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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Reminiscences, by Hans Mattson
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Reminiscences
+       The Story of an Emigrant
+
+Author: Hans Mattson
+
+Release Date: May 17, 2010 [EBook #32399]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMINISCENCES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by K Nordquist, Ren� Anderson Benitz and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note: Most variations in hyphenation, capitalization, and
+spelling have been retained as in the original. Spelling errors have
+been corrected when most occurrences of the word in question are
+correct. Obvious typos have been amended. All amendments are listed at
+the end of the text. Minor printer errors (quotation marks, punctuation,
+etc.) have been amended without note. Mid-paragraph illustrations have
+been relocated between paragraphs for easier reading. Brief descriptions
+of illustrations without captions have been added in parentheses where
+appropriate. Table of Contents has been added.
+
+
+
+
+[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 G�ta 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
+Sk�ne--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 F�te--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 F�te.
+
+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, Sk�ne, 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 If�, 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
+�nnestad 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 �nnestad 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 dopparebr�d. 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 (ottes�ng) 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 h�lsad sk�na 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.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+The good brig Ambrosius landed us in Boston on June 29, 1851, but during
+the voyage about one-half of the passengers were attacked by small-pox
+and had to be quarantined outside the harbor. My good friend and I were
+fortunate enough to escape this plague; but instead of this I was taken
+sick with the ague on our arrival at Boston.
+
+Now, then, we were in America! The new, unknown country lay before us,
+and it seemed the more strange as we did not understand a word of the
+English language. For at that time the schools of Sweden paid no
+attention to English, so that although I had studied four languages,
+English, the most important of all tongues, was entirely unknown to me.
+
+The first few weeks of our stay in Boston passed quietly and quickly,
+but the ague grew worse and my purse was getting empty. My friend,
+however, had more money than I, and as long as he had a dollar left he
+divided it equally between us. I cannot resist the temptation to relate
+a serio-comical escapade of this period, one that to many will recall
+similar occurences in their own experience as immigrants ignorant of the
+language of the country.
+
+In Gothenburg we had become acquainted with a bright young man from
+Vexi�, Janne Tenggren by name, who had also served in the army. When we
+met him he had already bought a ticket on a sailing vessel bound for
+New York, so that we could not make the voyage together. But we agreed
+to hunt each other up after our arrival in America. We left Sweden about
+the same time with the understanding that if we arrived first we should
+meet him in New York, and if he arrived first he should go to Boston to
+meet us there.
+
+About a week after our arrival in Boston, we heard that the vessel on
+which he had embarked had arrived, and I immediately left for New York
+to fulfill our promise. But, unfortunately, I found he had already gone
+west, so I bought a return ticket to Boston the same day. The journey
+was by steamboat to Fall River, thence by rail to Boston. We left New
+York in the evening. I remained on the deck, and went to sleep about ten
+o'clock on some wooden boxes. About eleven o'clock I awoke, saw the
+steamer laying to and, supposing we were at Fall River, hurried off and
+followed the largest crowd, expecting thus to get to the railroad depot.
+Striking no depot, however, I returned to the harbor, only to find the
+steamer gone, and everybody but myself had vanished from the pier.
+
+There I stood, in the middle of the night, without money, ignorant of
+the language, and not even knowing where I was! Tired and discouraged I
+finally threw myself down on a wooden box on the sidewalk, and went to
+sleep. About five o'clock in the morning a big policeman aroused me by
+poking at me with his club. This respectable incarnation of social order
+evidently took me for a tramp or a madman, and as he could not obtain
+any intelligible information from me in any language known to him, he
+took me to a small shoe store kept by a German.
+
+Fortunately, my acquaintance with the German language was sufficient to
+enable me to explain myself, and I soon found that I had left the
+steamer several hours too early; that the name of this place was New
+London, that another steamer would come past at the same time the next
+night, so that all I had to do was to wait for that steamer and go to
+Boston on the same ticket.
+
+I spent the day in seeing the city and chatting with my friend, the shoe
+maker, and in the evening returned to the wharf to watch for the Boston
+steamer.
+
+This being my ague day, I had violent attacks of ague and fever, so that
+I was again forced to lie down to rest on the same wooden box, and again
+went to sleep. After a while I was aroused by the noise of the
+approaching steamer; rushed on board in company with some other
+passengers, and considered myself very fortunate when reflecting that I
+would surely be in Boston the next morning. I had made myself familiar
+with the surroundings during the day, and when the steamer started, I
+noticed that it directed its course towards New York, instead of Boston.
+I had no money to pay my fare to New York, could neither borrow nor beg,
+and so I crawled down in a little hole in the fore part of the steamer,
+where the tackles and ropes were kept, thus, fortunately, escaping the
+notice of the ticket collector.
+
+The next evening I again embarked for Boston and finally arrived safely
+at my destination.
+
+We stayed in Boston several weeks, and during that time my ague caused a
+heavy drain on our small treasury. We had no definite plan, did not know
+what to do, and as we had never been used to any kind of hard work,
+matters began to assume a serious aspect, especially in regard to
+myself. But then, as now, the hope of many a young man was the Great
+West which, at that time, was comparatively little known even in Boston.
+Toward the close of the month of July we, therefore, went to Buffalo,
+which was as far as our money would carry us. Here we put up at a cheap
+boarding house kept by a Norwegian by name of Larson, with whom we
+stopped while trying to get work. But having learned no trade and being
+unused to manual labor, we soon found that it was impossible to get a
+job in the city; so we left our baggage at the boarding house and
+started on foot for a country place named Hamburg, some ten miles
+distant, where we learned that two of our late companions across the
+ocean had found employment. On the road to Hamburg, about dusk, we
+reached a small house by the wayside, where we asked for food and
+shelter. I was so exhausted that my friend had to support me in order to
+reach the house. We found it occupied by a Swedish family, which had
+just sat down to a bountiful supper. Telling them our condition, we were
+roughly told to clear out; in Sweden, they said, they had had enough of
+gentlemen and would have nothing to do with them here.
+
+We retraced our steps with sad hearts until a short distance beyond the
+house we found an isolated barn partly filled with hay. _There_ was no
+one to object, so we took possession and made it our temporary home. I
+am glad to say that during a long life among all classes of people, from
+the rudest barbarians to the rulers of nations, that family of my own
+countrymen were the only people who made me nearly lose faith in the
+nobler attributes of man. I have an excuse, however, for this conduct in
+the fact that in the mother-country, which they had left a year before,
+they had probably been abused and exasperated on account of the foolish
+class distinction then existing there. They evidently belonged to that
+class of tenants who were treated almost like slaves. The following day
+we found our late companions a mile from our barn, both working for a
+farmer at $15.00 per month, which was then considered big wages. They
+were older men and accustomed to hard labor, so that their situation was
+comparatively easy. They received us kindly and procured work for
+Eustrom with the same farmer, while I, still suffering with the ague,
+could not then attempt to work, and therefore returned to my castle in
+the meadow, (the hay-barn). There I remained about a week living on
+berries which I found in the neighboring woods and a slice of bread and
+butter, which Eustrom brought me in the evening, when with blistered
+hands and sore back, he called to comfort me and help build better air
+castles for the future.
+
+A council was finally held among us four, and it was decided to send me
+back to Buffalo with a farmer who was going there the following morning.
+One of the men Mr. Abraham Sandberg on parting gave me a silver dollar,
+with the injunction to give it to someone who might need it worse than
+I, whenever I could do so. I have never met Abraham since; but I have
+regarded it as a sacred duty to comply with his request, and, in case
+these lines should come before his eyes I wish to let him know that my
+debt has been honestly paid.
+
+On reaching the old boarding house in Buffalo the landlord promised that
+he would send me to a hospital where I could receive proper treatment
+and care. I made up a little bundle of necessary underwear, and in an
+hour a driver appeared at the door; I was lifted into the cart and off
+we went through the muddy streets to the outskirts of the city, where I
+was duly delivered at a large building which I supposed to be the
+hospital. It was near evening, and I was brought into a large
+dining-room, with a hundred others or more, served with supper, corn
+mush and molasses water, after which I was shown to a bed in a large
+room among many others. I suffered with fever, and for the first time in
+my life with loneliness. Exhausted nature finally took out its due, and
+I slept soundly until awakened in the morning by a loud sound of a gong.
+As soon as dressed I walked out in the yard, or lawn, back of the
+building. On one side was a high plank fence, behind which I heard some
+strange sounds. I found a knot-hole, and, peeping through this, I
+observed another lawn, on which were many people. They were strange
+looking; I never saw any like them before. Some were swinging, some
+dancing, others shouting, singing and weeping and behaving in a most
+out-of-the-way manner. I wondered and wondered, and finally it dawned
+upon me that it must be a lunatic asylum. It was, in fact, as I since
+learned, the county poor farm, where one part was used for the lunatics
+and the other for paupers like myself. Has it come to this? I asked
+myself; is this the goal of all my ambition and hopes? Going back to the
+room, where I had slept, I stealthily took my little bundle, slipped out
+through a side door into a back yard, found a gate open and was soon in
+the street. I started on a run with all the power in me, as if pursued
+by all the furies of paupers and lunatics, never stopping until I was
+near the old boarding house, where I was taken in exhausted and in deep
+despair. I would have killed the landlord for deceiving me if I had been
+able to do so. One good thing resulted from the sad experience of that
+day: the mental shock on discovering where I was, cured me for the time
+being of the ague.
+
+The next day my friend returned from Hamburg, where he could no longer
+get any employment on account of his blistered hands, and poor health in
+general. We now put our wise heads together and agreed that we had
+already had enough of the West for the time being. Having plenty of good
+clothes, bedding, revolvers and other knick-knacks, we sold to our
+landlord whatever we could spare, in order to raise money enough to pay
+our way back to Boston.
+
+During our stay in Buffalo, our renowned countrywoman, Jenny Lind,
+happened to give a concert there. We were standing on the street where
+we could see the people crowd into the theatre, but that was all we
+could afford, and we never heard her sing. Our host advised us to go and
+ask her for help; but our pride forbade it.
+
+At this time the Swedes were so little known, and Jenny Lind, on the
+other hand, so renowned in America, that the Swedes were frequently
+called "Jenny Lind men," this designation being often applied to myself.
+
+Having purchased tickets for Albany, we returned East in the month of
+August. I still remember how we rode all night in a crowded second-class
+car, listening to the noisy merry-making of our fellow-passengers; but
+we understood very little of it, for up to this time we had lived
+exclusively among our own countrymen, and learned only a few English
+words--a mistake, by the way, which thousands of immigrants have made
+and are still making.
+
+Arriving at Albany, we sat down by an old stone wall near the railroad
+depot, to talk over our affairs. Fate had been against us while we
+remained together, and we probably depended too much upon each other.
+Accordingly, we decided to part for some time and try our luck
+separately; and if one of us met with success he would, of course, soon
+be able to find a position for the other. We decided by drawing lots
+that Eustrom should go to Boston and I to New York. When we had bought
+our tickets there remained one dollar, which we divided, and we left for
+our respective places of destination the same evening.
+
+Our landlord in Buffalo had given us the address of a sailors'
+boarding-house in New York, which was also kept by a Norwegian by the
+same name of Larson. So when I left the Hudson River steamer early the
+next morning, I paid my half-dollar to a drayman, who took me to said
+boarding house. I found Mr. Larson to be a kind, good-natured man, told
+him my difficulties right out, and asked him to let me stop at his house
+until I could find something to do. He agreed to this, and for a week or
+so I tried my best to get work. But, when asked what kind of work I
+could do, I was compelled to answer that I had learned no trade, but
+that I would gladly try to learn anything and do anything whatever, even
+sweep the streets, if necessary. As a result of my protracted sickness,
+I was so weak and exhausted that nobody thought I would be able even to
+earn my bread. As to easy or intellectual work, I had no earthly chance,
+as long as I did not know the English language. Finally Mr. Larson took
+me to a ship-owner's office. I still remember that a Norwegian captain
+was cruel enough to remark in my hearing, that he did not intend to take
+any half-dead corpses along with him to sea.
