The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1973, Page 26

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SUMMER 1973
one. These new Canadians had no
clothes for such rigorous winters.
Thirty log houses were built and two
or three families were crowded into
each. December came and food was
running short. Attempts at hunting
failed. The Indians helped the situ-
ation by bringing in dried moose meat
and frozen milk. Later, when star-
vation seemed frightfully possible the
government sent in additional sup-
plies. Scurvy came and affected mostly
women and children. A few died.
Through that first year of hardships,
though, the Icelanders established a
government, a school, and built new
homes.”
PART III.
I shall proceed now with the sad
section of New Icelandic history.
The “Great Flood” came in Novem-
ber of 1879. This was the last straw
for most of the settlers. They had suf-
fered numerous hardships already and
many felt it was time to move. There
were other determining causes though.
Restlessness, curiosity of conditions
elsewhere, and factionalism were a few
of the numerous causes. Many agreed
that the damage of the lake caused
only a small minority to leave. Never-
theless, the settlement at one time
numbered 1500 and after this episode
250 remained. Most of the settlers
headed for the Argyle settlement in
the Tiger Hills. Seven hundred Ice-
landers fared well in this area, but I
must continue the story of New Ice-
land.
The critical period for the settlers
who remained in New Iceland was
from 1881 to 1886, but the sawmill at
Icelandic River tided the colonists
over this crucial era. The sawmill
provided employment year round and
brought ten to fifteen thousand dollars
into the colony annually. Immigration
into New Iceland resumed in 1883 and
the population increased until a census
in 1894 revealed 1557 persons. One
settler who returned made the remark
that New Iceland was excessively
praised for awhile, but that it had also
been decried to excessive amounts. In
this period the economy of the colony
flourished. There was a great spirit
of enterprise, trade, travel, and cul-
ture. Many settlers built new houses,
bought new equipment, and cleared
more land. Another sawmill was built
at Gimli. Agriculture developed slow-
ly, but only because the settlers con-
centrated on the fishing industry. The
colony was finally secure.
Today the New Iceland settlement
still exists at Gimli. Sigtryggur Jonas-
son’s dream of a separate Icelandic
colony didn’t last the years. I’m not
sorry though. I feel that all ethnic
groups of Canada must eventually give
up their identity to the stronger Can-
adian identity which overcomes us all.