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[Illustration: Book Cover]
[Illustration: H. Mattson]
REMINISCENCES
THE STORY
OF AN
EMIGRANT
BY HANS MATTSON,
Late Consul General of the United States, in India
SAINT PAUL:
D. D. MERRILL COMPANY
1891.
Copyrighted 1891
by
D. D. MERRILL COMPANY
ST. PAUL, MINN.
_All Rights Reserved_
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
Ancestry and country home in Sweden--Home influences--My first school
years--Christmas--Military life--Departure for America.
CHAPTER II.
Arrival at Boston--Adventures between Boston and New York--Buffalo--An
Asylum--Return to New York--A Voyage--On the Farm in New Hampshire.
CHAPTER III.
The Arrival of my Father and Brother--Journey to Illinois--Work on a
Railroad--The Ague--Doctor Ober--Religious Impressions--The Arrival of
my Mother, Sister and her Husband--A Burning Railroad Train--We go to
Minnesota--Our Experience as Wood Choppers and Pioneers.
CHAPTER 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.
CHAPTER V.
The Beginning of the Civil War--The Scandinavians taking part in
it--Appeal in _Hemlandet_ to the Scandinavians of Minnesota--Company D.
Organized--The Expressions of the Press--The Departure--The March over
the Cumberland Mountains--The Fate of the Third Regiment.
CHAPTER VI.
Events of 1863--The Siege of Vicksburg--Anecdotes about Gens. Logan,
Stevenson and Grant--Little Rock Captured--Recruiting at Fort
Snelling--The engagement at Fitzhugh's Woods--Pine Bluff--Winter
Quarters at Duvall's Bluff--Death of Lincoln--Close of the War--The
Third Regiment Disbanded.
CHAPTER VII.
Reconstruction in the South--Third Regiment Mustered Out--The Farewell
Order--Sacrifices and Costs of the War.
CHAPTER VIII.
My Reason for Taking Part in the Civil War--The Dignity of Labor--The
Firm Mattson & Webster--_Svenska Amerikanaren_, its Program and
Reception--The State Emigration Bureau of Minnesota--Its Aim, Plan and
Work.
CHAPTER IX.
Visit to Sweden in 1868-1869--The Object of my Journey--Experiences
and Observations During the Same--Difference Between American
and Swedish Customs--My Birth-place--Arrival and Visit There--Visit
to Christianstad--Visit to Stockholm--The Swedish Parliament--My
Return to America--Reflections on and Impressions of the Condition
of the Bureaucracy of Sweden.
CHAPTER X.
The Importance of the Scandinavian Element--A Swede Elected Secretary of
State in Minnesota--False Rumors of Indian Depredations--The Northern
Pacific Railroad is Built--Trip to Philadelphia--The National Convention
at Indianapolis--Delegation to Washington--A Swedish Colony in
Mississippi Moved to Minnesota--The Second Voyage to Europe.
CHAPTER XI.
In Sweden Again--Reception at My Old Home--Visit to Northern
Sweden--Field Maneuvers in Sweden--The Opening of Parliament--In
Norway--Visit in Stockholm--Royal Palaces--The Goeta Canal--A Trip to
Finland and Russia--King Oscar II.--A Trip to Dalarne in the Winter.
CHAPTER XII.
Visit in Minnesota and Philadelphia--Conversation with Jay Cooke--The
Crisis of 1873--Negotiations in Holland--Draining of a Lake in
Skane--Icelandic Colony in Manitoba--Return to America.
CHAPTER XIII.
Grasshopper Ravages in Minnesota--The Presidential Election--Chosen
Presidential Elector--Minnesota _Stats Tidning_--_Svenska Tribunen_ in
Chicago--Farm in Northwestern Minnesota--Journalistic Work.
CHAPTER XIV.