+
+After two weeks of fruitless efforts to get work for me, my host finally
+declared that he could not very well keep me any longer, because his
+accommodations were crowded with paying customers; nevertheless, he
+allowed me to sleep in the attic free of charge, while I had to procure
+my food as best I could, which I also did for another two weeks. Being a
+convalescent, I had a ravenous appetite, and, indeed, I found how hard
+it is to obtain food without having anything to pay for it. Of the few
+articles of clothing which I brought with me from Buffalo, I had to
+sacrifice one after another for subsistence. When all other means were
+exhausted, I was compelled to go to the kitchen-doors and tell my
+desperate and unfortunate condition by signs, and more than one
+kind-hearted cook gave me a solid meal.
+
+Tramps! In our day there is a great deal of talk about tramps, and it
+has become customary, to brand as a tramp, any poor wandering laborer
+who seeks work. There are undoubtedly many who justly deserve this
+title; but I think there are tramps who are not to blame for their
+deplorable condition, and who deserve encouragement and friendly
+assistance, for I have been one of them myself, without any fault or
+neglect on my part. It always provokes me to hear a young or
+inexperienced person use the expression "tramp" so thoughtlessly, and in
+such a sweeping manner. Long ago I made up my mind that no tramp should
+ever leave my door without such aid as my resources would allow. It is
+better to give to a thousand undeserving, than to let one unfortunate
+but deserving suffer.
+
+My good host, like his Buffalo namesake, finally contrived to get rid of
+me by representing me as a sailor, and hiring me to the captain of the
+bark "Catherine," a coasting vessel bound for Charleston, S. C., telling
+me that I was to serve as cabin boy. My wages were to be five dollars a
+month, of which he received seven dollars and a-half in advance, so that
+I could pay my debts and buy a sailor's suit of clothes.
+
+On the second day of our voyage we encountered a storm. I was on deck
+with the sailors and the captain stood on the quarter-deck. We were
+coursing against the wind and were just going to turn when the captain
+called on me to untie some ropes. Understanding very little English, and
+being no sailor, I naturally knew nothing about the names of the
+different ropes, and I grabbed one after another, but invariably missed
+the right one. The captain was swearing with might and main in English.
+Seeing that I did not understand him he suddenly roared out angrily the
+name of the rope in good Swedish and added: "Do you understand me now,
+you confounded blockhead!" Turning to him, cap in hand, I answered: "No,
+captain, I do not know the name of a single rope." "And still," he
+continued "you have followed the sea three years, what a dunce you are."
+I answered: "Indeed Mr. Captain, I have never been a sailor, and will
+never be worth anything at sea. But I am willing and anxious to do all
+you ask if within my power." The captain, whose name was Wilson, was a
+Swedish American and, although somewhat gruff, he was in fact one of the
+noblest men who ever commanded a ship. He immediately saw how the matter
+stood; the boarding house man had cheated both him and me and from that
+hour Captain Wilson became my friend and benefactor.
+
+Afterwards I found out of the whole crew, which numbered twenty-six men,
+nine-tenths were Scandinavians, but they always used the English
+language while on board the ship. Captain Wilson told me to see him in
+his cabin as soon as the work was performed. Here he asked me about my
+circumstances, and I told him the short story of my life, which elicited
+his sympathy to such an extent that he even asked me to pardon his rude
+behavior toward me. He assigned me to a place to sleep in the cabin;
+told the officers not to give me any orders as he was going to do that
+himself, and treated me with the utmost kindness and consideration in
+every respect.
+
+After this I was excused from all work properly belonging to a sailor,
+but kept the cabin in order, and helped the steward in waiting at the
+table, and the officers with their calculations. During my spare hours I
+read and conversed with the captain and his two mates, one of whom was a
+Dane and the other an Irishman, both splendid fellows. The first mate
+was preparing the second mate for a captain's examination, and I, having
+recently taken a course in mathematics, at a military school, was able
+to assist them in their studies.
+
+On the table in the cabin was a large English Bible, with which I spent
+many happy hours, and by which I learned the English language. At first
+I used to pick out chapters of the New Testament, which I knew almost by
+heart, so that I could understand them without a dictionary or an
+interpreter. After my first conversation with the captain I did not
+speak another word in the Swedish language during the voyage, and when I
+returned to Boston, three months afterwards, it seemed to me that I
+could talk and read English about as well as Swedish.
+
+I made two trips with the captain from New York to Charleston and back
+again. At the wharf of Charleston, I was, for the first time in my life,
+brought face to face with American Negro slavery in its most odious
+aspect. Crowds of Negroes were running along the pier pulling long
+ropes, by means of which the ships were loaded and unloaded. Each gang
+of Negroes was under the charge of a brutal overseer, riding on a mule,
+and brandishing a long cowhide whip, which he applied vigorously to the
+backs of the half-naked Negroes. During the night they were kept penned
+up in sheds, which had been erected for that purpose near the wharf.
+They were treated like cattle, in every respect. This sight influenced
+me in later life to become a Republican in politics.
+
+After our second return to New York, Capt. Wilson assumed the command of
+one of the first clipper ships which carried passengers to California in
+those days. This was at the most stirring time of the gold fever, and
+the captain kindly offered to take me along and let me stay out there,
+an offer which thousands would have accepted. But I was never smitten
+with the gold fever, and, having a distaste for the sea, I said good-bye
+to the kind captain, never to see him again. My wages were to have been
+only five dollars a month, but he generously paid me eight dollars, so
+that I had earned enough money to pay my way to Boston, whence my friend
+Eustrom had written me and urged me to come.
+
+I arrived in Boston about the middle of December, and, when I returned
+to the old boarding house, I spoke English so well that my acquaintances
+hardly believed it possible that I could be the same person. Mr. Eustrom
+was now working as wood polisher. He had made many friends and lived
+happily and contented on $4 a week. By strict economy these wages
+sufficed for board, lodging, and clothes. It happened to be an
+unfavorable time of the year when I arrived, however, and many men who
+had been employed during the summer were now discharged at the approach
+of winter. Mr. Eustrom's employer had a good friend in New Hampshire, an
+old Swedish sailor, Anderson by name, who was farming up there. He
+promised to let me come and live with him and do whatever chores I could
+until something might turn up the next spring.
+
+A few days afterwards I went by rail to Contocook where I was met by Mr.
+Anderson, who took me out to his hospitable home a couple of miles from
+the town. This Anderson was a remarkable man. Having no education to
+speak of, he was a better judge of human nature and practical affairs of
+life than any other man I ever met. He was pleased with me, and said he
+wished I would sit down in the evening and tell him about Sweden, and
+explain to him what I had learned at school. Poor Anderson! He had one
+fault, rum got the better of him, and it was cheap in New England at
+that time, only sixteen cents a gallon. He bought a barrel of it at a
+time, and did not taste water as long as the rum lasted.
+
+The day after my arrival he asked me if I would like to go with him into
+the woods to help cut some logs. Of course I would, and we took our axes
+and started off. It was a very cold December day, and I had thin clothes
+and no mittens. Mr. Anderson went to cut down a tree, and I commenced to
+work at one which was already felled. This was the first time I swung an
+axe in earnest, and after a short while I felt that my hands were
+getting cold. But I made up my mind not to stop until the log was
+finished. By holding the axe handle very tight it stopped the
+circulation of the blood through my fingers, and when I finally stopped
+and dropped the axe I could not move my fingers, for eight of them were
+frozen stiff. Mr. Anderson now took off his cap, filled it with snow,
+put my hands into the snow, and thus we ran to the house as fast as our
+legs would carry us. The doctor tried his very best; but, nevertheless,
+in a few days the flesh and the nails began to peel off, and two doctors
+decided to amputate all the fingers on my right hand. Fortunately I did
+not give my consent, but told them that I would rather die of gangrene
+than live without hands, for my future depended exclusively on them.
+
+My friend Eustrom, having heard of my misfortune, soon came to visit me,
+and brought with him an old Irish woman who was something of a doctor,
+and cured my hands by means of a very simple plaster which she prepared
+herself. But I was forced into complete inactivity for more than three
+months, during which time I was entirely helpless, and had to be washed,
+dressed, and fed like an infant. But, as to me, the old proverb has
+always proved true: "When things are at the worst they'll mend." There
+were men and women in my accidental home who willingly tended to me in
+my trouble. May God bless them for it! In the latter part of March, Mr.
+Anderson, who had always treated me with the greatest kindness, quite
+unexpectedly told me that I was now able to work again and could try to
+get a place with some other family in the neighborhood, because he could
+not keep me any longer.
+
+Our nearest neighbor was a genuine Yankee, Daniel Dustin by name. He was
+very rich, well read, liberal minded, respectable and honest, but so
+_close_ that he would scarcely let his own family have enough food to
+eat, and his wife was even more stingy. Mr. Dustin agreed to let me work
+for my board until spring, and then he would give me five dollars a
+month, which offer I cheerfully accepted. He immediately took me out
+into the woods to chop wood for the summer, and he was to haul it home.
+The new, tender muscles and nails on my fingers made wood chopping very
+painful to me, and I could feel every blow of the axe through my entire
+body. Never has any man worked so hard for me, when I afterwards hired
+help for good wages, as I worked for my board here; and, by the way,
+this board consisted chiefly of potatoes and corn meal cake. When the
+spring work commenced I got five dollars a month, and had to get up at
+five o'clock in the morning to do the chores, and then work in the field
+from seven in the morning until dark.
+
+In the beginning of June I got a letter from my parents, stating that my
+father and brother were going to leave for New York immediately, and
+they asked me to meet them there and go West with them. I had never
+complained in my letters to my parents, but, on the other hand, I had
+not advised them to come to America, either. They had been advised to do
+so by some of my fellow-passengers on the "Ambrosius," who went to
+Illinois, and were highly pleased with their prospects. So I went to
+Boston again. My father's voyage had been delayed, and I had to wait for
+him over a month, during which time I got sick, and would have been in a
+sorry plight, indeed, if it had not been for my friend Eustrom, who now
+felt like a rich man, with his six dollars a week. A couple of years
+later he became the partner of his employer.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Finally my father and brother arrived, and again I turned my course
+westwards in company with them and their friends. We traveled by rail to
+Buffalo and across the lake to Toledo, thence by rail again to Chicago.
+In the summer of 1852 there were no railroads west of Chicago, and our
+company had to take passage on a canal-boat drawn by horses to La Salle,
+and from this place we rode in farmers wagons to Andover and Galesburg.
+The country around there was as yet only in the first stages of
+development; there was very little money in circulation, and no demand
+for farm products. The immigrants suffered a great deal from fever and
+other climatic diseases.
+
+My brother who was nearly sixteen years old soon obtained steady work
+from an American farmer, while my father and I had to do different kinds
+of work, such as building fences, stacking grain, etc. The only pay we
+could get was checks on some store. I remember what an abundance of
+provisions there was in that locality, and nobody seemed to be in need.
+
+A farmer near Galesburg, for whom I worked a week, had so many hens and
+chickens and eggs, that when people came out from town to buy eggs, they
+were told to pay ten cents, go out to the barn and fill their baskets
+with freshly-laid eggs, no matter how big the basket. Beef and pork had
+scarcely any value, and anybody could go into a cornfield that fall and
+gather a crop on half shares.
+
+There was much religious interest among the Swedes in Illinois at that
+time. The Methodists and Lutherans were already building churches, and
+held services side by side in many of the towns and settlements,
+although they numbered only a few families yet. I remember distinctly
+one Sunday attending service in a Methodist church listening to an
+eloquent preacher, taking for his text "The Broad and the Narrow Ways."
