The Icelandic connection - 01.09.2010, Síða 11

Vol. 63 #2
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
61
them to go out on the ice to lift nets. Then
the cold north-westerly wind came up
with savage fury and drifted a lot of the
snow off the smooth ice surface.
It was a complete whiteout, the likes
of which they had never seen before.
Being forced to stay in camp for a few
days was not to the liking of the men as
they were brought up on hard and steady
work and did not find idleness very
appealing.
And so it was that Johann and the
young man by the name of Laurence, on
a cold, clear morning, between Christmas
and New Year’s, decided to venture out
on the ice to take the mail from the island
to Poplar River. They hoped to return
with mail from home, from friends and
family.
“We will have to go right out on the
open ice to cross to the mainland as there
is too much rough ice east of our island”
said Johann, “so we will go on the glare
ice and then turn northeast just before we
hit the bigger island. Then we should
have good travelling from there. We will
have to wear our grousers on our feet as
the wind has polished the ice to a slippery
finish. We won’t take the dog team, but
let’s take a couple of dogs with us, most-
ly for company. If we have trouble we can
always stay over in Poplar River as I
know the trader and we have become
good friends over the years. I also know
his sons who trap on the east shore of the
lake. We will have to wear our best all
weather gear and pack enough food for a
couple of days.” They would wear a lot of
woolen clothing and mittens topped with
the heavy canvas parkas and very deep
hoods also of canvas that were common-
ly used by the fishermen of that time.
They set out on their little adventure
at daylight under a clear sky. The wind
was still quite strong, whipping the
remaining snow into little snake-like
banks on the glare ice. About a mile out
from the island they arrived at a small
crack in the ice but took little notice of it
as this was a common event on the lake
that fishermen dealt with daily. Without
hesitation they stepped across it.
Accompanying them on this trip were
two favorite dogs; a gray one known as
Grani and a very dark colored one named
Surtur. They would provide good compa-
ny for the men on their journey.
The grousers on the men’s boots pro-
vided excellent grip on the slippery ice
even as the wind increased to a high
velocity. Johann wondered whether they
had perhaps made a mistake to set out on
this journey as it could become difficult
to navigate if the wind should increase
much more. Around noon they came to a
ridge of ice thrown up at the time of
freeze-up on the lake. This would be a
good spot out of the wind to eat their first
lunch.The dogs stayed close to the men,
trying to keep out of the icy wind and hur-
riedly ate their food, which was mostly
fish.
“We must keep going in order to
reach the east shore before dark, or we
will have to spend the night out on the
lake,” said Johann. This was a prospect
neither of them looked forward to.
As they prepared themselves for the
rest of the journey Johann looked at the
ice-covered lake and at the distant land-
marks. He became very thoughtful and
then he said to Laurence, “I think there is
something wrong here. The high point on
the horizon seems to have moved while
we ate our lunch. What in the world is
happening? Are we moving? I have never
experienced anything like this before and
it frightens me greatly. Remember the
crack we crossed this morning? I think we
are on loose ice.
We had better travel as fast as we can
towards shore and hope we can reach the
shoreline as soon as possible.
It seemed to them that they were
actually moving away from the shoreline
and that, in fact, was what was happen-