Jón Bjarnason Academy - 01.05.1935, Blaðsíða 32

of fate the name of the main village was to be Gimli. Those
who are familiar with the Norse mythology know perhaps
from the Edda that after death there were three distinct
places of abode: Hel—which received the unworthy and those
who died of disease; Valhalla — where warriors who died
on the field of battle found the rewards of their valor; and
Gimli—the abode of the blessed, the most sacred of all, where
the wise men and those chosen by the gods were welcomed
to enjoy the blessings of paradise.
The party reached Winnipeg before the middle of October.
It had been arranged that three men should proceed to the
new district during the summer and put up hay for the cows
which the government was to provide for the use of the
settlers. This had not been done and the new arrivals were
sorely disappointed for the prospect of spending the winte
without fresh milk for the children was a serious one. Then,
too, winter was not far distant. What was to be done? To
remain in Winnipeg was impossible. Winnipeg in those days,
was a city of only a few hundreds and conditions there were
had. This was the year of the grasshopper plague; not a blade
of grass was to be seen and there were no crops of any kind.
Starvation seemed certain if these people remained in Win-
nipeg. There was some hope of surviving the winter in the
new land, for there was game in the woods and fish in the
lake and some food was provided by way of government loan.
All who could get employment were advised to remain in
Winnipeg, hut the remainder, about 200 in number, decided
to venture out into the wilderness. Flat bottomed York boats,
1(5 feet wide and 32 feet long, were provided to convey these
people and their belongings to their new home. On October
15th, the boats were loaded and the party embarked in them.
They were pushed off into midstream and the journey down
the Red River began. Picture the scene!—the end of October
with its chilly nights and its promise of winter; the open
boats with their cargoes of men, women and children drifting
before the current; the grounding of the boats on the shallows
and their navigation through the rapids; the Sunday service
on the bank of the river; the hopes and fears of the settlers,
knowing that no provision had been made for their reception.
Eventually the boats reached the mouth of the river. There
they were met by a Hudson’s Bay Company steamer which
towed them all to the spot which is now Gimli. The 00 mile
trip from Winnipeg had taken a week.
Gimli was to he no paradise for them that first winter.
The day after their arrival there was a heavy fall of snow,
accompanied by severe frost. Here were these people in Ihe
wilderness with winter hard upon them, without any shelter
except a few tents, and with only a small supply of food. Log