+He depicted both in glowing language, and wound up with the following
+words, pronounced in a broad (Swedish) dialect: "My dear brethren, I
+have now shown you the two ways, and you may take which ever you like;
+that is all the same to me."
+
+My father had taken with him only just enough money to pay his way,
+although he had by no means exhausted his resources in Sweden, for he
+had prudently decided to spend at least a year in seeing the country and
+making himself familiar with its institutions, customs, manner of
+tilling the soil, etc. At this time he was a strong man, at the age of
+fifty. In order to obtain steady work, we two, and a few others of our
+company, hired a man in Galesburg to take us to Rock River, where a
+bridge for the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad was being built. We all
+got work, and had to take hold of the spade and the shovel. The wages in
+those days for railroad laborers were from seventy-five cents to one
+dollar per day. I received only seventy-five cents, out of which my
+board was to be paid, which, however, was very cheap, one dollar and a
+half per week only. A Swede by the name of Hoffman kept a boarding house
+for thirty-four of us, and all would have been well except for the ague.
+No man remained there many days without getting the "shakes;" I and my
+father got them the second day. The lower part of the shanty in which we
+boarded was used for dining-room and kitchen, the upper for sleeping on
+the floor. The shanty was as shaky as the ague, which came regularly
+every other day. Fate had so arranged it that seventeen of us had the
+chills one day, and seventeen the next day. Hoffman and his wife
+fortunately also had the chills alternate days, so that there was always
+one to attend to the cooking.
+
+Some may doubt it, but it is a solemn fact, that when seventeen ate
+dinner below, the shaking of those upstairs sometimes shook the house
+until we could hear the plates rattling on the table.
+
+During my healthy days I stood on the bottom of Rock River from seven
+o'clock in the morning until seven at night, throwing wet sand with a
+shovel onto a platform above, from which it was again thrown to another,
+and from there to terra firma. The most disagreeable part of the
+business was that one-quarter of each shovel-full came back on the head
+of the operator.
+
+After a couple of weeks the company's paymaster came along, and upon
+settling my board bill and deducting for the shaking days, I made the
+discovery that I was able to earn only fifteen cents net per week in
+building railroad bridges.
+
+Being half dead by this time from over work and sickness, we decided to
+see if we could strike an easier job, and, if possible, a better
+climate. We happened to meet a farmer by the name of Peterson, with whom
+we rode to a place near Moline, where my father tended to me during my
+illness. When he was not occupied with this he chopped cord wood from
+dry old trees. I also tried to assist him in this, but found my strength
+gone.
+
+Among the Swedes living in Moline at that time was a tailor, Johnson by
+name, a good kind-hearted man who, together with his wife, was always
+ready to aid his needy countrymen and get something to do for such as
+could work. I went to him one day to ask for advice or assistance, just
+as a great many had done before me. I was so weak and sickly that they
+had to assist me in getting into the house, but they received me as if I
+had been their own son, and, after a short rest, Mr. Johnson took me to
+one Dr. Ober, who carefully investigated my mental as well as my
+physical condition, and told me that such hard work as I had been doing
+would kill me, and that I ought to rest and take it easy. He was one of
+those magnanimous, noble men who are to be met with in all climes and
+walks of life, but who are easily recognized because they are so few. As
+I have said before, I have been very fortunate in getting acquainted
+with the best men and women of different classes and nations with which
+I have come in contact. While we were sitting in his reception room the
+doctor suddenly left us and went into his private room. In a short time
+he returned accompanied by his wife, a lady whose silvery locks and
+benignantly sympathizing looks made her seem more beautiful to me than a
+madonna. Having simply taken a hasty look at me, the doctor and his wife
+again withdrew, and when they returned he offered to let me stay with
+them like a member of the family in order that he might try to restore
+my health; he also allowed me to avail myself of his library and to
+attend school, the only condition being that I should do chores around
+the house and take care of the horses.
+
+I moved the same day, got a pleasant room and a snug bed, good,
+substantial food, and, above all, good and friendly treatment, so that
+from the time I came there until the day I left, I felt as if I had been
+a child of the house. Dr. Ober, who was a religious man, belonged to the
+Baptist Church, and as I now lived under its beneficient influence, and
+also became acquainted with the Swedish Baptist Pastor, Rev. G.
+Palmquist, and a few others who constituted the nucleus of the First
+Swedish Baptist Church of America. I became a member of their society
+before spring and would probably have continued a member of this
+denomination, if circumstances which were beyond my control, had not
+brought me to other fields of action and other surroundings.
+
+This winter passed in a very pleasant manner. In the afternoon I
+attended an English school, and in the evening I gave instructions in
+English to other young men and women. The friendship of Dr. Ober and his
+wife never failed, and many years afterwards I was a welcome guest at
+their home in La Crosse, Wis., to which place they had moved from
+Moline. Both of them now slumber under the sod, but their many good
+deeds shall live for ever.
+
+My father was much pleased with the great west, and he wrote back to the
+rest of our family in Sweden to come to this country the next summer,
+and in May I started to meet them in Boston. As there were no railroads
+to Moline, I took a steamboat to Galena, and thence the stage-coach to
+Freeport, and from there to Chicago by rail.
+
+The vessel carrying my mother and the party with her was three months on
+the ocean, and there was great scarcity of provisions on board. The ship
+at last arrived, in the month of July, and a couple of days later the
+whole party, consisting of about two hundred, took the train for the
+west, I volunteering as their guide and interpreter. All went well until
+about one hundred miles east of Chicago, when the baggage car attached
+to our train in front caught fire. It was thought best to try to reach a
+station, and the burning train sped on at the rate of sixty miles an
+hour. The scene was a frightful one, the cars crammed full of frightened
+emigrants, the flames hissing like serpents from car to car, windows
+cracking, people screaming, and women fainting, all at the same time
+looking to me, who was not yet twenty years of age, for protection and
+deliverance.
+
+As soon as possible I placed reliable men as guards at the doors to
+prevent the people from rushing out and crowding each other off the
+platform. The train did not reach the station but had to be stopped on
+the open prairie, where we all were helped out of the cars with no
+accident of any kind except every particle of baggage, saving only what
+the passengers had in their seats with them, was burnt. In due time
+another train brought us to Chicago, where the railroad company
+immediately offered to pay all losses as soon as lists of the property
+destroyed could be made out and properly verified. I undertook to do all
+that work without the aid of consul, lawyer or clerk, collecting nearly
+twenty thousand dollars, for old trunks, spinning-wheels, copper
+kettles, etc. Having lost nothing myself, I of course received nothing,
+and as the Company did not consider it their duty to pay me for my
+trouble, one of the emigrants suggested that they should chip in to
+compensate me for the valuable services I had rendered. Accordingly the
+hat was passed, the collection realizing the magnificent sum of two
+dollars and sixty cents, which was paid me for being their interpreter
+during the long journey and for collecting that large sum of money
+without litigation or delay. No lawyer, consul or agent would have been
+satisfied with less than five hundred dollars, but I can truthfully say
+that I never raised a word of complaint, but freely forgave the people
+on account of their ignorance. Many of them I also served afterwards on
+the way to Moline and Minnesota. In due time our party arrived in
+Moline, where my parents bought a small piece of property with the money
+brought from Sweden.
+
+Minnesota was then a territory but little known; yet we had heard of its
+beautiful lakes, forests, prairies and salubrious climate. Quite a
+number of our company had decided to hunt up a place for a Swedish
+settlement where land could be had cheap. It was finally agreed that a
+few of us should go to Minnesota and select a suitable place. Being the
+only one of the party who could speak English, I was naturally appointed
+its leader. My father also went with us, and so did Mr. Willard and his
+wife, the whole party taking deck passage on a Mississippi steamer, and
+arriving at St. Paul in the month of August.
+
+At that time St. Paul was an insignificant town of a few hundred
+inhabitants. There we found Henry Russell, John Tidlund, and a few other
+Swedish pioneers. Mr. Willard and I had very little money, and for the
+few dollars which we did own we bought a little household furniture, and
+some cooking utensils. We therefore at once sought employment for him,
+while the rest of our party started off in search of a suitable location
+for the proposed settlement.
+
+We had been told that there were a number of our countrymen at Chisago
+Lake and a few near Carver, but that all had settled on timber lands. We
+also learned that near Red Wing, in Goodhue county, places could be
+found with both timber and prairie, and an abundance of good water.
+Having looked over the different localities we finally decided on the
+present town of Vasa, about twelve miles west of Red Wing. The first
+claims were taken at Belle Creek, south of White Rock, and afterwards
+others were taken at a spring now known as Willard Spring, near which
+the large brick church now stands.
+
+After selecting this land my father returned to Illinois. In company
+with the other explorers, I went to St. Paul, where a council was held
+in which all participated, and at which it was decided that three of us,
+Messrs. Roos, Kempe, and myself, should go to our claims that fall and
+do as much work as possible, until the others could join us the
+following spring.
+
+Having made the necessary preparations we three went to Red Wing by
+steamboat and found a little town with half a dozen families, among
+whom was the Rev. J. W. Hancock, who for several years had been a
+missionary among the Indians. The other settlers were Wm. Freeborn, Dr.
+Sweeney, H. L. Bevans, and John Day. Besides these we also met two
+Swedes, Peter Green, and Nels Nelson, and a Norwegian by the name of
+Peterson. On the bank of the river the Sioux Indians had a large camp.
+The country west of Red Wing was then practically a wilderness, and our
+little party was the first to start in to cultivate the soil and make a
+permanent settlement.
+
+At Red Wing we supplied ourselves with a tent, a cook stove, a yoke of
+oxen, carpenter's tools, provisions and other necessaries. Having hired
+a team of horses, we then packed our goods on a wagon, tied the cattle
+behind, and started for the new settlement. The first four miles we
+followed the territorial road; after that we had nothing but Indian
+trails to guide us. Toward evening we arrived at a grove on Belle Creek,
+now known as Jemtland. Here the tent was pitched and our evening meal
+cooked, and only pioneers like ourselves can understand how we relished
+it after our long day's tramp. The team was taken back the next day, and
+we were left alone in the wilderness.
+
+After a day's exploration we moved our camp two miles further south, to
+another point near Belle Creek, where Mr. Roos had taken his claim.
+
+It was now late in September, and our first care was to secure enough
+hay for the cattle, and in a few days we had a big stack. Having read
+about prairie fires, we decided to protect our stack by burning away the
+short stubble around it. But a minute and a half was sufficient to
+convince us that we had made wrong calculations, for within that time
+the stack itself was burning with such fury that all the water in Belle
+Creek could not have put it out. Still, this was not the worst of it.
+Before we had time to recover from our astonishment the fire had spread
+over the best part of the valley and consumed all the remaining grass,
+which was pretty dry at that time of the year. Inexperienced as we were,
+we commenced to run a race with the wind, and tried to stop the fire
+before reaching another fine patch of grass about a mile to the north;
+but this attempt was, of course, a complete failure, and we returned to
+our cheerless tent mourning over this serious misfortune.
+
+The next morning we all started out in different directions to see if
+any grass was left in Goodhue County, and fortunately we found plenty of
+it near our first camping-ground. Having put up a second stack of very
+poor hay, we proceeded to build a rude log house, and had just finished
+it when my brother-in-law, Mr. Willard, surprised us by appearing in our
+midst, having left in Red Wing his wife and baby, now Mrs. Zelma
+Christensen of Rush City, who is, as far as I know, the first child born
+of Swedish parents in St. Paul. Mr. Willard who was a scholarly
+gentleman and not accustomed to manual labor, had found it rather hard
+to work with shovel and pick on the hilly streets of St. Paul, and made
+up his mind that he would better do that kind of work on a farm.
