The Icelandic connection - 01.03.2018, Side 37

Vol. 70 #1
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
35
Reflections from North Dakota
These vignettes come from the hand-
written notes of Halldora (Jonsson)
Bjarnason.
To introduce her, the following are the
opening paragraphs of her story.
My father, Halldor Jonsson from Litla
Bakka f Hroarstungu in SuSur
Mulasysla and my mother Sigurbjorg
Jonsdottir originally from Berunesi near
FaskruSsfjorSur, Suckir Mulasysla. They
came to America with their children,
Thorunn age 19 or 20, half sister as my
father was a widower when they married.
Margaret Johanna age 9, Helga aged 3 and
Rustikus a little over a year. He died from
malnutrition on the trip from Iceland.
They were with many other people
came by boat down the Red River from
Duluth and landed on the shores of Lake
Winnipeg, in Gimli in 1876. They lived
in tents first and eventually a log cabin.
There were a lot of hardships for those first
four years as smallpox went through the
settlement.
Thorunn had gone to Winnipeg to
work as all able-bodied girls did and
had met a man by the name of Oli Lee,
a Norwegian. They married and moved
to the Dakota Territory. In April, 1880
my parents started out to join them. My
folks took as little as they could which I
suppose was nearly all they had with the in
a Red River cart from Gimli to Winnipeg.
I remember my sisters saying that the
grownups had walked and the little girls
had taken turns at riding on top of the
goods in the cart that was pulled by an ox.
They took a train to Pembina where
they stopped to wait for Thorunn’s brother-
in-law who was to meet them. They stayed
with Bjorn Petursson and his wife Olafia
for several days but the man did not come,
so they started walking. The distance was
forty miles into the wilderness. They walked
twenty miles the first day and stayed with
some pioneers who’s home they saw. The
next day they covered twelve miles and also
stayed in a cabin that they saw along the
way. The following day they covered the
eight remaining miles to Thorunn’s place.
The trip was very memorable for them. In
April with no roads, a few trails and snow
and slush everywhere. In numerous places,
the run off formed sloughs and riverlets
and small lakes so deep that Dad had to
carry Helga and Joa as they were so small.
They never met the cart that was to meet
them. He apparently had lost his way.
In spite of all this, the reunion was very
happy. My family stayed with the Lees in
their cabin.
They had a wee daughter, Dena two
years old. Our own log cabin was built that
summer and was very close to the Lees
place.
In the end of July, Thorunn gave birth
to a boy who was named Hilmar and on
August 6th my mother gave birth to me.
We were very happy for awhile when both
the Lee children became ill with something
that our folks had never seen before. My
brother-in-law went to Grand Forks or
Pembina, I don’t remember which, to get
a doctor. One came and said he did not
know what ailed them and could not help,
so after a short while both children died, a
few days apart. Our happiness was short
lived. My sister Thorunn told me years
later that she had almost lost her reason