The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2006, Side 37

Vol. 60 #2
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
79
Letters from FriSjon Fridriksson
Translated by unknown source
The last of the Fridjon letters
Letter 26
Modruvellir, Sept. 6, 1884
Dear Friends,
Knowing that you are now in this
country, I extend a thousand welcome
wishes to you.
In a letter from my brother Arni, I read
that you have lost your youngest child. I
can imagine your grief, and my wife and I
share this sorrow. I know that God com-
forts you, and I believe that the grief will
turn out to be a blessing for you.
Eyjolfur Einarsson brought me your
letter, dear friend. I thank you very much
for it.
I am not going to discuss church mat-
ters at any length in this letter. The people
here in New Iceland hope to be able to
enjoy your services to some extent, but a
congregational meeeting in Winnipeg will
have to decide on the proportion of your
services they will be able to pay for. I very
much look forward to making a trip to
Winnipeg to see you soon. I would like to
take my wife and children with me, but the
idea of travelling with the children scares
her. Maybe we will just move to Winnipeg
for the winter. That’s just an idea, as of yet.
I have asked my brother Arni to
advance you money for the time being,
whenever you need it.
I am looking forward to seeing you
just as much as I used ot look forward to
Christmas when I was a child.
With many good wishes and kises
from your loving friend and “brother”,
Fridjon
Letter 27
Modruvelir, the last, Day of Winter
1885
Dear Friend,
I have now settled down here. The trip
down was rather troublesome even though
we didn’t have any accidents. We all made
it here safe and sound, except the children
caught cold. We moved into a clean
“Shanty” which my father-in-law built last
spring. I have plenty of food: white fish,
pike, pickerel, eggs, butter, cream, moose
meat, geese and ducks.
I am now highly respected here
because I have become so very rich. I am
envied by people because I have so much
food and because I do a lot of interestig
things without much effort. I am also con-