Gripla - 2019, Page 19

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give J G d K S H if she needs it, and if she has no need for it, then
some other poor child. Oh, my almighty God, creator and ruler of
all things visible and invisible, help me through all my hardships
that lie before me and give me a good and pure heart and resist all
temptations so the devil does not gain control of me with his mach-
inations. Alas, I beseech you for help wherever I may be, for in
America are a thousand snares.43
Albert’s concern for his physical and spiritual health reflects a deep sense
of isolation at being separated from other Icelandic immigrants, alone and
vulnerable to exploitation. His words stand as a reminder that the im-
migrant experience could be a genuinely terrifying one, and that human
trafficking schemes were very real risks faced by new arrivals to North
America.
Albert’s vow is unlike a private diary entry: he expresses himself ac-
cording to a conventional formula, whereby a prayer for specific divine
aid is followed by an equally specific promise.44 If his vow dates from the
outset of his journey from California, as seems likely, then his prayer to
be reunited with the Icelanders was granted. Albert successfully reached
Winnipeg, says Þorleifur Jackson, then spent two years in North Dakota
before homesteading briefly in Geysir, Manitoba, in 1893.
Albert’s final destination was Hecla Island, where he received a
land grant on January 8, 1894, making him the owner of river lot 13 of
Township 24, Range 6E.45 This lot had first been settled in 1878 and al-
43 “Ef ég lifi og Guði almáttugum þóknast að leiða mig til íslendinga glaðan og heilbrigðan á
sál og líkama fyrir næstu jól þá skal ég gefa J G d K S H ef hún þarf þess með en ef hún þarf
þess ekki þá einhvorju fátæku barni öðru. ó Guð minn almáttugur skapari og stjórnari allra
hluta sýnilegra og ósýnilegra hjálpaðu mér í gegnum allar mínar þrautir sem fyrir mér liggja
og gef mér gott og hreint hjarta og varast allar freistingar svo fjandinn fái ekki yfirráð yfir
mér með sínum vélum. Æ ég grátbæni þig um hjálp hvar sem ég er staddur því í amíríku
eru þúsund snörur.” Lbs 4667 4to, 312r. “KSH” is probably a coded promise of cash, as
vows often involved giving money to a child in need, cf. fn. 46 below. “J G d” are the initials
of the unknown girl (J? G?dóttir) to whom Albert promises to give the money.
44 Margaret Cormack, “Catholic Saints in Lutheran Legend: Post-Reformation Ecclesiastical
Folklore in Iceland,” Scripta Islandica 59 (2008): 59–60, 64–65.
45 Library and Archives Canada, Land Grants of Western Canada, 1870–1930, http://
www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/land/land-grants-western-canada-1870-1930/Pages/item.
aspx?IdNumber=3714& [Accessed 3 July 2019].
ALBERT JóHANNESSON AND THE SCRIBES OF HECLA ISLAND