moved on to a successful career in
politics as MP from Listowel. The
request for back wages was left on
Secretary Spence’s desk in Toronto.
The outcome of this matter is also not
known.
For those who were employed over
the winter, railway constmction proved
difficult. It was the coldest winter in
years, with deep frosts and heavy snow.
Work consisted mostly of digging
through hills, filling in ravines, dyna-
miting rock and felling trees where the
track was to go through. On December
18, 1874 The Canadian Post reported:
“The Icelanders are working very
steadily and the general impression is
that they will ultimately make good set-
tlers. There is a little grumbling among
them about school ajfairs. The
Government promised them a school,
but no school has yet been opened. The
Icelanders seem to take very little heed
ofthe cold weather. Infact, they appear
to take to the frost and snow as a duck
does to water, and are absolutely enjoy-
ing it... ”
Victoria Railway trestle near Kinmount. The Icelanders at Kinmount worked on
building the foundations for such structures in 1874-75. Photo courtesy Guy Scott
Fenelon Falls to supply materials, like-
ly for the two additional shanties at
Hayford. Icelanders were hired for the
job. After it was done, Jonasson sub-
mitted their bill to Greene, as it was
assumed that he would pay them. He
refused, stating that he was only
required to supply the building materi-
als and not their wages. The Icelanders
had somehow understood that he was
responsible for both. All of a sudden,
things seemed terribly unfair. Jonasson
By the end of January, life was at a
predictable pace. People were slowly
recovering from the worst of their ill-
ness. The school issue was still up in the
air, and they were doing as best they
could in overcrowded conditions.
Shanties were being built north of town
in response to a proposed rail extension.
Snow lay half a yard deep on the
ground. Even so, several people were
anxious to put down roots in Ontario.
Please see lcelanders on page 12