I am Appointed Consul-General to India--Assassination of
Garfield--Departure for India--My Stay in Chicago and Washington--Paris
and Versailles--Rome--Naples--Pompeii--From Naples to
Alexandria--Interesting Acquaintances on the Voyage--The First
Impressions in Egypt.
CHAPTER XV.
Alexandria and its Monuments--The Egyptian "Fellahs"--The Mohammedans
and Their Religion--The Voyage Through the Suez Canal--The Red Sea--The
Indian Ocean--The Arrival at Calcutta.
CHAPTER XVI.
India--Its People, Religion, Etc.--The Fertility of the Country--The
Climate--The Dwellings--Punkah--Costumes--Calcutta--Dalhousie
Square--Life in the Streets.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Promenades of the Fashionable World--Maidan--The Viceroy--British
Dominions in India.
CHAPTER XVIII.
An Indian Fete--The Prince of Burdwan--Indian Luxury--The Riches and
Romantic Life of an Indian Prince--Poverty and Riches.
CHAPTER XIX.
Allahabad--Sacred Places--Kumbh Mela--Pilgrimages--Bathing in the
Ganges--Fakirs and Penitents--Sacred Rites--Superstitions.
CHAPTER XX.
Benares, the Holy City of the Hindoos--Its Temples and Worshipers--The
Sacred Monkeys.
CHAPTER XXI.
Nimtoolaghat--Cremation in India--Parsee Funeral Rites.
CHAPTER XXII.
Heathenism and Christianity--The Religion of the Hindoos--Caste--The
Brahmins--Their Tyranny--Superstition--The Influence of
Christianity--Keshub-Chunder-Sen, the Indian Reformer--His faith
and Influence.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Steamboating On the Ganges--Life on the River--The Greatest Business
Firm in the World--Sceneries--Temples--Serampoor--Boat Races--An
Excursion to the Himalayas--Darjieling and Himalaya Railroad--Tea
Plantations--Darjieling--Llamas--View from the Mountains.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Cholera and other Diseases--The Causes of Cholera--How the Soldiers are
Protected Against it--Sudden Deaths--Fevers--The Teraj--Contempt for
Death--The Cholera Hospital--The Sisters of Mercy--The Princes
Tagore--Hindoo Family Customs--Hindoo Gallantry--A Hindoo Fete.
CHAPTER XXV.
Agriculture, Manufacture and Architecture--Wheat Growing--The Farm
Laborer--His Condition, Implements, etc. The Taj-Mahal--Jugglers--Snake
Charmers--From My Journal.
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Women of India--The Widows--The American Zenana--Prizes Awarded in a
Girl's School--Annandabai Joshee--Her Visit to America--Reports to the
Government--Departure from India--Burmah--Ceylon--Arabia--Cairo.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Cairo--Cheop's Pyramid--Venice--The St. Gotthard Tunnel--On the
Rhine--Visit in Holland and England--Father Nugent--Arrival at New York.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Home from India--A Friendly Reception--Journey to New Mexico--The
Maxwell Land Grant Company--Renewed Visits to England and
Holland--Re-elected Secretary of State--Visit of the Swedish Officers in
Minneapolis and St. Paul--Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the
Landing of the First Swedes in Delaware.
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Causes of Immigration--American Influence on Europe, and Especially
on Sweden--The Condition of the Swedes in America--American
Characteristics--Antipathy against Foreigners--The Swedish Press on
America--American Heiresses.
CHAPTER XXX.
REVIEW.
NOTE.
These _reminiscences_ were written from memory in such leisure moments
as the author could spare from a busy life, and published in the Swedish
language nearly a year ago. They were intended solely for Swedish
readers in the mother country and America, but since their publication
in that language it has been urged by many that they ought to be made
accessible to English readers also. And this, principally, in order that
the children of the old Swedish emigrants, who are more familiar with
the English than the Swedish language, may have an opportunity to learn
something of the early struggles of their fathers in this country.
