The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2004, Side 30

72
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 59 #2
month. The people living along the river
are lazy and careless as usual. My sales are
down, because there is no money, but peo-
ple are driving me crazy asking for loans. I
have never known anything like this
before. Sigtryggur was calm when I last
saw him, but since then the worst misfor-
tunes have struck. I shall talk to him as to
what things he was going to send to you in
chicago. Bjorn Jonsson, is working with us
in the moving plans but I haven’t heard
from him lately.
On the whole people fare well and
they have enough to eat, but they are wor-
ried because they cannot take one day at a
time.
Dear Friend, this is a boring letter, and
my only excuse is that I constantly write
boring letters to those whom I like the best.
I hate the Icelanders' misery, especially that
of us New Icelanders. But my main source
of unhappiness is the fact that I am almost
totally powerless in my efforts to bring
about progress - I am at a loss.
Once in a while I almost despise our
nationality and all its loud-mouthness -
misery and lack of dignity but I also see the
pearls glittering in the filth, and I would
like to use my strength to collect those.
I have not yet received your pictures
from Olson. I shall write to him about it.
Dear Sister, the package which you sent my
wife has not yet come, but she is grateful
for it, all the same. I have read Kr. Jonson's
preface to “On the Pure Doctrine.” I like
the idea of translating it and putting it in
the Icelandic papers giving the Icelandic
GIMLI
AlITO LTD.
Your Ford, Mercury,
Lincoln Dealer
Covering the Interlake
042-5137
public an opportunity to compare its own
traditional religion to that of the “Synod”
which is totally void of any spirit of chari-
ty-
I am confident that you are going to
write to me about Icelanders at home, and
I am looking forward to seeing it. I know
that the two of you will bring about a great
deal of reformation where you are. Some
will probably show indignation toward
you.
I and my wife send the two of you our
best, and ask God to protect you living and
dead.
Your loving friend,
Fridjon
Letter #19
Gimli, Dec. 19, 1880
Dear Friends,
I thank you, my friend for your letter
written on the 28th of September (last sum-
mer, each arrival of the mail boat brought
me a letter from you.) My wife asked me to
thank you - her dear friend - for your cor-
dial letters to her as she does not have the
opportunity to answer them now. Your
letters are our best guests just as you your-
selves used to be our best guests, and you
will always be our best friends. I send this
letter in the hope that it will catch the mid-
winter mail boat - if there is going to be
one. Actually, there are a lot of different
subjects about which I could write to you,
but I am going to condense them as much
as possible.
My wife and I are feeling all right; we
are healthy, for the most part; we have
enough food and drink and other necessi-
ties - similar to what we had while you
were in the neighbourhood. Our children
develop normally. Hermann, however, has
been ill now and then, mostly suffering
from stomach problems. Nevertheless, he
is big and strong, but he did not start walk-
ing until October. He seems to be intelli-
gent, and by now he has begun speaking a
good deal. He is hot tempered. I wonder
how his temper will turn out in the future.
Arora is healthy. She is no longer as fearful