The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1946, Blaðsíða 44

42
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Winter 1946
proceeded to Halifax, and then on to
the lands selected for them. There they
strugged to establish themselves in an
unproductive country until 1881, when
they moved to Manitoba and N. Dakota.
To return to Kinmount, Valdis and I
obtained work a short distance from
town, she in domestic service. I paid for
my board. This employment lasted a
month. We then returned to Kinmount,
on the fourth of November, and remain-
ed there till Good Friday, 1875.
A few families now decided to pull
stakes and move to Lindsay. We bought
two teams, and set out on a journey that
was not comfortable, for we were
perched on top of trunks and chests and
a general litter of luggage. The distance
would be about fifty miles or more. How-
ever, the road, which was through woods,
was well travelled.
We paused at noon, and arrived quite
late in Lindsay, at the house where we
were to lodge for the night, a cold,
tumble-down shack. We stayed there
three or four nights, and were required
to pay for our lodging. Then we obtained
a room at a hotel, owned by a Mr. Bell.
Mr. and Mrs. Bell were a very elderly
couple, and their grown-up children,
two sons and two daughters, for the
most part managed the place.
The preceding fall, a few Icelandic
girls had gone into domestic service in
Lindsay and we derived considerable
pleasure from their company.
After a week or two, some seven fam-
ilies and a certain number of single
men left for Halifax. I would have gone
East if I had not lacked the money. As it
was we had to content ourselves with
staying that summer where we were.
As a matter of fact, we fared rather
well, even if we made little money.
Wages were exceedingly low, from .50$
to a dollar for whatever arduous toil
there might be, but many things were
rather cheap, except flour and clothes.
The work was chiefly at saw-mills,
digging gardens, and heavy farm work.
Frimann Bjarnason and Kristjan Jons-
son worked at mills on and off that sum-
mer. They had acquired quite good
command of the language.
The town, which was small, was rather
pretty. A river ran through it. Draw-
bridges permitted steamboats to ply back
and forth on the river. There were sev-
eral sawmills. Perhaps four of these
were destroyed by fire during that sum-
mer.
Our room was in the attic, over a large
hall. Service was held in the hall twice
every Sunday, and there was frequently
singing and playing at other times. The
door of our room overlooked the street.
This was often unpleasant, not the least
when somebody was ill. On one occas-
ion both K. J. and my son GuSmundur
were down with the measles at the same
time. This was not pleasant, for the
room was very small. There was no
hospital in Lindsay at that time.
The work which I first obtained was
hauling logs to the saw-mill, and clear-
ing away from the saw. This work was
hard, and the employment uncertain. I
also worked on a farm, six miles out, and
did not like it there. Consequently, I
did not complete my time and was done
out of my pay, small as it was — fifty
cents a day.
That spring was considerably more
pleasant for us. There were a few Ice-
landic girls in the town and it was their
custom to foregather at our little dwell-
ing place.
That summer Helgi Jonsson came from
Iceland. He made his abode with us,
and when we left he remained in our
lodgings.
My boss from the previous winter of-
fered me work far to the west in the
province, stating that some Icelanders
were employed there. I agreed to go,
and we left towards evening. On arrival
at our destination, I was directed to a
fine hotel. I did not sleep that night, for
I discovered that I had not been told the
truth. In the morning I started back, for
I feared that I would be defrauded of my
pay. I walked fast to the vicinity of
Uthall and then took the train to Lind-
say, paying 75$ for my fare. I was dead-
tired, after walking all day along the