The first years of Ágúst Magnússon from Vatnsnes in Húnavatnssýsla in the West (Vesturheimi) attracted the attention of Þorleifur Jóakimsson, a historian, when he worked on the settlement history of New Iceland. In his book “Continuation of the Settlement History of New Iceland” (Framhald af Landnámssögu Nýja Íslands), which was published in Winnipeg by Columbia Press Ltd. in 1923. He says the following about Ágúst:
“He was born in Kothvammi in Vatnsnes in Húnavatnssýsla, October 25, 1863. His parents were the couple Magnús Magnússon and Margrét Jónsdóttir, both born and raised in Húnavatnssýsla. Ágúst was raised by his cousin, Jón Árnason, who lived in Illugastaðir in Vatnsnes until he was 12 years old. For the next three years he stayed with Jakob Bjarnason, Jón Árnason’s son-in-law, then returned to his foster father and stayed with him until the winter of 1885, when he went south to Seltjarnanes to Guðmundur Einarsson in Nes for the fishing season and stayed with him for two winters and one spring season, but in the summer, he went back to his home in the north. In 1886 he took a preparatory exam in writing and arithmetic and received permission to be admitted to an agricultural school the next spring, and Jakob Bjarnason offered to cover all costs.”
The coming of difficult times:
“That same spring, 1887, the abominable Arctic ice came and lay down over the Northland.” Let’s go back in time and look at how Ísafold tells about the time of ice and famine in an article on June 29th (aside JÞ) “It has been raining heavily here in the South for 3 weeks now, much to the detriment of fish processing, but has allowed vegetation to grow better, even though the weather has not been warm. The northern and western parts of the country have been drier and warmer, despite the sea ice, which is stil landfast, so to speak. Last weekend (26th this month (June)) there was still a lot of ice on Húnaflói north of Vatnsnes and out into the eastern part of the country.” (From the collection of meteorologist Trausti Jónsson). “The whole Húnaflói was covered with sea ice, and there was no vegetation until well into the summer. Ágúst then changed his plan to go to the agricultural school and set out to devote all his energies to getting his parents out of the hardships and famine, which was then in many parts of the North, to where their last years may be more sunny than their last years had been on the cold and barren, but still dear, Vatnsnes. And to achieve that goal, a voyage began on August 24, 1877, from Borðeyri on the ship Camoence on its way to the West, where hopes had led many before – to a place where the tenderness of nature and the fertility of the earth in most cases turned poverty into independence.” (The reader may draw the conclusion from these writings that Magnús and Margrét went west with Ágúst. That was not the case. He went west to prepare for their trip there. Aside from JÞ) “Although the light of hope was bright, it still hurt to part with his birthplace, the waves were heavy north of Húnaflói, west of land and to Reykjavík; from there he was taken to sea on the 28th of August and on the second day of September, a landing was made at Granton, and he was taken by rail to Glasgow, from where he was taken by the steamship of the Allan line, Grecian, the next day, and arrived at the port of Quebec on the 13th of the same month. There were close to 300 Icelanders on that trip.”
Ágúst and Sveinn moved with T. C. Rae to Montreal and then north to Matagami. To the west of Ontario, they traveled in Indian territory. The road from Montreal to Matagami was just over 700 km (435 miles).
In the footsteps of the Indians:
“Ágúst and Sveinn Bergmann Þorbergsson (from Árnessýsla) broke from the group in Quebec, and were hired by a Scottish store manager, T C Rae, who traded with the Hudson Bay Company north of Ontario, near Matawagamnegue, for about two months and two pounds sterling a month in salary for each of them. But later it turned out to be much different than had been agreed to, so that if the truth had been told in the beginning, neither would have hired on. The journey from Quebec to Matawagamnegue varied, first by rail to Montreal; Rae stayed there for two days and spent time in the company of his new employees, and for another two days they were in Matawa. The Icelanders who knew only a few words of English were then dreaming of affluence and artistry when the railroad train they were traveling on stopped in Matagami where nearly 30 Indians greeted Mr. Rae with bows and deference. With that group, they were instructed to go out into the clearing and have dinner there, according to the Indians. The first meal turned out not to be delicious, and then they laid down to rest and each had one blanket and one or more tree branches for a pillow. Dreams varied and at dawn the whole group was arranged around a small fire and breakfast was taken. At each meal, bread, fried meat and heated tea were prepared. Twelve pounds of wheat, two pounds of pork, and tea as needed were given to each worker for each week, and no other food traveled. After the meal they went to where the company’s ships and cargo were, there were eight large canoes, each carrying close to 30 hundred pounds and four men for each, they sometimes shoveled, sometimes rowed, and sometimes sailed when the wind was favorable, and the route was along long lakes, so boats and cargo were carried between lakes in 18 places on this route, and the longest portage was about 3 miles, then man-power was used, and a quarter of a mile was traveled at a time, and men rested before going on, there was no other way. The road lay mostly through woodland, but in many places there was burned forest and uncleared paths. The rule was that each man carried 200 pounds (two bags of wheat) and sometimes 260 pounds (two quarters) of salted meat. After traveling like this for seven days, they stopped at the company’s trading post in Matawagamnegue where there were several strong and stately log cabins, three homes, a church (English Church, Church of England), a large shop and a cowshed for 10 animals.
