Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - IV. Future Hopes—Farm Life—Norwegian Pioneers—The Condition of the Immigrant at the Beginning of the Fifties—Religious Meetings—The Growth of the Settlement—Vasa Township Organized—A Lutheran Church Established—My Wedding—Speculation—The Crisis of 1857—Study of Law in Red Wing—I am admitted to the Bar and elected County Auditor—Politics in 1860—War is Imminent
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IS 4.2 Story of an Emigrant.
little timber, on which to build a home. Poor, bewildered,
ignorant, and odd looking, he had been an object of pity and
derision all the way from Gothenburg or Christiania to the
little cabin of some country-man of his, where he found
peace and shelter until he could build one of his own.
Those who have not experienced frontier life, will
naturally wonder how it was possible for people so poor as a
majority of the old settlers were, to procure the necessaries
of life, but they should remember that our necessaries were
few, and our luxuries a great deal less. The bountiful earth
soon yielded bread and vegetables; the woods and streams
supplied game and fish; and as to shoes and clothing, I and
many others have used shoes made of untanned skins, and
even of gunnv-sacks and old rags. Furthermore, the small
merchants at the river or other points, were always willing
to supply the Scandinavian emigrants with necessary goods
on credit, until better times should come. Our people in this
country did certainly earn a name for integrity and honesty
among their American neighbors, which has been a greater
help to them than money.
Some of the men would go off in search of work, and in
due time return with means enough to help the balance of
the family.
Frontier settlers are always accommodating and generous.
If one had more than he needed, he would invariably share
the surplus with his neighbors. The neighbors would all
turn in to help a new-comer,—haul his logs, build his house,
and do other little services for him.
The isolated condition and mutual aims and aspirations
of the settlers brought them nearer together than in older
communities. On Sunday afternoons all would meet at some
centrally located place, and spend the day together. A cup
of coffee with a couple of slices of bread and butter, would
furnish a royal entertainment, and when we got so far
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