The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.2004, Blaðsíða 36

130
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 58 #3
Letters from Fridjon FriEriksson
Translated by Sigurbjorg Stefansson
Fridjon Fridriksson
Letter # 10 - To Housewife Laura
Pjetursdottir
Gimli, May 1, 1876
Dear Friend:
Recently I received your letter written
on March the 22nd for which I thank you
very much. It is difficult for us "New-
Icelanders" to have correspondence with
people outside of our vicinity since the post
office, which is closest to Gimli, is 30 miles
away. Occasionally we get our mail from
this post office, depending on who happens
to be going there.
We have asked the Government for
regular mail delivery to Gimli and we do
hope that that request will be granted.
For a while, this winter, I was hoping
that your husband would move to this
colony, but that hope has come to nothing
for the time being. To tell you the truth, I
am glad for you that you decided not to
come because you would have faced a lot of
difficulties - inseparable from pioneer life-
difficulties which I am sure that you do not
have now. Presently we are in the process
of "breaking the ice" (i.e. overcome the dif-
ficulties ) and if we go on it will be broken,
and then 1 shall ask you to join us.
You asked me to give you information
about our colony and views on it - and I am
most glad to do this for you.
You have probably seen the report
which the Icelandic committee gave last
summer and which the Canadian
Government has published. In my opin-
ion, this report is reliable as far as it goes.
The soil is excellent. On top of the
clay there is a layer of a very fertile black
soil, approximately 1 foot deep. There is
enough forest to provide us with sufficient
fire wood and sufficient material for log
cabin building. There is, however, not too
much of 'spruce" for making boards and
there is no pine at all. There is also plenty
of meadows for livestock to graze. Last fall
fishing was good— as usually is the case,
supposedly. At that time we did not, how-
ever, have time to do too much fishing, but
this winter many of us caught a lot of fish
in nets which were lain under the ice, and
since early spring a considerable amount of
fish has been caught, mostly all of which is
edible. Constructions for drying fish-like
those in Iceland— have started to pop up
here. It is a pity, though, that the fishing is
not very profitable because there is no mar-
ket for fish outside the colony because
there is enough fish in the Red River and all
over Lake Manitoba. Thus the nearest
market for our fish is no closer than the
United States. Fishing is a hazardous busi-
ness - if the catch fails the fisherman goes
bankrupt except if he happened to be very
well off before - therefore it is necessary to