+Messers. Roos and Kempe having furnished all the money for the outfit, I
+really had no share in it, and as we could not expect Mr. Willard and
+his family to pass the winter in that cabin, I immediately made up my
+mind to return with him to Red Wing. In an hour we were ready and
+without waiting for dinner we took the trail back to that place. I
+remember distinctly how, near the head of the Spring Creek Valley, we
+sat down in a little grove to rest and meditate on the future. We were
+both very hungry, especially Mr. Willard, who had now walked over twenty
+miles since breakfast. Then espying a tempting squirrel in a tree close
+by, we tried to kill it with sticks and rocks; but we were poor
+marksmen, and thus missed a fine squirrel roast.
+
+Tired and very hungry we reached Red Wing late in the afternoon, and
+soon found my sister, Mrs. Willard, comfortably housed with one of the
+families there. Her cheerful and hopeful nature and the beautiful baby
+on her arm gave us fresh joy and strength to battle with the hardships
+that were in store for us. Mr. Willard and his wife had taken along what
+furniture they owned, a few eatables and five dollars and fifty cents in
+cash, which was all that we possessed of the goods of this world. But
+who cares for money at that age? Mr. Willard was twenty-five years old,
+my sister twenty-three, and I twenty, all hale and hearty, and never for
+a moment doubting our success, no matter what we should undertake.
+
+Our first work was wood chopping, for which we were less fit than almost
+anything else. We had to go to a place about three miles above Red Wing,
+where a man had made a contract to bank up fifteen hundred cords of wood
+for the Mississippi steamers. There was an old wood chopper's cabin
+which we repaired by thatching it with hay and earth, putting in a door,
+a small window, and a few rough planks for a floor. In a few days we
+were duly installed, baby and all, in the little hut which was only
+twelve by sixteen feet, but to us as dear as a palace to a king.
+
+We began to chop wood at once. The trees were tall, soft maples and ash,
+and our pay was fifty-five cents a cord for soft and sixty-five cents
+for hard wood. At first both of us could not chop over a cord a day
+together; but within a week we could chop a cord apiece, and before the
+winter was over we often chopped three cords together in a day. After a
+few days we were joined by four Norwegian wood choppers for whom we put
+up a new cabin to sleep in; but my sister cooked for us all, and the
+others paid for their board to Mr. Willard and myself, who had all
+things in common. Those four men were better workmen than we, and one of
+them, Albert Olson, often chopped three cords a day. They were quiet,
+industrious, and generous fellows, so that we soon became attached to
+each other, and we were all very fond of the little Zelma. My sister
+managed our household affairs so well and kept the little house so neat
+and tidy that when spring came we were all loth to leave.
+
+The weather being fine and the sleighing good in the beginning of
+January, we hired John Day to take us with his team to our claims while
+there was yet snow, so that we might chop and haul out logs for the
+house which Mr. Willard and I intended to put up in the spring. My
+sister remained in the cabin, but Albert went with us for the sake of
+company. We put some lumber on the sled, and provided ourselves with hay
+and food enough to last a few days, and plenty of quilts and blankets
+for our bedding. John Day, who was an old frontiersman with an instinct
+almost like that of an Indian, guided us safely to Willard Spring. A few
+hundred yards below this, in a deep ravine, we stopped near some
+sheltering trees, built a roaring camp-fire, and made ourselves as
+comfortable as possible. Having supped and smoked our evening pipe, we
+made our beds by putting a few boards on the snow, and the hay and
+blankets on top of those. Then all four of us nestled down under the
+blankets and went to sleep.
+
+During the night the thermometer fell down to forty degrees below zero,
+as we learned afterwards. If we had suspected this and kept our fire
+burning there would, of course, have been no danger. But being very
+comfortable early in the night and soon asleep, we were unconscious of
+danger until aroused by an intense pain caused by the cold, and then we
+were already so benumbed and chilled that we lacked energy to get up or
+even move. We found, on comparing notes afterwards, that each one of us
+had experienced the same sensations, namely, first an acute pain as if
+pricked with needles in every fibre, then a deep mental tranquillity
+which was only slightly disturbed by a faint conception of something
+wrong, and by a desire to get up, but without sufficient energy to do
+so. This feeling gradually subsided into one of quiet rest and
+satisfaction, until consciousness ceased altogether, and, as far as pain
+was concerned, all was over with us.
+
+At this stage an accident occurred which saved our lives. Mr. Day, who
+lay on the outside to the right, had evidently held his arm up against
+his breast to keep the blankets close to his body. His will-force being
+gone, his arm relaxed and fell into the snow. As the bare hand came in
+contact with the snow the circulation of the blood was accelerated, and
+this was accompanied by such intense pain that he was aroused and jumped
+to his feet.
+
+Thus we were saved. It took a good while before we could use our limbs
+sufficiently to build a fire again, and during this time we suffered
+much more than before. From that experience I am satisfied that those
+who freeze to death do not suffer much, because they gradually sink into
+a stupor which blunts the sensibilities long before life is extinct.
+
+It was about four o'clock when we got up. Of course we did not lie down
+again that morning, nor did we attempt to haul any timber, but started
+in a bee line across the prairie for the ravine where Mr. Willard and I
+had seen the tempting squirrel a few months before. We soon found that
+going over the wild, trackless prairie against the wind, with the
+thermometer forty degrees below zero was a struggle for life, and in
+order to keep warm we took turns to walk or run behind the sleigh. In
+taking his turn Mr. Willard suddenly sat down in the snow and would not
+stir. We returned to him, and it required all our power of persuasion to
+make him take his seat in the sleigh again. He felt very comfortable he
+said, and would soon catch up with us again if we only would let him
+alone. If we had followed his advice, he would never have left his cold
+seat again. After a drive of eight miles we arrived at a house on Spring
+Creek, near Red Wing, where we found a warm room and a good shed for the
+horses. After an hour's rest we continued the journey, and safely
+reached our little home in the woods before dark. I do not know that I
+ever appreciated a home more than I did that rude cabin when again
+comfortably seated by its warm and cheerful fire-place.
+
+A few weeks later I had an opportunity to visit St. Paul, and while
+there attended the wedding of a young Norwegian farmer from Carver
+County and a girl just arrived from Sweden. The ceremony was performed
+by the Rev. Nilsson, a Baptist minister, who had been banished from
+Sweden on account of proselyting. Among the guests was Mr. John
+Swainsson, who since became well known among the Swedes of Minnesota,
+and who died in St. Paul a short time ago. I also made the acquaintance
+of one Jacob Falstrom, who had lived forty years among the Indians and
+devoted most of that time to missionary work among them. He was a
+remarkable man, and was well known among the Hudson Bay employees and
+other early settlers of the Northwest. As a boy he had deserted from a
+Swedish vessel in Quebec and made his way through the wilderness,
+seeking shelter among the Indians; and, by marrying an Indian girl, he
+had become almost identified with them. I think he told me that he had
+not heard a word spoken in his native tongue in thirty-five years, and
+that he had almost forgotten it when he met the first Swedish settlers
+in the St. Croix valley. His children are now living there, while he has
+passed away to the unknown land beyond, honored and respected by all who
+knew him, Indians as well as white men.
+
+On my return from St. Paul I stopped at the cabin of Mr. Peter Green,
+at Spring Creek, near Red Wing. The only domestic animals he had was a
+litter of pigs, and as Mr. Willard and I intended to settle on our land
+in the spring I thought it might be well to start in with a couple of
+pigs. Accordingly, I got two pigs from Mr. Green, put them in a bag
+which I shouldered, and left for our cabin in the woods. According to my
+calculations, the distance I had to walk ought not to be over three
+miles, and in order to be sure of not getting lost I followed the Cannon
+river at the mouth of which our cabin stood. I walked on the ice where
+the snow was about a foot deep, and, if I had known of the meandering
+course of the river, I would never have undertaken to carry that burden
+such a distance. From nine in the morning until it was almost dark I
+trudged along with my burden on my back, prompted to the greatest
+exertion by the grunting of the pigs, and feeling my back uncomfortably
+warm. These were the first domestic animals I ever owned, and I think I
+well earned my title to them by carrying them along the windings of the
+river at least ten miles. Both I and the pigs were well received when we
+reached the cabin. We made a pig pen by digging a hole in the ground and
+covering it with poles and brush, and fed them on the refuse from the
+table. Before we were ready to move one of them died, while the other,
+after being brought to our new farm, ungratefully ran away, and was most
+likely eaten up by the wolves, which perhaps was just as agreeable to
+him as to be eaten by us.
+
+While living in this camp we saw more Indians than white men. A band of
+Sioux Indians camped near us for several weeks. They were very friendly,
+and never molested us. The men brought us venison and fresh fish, which
+they caught in great quantities by spearing them through the ice. We
+gave them bread and coffee, and sometimes invited one or two to dinner
+after we were through. Their women would stay for hours with my sister
+and help her take care of the baby. Indeed they were so fond of the
+white-haired child that they would sometimes run a race in vying with
+each other to get the first chance to fondle her. Sometimes we visited
+them in their tents in the evening and smoked Kinikinick with them.
+Several of their dead reposed in the young trees near our cabin. When
+somebody died it was their custom to stretch the dead body on poles
+which were tied to young trees high enough to be out of the reach of
+wild beasts, then cover it with blankets, and finally leave some corn
+and venison and a jar of water close by. At some subsequent visit to the
+neighborhood they would gather the bones and bury them at some regular
+burial-ground, usually on a high hill or bluff.
+
+[Illustration: MOUNTAIN CHIEF.]
+
+Once we saw a regular war dance in Red Wing. A few Sioux had killed two
+Chippewas and brought back their scalps stretched on a frame of young
+saplings. At a given hour the whole band assembled, and, amid the most
+fantastic gestures, jumping, singing, yelling, beating of tom-toms and
+jingling of bells, gave a performance which in lurid savageness excelled
+anything I ever saw. The same Indians again became our neighbors for a
+short time on Belle Creek the following winter, and we rather liked
+them, and they us. But eight years later they took part in the terrible
+massacre of the white settlers in Western Minnesota, and thirty-nine of
+their men were hanged on one gallows at Mankato in the fall of 1862 and
+the rest transported beyond our borders.
+
+Thus our first winter in Minnesota passed without further incidents,
+until the beginning of March, when the weather turned so mild that we
+were afraid the ice on the Mississippi might break up, and we therefore
+hurried back to Red Wing. By our wood chopping and Mrs. Willard's
+cooking enough money had been earned to buy the most necessary articles
+for our new home. When we had procured everything and taken a few days'
+rest, we again hired Mr. John Day to take us out to our land with his
+team. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants have had the same experience,
+and can realize how we felt on that fine March morning, starting from
+Red Wing with a wagon loaded with some boards on the bottom, a cook
+stove and utensils, doors, windows, a keg of nails, saws, spades, a
+small supply of provisions, a bedstead or two with bedding, a few
+trunks, and a little box containing our spotted pig, Mrs. Willard in the
+seat with the driver, her baby in her arms, her husband and myself
+taking turns as guides, John Day shouting to his horses, laughing and
+joking; all of us full of hope, strength and determination to overcome
+all obstacles and conquer the wildness. The snow was now nearly gone,
+and the air was spring-like.
+
+After a twelve miles' heavy pull we arrived at our destination, and made
+a temporary tent of sticks and blankets, very much after the Indian
+fashion. Two of the Norwegians had accompanied us to help build our
+cabin. Mr. Day stopped a couple of days hauling building material, and
+before night the second day the rear part of our cabin was under roof.
+After a few days the Norwegians left us, and Mr. Willard and myself had
+to finish the main part of the building which was also made of round
+logs. For many a year this rude log cabin was the centre of attraction,
+and a hospitable stopping place for nearly all the settlers of Vasa.
+
+In the month of April cold weather set in again, and it was very late in
+the season when steamboat navigation was opened on the Mississippi. At
+that time all provisions had to be shipped from Galena or Dubuque, and
+it happened that the winter's supplies in Red Wing were so nearly gone
+that not a particle of flour or meat could be bought after the first of
+April. Our supplies were soon exhausted, and for about two weeks our
+little family had only a peck of potatoes, a small panful of flour, and
+a gallon of beans to live on, part of which was a present from Messrs.
