The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1946, Blaðsíða 57

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
55
days; now it was five, and my fatigue
correspondingly greater.
I was fortunate that in the course of
the day I caught up with a team, and
obtained a little nest. Presently my
fellow-traveller turned in at an hotel
and I continued on my way. On parting,
he treated me to a drink and this braced
me up. That same day, in full daylight.
I reached Winnipeg.
My Valdis had secured accommod-
ation over a laundry, and had moved
in. I was glad of the opportunity to rest.
Twenty-three years have passed, and
since then I have not seen our old place.
At the time of writing, in 1904, my
home is in Winnipeg.
TRANLATOR'S CODA
Simon Simonson has told his story.
It is obviously written without thought
of publication; it is highly personal, and
does not attempt to tell a comprehens-
ive story of the settlement.
Since it is written from the autobio-
graphical and not the broad historical
point of view, other accounts of the time
and place must be kept in mind in ordei
to obtain a true final impression. The
author is at times justly critical of the
leaders. It should be borne in mind that
at the time when the site of the settle-
ment was chosen, it was proposed to
build the main line of the Canadian
Pacific Railway through Selkirk, that
among the few buildings erected in the
fall of 1875 there was a school-house,
and that about the New Year Carrie
Taylor was teaching a class of approxi-
mately twenty-five pupils; that despite
the devastating small-pox epidemic of
1876—77, the settlers organized in Feb-
uary of 1877 a local government, and a
formal and impressive constitution set
forth clearly and concisely the duties
of officials and made provision for
collection of taxes, building of roads,
Sanitation, maintenance of records, and
arbitration of disputes; that in 1878
Framfari had six hundred subscribers,
three hundred in Canada and three
hundred in Iceland. It should be noted
here, too, that some members of the
first group brought nets from Iceland,
only the mesh proved too large for lake
fishing.
Mrs. J. B. Skaptason, the author’s
daughter, places in a truer perspective
the part played by the wives of the early
settlers when she mentions that her
mother assisted with the haying, on one
occasion working in water up to mid-
thigh.
Mrs. Skaptason states that when her
parents moved to Winnipeg, the hard
years were of the past. Her mother man-
aged a boarding house, and during the
first year in the city the combined earn-
ings of husband and wife amounted to
one thousand dollars.
This translation has been a labor of
love and is a small tribute to the mem-
ory of the pioneers to whom we owe so
much. W. K.
Club J\rew3
About 130 people heard the first lecture
in this year’s series of the Icelandic Can-
adian Evening School, given November
27th, in the First Lutheran Church.
The speaker, Mrs. O. Stephensen, was
introduced by Mrs. H. F. Danielson, Di-
rector of the school. In her talk, entitled
“Recollections From Pioneer Days in
Winnipeg”, she gave some charming
word pictures of life among the pioneers.
She described the early landmarks and
threw into relief the loyalty, courage and
faith of the early settlers, which made
astounding cultural developments pos-
sible, even at the start.
Slides were shown by Capt. W. Kristj-