The Icelandic connection - 01.09.2010, Side 18

68
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
Vol. 63 #2
difficulty expressing myself in English.
When I told him that I was an Icelander,
it seemed to me he did not believe it.
“I have never in all my life met an
Icelander,” he said, “and I have no idea
how they look. I have seen Norwegians,
Swedes and Danes. You resemble some of
them. Furthermore, you are not unlike
some of the younger men that have come
here from Northern Ireland.”
“Nevertheless, I am an Icelander,” I
said. “I was born and raised in Iceland.”
“Certainly it is true, if you affirm it
positively” he said in a cool tone. “It
would be rather foolish to call yourself an
Icelander if you weren’t one.”
Milman had about thirty men in his
employ, some having been there for many
years. I could not help but notice that
they all liked working there and found the
wages satisfactory. I was there for nearly
two years. During that time all the same
men were employed except for the night
watchman. The same watchman was sel-
dom there longer than two or three
months, for some unexplained reason.
The watchman that was there when I
came was released after roughly a month,
and he never returned. The next watch-
man was there around three months when
he was also let go. He never came back.
I never heard anyone mention why
these men were released from their jobs.
It was as if no one thought it strange. But
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then I started to think that the watchman’s
job in the Milman warehouse was for the
most part difficult. With that in mind I
felt certain that I could have a steady job
at the warehouse for a long time. I built
myself a small log cabin just a stone’s
throw east of the warehouse, not far from
the ocean. I got permission from Milman
because the wholesale company owned
the land. I bought a little stove, a small
table and two inexpensive chairs. I lived
there alone, quickly realizing that this
arrangement was much cheaper than tak-
ing room and board in town.
So it was that one day in the spring of
1877, Milman mentioned to me that he
wanted me to take the watchman’s job.
“Tomorrow I will let the man who is
working there go—he has been here two
months,” said Milman. “He is certainly a
good man, but not suitable for the job. I
believe you have, on the other hand, the
qualifications a watchman needs. I would
like you to start tomorrow night. If it goes
well and the company likes you, then you
can stay on here. Your pay will be
increased a little next month. You will
have to be here in the warehouse from the
time the workmen quit work in the
evening until they begin work in the
morning. You may go home every night
at midnight to eat but remember to be
back here in an hour. Tomorrow night I
will know whether or not you will be suit-
able.”
I replied that I would try to take over
the job since it was a concern to him. But
I was not altogether pleased, because I
thought it was certain he would discharge
me at the end of the month.
The next night I took over the watch-
man’s position after Milman had thor-
oughly described the duties to me. But
then a brief incident occurred, which will
remain with me for a long time. One
night in the beginning of the fourth week
of being the night watchman, I went