+Roos and Kempe, who had remained all winter on their claims, three miles
+south of us. They had been struggling against great odds, and had been
+compelled to live on half rations for a considerable length of time.
+Even their oxen had been reduced almost to the point of starvation,
+their only feed being over-ripe hay in small quantities.
+
+We would certainly have starved if it had not been for my shot-gun, with
+which I went down into the woods of Belle Creek every morning at
+day-break, generally returning with pheasants, squirrels or other small
+game. One Sunday the weather was so disagreeable and rough that I did
+not succeed in my hunting, but in feeding the team back of the kitchen
+some oats had been spilt, and a flock of blackbirds came and fed on
+them. Through an opening between the logs of the kitchen I shot several
+dozen of these birds, which, by the way, are not ordinarily very
+toothsome. But, being a splendid cook, my sister made them into a stew,
+thickened with a few mashed beans and a handful of flour--in our
+estimation the mess turned out to be a dinner fit for kings.
+
+Our supplies being nearly exhausted, I started for Red Wing the next
+morning, partly to save the remaining handful of provisions for my
+sister and her husband, partly in hopes of obtaining fresh supplies from
+a steamboat which was expected about that time. Three days afterwards
+the steamer arrived. As soon as practicable the boxes were brought to
+the store of H. L. Bevans. I secured a smoked ham, thirty pounds of
+flour, a gallon of molasses, some coffee, salt and sugar, strapped it
+all (weighing almost seventy pounds) on my back, and started toward
+evening for our cabin in the wilderness. I had to walk about fourteen
+miles along the Indian trail, but in spite of the heavy burden I made
+that distance in a short time, knowing that the dear ones at home were
+threatened by hunger; perhaps the howling of the prairie wolves near my
+path also had something to do with the speed. There are events in the
+life of every person which stand out like mile-stones along the road,
+and so attract the attention of the traveler on life's journey that they
+always remain vivid pictures in his memory. My arrival at our cabin that
+evening was one of those events in our humble life. I will not attempt
+to describe the joy which my burden brought to all of us, especially to
+the young mother with the little babe at her breast.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+We had now commenced a new career, located on our farm claims in the
+boundless West, with no end to the prospects and possibilities before
+us. We felt that independence and freedom which are only attained and
+appreciated in the western wilds of America.
+
+From the Mississippi river and almost to the Pacific Ocean, was a
+verdant field for the industry, energy and enterprise of the settler. To
+be sure, our means and resources were small, but somehow we felt that by
+hard work and good conduct we would some day attain the comfort,
+independence and position for which our souls thirsted. We did not sit
+down and wait for gold mines to open up before us, or for roasted pigs
+to come running by our cabin, but with axe and spade went quietly to
+work, to do our little part in the building up of new empires.
+
+[Illustration: OUR WAGON.]
+
+In the beginning of May, my father came from Illinois and brought us a
+pair of steers and a milch cow; this made us rich. We made a wagon with
+wheels of blocks sawed off an oak log; we also bought a plow, and,
+joining with our neighbors of Belle Creek, had a breaking team of two
+pair of oxen. That breaking team and that truck wagon, with myself
+always as the chief ox driver, did all the breaking, and all the hauling
+and carting of lumber, provisions, building-material and other goods,
+for all the settlers in that neighborhood during the first season.
+
+Soon others of our party from last year joined us. Some letters which I
+wrote in _Hemlandet_ describing the country around us, attracted much
+attention and brought settlers from different parts of the west, and
+while the Swedes were pouring into our place, then known as "Mattson's
+Settlement," (now well known under the name of Vasa), our friends, the
+Norwegians, had started a prosperous settlement a few miles to the
+south, many of them coming overland from Wisconsin, bringing cattle,
+implements and other valuables of which the Swedes, being mostly poor
+new-comers, were destitute. Many immigrants of both nationalities came
+as deck passengers on the Mississippi steamers to Red Wing.
+
+There was cholera at St. Louis that summer, and I remember how a steamer
+landed a large party of Norwegian immigrants, nearly all down with
+cholera. Mr. Willard and myself happened to be in Red Wing at the time,
+and the American families, considering these Norwegian cholera patients
+our countrymen, hastily turned them over to our care. We nursed them as
+best we could, but many died in spite of all our efforts, and as we
+closed their eyes, and laid them in the silent grave under the bluffs,
+it never occurred to us that they were anything but our countrymen and
+brothers.
+
+From these small beginnings of the Swedish and Norwegian settlers in
+Goodhue county, in the years of 1853 and 1854, have sprung results which
+are not only grand but glorious to contemplate. Looking back to those
+days I see the little cabin, often with a sod roof, single room used for
+domestic purposes, sometimes crowded almost to suffocation by hospitable
+entertainments to new-comers; or the poor immigrant on the levee at Red
+Wing, just landed from a steamer, in his short jacket and other
+outlandish costume, perhaps seated on a wooden box, with his wife and a
+large group of children around him, and wondering how he shall be able
+to raise enough means to get himself ten or twenty miles into the
+country, or to redeem the bedding and other household goods which he has
+perchance left in Milwaukee as a pledge for his railroad and steam-boat
+ticket. And I see him trudging along over the trackless prairie,
+searching for a piece of land containing if possible prairie, water and
+a 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 rest and shelter until he could build one of his
+own.
+
+[Illustration: OUR FIRST HOME.]
+
+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 necessities 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 gunny-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
+along that we could afford some pie or cake for dessert, the good
+house-wives were in a perfect ecstacy. The joys and sorrows of one, were
+shared by the others, and nowhere in the wide world, except in a
+military camp, have I witnessed so much genuine cordial friendship and
+brotherhood as among the frontier settlers in the West.
+
+One fine Sunday morning that summer, all the settlers met under two oak
+trees on the prairie, near where the present church stands, for the
+first religious service in the settlement. It had been agreed that some
+of the men should take turns to read one of Luther's sermons at each of
+these gatherings, and I was selected as reader the first day. Some
+prayers were said and Swedish hymns sung, and seldom did a temple
+contain more devout worshipers than did that little congregation on the
+prairie.
+
+Before the winter of 1854-55 set in, we had quite a large community in
+Vasa, and had raised considerable grain, potatoes and other provisions.
+During that winter the Sioux Indians again became our neighbors, and
+frequently supplied us with venison in exchange for bread and coffee.
+The following spring and summer the settlers increased still faster,
+several more oxen and other cattle, with a horse or two, were brought
+in, and I had no longer the exclusive privilege of hauling goods on the
+little truck wagon.
+
+That summer I again went to Illinois to meet a large party of
+newly-arrived emigrants from Sweden, who formed a settlement in Vasa,
+known as Sk�ne. The people from different provinces would group
+themselves together in little neighborhoods, each assuming in common
+parlance the name of their own province; thus we have Vasa, Sk�ne,
+Sm�land and Jemtland.
+
+About this time a township was formally organized, and, at my
+suggestion, given the name of Vasa, in commemoration of the great
+Swedish king. Roads were also laid out legally, and a township
+organization perfected. A school district was formed and soon after an
+election precinct, and as I was the only person who was master of the
+English language the duty of attending to all these things devolved upon
+me. We were particularly fortunate in having many men, not only of good
+education from the old country, but of excellent character, pluck and
+energy, men who would have been leaders in their communities if they had
+remained at home, and who became prominent as soon as they had mastered
+the English language. This fact, perhaps, gave a higher tone and
+character to our little community than is common in such cases, and Vasa
+has since that time furnished many able men in the county offices, in
+the legislative halls, and in business and educational circles. There
+can be much refinement and grace even in a log cabin on the wild
+prairie.
+
+In the beginning of the month of September, 1855, Rev. E. Norelius
+visited the settlement and organized a Lutheran church.
+
+Thirty-five years have elapsed since that time, and many of those who
+belonged to the first church at Vasa now rest in mother earth close by
+the present stately church edifice, which still belongs to the same
+congregation, and is situated only a short distance from the place where
+the latter was organized. Rev. Norelius himself lives only a few hundred
+yards from the church building. Thirty-five years have changed the then
+cheerful, hopeful young man into a veteran, crowned with honor, and full
+of wisdom and experience. His beneficent influence on the Swedes of
+Goodhue county and of the whole Northwest will make his name dear to
+coming generations of our people.
+
+On November 23d, in the same fall, the first wedding took place in our
+settlement. The author of these memoirs was joined in matrimony to Miss
+Cherstin Peterson, from Balingsl�f, near Kristianstad, whose family had
+just come to Vasa from Sweden. By this union I found the best and most
+precious treasure a man can find--a good and dear wife, who has,
+faithfully shared my fate to this day. Rev. J. W. Hancock, of Red Wing,
+performed the marriage ceremony. Horses being very scarce among us in
+those days, the minister had to borrow an Indian pony and ride on
+horseback twelve miles--from Red Wing to Vasa. On the evening of our
+wedding day there happened to be a severe snow-storm, through which my
+young bride was taken from her parents' home to our log house, on a
+home-made wooden sled, drawn by a pair of oxen and escorted by a number
+of our young friends, which made this trip of about a quarter of a mile
+very pleasant, in spite of the oxen and the snow-storm.
+
+The next winter was very severe, and many of our neighbors suffered
+greatly from colds and even frozen limbs. But there was an abundance of
+provisions, and, as far as I can remember, no one was in actual need
+after the first winter.
+
+In the spring of 1856 several new-comers arrived in our colony. That
+year marked the climax of the mad land speculation in the Northwest.
+Cities and towns were staked out and named, advertised and sold
+everywhere in the state, and people seemed to be perfectly wild,
+everybody expecting to get rich in a short time without working. The
+value of real estate rose enormously, and money was loaned at three,
+four, and even five per cent. a month. Fortunately, very few of the
+settlers in our neighborhood were seized by this mad fury of
+speculation. I, however, became a victim. I bought several pieces of
+land, and sold some of them very profitably, and mortgaged others at an
+impossible rate of interest. And, the world becoming too narrow for me
+on the farm, I availed myself of the first opportunity to trade away my
+land for some property in Red Wing, which was a booming little town at
+that time. We moved from the plain log cabin on the old farm into a
+house in town, where I engaged in a successful mercantile business. But
+speculation was in the air, and before the spring of 1857 my entire
+stock of merchandize was exchanged for town lots in Wasioja and Geneva,
+two paper cities further west. Meanwhile my friend Mr. Eustrom, with his
+young wife and baby, had arrived from Boston, and both of us, with our
+families and a few friends, moved out to Geneva early in the summer,
+with the intention of building up a city and acquiring riches in a
+hurry. But at that time the waves of speculation began to subside, and
+nine-tenths of the cities and towns which were mapped out, and the great
+enterprises which were inaugurated by enthusiasts like myself suddenly
+collapsed into a mere nothing. Among these was also Geneva, which is not
+larger to-day than when we left it, and it was about all I could do to
+raise enough money to get back to Vasa with my wife. My friend Eustrom
+pre-empted a claim near Geneva and remained there.
+
+Making an inventory of my property after the return to Vasa in 1857, I
+found that the principal thing I had was a debt of $2,000, bearing an
+interest of five per cent. a month. In order to pay this debt we sold
+everything we had, even our furniture and my wife's gold watch. This was
+the great crisis of 1857. It stirred up everybody and everything in the
+country, and it was no wonder that I, being an inexperienced and
+enthusiastic young man, had to suffer with so many others. But now the
+question was, what should I do? I could not return to the farm, for I
+had none; that is, it was encumbered for about twice its value.
