The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.2004, Side 47

Vol. 58 #3
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
141
children board a “Tramp Steamer” bound
for Scotland. There they tranferred to an
ocean liner for Canada.
Accomodation was primitive, crowd-
ed, and uncomfortable in every way.
Danger from a floating iceburg caused deep
concern for a day and night. Following that
time of danger, the ship encountered bad
weather and rough seas. Sickness was ram-
pant, and Johanna was barely conscious
and unable to attend to her little flock of
children. As she recovered she realized that
baby Sigurhlif was very ill. The sorrowing
mother saw her pass into the presence of
the Lord from her very arms, and buried at
sea.
Life was not that easy in the
windswept praries of North Dakota, but
evidently there was more wholesome food
available and milk for the babies, as begin-
ning with Kristen, born 1889, seven of the
family lived into adult life, some to old age.
Gudrun, my mother, lived to over 101.
Another one born, Danielia, was born
in 1896, but died the following year.
The family as listed in the Bible record,
and the Canadian Nicknames of each:
Johanna Born
1883 Died 1883
Ingibjorg 1884 1884
Gudbjorg 1885 1886
Sigurhlif 1887 1888
Sigurhlif the : second
1888 1915
Kristen Tiny
1889 1967
Ingibjorg Emma
1891 1935
Haldor Haldor
1892 1954
Gudrun Gertie
1893 1995
Johann Joe
1895 ??=:-
Danielia 1896 1897
Gudbjorg Bertha
1902 1980
Note: Uncle Joe would work in vari-
ous places, and occasionally come to the
family farm for a brief stay. The last time he
just didn’t return.
The fifteen years in North Dakota, on
a farm near the town of Upton, must have
been difficult, if not as hard as in Iceland,
according to some of things we were told
by our mother. The open prairie allowed
the winds to blow strong and cold. In win-
ter snow would drift over the barn to a
degree where the children would slide
down the roof on their homemade sleighs
and toboggans. Jonas found it necessary to
string a rope from the door of the barn to
the door of the house to enable him to go
from one to the other during blizzards that
were fierce and frequent. In a series of fic-
titious, but factual books about North
Dakota, entitled The Red River of the
North, written by Lauraine Snelling, this
practice was mentioned as a necessity for
survival. Many men perished in the snow
and cold when caught away from home
when a blizzard struck.
Apparently the fifteen years of hard-
ship and hard work enabled the family to
collect a few cattle, sheep and other posses-
sions, but wanderlust and enticing invita-
tions from relatives in Tent City created a
desire to “pack it in” and pack it up.
Another long and difficult journey lay
ahead of the decision. As we understand
the story, the possessions described above
were moved one way and another to the
big City to the north across the 49th paral-
lel, Winnipeg. There it was all loaded into a
boxcar, and booked to the end of the rail-
road north at Dauphin. Jonas rode with the
cattle, and Johanna and the children were
put in the passenger section. A recent addi-
tion to the “family” had been a wee, affec-
tionate puppy, but puppies were not
allowed in the passenger car. Undaunted,
Johanna tucked him inside her blouse and
cuddled him and coaxed him to silence
whenever the conducter approached. Both
arrived safely in Dauphin in due time.
Only wagon roads pushed farther
north into the frontier, so from there a cov-
ered wagon, pulled by a team of horses,
would be home for all, and each would take