Lögberg-Heimskringla


Lögberg-Heimskringla - 07.11.1997, Qupperneq 8

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 07.11.1997, Qupperneq 8
8 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday, November 7, 1997 Bjarni Dalsted Biography Continued frorn the previous issue. By G. Leonard Dalsted Reprinted with permission from the diaries of his grandfather Bjarni Dalsted Jón Hörgdal and I went to Pembina in June to get some more food for Rev. Páll to distribute. We had com meal, wheat and other basic food. On our way we were caught in a big rain just near Bechtol’s. It was evening but we had in- tended to keep on going. We got as far as “Carl’s Point” which was north of where Hamilton is now. We were soaked and it was too dark to see. We unhitched the oxen and fed them. Even though we were wet to the skin, we wrapped blankets around us and crawled under the wagon. We were fairly comfortable. When day- light broke, the rain had quit, the sun was shining. We ate our food which we brought with us. We started out and our feet got dry as the day progressed. We got along real well after that. Jón Hörgdal often talked about this trip. Later on we made several trips, as new people were arriving from Canada. Even though the weather was nice the roads were always terrible. We often had to put two teams of oxen on one wagon to get it over the worst spots. We had to wait for areas that had been burned off to stop burning. Often the ground was still hot and we worried it might be soft where the slough grass had been bumed. The mosquitos were another awful prob- Iem. They were just terrible. The wagons would get stuck and the oxen had no peace from the mos- quitos. They bit us so badly we were bleeding. In the moming we met a new settler by the name of Goggin. He taught us to pull some green grass and put a fire under it and this smudge smoke would chase away the mosquitos. The poor oxen were also relieved by the smoke. Near Charlie Brown’s house we went south and we came to Magnus Stefanson’s place and woke him up at sunrise. We got coffee and kept on going home. Jón Hörgdal later talked about this night. He did not know which night was the worst; the night at Carl’s Point or this night go- ing home. I had been asked to come south to Vík (Mountain) to break land for Páll Gunlaugson, Bjöm Einarson and others — one acre for each. I did it and every- thing went well. The oxen had become responsive to my calls. They had been trained in Minnesota. The oxen were a friend of the poor people. We could de- pend on them. After the day was over, all they wanted was grass to eat until they were full. Horses were coming on the market. They needed more attention than the oxen. The horses were sold at $300 to $400 per team and the sellers would take the oxen in trade. The sellers took mortgages on any unpaid balances and charged 12 percent interest. Many of the horses were not well, and had been dam- aged by former owners. Some people even had to mortgage their farms. It did not always go well. Some horses died, and the buyers ended up losing the oxen, the farm and the remaining horse. The oxen tumed out to be a better investment. The wagons would get stuck and the oxen had no peace from the mosquitos. They bit us so badly we were bleeding. I fmished plowing for those I had prom- ised work for. Jón Hörgdal often talked about this in later years. He remembered I had broken up the first acre on his farm. On my way home after plowing, I stopped at Sveinn Sveinson, north-east ofVík (Mountain). He had laid claim to unsurveyed land there. The entire town- ship had not been surveyed. Sveinn wanted to sell me the land and make a payment on it. He wanted me to give him a wagon for the development he had done on the farm. It consisted of a shack, a bam and a well. He had also plowed some land. I told him I could not get along with- out the wagon. I wanted to include five tons of hay. I took him up on his deal and told him he could come north to my place and get the wagon in two weeks. The place was pretty good. I had hay, trees and good land. A short time later I got a ride to Pembina. There I found an older wagon for ten dollars. The axles and the wheels had been replaced and re- worked. It had no box but I felt I could get it into good shape with little cost. I brought it home where I repaired it and painted it. This was a strong wagon and I owned it for a long time. Sveinn came to pick up the wagon and I asked him to write a letter of agree- ment on the land transaction. I moved on the land in early September. It was fifty dollars and included all the rights to the land. It was mid-July and nó word from Ben on payment for the black oxen. Not even the $30.00 he had promised to pay. I had witnesses he promised to pay me on June 1. I heard the oxen was dead. Early one moming I took off south to Park (Gardar) to see if the oxen was dead. It had rained and it was difficult to walk in the tall, wet grass. I got soaking wet. Later in the moming the weather got very hot and stayed that way all day. I finally reached Park and saw Ben. was quite surprised to see me and looked so guilty. He barely answered me when I greeted him. I now saw that Ben was alive and well. I promptly told him why I was there. He got angry. He accused me of cheating him and said the oxen were dead. He had been told by someone he did not have to pay one single cent. I asked him if it was not tme that he had used the oxen all spring as his neighbours had told me. Ben asked me who told on him. I refused to tell him who they were. His neighbours said the oxen were worked so hard that one of them died. I asked him if he didn’t re- member that I knew little more about the oxen than he did because I had only driven them one day from Pembina to Peterson’s. He sort of agreed so there was no more about the oxen. Now he refused to talk. There I Iost $50.00 I never saw again. This kind of crooked business was unusual in those days. I saw a gun out- side and I asked him if he would let me have the gun since he would not pay me. Just then his wife came out and told her husband to let me have the gun. I was surprised because she reportedly had a bad temper. He tumed it over to me and I left. I went over to some old friends who Iived near by. I got something to eat and rested before I started back home. One day Gunnar Hallson came mn- ning to our place and I saw immediately something had happened or someone got hurt. He told me that 25 Indians with weapons had circled their home. Gunnar’s in this picture of her grandsons, Brant and Brock Macaulay, sitting on their late afi's car. father had asked me to come right away with him and bring something sharp. I told my wife that there was nothing to worry about because the Indians had writ- ten passes. She did not get excited either. I ran south with Gunnar. When I got to Jóhann’s place the Indians were sitting around the house. The leader came di- rectly to me and handed me a piece of paper. I saw immediately it was a permit from the military commander of Fort Pembina. It introduced him as a leader of his Indians and that they could go through the neighbourhood without interference and tell the Icelanders to help them. The white men were to give the Indians some food and eat with them at the next house. I went home and got bacon, bread and milk for them. We took them to three dif- ferent homes. The first home was Johann Hallson’s where they got plenty to eat. As Indians usually do they got up right away and got ready to leave. I took Gunnar with me to show the Indians where to cross the Tongue River at the place where a big tree had fallen across the river. They were all friendly except one with a great deal of paint on his face. He was a Sioux who looked at us with a mean look. The oth- ers were Chippewas. They were going to Fort Totten near Devil’s Lake. They kept on going up the mountains and found the old Fort Totten trail. In September we moved south to the Tongue Ri ver because we had a lot of hay and oats. I had a lot of hay myself plus hay I received in pay for working for others. Sveinn Sveinson and his wife asked us to let them stay with us for the winter, which we granted them. To be continued in the next issue. MESSUBOÐ Fyrsta Lúterska Kirkja Pastor Ingthor I. Isfeld 10:30 a.m. The Service First Lutheran Church 580 Victor St., Winnipeg R3G 1R2 Ph. 772-7444 Minnist DCTEI DE Jl JCII4 I ERFÐASKRÁM ÝÐAR * Do you have friends interested in Icelandic culture and stories about Icelanders around the world? Lögberg-Heimskringla is the ideal way for your friends and family to keep in touch with news about Icelanders — all year long!

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