Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.04.2013, Síða 9

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Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15. apríl 2013 • 9
fate, the Scots too played a role
in this story.
Now imagine the young
immigrant working at a sawmill
at Bismarck, Ontario, in January
of 1873. This experience will
later stand him in good stead
in New Iceland. Quick to learn
and recognize opportunity,
Sigtryggur forms a partnership
with a Canadian friend and
goes into business producing
oak railway ties. By autumn he
has earned himself the princely
sum of $1100 – evidence of his
industrious nature and smart
management.
Remarkably, in a letter home
at this time, Sigtryggur identifies
the possibility of exporting
Icelandic horses to Canada –
for both work and pleasure...
something that eventually came
to pass. Even at this stage of
his life, he is quick to recognize
opportunities that will benefit
his homeland.
It is February 1, 1875
Sigtryggur is seated at his desk
at Kinmount, Ontario writing
a long letter to the editor of
an Icelandic newspaper. He
looks weary and his brow is
furrowed with concern. Though
he had never sought a leadership
position among his countrymen,
in 1873 a group of Icelanders
had followed his example in
moving to Ontario, and more had
arrived in 1874, at the invitation
of the Ontario government.
With his knowledge of English
and his experience in Canada,
Sigtryggur had found himself
helping his countrymen cope
in the new land and search for
suitable land, and in 1874 he
had become an intermediary
with government authorities
during the difficult winter at
Kinmount – at great sacrifice
to his own means and personal
circumstances. Although he felt
Ontario was a good choice for
the Icelandic people, he did not
encourage emigration, but rather
cautioned – in his letter – those
anxious to emigrate, to stay put
until those already in North
America could sort things out by
experience. His good sense and
concern for his countrymen were
also reflected in advice regarding
an agent who had mismanaged
travel arrangements for the 1874
group.
Now we find ourselves
on the wooded banks of the
White Mud River (soon to be
the Icelandic River) near its
confluence with Lake Winnipeg
– very close to the site of this
church. It is 10 a.m., July 24,
1875. The day is cloudy and a
northwest wind brings a little
rain. A large Yorkboat – with
a yawl in tow – is approaching.
Aboard are five Icelandic scouts
together with their guide Joseph
Monkman from St. Peters, and
John Taylor from Ontario, who
had joined the Icelanders in
their quest to find a settlement.
Two of the scouts, Sigtryggur
Jónasson and Einar Jónasson (no
relation), are elected delegates
representing the Icelanders
in Ontario. John Taylor, as
Icelandic Agent, represents the
Canadian Government. After
venturing upriver for many
miles to explore and evaluate
the soil and resources of the
area, the decision is made –
this will be New Iceland if the
Canadian Government approves
the choice.
It is on that day in 1875
that Sigtryggur is represented
by the statue – 23 years of age,
scouting for land with telescope
and compass in hand – a map
protruding from his satchel...
with the dream of finding his
people a secure place of their
own in this land of opportunity.
What would quickly set
Sigtryggur apart from his
fellow scouts, in our history,
was the life-long commitment
he would demonstrate to the
vision developed during this
exploratory trip, backed by his
leadership role in piloting the
settlement through its hazardous
first years. He would remain
determined to making this dream
come true, thereby ensuring that
his people’s obligations to their
chosen land and to those who
had championed their cause
were honoured.
A year later, July, Sigtryggur
is at the dockside in Quebec
City, now with his childhood
sweetheart, Rannveig Briem,
whom he had married in Iceland
just weeks before. At 24, the
dapper young Sigtryggur is in
charge of the main contingent of
the so-called “Large Group” –
some 1200 Icelanders who had
elected to settle in New Iceland
following the eruption of Mount
Askja and other tribulations.
The responsibility for so many
people on such a journey – with
the inevitable complications
and situations – would be over-
whelming to most, and surely
this weighed heavily on such
young shoulders... but Sigtryggur
is steadfast, confident, know-
ledgeable, capable and well
organized.
Competent and caring
“agents” were worth their
weight in gold for emigrants
unfamiliar with the language,
currency, and countless other
details encountered on long
journeys to unfamiliar places.
One of those in Sigtryggur’s
group is his brother Tómas,
with a wife and little daughter.
Another is former Member of
Parliament Björn Pétursson
from the East Fjords, who
comments in a letter written at
this time, how impressed he is
with young Sigtryggur – high
praise from this man.
Sigtryggur’s strong leader-
ship and organizational skills
had been much missed the
previous fall when, after
he had been dispatched to
Iceland, the group in Ontario
had proceeded west to New
Iceland, a journey culminating
with the hazardous landing
on Willow Point on October
21,1875.
Now, as throngs of
Icelanders disembark from
the SS Austrian, an East Fjord
farmer approaches Sigtryggur,
grief stricken and in need
of help. His wife, Kristín, is
carrying their little daughter
who had died the night before
as the ship was approaching
land. Not wanting their child
buried at sea, the couple had
concealed the death until the
ship had docked.
... continued on page 12
WWW.ICELANDAIR.CA
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Seasonal service from Toronto and Halifax now ongoing.
+ For further information, please visit
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CLOSER TO HOME
WWW.ICELANDAIR.CA
Now available on the Icelandair website:
book from 10 additional cities throughout Canada,
making your flight home that much easier.
Seasonal service from Toronto and Halifax now ongoing.
+ For further information, please visit
www.icelandair.ca or call (877) I-FLY-ICE.
CLOSER TO HO E
Möðruvellir 1906, Sigtryggur’s home in Riverton
Pure. Natural. Unspoiled.
This is Iceland.
For tr avel inFormation: visiticel and.org
PHotos courtesy of neLson gerrArd
Sigtryggur centre front with some of the “Large Group” 1914