+
+In the midst of these difficulties I went to Red Wing one day to consult
+a prominent lawyer in regard to some business matters. During my
+conversation with him he said: "You have nothing to do now, you have had
+enough of speculation, you know the English language, you are tolerably
+well acquainted with our laws, well educated, young and ambitious, why
+not study law, then? This state and this county is just the place for
+you to make a splendid beginning in that profession. Come to me, and
+within a year you can be admitted to the bar, after which you will find
+it easy to get along."
+
+I returned to Vasa in the evening, and, having consulted my wife, who
+was visiting her parents, I soon made up my mind. The next day both of
+us were on the way to Red Wing supplied with clothes, bedding, a few
+dishes and some provisions, which had been given us by my wife's
+parents, who also conveyed us to town. In Red Wing we rented a room
+about sixteen feet square, got a cook stove and a few articles of
+furniture on credit, and everything was in order for housekeeping and
+the study of law. I immediately commenced my course of study with that
+excellent lawyer, Mr. Warren Bristol, who afterwards for many years
+served as United States Judge in New Mexico, where he recently died.
+
+This life was something new for my young wife, who had grown up in a
+house of plenty. Now she had to try her hand at managing our household
+affairs, with the greatest economy, and she accomplished her task so
+well that no minister of finance could have done better. In fact we were
+so poor that winter that we could not afford to buy the tallow candles
+which were necessary for my night studies (kerosene was unknown at that
+time). But every evening during this trying but happy winter my wife
+made a lamp by pouring melted lard, which her parents sent us, into a
+saucer, and putting in a cotton wick, and in my eyes this light was more
+brilliant than the rays from the golden chandeliers in the palaces of
+the rich. By this light I studied Blackstone, Kent, and other works on
+law.
+
+Late in the spring of 1858 a place became vacant in the justice of the
+peace, and I succeeded in getting the appointment to this position,
+which brought me a couple of dollars now and then, thus improving our
+financial condition considerably. Early in the summer I was appointed
+city clerk, with a salary of $12.50 a month, which was quite a fortune
+for us at that time. After one year's hard study I was admitted to the
+bar, and my honored teacher accepted me as his partner on good
+conditions. My profession seemed to be well chosen; I had plenty to do,
+and met with all the success I could expect.
+
+My first case in the district court was before Judge McMillan, who
+afterwards became chief justice of our supreme court, and then United
+States senator. In opening the case I became nervous and excited and
+would have broken down entirely had it not been for the kindly manner in
+which the judge overlooked my diffidence, and helped me out of the
+embarrassment by leading me on and putting the very words in my mouth;
+this was only natural to his kind heart, and he probably never
+remembered it, but to me it was an act of great kindness, never to be
+forgotten, especially not when more than twenty years after the little
+incident he needed all his friends to rally for his return to the United
+States senate, his most formidable opponent being the venerable and
+beloved statesman, Alexander Ramsey.
+
+My law practice lasted only a few months, as I was appointed county
+auditor to fill a vacancy, and soon afterwards elected to fill the
+regular term of office, and again re-elected two years later. Before
+that time no Swedish-American had occupied such responsible civil office
+in the United States. But I probably made a mistake in accepting this
+office and thereby turning my back on a profession at which I would
+undoubtedly have made more easy and rapid progress than by anything
+else. But for the time being it produced great economical improvements
+in our private life. Our little home, the narrow room which served as
+bedroom, study, kitchen and parlor, was soon exchanged for a neat little
+house, and a year later we moved into a larger and more comfortable
+building, which was our own property.
+
+Meanwhile the settlement at Vasa had prospered, and the population had
+materially increased. The Scandinavian settlers had scattered over the
+neighboring towns and counties with marvelous rapidity. The crisis of
+1857 had been an excellent lesson to us all, for, although the price of
+real estate had fallen to about one-fourth of its former value, the
+people were better off now than formerly, owing to better management and
+more prudent economy.
+
+The Scandinavians had now commenced to take a lively interest in the
+political discussions which were agitating the entire country at that
+time. The all absorbing political question of the day was "slavery" or
+"no slavery" in the new territories. It is unnecessary to say that the
+Scandinavians were almost to a man in favor of liberty to all men, and
+that they consequently joined the Republican party, which had just been
+organized for the purpose of restricting slavery.
+
+In the winter of 1861, while I was holding the office of auditor the
+second term, the legislature of Minnesota appointed a committee to
+revise the tax laws. This committee invited five county auditors, of
+which number I had the honor to be one, to assist in its work. The tax
+laws which were formulated by this general committee were in force over
+twenty years.
+
+It was about this time the great American statesman, W. H. Seward,
+visited Minnesota. I heard him make his famous speech in St. Paul, in
+which, with the gift of prophecy, he depicted the future grandeur of the
+twin cities. I also heard Owen Lovejoy, a member of congress from
+Illinois, and one of the leading anti-slavery agitators of the times.
+
+During the presidential election of 1860 the political excitement ran
+very high in the whole country. The Southern states had assumed a
+threatening position, and expressed their intention to secede from the
+Union if Lincoln was elected president. Throughout the whole country
+political clubs were organized. The Democrats formed companies which
+they called "Little Giants," which was the nickname given to Stephen A.
+Douglas, their candidate for president.
+
+The Republicans also organized companies which they called "Wide
+Awakes." I was chosen leader of the Republican company in Red Wing.
+Political meetings were very frequent during the last few weeks before
+election, and among the most prominent features of those meetings were
+processions and parades of the companies, which were uniformed, and
+carried banners and torches. During the campaign C. C. Andrews and the
+late Stephen Miller, respective candidates for presidential electors on
+the Democratic and Republican tickets, held meetings together and
+jointly debated the important questions of the day, taking of course
+opposite sides, but within a year both were found as officers in the
+Union army, gallantly fighting for the same cause.
+
+About this time a company of militia organized in Red Wing, and I was
+one of the lieutenants, and took active part in its drill and maneuvers.
+Although none of the men who took part in these movements could foresee
+or suspect the approach of the awful struggle which was to plunge the
+country into a deluge of fire and blood, still they all seemed to have a
+presentiment that critical times were near at hand, and that it was the
+duty of all true citizens to make ready for them. It is a significant
+fact that fifty-four men out of our little company of only sixty, within
+two years became officers or soldiers in the volunteer army of the
+United States. Although the Scandinavian emigrants had been in the state
+only a few years, they still seemed to take as great an interest in the
+threatening political difficulties of the times, and were found to be
+just as willing as their native fellow-citizens to sacrifice their blood
+and lives for the Union.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Going from the court house on the afternoon of April 12th, 1861, a
+friend overtook me with the news that the rebels of the South had fired
+on Fort Sumpter. The news spread rapidly, and caused surprise and
+intense indignation. In a few days the governor issued a proclamation
+that one thousand men should be ready to leave our young state for the
+seat of war; more than a sufficient number of companies were already
+organized to fill this regiment, and the only question was, who were to
+have the first chance? This first excitement was so sudden that the
+Scandinavians, who are more deliberate in such matters, scarcely knew
+what was going on before the first enlistment was made.
+
+A few months passed, and the battle of Bull Run was fought. It was no
+longer a mere momentary excitement; it was no longer expected that the
+Rebellion could be subdued in a single battle or within a few months,
+but it was generally understood that the war would be long and bitter.
+Then the Scandinavians of Minnesota began to stir. We had heard that a
+few Swedes in Illinois, especially Major--afterward General--Stohlbrand
+and a few others, had entered the army. A few Scandinavians had also
+enlisted in the First and Second regiments; but there was no general
+rising among them in our state until I published an appeal in the
+Swedish newspaper _Hemlandet_ in Chicago. The following is an extract
+from that paper:
+
+  "TO THE SCANDINAVIANS OF MINNESOTA!
+
+  "It is high time for us, as a people, to arise with sword in hand, and
+  fight for our adopted country and for liberty.
+
+  "This country is in danger. A gigantic power has arisen against it and
+  at the same time against liberty and democracy, in order to crush
+  them.
+
+  "Our state has already furnished two thousand men, and will soon be
+  called upon for as many more to engage in the war. Among the
+  population of the state the Scandinavians number about one-twelfth, a
+  part of its most hardy and enduring people, and ought to furnish at
+  least three or four hundred men for this army. This land which we, as
+  strangers, have made our home, has received us with friendship and
+  hospitality. We enjoy equal privileges with the native born. The path
+  to honor and fortune is alike open to us and them. The law protects
+  and befriends us all alike. We have also sworn allegiance to the same.
+
+  "Countrymen, 'Arise to arms; our adopted country calls!' Let us prove
+  ourselves worthy of that land, and of those heroes from whom we
+  descend.
+
+  "I hereby offer myself as one of that number, and I am confident that
+  many of you are ready and willing to do likewise. Let each settlement
+  send forth its little squad. Many in this neighborhood are now ready
+  to go. A third regiment will soon be called by the governor of this
+  state. Let us, then, have ready a number of men of the right kind, and
+  offer our services as a part of the same. Let us place ourselves on
+  the side of liberty and truth, not only with words but with strong
+  arms,--with our lives. Then shall our friends in the home of our
+  childhood rejoice over us. Our children and children's children shall
+  hereafter pronounce our names with reverence. We shall ourselves be
+  happy in the consciousness of having performed our duty, and should
+  death on the field of battle be our lot, then shall our parents,
+  wives, children and friends find some consolation in their sorrow in
+  the conviction that they, also, by their noble sacrifices, have
+  contributed to the defense and victory of right, justice, and liberty.
+  And a grateful people shall not withhold from them its sympathy and
+  friendship."
+
+A few days later I left a dear wife, home, and two children, and started
+for Fort Snelling, but not alone; about seventy Swedes and thirty
+Norwegians from Red Wing, Vasa, Chisago Lake, Holden, Wanamingo,
+Stillwater, Albert Lea and other places, went there with me, or joined
+us in the course of a few days.
+
+[Illustration: MUSTERING VOLUNTEERS.]
+
+Meanwhile the third regiment had been called, and one hundred of my
+companions were mustered in as Company D of that regiment, with myself
+as their captain, a Norwegian friend, L. K. Aaker, formerly a member of
+our legislature, as first lieutenant, and my old friend H. Eustrom as
+second lieutenant. Although Company D was the only military organization
+in our state consisting exclusively of Scandinavians, there were quite a
+number of those nationalities in every regiment and company organized
+afterwards.
+
+I may be excused for saying a few words concerning my old military
+company. It consisted of the very flower of our young men. It was
+regarded from the start as a model company, and maintained its rank as
+such during the whole term of four years' service. Always orderly,
+sober, obedient and faithful to every duty, the men of Company D, though
+foreigners by birth, won and always kept the affectionate regard and
+fullest confidence of their native-born comrades. A large majority of
+them are resting in the last grand bivouac, many under the genial
+Southern sun, but no word of reproach or doubt of soldierly honor has
+ever been heard against any of those living or dead.
+
+About this time a whole regiment of Scandinavians, mostly Norwegians,
+was organized in Wisconsin,--the Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry
+regiment,--which rose to great distinction during its long service. Its
+brave colonel, Hans Hegg, fell mortally wounded while commanding a
+brigade on the bloody field at Chickamauga. There were many partially or
+wholly Swedish companies from Illinois, one of which belonged to the
+Forty-third Illinois regiment, under the lamented Capt. Arosenius, and
+came under my command a few years later in Arkansas. There were also
+many prominent Swedish officers in other regiments, such as Gen. C. J.
+Stohlbrand, Cols. Vegesack, Malmborg, Steelhammar, Broddy, Elfving, and
+Brydolf, Capts. Stenbeck, Silversparre, Sparrstrom, Lempke, Chas.
+Johnson, Erik Johnson, Vanstrum, Lindberg, etc., and Lieuts. Osborne,
+Edgren, Liljengren, Johnson, Lindall, Olson, Gustafson, Lundberg, and
+many others whose names I do not now recall.
