Lögberg-Heimskringla - 06.11.1992, Síða 2

2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 6. nóvember 1992
Hard times
in Kinmount
by Guy Scott
While the first settlers were
chopping back the forest in
the pioneer settlement of
Kinmount in the new province of
Ontario, events were happening thou-
sands of miles away that would write
another chapter of local history.
Tremendous climatic disturbances were
rocking the island of Iceland. Violent
storms, summer snows, and tremen-
dous volcanic eruptions plagued the
northem part of the island for several
years. Many Icelanders became fearful
and discouraged and decided to immi-
grate elsewhere. North America was a
logical choice. On September 10,1874,
the steamer St. Patrick sailed from
Sauðárkrókur, in northern Iceland,
with 375 prospective pioneers bound
for a new life. This group had intended
to proceed from Quebec to the United
States, but some smooth talking immi-
gration officers persuaded them to stay
in Canada. The new settlers were wor-
ried about their personal rights and
freedoms in monarchial Canada.
However, three pledges were made, in
writing, by Canadian officials:
1) The Icelanders were to be granted
full liberty and rights of citizenship in
due course.
2) They were to receive a sufficiently
laige tract of land so they could settle in
a body.
3) They were to be granted the right .
to maintain their language, customs,
and heritage.
Canadian officials had no difficulty
with any of these basic demands.
About the same time as this group of
Icelanders reached Canada, the Victoria
Railway was looking for labourers. The
Company had failed to recruit enough
labour locally. Somehow, the new
arrivals were recruited by Company
officials, with government approval,
and ear-marked for the Kinmount
depoL The new immigrants travelled to
Toronto where they boarded the train
for the nearest railhead: Coboconk.
(Sigtryggur Jónasson was hired as the
representative of the Canadian immigra-
tion department.) Local residents were
hired by the railway company to team
the new arrivals from Coboconk over
the newly opened Monck Road to their
camps at Kinmount. The railway com-
pany built five large lumber-style
shanties (70 feet by 20 feet) to accom-
modate the new arrivals. These shanties
were spread along the track south of the
village. The nearest w'as located one-
half mile south of town and the farthest
two and one-half miles south of
Kinmount. Their main settlement was
called Hayford and was likely located
near Crego Creek. The trestle over
Crego Creek and surrounding rock cuts
were the main operations at the time.
Soon after their arrival in October,
1874, tragedy began to stalk the belea-
guered immigrants. A major epidemic of
diarrhea and sickness dogged them. A
Doctor Fidler was dispatched by the
railway company to check out the situa-
tion. In a report of November 7, he
reported that sixteen small children had
died in the three weeks since their
arrival. Two children had died in the
one night he spent among them. Dr.
Fidler maintained the diarrhea was
caused by the overcrowded shanties,
poor sanitation, bad ventilation, and an
unbalanced and strange diet. This
report galvanized the railway company
into action. A number of officials,
including President Laidlaw, paid
Hayford a visit. They agreed to overhaul
the existing shanties by installing higher
roofs with better ventilation, as well as
building several more barracks to allevi-
ate overcrowding. The Icelanders were
upbraided by Laidlaw for their laziness
when only fifty of ninety men showed
up for work in any one day. They were
also warned to adjust their diet and
hygjene. Evidently, the icelanders were
unused to the heavy meat diet they were
allotted. Dr. Charles Curry of Minden
was assigned to watch over their health.
They were promised a school. Sigtrygg-
ur Jónasson was to open a store in town
to cater to their needs. William Hartle,
Crown Lands Agent, was also assigned
to look after their welfare and assist
them in settling on farms in the area.
Part of the plan to assist the newcomers
in becoming permanent settlers was to
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Sygtryggur Jónasson
settle them on free grant lots in
Lutterworth and Snowdon. Many
Icelanders were anxious to locate on
farms in order to plant a spring crop. In
the spring of 1875, many Icelanders did
actually move to their locations and
begin to chop their lots.
The local residents were impressed
with the Icelanders. Despite a language
gap between the two groups—only
Jónasson could speak English—, there
was some interaction. The Kinmount
correspondent for the Lindsay Post
wrote:
The Icelanders are getting on
favourably and are much liked by the
old settlers as they are genial and
accommodating.
A further report maintains Kin-
mount never knew “a more sober, hon-
est, and peaceable class of people.” The
newcomers were invited to logging bees
and were made to feel part of the com-
munity. When the Fenelon Falls
Gazette attacked the Icelanders as lazy,
drunken bums better gone from the
area, the local residents rallied to their
defence. In the tough times, during the
summer of 1875, many local farmers
employed the out-of-work immigrants
out of sympathy. Curiosity soon gave
way to acceptance and relations
between the locals and the Icelanders
remained cordial down to the end.
A major problem for the new settlers
was the language barrier. Only Sig-
tryggur Jónasson spoke English and the
local residents were not famous for
their proficiency in Icelandic. Con-
Continued on page 3
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