The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1946, Síða 52

50
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Winter 194n>
were ill from the effects of their long
journey, which they had made without
a break, travelling by way of England,
while we proceeded direct to Quebec.
I rough-built a boat and purchased
various articles, including a gun, a stove
(which had been used, but was strong,
and which we kept seventeen or eighteen
years and was afterwards used by my
brother Jonas); a saw, and various other
articles. I also bought two young pigs,
but both died, for they did not thrive
on their diet of fish.
The second group left on the twentieth
of August. We three, in our tub-boat,
followed a few days after, and caught
up with the party at the mouth of the
Red River. We had been favored with
good weather that far, but at this point
we were caught in a thunderstorm and
the rain came down so heavily that I
could scarcely keep up with the bailing.
Nevertheless, I considered our small
craft vastly superior to our boxes of the
year previous, for I was able to steer it.
Towards evening of the following day
we passed the Gimli party. Crowded in
their boxes, or flat-boats, they looked
most uncomfortable. All the other lake-
craft had already proceeded north.
I had a brief conversation with the
people, and then pursued my course to
the west, along the sandy beaches. It
began to blow from the north and I was
compelled to seek shelter of the woods
along the shore.
We put up for the night, and had a
bad time of it, as on many another night,
because of the flies and the wet. After
another day’s journey we arrived at
Erlendur’s place.
During the ensuing period, it rained
often, so that the people who had not
yet shelter suffered considerable dis-
comfort.
I finished the roof on my house, and
moved in about the twenty-third of
September. I named the place Skogar
(Woods). It was rightly named for the
land was for the most part heavily
wooded. The site on which the house
was built proved rather wet, and the
house itself was never free from leak-
age.
The settlement began to grow up
around us, two Johns to the south, one
to the west, and other settlers as well.
To the north was the school-section. All
the settlers gave their farmsteads Ice-
landic names.
Jon, who called his place Laufas,
proved an exellent neighbor. He was
one of the best to do of the party on
arrival, but he suffered heavy losses;
his house burned down and he met with
other mishaps. In addition, he had many
to support. Thus, much of his substance
filtered away. As a matter of fact, I re-
linquished my pre-emption in his favor.
Conditions were appreciably better in
our part of the settlement during the
second winter. I was able to get some
supplies, including four bags of flour,
and we were able to do a considerable
amount of fishing. Elsewhere the small-
pox raged, and many suffered, but the
plague did not hit us hard.
Near the beginning of November, two
flat-boats were stranded along the shore;
one loaded with potatoes, the other with
a variety of supplies, including flour.
Consequently, we had mainly frozen and
spoiled potatoes that winter, for the
potato crop that summer had been rather
small.
There was no milk, but we now had
got on to the way of catching rabbits,
an, also, I shot some ducks. We did not
go hungry, but the food was not always
inviting.
Now the task at hand was to cut
boards with a cross-cut saw, an article
which was possessed by few, and to
clear the forest. Tending the nets took
much time, especially for the siingle-
handed.Then there was the interminable
carrying, which played out completely
those far from the lake, but was com-
paratively easy for those located near it.
The lake continued to be the chief source
of our food supply.
The winters were much more pleas-
ant than the summers, because in the
summertime all roads were impassable,
and the fierce swarm of flies was scare