+
+In the Goodhue county records for October 15, 1861, is a paragraph which
+states that, as the county auditor, H. Mattson, has voluntarily gone to
+the war with a company of soldiers to defend our country, it is resolved
+that leave of absence shall be extended to him, and that the office of
+county auditor shall not be declared vacant so long as the deputy
+performs his duties properly.
+
+The St. Paul _Press_ of the same date, has the following: "We
+congratulate Capt. Mattson and his countrymen for the splendid company
+of Swedes and Norwegians which he commands. Never was a better company
+mustered in for service."
+
+In the beginning of November two steamers arrived at Fort Snelling and
+took the Third regiment on board. We were ordered to join Buell's army
+in Kentucky. Company E, of our regiment, was also mainly from Goodhue
+county, and when the steamers arrived at Red Wing, they stopped half an
+hour to let Companies D and E partake of a bountiful supper, to which
+they had been invited by their city friends, and to say a last farewell
+to their families and acquaintances. My wife, with the little children,
+my sister, father, brother, and other relatives, were gathered in a
+large room in the hotel opposite the landing. The half hour was soon
+past, and the bugle sounded "fall in." I pass over the parting scene,
+leaving it to the imagination of the reader, for I cannot find words to
+describe it myself. I will only relate one little episode. When the
+bugle sounded for departure I held my little two-year-old daughter in my
+arms; her arms were clasped around my neck, and, when I endeavored to
+set her down, she closed her little fingers so hard together that her
+uncle had to open them by force before he could take her away from me.
+When a little child was capable of such feelings, it may be surmised
+what those felt who were able to comprehend the significance of that
+moment.
+
+In a few days we were camped on a muddy field in Kentucky, quickly
+learning the duties of soldier-life, and familiarizing ourselves with
+the daily routine of an army in the field.
+
+My military career of four years' duration passed without any event of
+particular interest or importance; it was like that of two million other
+soldiers--to do their duty faithfully, whatever that duty might be--that
+was all.
+
+After eight months' service I was promoted to the rank of major in the
+regiment. At that time we were serving in middle Tennessee. Shortly
+afterward our regiment, with some three thousand men of the troops, made
+a forced march across the Cumberland mountains. In order to give the
+reader an idea of the hardships which the soldiers occasionally had to
+endure on a march, I shall give a short sketch of this. The detachment
+broke camp in Murfreesboro in the forenoon of a very hot day toward the
+close of May, and marched twenty miles before night, which was
+considered a good distance for the first day. Most of the men suffered
+from blistered feet, and they were all very tired. We prepared our
+supper, and had just gone to rest in a large open field and were
+beginning to fall asleep, when, at ten o'clock in the evening, the
+signal was given to fall in. In a few minutes the whole force was in
+line, and silently resumed the march forward. We marched the whole
+night, the whole of the next day, the following night, and till noon the
+day after, moving altogether a distance of over eighty miles, over a
+difficult and partly mountainous country, and stopping only one hour
+three times a day to cook our coffee and eat, while those who sank down
+by the roadside entirely exhausted were left until the rear-guard came
+and picked them up. When we finally arrived at our destination the enemy
+that we were pursuing had already decamped, and we had to return by the
+same route over which we had come, though more leisurely. Among the many
+victims of this march was a bright Norwegian lieutenant of my old
+company, Hans Johnson, who died shortly after our return to
+Murfreesboro.
+
+A few days afterward the regiment started on an expedition to the South.
+During this march I got sick with the fever, and would probably have
+died at Columbia, Tenn., if my friend Eustrom, who at that time was
+captain of Company D, had not succeeded in getting me into a rebel
+family, where I was treated with the greatest care, so that in a few
+days I was able to go by rail to Minnesota on a twenty days' leave of
+absence. This took place in the beginning of the month of July, 1862.
+
+Having spent a fortnight in the bosom of my family I returned, with
+improved health, to resume my command. I arrived at Chicago on a Sunday
+morning, and, as I had to wait all day for my train, I went to the
+Swedish church on Superior street. Leaving the church, I heard a
+news-boy crying, "Extra number of the _Tribune_; great battle at
+Murfreesboro; Third Minnesota regiment in hot fire!" I bought the paper
+and hurried to the hotel, where another extra edition was handed me. The
+Union troops had won a decisive victory at Murfreesboro, and totally
+routed the forces of Forrest, consisting of eight thousand cavalry.
+Later in the evening a third extra edition announced that "The Third
+regiment has been captured by the enemy, and is on the march to the
+prisons of the South." Only a soldier can imagine my feelings when I
+received this news. I arrived in Tennessee two days later, only to meet
+the soldiers returning from the mountains where they had been released
+on written parole by the enemy. They were sore-footed, exhausted, hungry
+and wild with anger, and looked more like a lot of ragged beggars than
+the well-disciplined soldiers they had been a few days before. All the
+captured officers had been taken to the South, where they were kept in
+prison several months. Only two of them succeeded in making their
+escape. One of those was Capt. Eustrom, who, in company with Lieut.
+Taylor, made his escape from a hospital building, some negroes giving
+them clothes, and, through almost incredible hardships and dangers, they
+succeeded in reaching our lines, and I met them two days after my
+arrival at Nashville.
+
+The capitulation of our splendid regiment was one of the most deplorable
+events of its kind during the whole war. It was regarded one of the best
+regiments of volunteers of the Western army. It had defended itself
+with great valor, and, in fact, defeated the enemy, when for some
+unaccountable reason, Col. H. C. Lester decided to surrender, and he
+exerted such a great influence over our officers that seven company
+commanders went over to his side in the council of war, which he called,
+while the remaining officers and the soldiers were strongly opposed to
+the capitulation. When the men finally were ordered to stack arms they
+did so with tears in their eyes, complaining bitterly because they were
+not allowed to fight any longer. All the officers who had been in favor
+of capitulation were afterward dismissed from service in disgrace.
+
+Arriving at Nashville I was immediately ordered to assume command of my
+own scattered regiment, of the Ninth Michigan Infantry regiment, and of
+a battery of artillery, which had also capitulated on that fatal Sunday.
+Having supplied the men with clothing and other necessaries, I took them
+by steamboats to a camp for prisoners in St. Louis, and returned to
+Nashville to report the matter in person. On my return to Nashville I
+was appointed member of a general court martial, and shortly afterwards
+its president, which position I occupied from July till December, 1862.
+The sufferings which my friend Captain Eustrom had endured during his
+flight from the rebels shattered his health so that he was soon forced
+to retire from service.
+
+About this time the well-known Indian massacre in the western
+settlements of Minnesota took place. About eight hundred peaceable
+citizens, mostly women and children, and among those many
+Scandinavians--were cruelly butchered, and their houses and property
+burnt and destroyed. The soldiers of the Third regiment had given their
+parole not to take up arms against the enemy until they were properly
+exchanged, but, as this did not have anything to do with the Indian war,
+they were ordered from St. Louis to Minnesota and put under the command
+of Major Welch, of the Fourth regiment, and soon distinguished
+themselves by their fine maneuvers and valor in the struggle with the
+Indians.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+In the month of December the officers were exchanged and ordered back to
+Fort Snelling, to where the enlisted men had also returned from the
+Indian war. In January, 1863, we again left Minnesota for the South. The
+whole of this winter and the beginning of spring were devoted to
+expeditions against guerillas and Confederate recruiting camps in
+southern Tennessee. Most of this time I commanded the regiment, four
+companies of which were mounted. We had to procure horses as best we
+could, here and there through the country. We had many skirmishes with
+the enemy, and captured a number of prisoners.
+
+In the beginning of June we joined the forces that were besieging
+Vicksburg under the command of Gen. Grant, and remained there until that
+city had capitulated. The siege of Vicksburg is so well known from
+history that I shall make no attempt to describe it here. For five
+consecutive weeks the cannonading was so incessant that the soldiers
+became as accustomed to it as the passengers on a steamer to the noise
+of the propeller, and, when the capitulation finally put an end to all
+this noise, we found it very difficult to sleep for several nights on
+account of the unusual silence.
+
+The July number of _Hemlandet_, contained a letter from me, dated
+Vicksburg, June 24th, from which I make the following extract:
+
+  "The army of Gen. Grant is divided into two Grand Divisions, one of
+  which is arranged in a semi-circle toward Vicksburg, only a few
+  hundred yards from the intrenchments of the rebels, the other in a
+  semi-circle turned away from Vicksburg, and fronting the army of Gen.
+  Johnston. We are all protected by strong intrenchments, and always
+  keep over two thousand men as picket guards, and the same number are
+  digging rifle pits and building intrenchments.
+
+  "Gen. Logan's Division is close up to the intrenchments of the rebels.
+  The Swedish Maj. Stohlbrand is chief of artillery in Logan's Division,
+  and, has, as such, under his special charge one of the most important
+  positions in the beleaguering army.
+
+  "I visited Gen. Logan yesterday, and will relate a little episode
+  concerning this brave commander: When Gen. Logan heard that I was a
+  Swede, and wished to see Maj. Stohlbrand, who had just ridden out to
+  look after his batteries, the general, being always full of fun,
+  assumed a very solemn air, and said: 'Too bad you did not come an hour
+  sooner, for then you could have seen Stohlbrand. There'--and he went
+  to the door of his tent and pointed across the camp ground--'there is
+  the tent of Maj. Stohlbrand. Half an hour ago a bomb exploded from the
+  main fort yonder. Poor Stohlbrand! Only a few remnants were left of
+  the contents of his tent. Poor Stohlbrand! Perhaps you would like to
+  see the remains?'
+
+  "Accompanied by Gens. Stevenson, Ransom, and several other officers, I
+  followed Gen. Logan to the tent of Stohlbrand. Then Logan said: 'Out
+  of respect for poor Stohlbrand we have put everything in order again.
+  Here you see his camp stool, there his uniform, and there is his
+  little field cot.' The bed looked as if a dead body was lying on it,
+  covered by a blanket. Logan walked solemnly up to the head of the bed,
+  lifted the blanket, and behold, there was only a bundle of rags! The
+  rest of us, of course, supposed that Stohlbrand was dead, and that his
+  corpse was lying on the bed. This little joke made the humorous Logan
+  laugh so that his whole body shook.
+
+  "As to the Swedes in the army, I may mention that, besides our Company
+  D, there are in the same division the company of Capt. Arosenius of
+  the Forty-third Illinois regiment, and that of Capt. Corneliuson of
+  the Twenty-third Wisconsin regiment, and a number of Swedes of the
+  other regiments from Illinois and Wisconsin, and of the Fourth and
+  Fifth Minnesota regiments. Old Company D is a model, as usual,--the
+  best one I have seen yet. Both officers and men are quiet, orderly,
+  cheerful and obedient, always faithful at their post, and ready to go
+  wherever duty calls them. They are loved and respected by all who come
+  in contact with them. When I feel sad or despondent, all I need do is
+  to walk along the camp street and take a look at some of my old
+  Scandinavians. Their calm and earnest demeanor always makes me glad
+  and proud. I ask for no greater honor than to point them out to some
+  stranger, saying: 'This is my old company.'
+
+  "Not these alone, however, but all of my countrymen whom I met in the
+  army have a good name, and are considered most reliable and able
+  soldiers."
+
+I shall now relate a couple of anecdotes from the siege of Vicksburg,
+which I did not mention in the letter to _Hemlandet_.
+
+[Illustration: GRANT'S HEADQUARTERS.]
+
+Outside Gen. Logan's tent stood a big magnolia tree. While laughing at
+Logan's joke Gen. Stevenson picked up a little stick of wood and
+whittled on it with his penknife, in genuine Yankee fashion. Accidently
+he dropped his knife, and, while stooping down to pick it up, a fragment
+of a shell from the rebel batteries came and went two inches deep into
+the tree right where his head had been when he was whittling. He coolly
+remarked, "That piece of iron was not made for me."
+
+One day as I, in company with Lieut. Col. (afterward Gen.) C. C.
