The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2002, Qupperneq 19

Vol. 57 #1
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
17
hundreds of miles and settle in an isolated,
wild country. Some did not have any more
than their fare.
On the 20 of May, 1888 they started on
their journey. People and effects were
drawn on horse wagons to the border. In
Gretna they bought tickets to Winnipeg,
which cost them three dollars each. No
livestock could cross the border unless they
were held at the border for 90 days, at the
owner’s expense. That was out of the ques-
tion. Sigurdur informed that cattle prices in
Alberta were very high, which was right. It
was decided to buy a few cows in Gretna
and ship them west. Twelve cows and a
yearling were bought at a price of $20 to
$25 a head. Most of these cows were in bad
condition and of poor breeding. A box car
was hired for $85 to take the cattle and
other effects to Calgary. One man had free
passage to look after the cattle. The journey
to Winnipeg continued.
In Winnipeg they stopped two days to
buy household effects, such as cook stoves
and utensils, as Sigurdur thought they
would be more expensive in Calgary. This
was a mistake as after paying the freight the
cost was as much or more. People also vis-
ited friends and relatives in Winnipeg. At
last tickets to Calgary were bought They
got them for half price, $17.50 per adult.
In the group that left Dakota were the
following family heads; Sigurdur Bjornson,
Olafur Olafson, of Espihole, Benedikt
Olafson, Jonas J. Hunford, Benedikt Jonas
Bardal, Dr. Einar Jonasson, Sigurdur
Arnason, Bjarni Jonsson and Gisli Jonsson
Dalman. Also in the group were three sin-
gle men, Gudmundur Thorlakson, Jon
Gudmundson and Josef Jonsson. In
Winnipeg, two more families joined the
group, Johann Bjornson and Eyolfur
Helgason, and one single man, Jon
Einarson. They left Winnipeg on the 20th
of May and arrived in Calgary on the 1st of
June. The group stayed in Calgary for sev-
eral days. There were some that wanted to
stay and work to earn some money before
they went north. There were a lot of jobs to
be had in Calgary at that time. Olafur
Gudman advised them to stay for awhile
and it would have been better had they
done so but the majority wanted to get to
the promised land right away.
At that time there was no railroad
north from Calgary and all transport was
with horses. A railroad had been promised
and it had been indicated that it would run
through the area where the Icelanders were
going to settle. From Calgary to the Red
Deer River is about 80 miles. In the rainy
seasons the road was very bad. They hired
a man to haul their belongings north, using
money, which at that time could have been
of better use. They also had to buy horses
to move their families and effects and to use
at their new location. They bought three or
four team of horses, harnesses and wagons.
The horses were small, in bad shape, not
very satisfactory and expensive. The stay in
Calgary was prolonged making prepara-
tions and as a result of the unusually heavy
rains. Around the middle of June the jour-
ney north was started.
The journey was slow and trouble-
some because the horses were in bad shape
and the rains made the road almost impas-
sible. Several times the wagons had to be
unloaded to get out of the mud. Except for
the drivers the men had to walk. Often the
men had to carry the women and children
over the worst mud holes. It was surprising
that the women and children got through
without loss of life or health. Consider the
women sitting on a load of their personal
effects with a group of children around
them, often wet and cold and then at night
laying down on the cold and rain soaked
ground. They did not travel far in a day,
more or less ten miles per day. On the sixth
day, they got to the Red Deer River at what
was later called “Midlibakki” or Millbank.
It was a great relief to have got that far
without any serious mishaps, although
with many adventures.
The men and beasts were tired so they
pitched tents and rested. They thought it
was a rather lonesome trip from Calgary to
the Red Deer River. They had passed five
houses along the way. Those houses had
been there for some time and some were
run as stopping places for travelers. There
was considerable traffic on the road and
they sold necessities to the travelers at very
high prices. The rest of the country was
unpopulated. Further north and closer to