At the same time it was thought that the American reader in general
might take pleasure in following the fortunes of one of the many
emigrants who owes whatever he has accomplished in life to the
opportunities offered by the free institutions of this country, and that
it would especially interest him to read the account of oriental life,
religion and characteristics as seen by the author during his residence
in the wonderful land of the Hindoos.
As to literary finish no claim is made. In a few instances of a
descriptive nature recourse has been had to the accounts of other
observers. In all other respects the story is a plain recital of the
personal experiences of the author, told without pretensions, as an
humble contribution by an emigrant to the history of the emigrants, and
of the settlement of the Great West.
THE AUTHOR.
Minneapolis, Minn., October, 1891.
CHAPTER I.
Ancestry and country home in Sweden--Home influences--My first school
years--Christmas--Military life--Departure for America.
My childhood passed so quietly and smoothly that it would be superfluous
to mention it at all, except for the fact that such omission would leave
a gap in these reminiscences. For this reason, and, also, in order that
the American reader may get some idea of a good country home in Sweden,
I shall relate very briefly some incidents from that time.
My parents belonged to one of those old families of proprietary farmers,
whose spirit of independence and never failing love of liberty, have,
from time immemorial, placed Sweden, as a land of constitutional
liberty, in the front rank among all the countries of the Old World.
Like the descendants of the old Scotch clans the ancestors of my father
were noted for certain physical and mental qualities, which made them
prominent among the inhabitants of the district of Villand, Skane, where
most of them had their home. They were independent freeholders and were
generally reckoned among the leading men of their district. They were
large and strong with broad shoulders, high and broad foreheads and
other family characteristics. The christian names of the male members
were generally Bonde, Trued, Lars, Matts, and Hans, and the family can
be traced back in the parish records for more than two hundred years.
My mother was born on the island of Ifoe, my father's family also came
from that island and were the owners of the estate described by Du
Chaillu in his "Land of the Midnight Sun" with the remarkable crypt
built by Bishop Andreas Suneson[1] and the estate still belongs to a
second cousin of mine. My father inherited a small sum of money for
which, at the time of his marriage, he bought a land in the parish of
Oennestad near the city of Kristianstad. On this property he built a
small house, barn, etc., and on the south side of the former a small
flower garden was laid out at either end of which my father planted a
spruce tree, one of which grew up into a fine, big tree, the only one of
its kind in the whole neighborhood, and to which I shall refer farther
on. In this unpretending little cabin I was born Dec. 23d, 1832, and
under its lowly but peaceful roof I spent the first years of my
childhood, together with an elder sister and a younger brother.
[Footnote 1: Note: Vol 2, page 448.]
I can yet distinctly remember many incidents from my childhood as far
back as my third and fourth year; all these memories are dear and
exceedingly pleasant to me. There was no discord, no cause for sorrow
and tears in my home during the time of my childhood. Everything bore
the stamp of peace and calm, emanating from that spirit of genuine old
Swedish honesty and sincere piety, which animated my parents. One of my
very first recollections is of my father reading aloud the beautiful
hymn:
"The morning light shall wake me
To the strains of sacred song," etc.
At the age of six my schooling commenced under the guidance of an
itinerant schoolmaster by name of Bergdahl, who taught small children at
their homes, stopping one day for each child at every house and keeping
on in that way the whole term which lasted from three to four months.
Old Bergdahl was a good and sensible man, far superior to the average
men of his class. He seldom punished his pupils except by appealing to
their better nature, and still maintained the best discipline that I
have ever seen in any school of even greater pretensions.
My parents were doing well on their little farm, which they sold about
this time, buying a larger one on the Oennestad Hills. Here they erected
larger and more commodious buildings.
[Illustration: OUR HOME.]
