The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2001, Síða 19

Vol. 56 #3
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
145
The Story of Emily Long
by Darrell Gudmundson
I remember Emily Long. Through the
1950s, when I was growing up, she was an
annual visitor—a frail, stooped old lady
with liver-spotted face, but eyes of the
clearest blue; hair wispy thin and grey, tied
up in a hair-net. Her voice was strong, with
an untraceable accent, not quite British. She
walked with me to inspect the lilacs, wild-
flowers and the vegetable garden. We did
jigsaw puzzles together. I remember little
she said; but I remember her presence, her
firm approach to life, and the invisible
presence of Love.
Emily Long was one of the very first
trained nurses on the Canadian prairies.
She was instrumental in the founding of
several of Saskatchewan's hospitals, and
was honoured by the Canadian Legion for
distinguished service in the Red Cross dur-
ing the First World War.
The Longs of England
The Long family of Iceland were
founded in the 1700's by Richard Long, a
son of a trading family from the South of
England, probably on the channel coast. In
the early 1700's, Long's owned a trading
Company; with at least one ship, and a
store on the docks—the city is unknown.
They traded up and down the European
coast, possibly into the Mediterranean.
The Long family had three sons,
Richard being the youngest. They knew
the sea-trading business, and the eldest son
was ready for greater responsibility.
Accordingly, their parents allowed the
three boys to assume command of a rela-
tively 'safe' trading voyage; and they
accompanied the ship's captain as represen-
tatives of the Family.
The voyage went horribly wrong. The
ship was attacked in the North Sea by
pirates. They were said to be dark swarthy
fellows; likely Moors from the South of
Spain or the North of Africa. The ship was
boarded, and all crew were either captured
as slaves or put to death and dropped over-
board, including the two elder brothers.
Richard alone was spared because he was
still just a child. Richard never saw his fam-
ily again.
A pirate crew was put aboard; and the
ship was taken in the direction of
Denmark. This may have been a food-raid-
ing mission; or they may have had there a
“fence” for their stolen cargo. In those
days, it was common in Scandinavian
countries, as well as England, for pirates to
raid coastal farms to capture sheep. (Moors
were reported to have raided even the coast
of Iceland, taking sheep.)
The pirates dropped Richard at dock-
side in a Danish city, likely Copenhagen.
There he was, alone in a foreign country,
without friend or family. However, he
soon caught the eye of a kindly Danish
trader, who immediately liked the boy.
This merchant, having been denied sons of
his own, took Richard home and virtually
adopted him.
The kindly Dane's wife also took to
Richard as her own son, and they were
delighted to have him help in their store.
Richard's command of English would have
been a help in dealing with the many for-
eign vessels that stopped; and his knowl-
edge of the trading game was considerable
as well.
An Icelandic Dynasty
Iceland was then a protectorate of
Denmark (much to the distaste of the
Icelanders), and trade between Denmark
and Iceland was great , due in part to the
protective policies of the Danes. Richard's