PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE EARLY EUROPEAN IMMIGRANT.
THE SWEDISH COLONISTS. (con't)
banks, by the regulations under which they first settled. The land was rolling,
bluffy and sloughy with only relatively small patches of open plough land.
The land is now well scrubbed out, there are many large fields; the farm
houses and buildings are comfortable and commodious, and there is no
more contented body of mixed farmers in the province. Girls and boys
have married freely with the English speaking people around them.
Thus A. G. Hawkes, who came out from England in 1886, and
farmed continuously at Percival till his appointment as Liquor Commis-
sioner brought him to Regina, has sons and daughters married to Swedes
which means that the writer has by marriage, four Swedish nephews and nieces.
In the old settlement there was no abler, more fair minded and de-
servedly respected and looked-up-to man than Mr. A. G. Sahlmark, whose
family have worthily followed in his footsteps. Dr. Sahlmark, the mem-
ber for Saltcoats in the Provincial Assembly is his son, and the veteran
Indian Missionary, the Rev. Dr. Hugh McKay, of Round Lake Mission,
married one of his daughters. There has been a great deal of talk in the
past about the necessity~of "assimilating" the settler from Europe. In the
case of the Stockholm and Percival Swedes it looks rather as if the Swedes
are assimilating us. Our personal thanks are due to the late Mr. Sahl-
mark, who died two or three years ago full of years and honor, for the
courageous impartiality he showed on one occasion. In the second election
for the North West Assembly (not Council), a meeting was held in the
post office at Stockholm at which A. G. Thorburn, of Broadview, the sitting
member, myself and the Whitewood candidates were the speakers. The
line I took was much opposed to the feeling of the meeting, but I thought
it my duty to take it, and subsequent developments showed that I was
perfectly right. It was a large, dimly lighted room, and some forty or
fifty dour and unsympathetic men listened to me in silence. Suddenly up
sprang a man near me with a yell and, raving at me, shook his fist in my
face. A chill went down my back. It was "so sudden". The thought
flashed to me, "Has he gone mad and is he going to murder me" ?-and I
remember distinctly looking at his raised hand for a knife. I also remem-
ber with equal distinctness how his long beard went up and down as he
raved. I was told afterwards that I never moved a muscle. At a subse
quent meeting at Cotham, A. G. Thorburn told the incident, and gave me
credit for coolness. A. G. Sahlmark was chairman of the meeting, and
is the fair and firm way in which he handled the situation gained my admira-
tion and thanks. When order had been restored I resumed my speech and
repeated, with I am afraid a somewhat venomous emphasis, the offending
statement and "more also". It was received this time in perfect quiet by
my hyper-irascible friend. The next time I spoke in that settlement my
mission met with his approval, and he came as near being obsequious as
is possible for a sturdy Scandinavian. All settlers are not successful, and
some seem to be dogged by an evil fate from the first. Such was the case
with a Swede who came into the settlement some years after its beginning.
His story however, sad as it was, had a happy ending after a good many
Bibliography follows:
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