Near the house was a park, a creek, and some large rocks, all of which
afforded welcome play-ground, and soon made this place dearer to me than
the old home. We were followed by the school-master who also settled
down in our neighborhood. I continued reading another year under his
guidance, after which I attended a private school, and at the age of
eight was sent to the village school that was superintended by a lady
teacher, a normal school graduate, who was considered one of the best
teachers in that part of the country. My parents, desiring a more
extensive field for their activity, also rented a large farm, called
Kellsagard, near the village church, and we now moved into a still
larger and better house. Meanwhile I continued my attendance at the
village school until I had learned all that was taught there. During the
vacations I worked on my father's farm at such light work as was suited
to my age and strength. I had a decided fancy for horses, of which my
father raised a large number, and was always happy for a chance to ride
or drive in company with the hired men, and after my twelfth year I used
to break the young colts to the saddle. At the same time I had a great
taste for reading and never intended to remain long on the farm, but was
always meditating on getting a higher education, which would prepare me
for a larger field of action than a country farm could offer. At the age
of fourteen I was sent to another school, located about three miles from
my home. Here I was instructed in the common branches, and in a short
time passed through the whole course of studies. I also received
instruction from Rev. T. N. Hasselquist, who has played such a prominent
part in the Swedish Lutheran Church of America, and took private lessons
in arithmetic and writing of Mr. S. J. Willard, a bright young teacher,
who afterwards married my only sister, and finally became my companion
during our pioneer life in Minnesota.
Our last home offered many conveniences; the house was well furnished,
and so large that the second story could be rented most of the time, and
it was occupied alternately by a clergyman with his family, and a
captain of the army. These people, and our numerous city friends,
exerted a refining and elevating influence on the farm surroundings, and
our home was widely noted for its hospitality. My father was a
kind-hearted, noble-minded man, and was liked by all who knew him. My
mother was a woman of strong character, and wielded a great influence
over her surroundings. She managed a household of forty to fifty
persons, and on Sundays there was always an extra table set for friends
and visitors. Her good-will, however, extended not only to our pleasant
associates, but also to the poor, the suffering and the unfortunate. I
cannot recall any period of my childhood when we did not harbor some
poor, forsaken pauper, waif, orphan or cripple in my father's house.
Christmas has always been, and is yet, the greatest of all festivities
or holidays among all the Scandinavian peoples. It is not merely a
holiday like it is among Americans, but a festival lasting for many
days. While the people in the different localities of the Scandinavian
countries, at the time of my childhood, differed in many customs, they
were all alike in making this season one of joyous hospitality, blended
with religious worship. I shall endeavor to describe Christmas as
celebrated in my home in Southern Sweden 50 years ago, and I venture to
say that while matters of detail might differ in different parts of the
country, the descriptions as a whole will apply to them all. The
preparations for Christmas commenced in the beginning of December by
butchering, brewing and baking, so as to lay in large stores of the
essential elements for enjoyment and hospitality. The fattened animals
were slaughtered, the tallow made into candles, the meat salted, smoked,
and otherwise prepared for a whole year. The rich brown Yule-ale was
made in large quantities, and poured in kegs and barrels. Bread of many
varieties was baked for days and days, and stored away in proper places,
a large share of it being intended for the poor, who began their rounds
of calls a week before Christmas, receiving presents of brown and white
loaves, large cuts of meats and cheese, rolls of sausage, etc. The
school-master, the parish mid-wife, the village night watchman, and
other semi-public characters of small degree were carefully remembered
at this time. The village tailor with his journeymen and apprentices
appeared a few weeks before Christmas and made the wearing apparel for
the family and servants out of home-spun fabrics for the whole year. The
village shoemaker with his crowd of workmen followed close upon the
former, and made up the boots and shoes out of leather which had been
prepared to order, finishing up by repairing the stable harnesses,
sometimes making new ones. It was a busy season; the house-wife was kept
astir early and late to give directions, and superintending all these
things.
