The Icelandic Canadian - 01.11.2007, Side 35

Vol. 61 #2
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
77
the rest of our trip. We arrived at our loca-
tion. I took to making an enclosure for the
oxen, we have very little money left, about
twenty dollars, and our food stores will last
us only half a year. The weather is starting
to show signs of warmth, the sun is beating
away the excess moisture and things are
generally looking up.This is a good sign.
The bush itself is so silent; there is a ringing
in your ears as you stand outside, unless of
course you hear birds or wild game of some
sort.We are fortunate to have brought our
warm clothing from Iceland, for it will
serve us well in the upcoming winters. We
have a small fire going almost constantly
and it is very nice to have it.
May 21st, 1894
We have hit another warm day. I have
nearly completed the enclosure. Forey has
become pregnant.This concerns me for we
do not have a house in which to raise a fam-
ily. I must hastily construct a makeshift
house, which we may add onto later.
Today I will start the house and seek help
from our newest neighbor, Kristjon
Finnsson.
May 23rd, 1894
We are a bit downhearted, as there are
strange bugs that are constantly swarming
at our door. If we keep our door open at
night as much as thirty seconds, the house
fills with these infernal things, which seem
to be drawn to the light of our candles.
They bite!...they always bite! Sucking away
at our blood and the bites itch, ooohhh do
they itch! I am worried for Forey. She has
fallen ill, and she has many strange red
marks where she has been scratching at
these bites. It almost looks like blood poi-
soning.
May 25 th, 1894
1 went to Lundur to fetch a homeo-
pathic doctor today. He told me that these
bugs were not poisonous and that the
English men called them “mosquitoes.” He
also said that we are so badly affected by
them because we are not used to their bites.
June 1st, 1894
Kristjon Finnsson and I have been
gathering logs and peeling them for the last
few days. We have made a small off ground
log holder attached to four trees in a nearly
perfect square. There the logs are to dry
over a period of three to four days. We
shall begin placing the logs after that peri-
od is over. Forey and I have decided where
we will put the house...on the Southwest
corner of our land, opposite the swamp on
the Northwest corner. Kristjon and his
wife May are struggling to speak with each
other as May only knows English and
Kristjon only knows Icelandic. Kristjon
purchased an Icelandic-English dictionary
and they are able to converse this way.
They also converse in sign language.
Tomorrow is Sunday and as always, we
shall stop working for the day. As Icelandic
people it is important to take a break on
Sundays.
counter ise
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