The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1946, Page 42

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Winter 1946
3celandic PioneeXA o{ 1874
From the Reminiscences of Simon Simonson
Translated by W. KRISTJANSON
On the tenth of September, 1874, at
half past one o’clock, the ship moved
down the fjord. The wind blew from the
north and there was a rough sea, with
flying spray. Outside Drangey, the view
was dimmed and the seas ran high.
Everybody was sea-sick. Early the foll-
owing morning we could barely glimpse
the West Country mountains and they
soon disappeared altogether from view.
This was on the eleventh, a Friday. Then
a direct course was set for Quebec, where
we arrived, safe and sound, on Wednes-
day the twenty-third, although two of
the days at sea had been very bad. The
ship’s speed varied from seventy-five to
265 miles a day. The distance to the St.
Lawrence River was 2194 miles.
After a considerable wait, we proceed-
ed to the Immigration shed. Sigtryggur
Jonasson met us there, and immediately
assumed the role of guide and interpret-
er. This gave the people a momentary
uplift of the spirit.
That night we moved into the coaches,
which the majority thought a consider-
able novelty, so very different from any-
thing at home. We proceeded to Mont-
real, where we had a meal, and then
went on to Toronto. On the evening of
the twenty-fourth we moved into the
Immigration shed. We had a long stay
there. Our fare was good; at least, there
was sufficient beef, but it proved unsuit-
able food, being too heavy, and the
people generally became considerably
indisposed, especially the children. How-
ever, during all this long journey our
family was in good health.
A few of the girls in the group went
into domestic service in Toronto.
In Toronto we met with some Iceland-
ers who had arrived the previous year,
including FriSjon and his wife, and
Baldvin. These visited us on occasion, in
the evenings.
Presently we learned that we were to
move into a district to the north in the
province, where a railroad was under
construction. There we would be able
to support ourselves and our families.
During our stay in Toronto, buildings
were being erected for our use at a point
along the proposed route of the railway.
We left Toronto at night. We had to
proceed on foot through the city for
about three miles, and carry our lug-
gage. I carried my little GuSrun, but
my GuSmundur walked. I thought the
buildings so high and the streets so
narrow that the street was like a narrow
ravine at home in Iceland, but the trav-
elling was different, for the streets were
paved with stone. We arrived at the
railroad station about day-break.
The railroad ran north, about eighty
miles, to Coboconk, where we had our
midday meal, at three o’clock.
The town was newly built. The land-
scape there was becoming much more
unattractive and more stony.
October 9,1874. Before us lay a journey
of fourteen miles, by horse-drawn wag-
ons, over stones and brambles and wet
ground. That was a trying journey for
the children, who were sick or ailing,
and for the women. The jolting of the
clumsy wagons on the rough road was
fearful. Also, the season had been wet,
and nights came on pitch dark. Any-
body with sense would have known
the effects of this journey would be any-
thing but good, and such proved to be
the case. Many of the childern collapsed,
and also some of the grown-ups, chiefly
the old folks.
About midnight the people were
dumped out of the wagons, under the
trees, in darkness such as I have scarcely
seen the like. We knew not where to go,
and had the sick children on our hands.
At last, after a long and distressing