The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1946, Page 45

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
43
railroad, hungry and a little poorer than
when I set out.
That same summer, five delegates,
Sigtryggur, Kristjan, Skapti, and two
others, proceeded out West, to Manitoba,
to prospect for land for the settlement of
our people. They selected New Iceland,
territory that has not proved up to ex-
pectations.
Some of the delegates returned, and
the people, who had scattered to various
parts of Ontario, were assembled at one
point.
Many were loathe to venture such a
great distance. Indeed we were rather
well situated in Lindsay. The people
were good to us, and often helpful, but
there was little work and the pay was
low, and future prospects poor.
On the twenty-first of September, late
in the day, we set out from Lindsay. The
people there much regretted our leaving,
especially the owners of the room in
which we had lived during the summer.
No doubt this was partly because most of
the young women left with us. Some
had already gone.
We proceeded by train to Toronto,
where we remained a few days, await-
ing the assembly of others of our scat-
tered countrymen. There is nothing of
note to report from Toronto, except that
the English people thought that we had
made progress during our absence and
that we had improved in appearance.
Prom Toronto we left by rail, about
noon, on the twenty-fifth of September,
1875. On the way to Sarnia, a distance of
about 250-60 miles, there were beautiful
towns and attractive settlements.
At Sarnia we stopped overnight. Every-
thing was extraordinarily expensive
there, accommodation for one person cost
a dollar, even if there were three to
share it. This was more than I was ac
cu-stomed to pay at hotels.
From Sarnia we set out by steamer on
the following day. When cargo goods,
luggage, and other litter had been stack-
ed on board, and a quantity of livestock,
including horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, and
poultry had been squeezed in, our turn
came and we were packed like sardines
on top of the luggage. No one was per-
mitted to leave his place, so we were
compelled to sit there and endure the
stench of the livestock. The boat was so
small and so unstable that two of the
crew were continuously on the go with
two sand-barrels, rolling them against
the list. The owners’ purpose was ob-
viously to make as much profit, as pos-
sible, and they gave no thought to the
passengers’ comfort. Who would believe
that these conditions could have been
tolerated! In addition, we met with
rough weather, and all this we had to
suffer for the duration of the voyage to
Duluth, which lasted almost five days.
Duluth proved to be a very small place,
comparable to a small trading village in
Iceland.
The journey was resumed by rail,
across Minnesota to the Red River, at
Fisher Landing. We were now well-rid
of the pigs, with their stench. The land-
scape was in many places rather ugly,
with rocky ravines, ruined houses, sand-
hills and stony heights. There was not
much of forest.
On our way west we changed trains
and we had a lengthy wait. We were
packed overnight into a tumble-down
smithy. The food was of poor quality
and unpalatable. Furthermore, the sys-
tem of serving, or the lack of it, was un-
pardonable; there was a rush for the
victuals and each grabbed what he was
able to reach. In the van of the stam-
pede were the single men, who had only
their own stomach to think of, which
most of them did faithfully. Others, who
wished to retain the manners of civiliza-
tion, obtained very little, and were forc-
ed to go hungry. There was also the fact
that those who had wives and children
to look after were not always able to be
on hand when food was distributed.
There was much comment on the greedy
behaviour of the offenders, on a journey
that was sufficiently taxing in itself,
especially for frail old persons, and the
women and the children. No one looked
to the needs of the people. Those who
stood closest to Taylor, and were able tc
express themselves in the English lang-