The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1955, Side 38

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Winter 1955
36
undergone by the pioneers, while the
maps are valuable in showing the
exact locations of regions of settle-
ment. A few of the illustrations that
are of particular interest include
those showing: The difficulties in
clearing land of trees and stumps; of
cutting grain with an ox-drawn binder;
the primitive sod-roofed houses of the
early settlers as contrasted with the
modern dwellings now inhabited by
their progeny; and the evolution of
transportation methods from the ox-
drawn sleigh to the jet plane.
This is a historical document of in-
estimable value, which will be even
more appreciated in future years. It
will certainly find a place in the histor-
ical archives of this country. No one
can fail to realize that the compilation
of such a mass of information into a
compact and enthralling story has
been a laborious and exacting task.
The author has earned not only the
commendation of the present gener-
ation but has placed all future gener-
ations of Canadians greatly in his debt.
* I. G. A.
ARCTIC LIVING:
The Story of Grimsey.
by The Rev. Robert Jack
The Ryerson Press, Toronto,
pp. 181, $4,00
It is always refreshing to read a
book dealing with a relatively new or
little known topic. For that as well as
other reasons, it is interesting to read
Rev. Robert Jack’s book on life in
Grimsey, an island about forty-five
nautical miles north of Iceland and
wholly within the Arctic Circle. The
Rev. Robert Jack wrote “Arctic Liv-
ing”, from a position of special advan-
tage. As a resident of Grimsey for
about seven years he writes from per-
sonal experiences; as a foreigner, bom
and raised in Scotland he writes from
the perspective of an outsider.
In his primary task of telling the
story of the sixty odd inhabitants of
the island Mr. Jack succeeds in bring-
ing the reader to the people—right
into their homes and into their church.
He relates incidents which give a clear
picture of their struggle against the
elements and gives illustrations which
reveal how contented the islanders are
in spite of the absence of even the
simplest luxuries of modern life.
The love of the islanders for
Grimsey is noteworthy. The author
speaks of Geirdal, a man of seventy.
He relates how he saw “his face chang-
ing from the clear ruddy complexion
which had braved all weather to a
marbled greyish white”. “I shan’t last
much longer”, Geirdal confided, ‘‘they
mustn’t take me to a hospital, I wain
to die and be buried on Grimsey.”
Robert Jack was more than the local
pastor. To use his own words he was
“minister, peacemaker, income tax as-
sessor, schoolmaster and farmer”. To
this he added the duties of an auditor
and in order to cjualify proceeded to
study the fundamentals of bookkeep-
ing and accounting.
When the coming of spring was late
the islanders were often short of hay.
This happened to the author himself
one year and he became worried. His
neighbor, Stebbi, showed him where
“small tender blades of grass scarcely
an inch high” were to be found on a
ridge close to the crevices and ledges
of nearby cliffs where sea birds nested.
“I raked the deep snow from the seem-
ingly dead turf, while Stebbi scythed
deep”. They filled sacks with the tiny
blades of grass and carried them down
to their farmsteads below.
The author does not limit his story