When water travel was discontinued in the fall, the main work was to travel among the Indians and swap goods, then usually two men were together, walking on snowshoes (rackets) and pulling flat sledges with an estimated weight of 200 pounds. On those trips, people always slept in the open air by the fire no matter how cold the weather, only the richest Indians had a teepee, many women and children broke limbs from the trees and made shelters on the windward side of the fires, and it is safe to say that no rich people living in ornate palaces have been happier than the masses of these Indians, who in truth had no shelter but a frozen branch, no reserves for the next few days, with one poor gun, ax, and knife, they were as happy, as optimistic and bold as some rich people with the benefit of education have ever been, admittedly quick to get angry and vindictive, but at the same time boyish and helpful. The only thing that seemed to bother the older and more forward-thinking was the fear that Sakanas (the white men) would continue to steal their land and destroy their flocks.
In 1888: Two months a year, January and February, were set aside for the company’s employees, even though they were seasonal workers, to go hunting, they were considered to be fishing for compensation, but had to sell to the company. Ágúst and Bergmann each had close to 30 dollars in compensation for their work. In 1888, they began working in Matawagamnegue. Bergmann then wanted to quit and completely refused to stay longer because he had come closer to death than life due to hard work and an unpleasant diet and especially due to boredom, he was then informed that no trips would be made to the railway until the ice melted next spring, and he would not be able to go alone for three hundred miles through the wilderness, and so he would have to wait until next spring. Ágúst was offered £ 27 a year ($135), a good salary, if he wanted to stay, and at the time it was considered a bargain by the company. He agreed to stay if the company lent him $100 and his offer was accepted. That money he sent to his parents in January, and his initial goal was reached, although many drops of sweat remained and many boring moments remained, which mainly began on the first of June, the day Bergmann left Matawagamnegue; those friends had lived together through many difficult times, moments that had forged strong bonds of friendship and the separation was difficult for both of them. Ágúst was then left at the company and Rae let him work with him and he, who had often seemed a tyrant, changed his mood so much towards Ágúst, that it was doubtful whether he had made any more faithful friend than Rae. Still, Ágúst celebrated the Day of Atonement in early June 1889 when the canoe carried him to the Matagami Railway Station and he obtained a passport en route to Winnipeg.
Manitoba: Ágúst went the traditional route south to Montreal and from there to Toronto. Then he took a train ride west to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where his friend Sveinn Bergmann waited at the train station. (insert JÞ) “There was a great celebration when the two met again and they renewed their friendship in the B. S. Lindal’s convenience store. Next was railway work for both of them on the Red River Valley line for almost two months, and then threshing work for Ágúst close to Brandon. By then, his parents and three siblings had arrived and everyone was happy. As time went on, Ágúst worked as a railway worker, a farmer, and for a time as a carpenter. He also instructed some Icelandic children during the winter and in 1891 he became a partner with a man named Jón Jónsson. They bought Brandon Laundry, the building and equipment for $400, worked together on that project for over two years, and had a good profit after the expenses. Then disagreements arose from calm and joy, so the partnership became uneasy, and as a result drove Ágúst and his parents to New Iceland, to the so-called Ísafold settlement; and a year later his siblings, Guðmundur and Rósa, arrived in New Iceland. It was a big inconvenience for both of them, because they felt pretty good about Brandon, lost the profitable jobs they had with English-speaking people, and lost property, but great difficulties awaited them, like most, which is land without assets, and then came the reality of 1895, when all the lowlands flooded into Ísafold and drove the settlers to flee. (Heavy flooding from Lake Winnipeg). In the summers of 1896 and 1897, Ágúst worked for a fishing company on Lake Winnipeg. But in both winters in those years he had his home in Engey (a small island northwest of Mikley) with Jóhann Straumfjörð, and on the fifth of February 1898, the situation had led him to the result of taking a wife, Ragnheiður, the daughter of Jóhann Straumfjörð.”
English version by Thor group.