Finally the day of Christmas Eve came, on which everything must be in
readiness, pans and kettles be scoured, floors scrubbed and strewn with
white sand and fresh juniper twigs, even the stables for the cattle
receiving an extra scrubbing. The yard was swept and every nook and
corner of the premises put in holiday attire, and last of all, the hired
men and girls were expected to retire to their respective quarters for a
similar cleaning, and make their appearance about five o'clock in the
afternoon in clean linen and new clothes, ready for the great event, as
for a marriage feast. In the mean time pots and kettles were boiling on
the hearth in the great kitchen, baskets were being filled and sent off
to the poor who were too feeble to call for their gifts; the family and
servants contenting themselves that day with a lunch, well known all
over Sweden as dopparebroed. It being now dark, the long table was set in
the large common room. The whitest linen, the finest plate, plenty of
fresh white bread, and two or three home-made cheeses, baskets of cake,
and large decanters containing sweet ale, ornamented the table. In front
of the seats of husband and wife was placed a large home-made tallow
candle with as many branches as there were members of the family. Other
candles were placed in candle-sticks or chandeliers, so that there was
an abundance of light, in commemoration of the Great Light which came
into the world on that eve. There was also a Christmas tree decorated
with ribbons, flowers, confectionery and burning tapers. The lighting of
the candles was the signal for all to come to the feast. That evening at
least there was no distinction as to persons. The lowest servant-boy
had his seat, and received the same attention as the children or members
of the family. When all were seated a Christmas prayer was offered by
the head of the family, after which a hymn was sung, in which all
joined; then were brought in from the kitchen great dishes of "Lut
Fisk," served with drawn butter and mustard sauce; after that a roast of
beef or pork, and at last the Yule-mush. About the time that this was
finished, some one who had quietly stepped outside returned in the
disguise of Santa Claus, and threw baskets full of Christmas presents on
the floor. The children and younger servants made a scramble for these,
amid shouts of hilarious joy and distributed them according to the
directions written on each bundle. No one was forgotten. Then at the
table followed cakes with sweet wine or punch, and nuts and apples, all
of which was enjoyed hugely and deliberately, so that it was often ten
o'clock before the tables were cleared. The remainder of the evening was
spent in quiet amusements, such as telling stories about princes and
princesses, giants and trolls, conundrums, tricks with cards, etc., and
seldom did the happy circle break up until nearly mid-night.
Christmas day was considered a very holy day. There were no visits made,
no work done except of the greatest necessity, such as feeding the
animals and keeping up the fires; no cooking was done on that day, but
meals were served mostly cold from the delicious head cheese, pork roast
and other delicacies, which had been prepared beforehand. The greatest
event of all the season, and in fact of the whole year, was the early
service (ottesang) in the parish church, at five o'clock on Christmas
morning. Hundreds of candles were lighted in chandeliers and
candlesticks. The altar was covered with gold embroidered cloth; the
floor was strewn with fresh twigs of juniper, and soon the people began
to assemble. They came from every house and hamlet, in sleighs with
tinkling bells, on horseback, and on foot along every road and winding
pathway, usually in groups, swelling as the parties and the roads
intersected, many carrying lanterns or burning pine-knots to light the
way. Everywhere the greeting, "Happy Christmas" was heard, but all with
joyful solemnity. Outside the church the burning torches were thrown in
a pile which formed a blaze that could be seen a long distance off. The
church was soon crowded; then the solemn tones of the organ burst forth;
the organist led in the beautiful hymn, "Var haelsad skoena morgon stund"
(Be greeted joyful morning hour), in which every member of the
congregation joined, until the temple was filled with their united
voices so that the walls almost shook. And when the minister ascended
the pulpit, clad in his surplice and black cape, he had before him a
most devout congregation. Of course the sermon was about the Messiah,
who was born in the stable, and placed in the manger at Bethlehem. The
next service was at ten o'clock, and the rest of the day was spent
quietly at home by everybody.
On the next day, called Second Day Christmas, the previous solemnity was
discarded, and the time for visiting and social enjoyments commenced.
