The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.2004, Page 34

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 58 #3
Ballad of John Ramsay
by Kristine Johnson
On the shores of great Mistechesakahegan lived the peaceful,
mighty hunters of old,
Cree Ojibwa, Anishinabe, Assiniboine, Saulteaux. So we are
told.
As they could see, the Icelanders who began to come in eighteen
seventy-five
Were struggling with a strange, harsh land. The hunters helped
them to survive.
They showed the settlers how to use moss to chink up their
drafty wooden homes.
They taught them the use of bow and arrow, often brought veni-
son to the door,
Showed them how to fish the frozen waters,
Brought them native medicine to ease the smallpox.
Without the helpful hunters, many settlers might have perished.
Many there were of the helpful hunters. The names of most have
long been lost,
But the name of one will not be forgotten. John Ramsay helped
all at a very great cost.
Betsey, his wife, succumbed to the smallpox, along with four of
their children so dear.
Yet in spite of such personal tragedy, John Ramsay continued to
bring good cheer.
He hunted and fished to feed the Icelanders.
He helped them to warm their cold wooden houses.
Dear Betsey he buried on the shores of Gitchie gumee
Near the lake sounds she loved. This had been their dear
home.