The one permanent virtue most conspicuous during the whole Christmas
season, which in those days extended way into the month of January, was
hospitality, and next to that, or linked with it, charity. It seemed
that the heart of every one expanded until it took in every fellow
creature high and low, and even the brute animals. Many and many were
the loaves of bread, grain and meal thrown out purposely for the birds
or stray dogs that might be hungry, and many of the farmers followed the
beautiful Norwegian custom of placing sheaves of oats and barley on the
roof of their barns that the poor birds might also enjoy Christmas.
But there were also other ennobling influences which surrounded and
emanated from our home, and I recollect most vividly those connected
with nature. The house was surrounded by a large beautiful garden, with
choice flowers and fruit, fine grass plats and luxuriant trees, the
branches of which were alive with singing birds, the most noted among
these being the nightingale, which every summer filled the garden with
sweet melody.
Of the incidents of my childhood I will mention a few, which have left
the most vivid impression on my mind:
Once my parents took me along to see the king, who was to pass by on the
highway a short distance from our home. The people from the country
around had congregated by thousands to see his majesty. Most of them,
however, did not get a chance to see anything but a large number of
carriages each of which was drawn by four or six horses, and postillions
and servants in splendid liveries. In the midst of this confusion I,
however, succeeded in catching a glimpse of King Oscar I, as he passed
by. In my childish mind I had fancied that the king and his family and
all others, in authority were the peculiar and elect people of the
Almighty, but after this event which produced a very decided impression
on me, I began to entertain serious doubts as to the correctness of my
views on this matter.
At another time I went with my mother to the city of Kristianstad to
hear the Rev. Doctor P. Fjellstedt, who had just returned from a
missionary tour in India. I can never forget how eloquently he described
the Hindoos, and the Brahmin idolatry, all of which aroused in me an
eager longing to visit the wonderful country and learn to know its
peculiar people. But little did I then dream that I was to go there
thirty-six years later as the representative of the greatest country of
the world.
At one time I went in company with my mother to the Danish capital,
Copenhagen, we being among the first Swedish families that traveled by
rail, for we took the railroad from Copenhagen to Roskilde, the same
being finished several years before any railroads were built in Sweden.
In the summer of 1847, shortly after my confirmation, I was properly
supplied with wardrobe and other necessaries, and saying good-bye to the
happy and peaceful home of my childhood, I left for the city of
Kristianstad to enter the Latin school. In kissing me good-bye my mother
urged on me the precious words, which she had inherited from her mother:
"Do right and fear nothing."
When I entered this school I was fourteen years and a-half old, tall of
stature and well developed for my age, and, like other country children,
somewhat awkward in dress and behavior.
My schoolmates welcomed me by giving me a nick-name, and trying to pick
a quarrel with me, which they also succeeded in doing, and before the
end of the first day a drawn battle had been fought, after which they
never troubled me again. The principal study in this school was Latin,
early and late, to which was soon added German, and at the close of the
second year, Greek, French, history, geography, and other common
branches. I made rapid progress, was awarded a prize at my first
examination, and finished the work of two classes in two years, only
about half the usual time.
During those two years, and even before that time, I had a peculiar
presentiment that I would have to make great mental and physical
exertions in the future, and that it was necessary for me to prepare for
whatever might happen. Therefore, I often chose the hard floor for my
bed and a book for a pillow. At times I would take long walks without
eating and drinking, and let my room-mates strike my chest with their
fists until it was swollen and inflamed. I even tried how long I could
go without food, and still not lose my mental and physical vigor.
When I was sixteen years old, an event took place which had a decisive
influence on my whole life.
A captain of the army boarded at my father's home, and was regarded as a
member of the family. Among his acquaintances was a young man of my own
age, who also had the same christian name as I. One day this young man
came to see the captain, and as he approached the house my mother and
sister observing him, both exclaimed at the same time, "There is Hans!"
He heard this, and was greatly surprised that they knew him, while the
fact was that they mistook him for me. At that time I was in the city,
but the next day this second Hans visited me, and told me of the
incident. If there is such a thing as affinity between men, it certainly
existed between him and me; we felt ourselves irresistibly drawn towards
each other, and from that day we have been more than brothers, and
nothing but death can separate us. We are of the same size, complexion
and age. He had already served a short time as cadet in the artillery,
but had been compelled to resign on account of poor health. Now he had
recovered and entered service again as a volunteer in the infantry. The
events of my life are so closely interwoven with this man and his life,
that the reader will often hear of him in these pages. Right here I wish
to state, that a more faithful friend and a more noble character cannot
be found; he has always been a help and a comfort to me in the many and
strange vicissitudes which we have shared together. His name is Hans
Eustrom, better known in Minnesota as Captain Eustrom.
The first Danish-German war broke out about this time, and I, with many
other youths, felt a hearty sympathy for the Danes. The Swedish
government resolved to send troops to help their neighbors, and a few
regiments marching through our city fanned our youthful enthusiasm into
flame. Finally, a detachment of the artillery, quartered in the city,
was ordered to leave for the seat of war, and now I could no longer
restrain myself, but besieged my parents to let me join that part of the
army which was going to the battlefield, and to clinch the argument I
was cruel enough to send word to my distressed mother that if she would
not consent I would run away from home and join the army anyway. This
last argument made her yield, and in the fall of 1849 I became an
artillery cadet, being then in my seventeenth year. But although I won
this victory over my mother, whose greatest desire was that I should
become a clergyman, she in turn gained a victory over me by persuading
the surgeon of the batallion, who was also our family physician, to
declare me sick and send me to the hospital, although I had only a
slight cold; thus my plan to go with the army to Schleswig-Holstein was
frustrated. This did not make much difference, however, as the war was
virtually closed before our troops arrived at the place of destination,
and my time could now be more profitably employed in learning the duties
of a soldier, and in taking a course of mathematics and other practical
branches at the regimental school.
I remained in the army a year and a-half, during which time I received
excellent instruction in gymnastics, fencing and riding, besides the
regular military drill. Two winters were thus devoted to conscientious
and thorough work at the military school.
Knowing that the chances for advancement in the Swedish army during
times of peace were at this time very slim for young men not favored
with titles of nobility, and being also tired of the monotonous garrison
life, my friend Eustrom and myself soon resolved to leave the service
and try our luck in a country where inherited names and titles were not
the necessary conditions of success.
At that time America was little known in our part of the country, only a
few persons having emigrated from the whole district. But we knew that
it was a new country, inhabited by a free and independent people, that it
had a liberal government and great natural resources, and these
inducements were sufficient for us. My parents readily consented to my
emigration, and, having made the necessary preparations, my father took
my friend Eustrom and myself down to the coast with his own horses, in
the first part of May, 1851. It was a memorable evening, and I shall
never forget the last farewell to my home, in driving out from the court
into the village street, how I stood up in the wagon, turned towards the
dear home and waved my hat with a hopeful hurrah to the "folks I left
behind." A couple of days' journey brought us to a little seaport, where
we took leave of my father and boarded a small schooner for the city of
Gothenburg.
At that time there were no ocean steamers and no emigrant agents; but we
soon found a sailing vessel bound for America on which we embarked as
passengers, furnishing our own bedding, provisions and other
necessaries, which our mothers had supplied in great abundance. About
one hundred and fifty emigrants from different parts of Sweden were on
board the brig Ambrosius. In the middle of May she weighed anchor and
glided out of the harbor on her long voyage across the ocean to distant
Boston.
We gazed back at the vanishing shores of the dear fatherland with
feelings of affection, but did not regret the step we had taken, and our
bosoms heaved with boundless hope. At the age of eighteen, the strong,
healthy youth takes a bright and hopeful view of life, and so did we.
Many and beautiful were the air-castles we built as we stood on deck,
with our eyes turned towards the promised land of the nineteenth
century. To some of these castles our lives have given reality, others
are still floating before us.