+Andrews, was visiting Gen. Grant outside of Vicksburg, a wagon drawn
+by six mules passed close by his headquarters. The driver, an old,
+rough-looking soldier, stopped, and asked the way to a certain regiment.
+Gen. Grant's tent stood on a little elevation, at the foot of which were
+several fresh wagon tracks. A number of officers, including myself, were
+standing and sitting around the general outside the tent. Gen. Grant,
+who was dressed in a fatigue suit and slouched hat, without other marks
+of distinction than three small silver stars, which could scarcely be
+distinguished on his dusty blouse, went toward the driver and, with the
+most minute particulars, gave him directions how to drive. While he was
+talking, we observed that the driver showed signs of deep emotion, and
+finally he alighted from the mule, which he was riding, stretched out
+his arms, and, with tears in his eyes, exclaimed: "My God! I believe it
+is Gen. Grant! General, do you remember Tommy Donald? I was a soldier in
+your company during the Mexican war!" With touching kindness the great
+commander-in-chief now took both hands of the ragged soldier in his,
+and, like old friends who had not met for a long time, they rejoiced in
+remembering the companionship of fifteen years before.
+
+[Illustration: ARMY WAGON.]
+
+When Gen. Grant returned to the tent the conversation turned to the
+newspaper clamor and general discontent because Vicksburg was not yet
+taken, upon which the general expressed himself in the following words:
+"I could make another assault and hasten the capture a few days, but
+will not do it because I _know_ positively that within ten days the
+garrison must surrender anyhow, for I have got them, and will take them
+all. Let them howl. I don't care. I have got Pemberton tight as wax."
+Saying which, he closed his right hand and laid it on the little camp
+table with such force that I noticed the veins filling and turning blue
+on the back of his hand. These two little incidents give a key to Gen.
+Grant's whole character, and the secret of his unparalleled success, not
+only in winning battles, but in bagging the entire opposing force.
+
+A week later Vicksburg fell into our hands. We took thirty-two thousand
+prisoners, fifteen generals, two thousand other officers, and nearly two
+hundred cannon.
+
+[Illustration: GENERALS GRANT AND PEMBERTON.]
+
+About a week after the surrender of Vicksburg the Third regiment was
+transferred to the Seventh army corps, under the command of Gen. Fred.
+Steele, and took part in the campaign against Little Rock. In the
+beginning of September, when we were only ten miles from Little Rock,
+our regiment enjoyed the distinction of marching at the head of the
+infantry column. We came upon the Confederate batteries on the west bank
+of the Arkansas river, where a brisk cannonade was opened. This combat
+afforded the most beautiful sight imaginable, if carnage and slaughter
+may be called beautiful. We stood on the east side of the river, the
+Confederates on the west. The water being very low, a steamer had been
+grounded about an eighth of a mile above us, and near the steamer the
+water was so shallow that the cavalry could ford the river; but just in
+front of the Third regiment the water was so deep that we had to throw a
+pontoon bridge for the infantry.
+
+Our regiment was stationed in a cornfield near the river bank to cover
+the march across the bridge, and the soldiers were ordered to lie down
+on the ground. But we found it very difficult to make them obey, for, in
+their eagerness to cross the river, they felt more like rushing ahead
+and shouting for joy. Many shots from the Confederate batteries passed
+over our heads, so low that the soldiers, in a sporting mood, jumped up
+and grabbed with their hands in the air, as if trying to catch them.
+In less than an hour the bridge across the deep channel was ready. A
+cavalry brigade had meanwhile moved up to the ford above, and now the
+signal for crossing was given. The Confederates set fire to the steamer,
+which they were unable to save.
+
+It was about noon on one of those glorious autumn days peculiar to this
+country, which greatly enhanced the impression of the sublime spectacle
+then to be seen on the Arkansas river. The burning steamer reddening the
+atmosphere with brilliant flames of fire, a long line of cavalry fording
+the shallow river in three files, the infantry marching by the flank
+over the pontoon from which they jumped into the water, forming on
+double-quick, first companies, then battalion, whereupon they marched
+cheerily, in knee-deep water, under flying banners and to the beat of
+regimental music, while the air was filled with shells and balls. Before
+the infantry had reached the woods where the batteries of the enemy were
+hidden, the latter was already in retreat, and Little Rock soon fell
+into our hands.
+
+On our march into the captured city the next morning, the Third regiment
+was again accorded the place of honor at the head of the army. It was
+designated to act as provost-guard for the purpose of maintaining order,
+and the whole regiment was soon quartered in the state capitol. Gen. C.
+C. Andrews, who held the position of colonel at that time, was appointed
+post commander at Little Rock, and I, who had been promoted to the rank
+of lieutenant-colonel soon after the surrender of Vicksburg, took
+command of the regiment, whereby it became my duty to maintain law and
+order in the captured city. This was an onerous and difficult task, for
+it must be remembered that the only executive authority in the southern
+states during the war was vested in the army, and especially delegated
+to the provost officers and guards. The third regiment was occupied with
+this task until the following spring, and performed its duty so well
+that the governor of Arkansas, in a message, expressed himself regarding
+it, in the following language:
+
+"During the time of their service in our capital good order has
+prevailed, and they have commanded the respect of our citizens. When
+called upon to meet the enemy they have proven themselves equal to any
+task, and reliable in the hour of imminent danger. Such men are an honor
+to our government and the cause which they serve. Their state may
+justly feel proud of them, and they will prove themselves to be worthy
+sons of the same wherever duty calls them."
+
+Toward Christmas I was ordered to Fort Snelling, with a detachment of
+officers and non-commissioned officers, for the purpose of recruiting
+our decimated ranks. I remained on this duty till the month of March,
+and then returned with four hundred recruits. Shortly afterwards the
+battle of Fitzhugh's Woods, near Augusta, Arkansas, was fought, and the
+regiment distinguished itself by very gallant conduct. During the stay
+in Little Rock most of the soldiers had re-enlisted for three years, or
+until the close of the war, whereby we acquired the title of "Veteran
+Regiment." But that was not the only distinction which was conferred on
+our men. A large number of young soldiers had been promoted from the
+ranks to be officers in several negro regiments, which were organized in
+Tennessee and Arkansas, and some as officers of new regiments of our
+own state. Col. Andrews had meanwhile been promoted to the rank of
+brigadier-general, and, in April, 1864, I was promoted to colonel of the
+regiment in his place, and was shortly afterward ordered to march with
+its eight hundred men to Pine Bluff, on the Arkansas river.
+
+From this time until the beginning of August the regiment experienced
+such hardships and sufferings from diseases and hard service, that it
+sustained far greater losses from these causes than any other regiment
+from our state had met with in open battle. Pine Bluff was a veritable
+pest-hole; the water was of a greenish color, the air full of germs of
+disease and poisonous vapors. Continually surrounded and threatened by a
+vigilant enemy, the exhausted and sickly soldiers had to get up at three
+o'clock every morning for the purpose of working at the entrenchments
+and strengthening and protecting our position in different ways.
+Meanwhile the number of those fit for duty was daily decreasing at an
+appalling rate. The hospitals were overcrowded with patients, and the
+few men left for duty were continually occupied in caring for the sick
+and burying the dead, until there were not men enough left to bury their
+dead comrades, and I was obliged to ask a regiment, which had recently
+arrived, to help us perform that sad duty.
+
+At this critical moment I received orders from Washington to take six
+companies to Minnesota, on a six weeks' veteran furlough, to which the
+regiment was entitled. Those went who were able to. Many died on the
+way, but those of us who survived until we reached Minnesota were soon
+restored to usual health and strength, so that we could return in due
+time and again take part in the campaign in Arkansas. The remaining four
+companies, which had been furloughed the previous winter, were ordered
+from Pine Bluff to Duvall's Bluff, on White river, where the whole
+regiment was reunited under my command in the beginning of October, and
+remained in winter quarters until the spring of 1865.
+
+Shortly after our return to Arkansas I assumed command of the First
+Brigade, First Division, Seventh army corps. This brigade consisted of
+my own regiment, the Twelfth Michigan, the Sixty-first Illinois, and a
+United States colored regiment. Our prospects for remaining in winter
+quarters for several months being favorable, many of the higher officers
+sent for their wives. I did the same, having first erected a comfortable
+log house for us. My wife and two little children arrived a few days
+before Christmas, and stayed in the camp the whole winter. No important
+event took place during the winter, excepting that we were once ordered
+to make an expedition up White river, with a considerable force of
+cavalry and infantry, and, after a fatiguing march, succeeded in
+breaking up a camp of irregular Confederate troops, and taking many
+prisoners.
+
+I will relate two incidents which took place near Duvall's Bluff, one of
+a serious, the other of a comic nature.
+
+The first was the shooting of a young soldier of the Twenty-second Ohio
+regiment, who time and again had deserted his post, and finally joined a
+band of rebel marauders. It became my sad duty to execute the sentence
+of death. My brigade formed a hollow square, facing inward, and the
+doomed man, a strong, handsome youth of twenty years, sat on a coffin in
+an open ambulance, which was driven slowly along the inside of the
+square, while a band marched in front of the wagon playing a funeral
+march. After the completion of this sad march the deserter was placed in
+the middle of the square, in front of the coffin, with his eyes
+blind-folded. A detachment of twelve men under a sergeant now fired
+simultaneously, upon the signal of the provost marshal. Eight rifles
+were loaded with balls, and the unfortunate young man fell backwards
+into his coffin and died without a struggle.
+
+[Illustration: SHOOTING A DESERTER.]
+
+One day while taking a ride on horseback in company with my wife, who
+had a fine saddle horse, and had become an expert rider during her long
+stay in the camp, we galloped mile after mile along the fine plain,
+outside of the picket-lines where men of my own brigade were on guard,
+till at last we found ourselves several miles from the place where we
+had passed through our lines. Returning toward camp, we struck the
+picket line at a point where a recently arrived regiment was stationed,
+and where the ground was soft and marshy. Being challenged by the guard
+I answered who I was, but as he could not plainly distinguish my uniform
+in the twilight and did not know me personally, he ordered us, with
+leveled gun, to stand still until he could call the officer of the
+guard. It was no easy matter to obey his orders, for the horses
+continually sank down in the soft ground, but finally the officer
+arrived, and we succeeded in getting to the camp without further
+trouble. I was not the first officer who thus got into trouble by
+neglecting to write out a pass for himself.
+
+On a fine April day, which can never be forgotten, the news came that
+our president, Abraham Lincoln, had been murdered. Stricken with
+consternation I hurried down to the Third regiment in person to tell the
+sad news. Never, either before or since, have I witnessed such a scene
+as the one that followed. Some of the men went completely wild with
+sorrow, weather-beaten veterans, embracing each other, wept aloud,
+others swore and cursed. In the prison yard, which was guarded by men
+belonging to my regiment, a rebel prisoner took off his cap, waived it
+in the air and cried, "Hurrah for Booth!" A man by the name of Stark
+immediately loaded his gun and shot the rebel dead on the spot. Many
+others, both inside and outside the camp, were shot because they
+expressed joy at the death of Lincoln. Passions were strong, and all
+tolerance and patience exhausted among the Union soldiers on that
+occasion. The main army of the Confederates had already surrendered
+when this calamity occurred, and the war was in fact over. A few days
+afterward we sent our families home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Reconstruction in the South--Third Regiment Mustered Out--The Farewell
+  Order--Sacrifices and Costs of the War.
+
+
+A very important work still remained to be accomplished by the union
+army, namely, the restoration of law and order in the southern states. I
+had the honor to be entrusted with a portion of that work, an account of
+which was given in a paper prepared and read by me before the commandery
+of the military order Loyal Legion, at one of its meetings in St. Paul,
+in March, 1889, from which I quote as follows:
+
+"After listening to the many interesting addresses on battles and
+campaigns that have been read before the commandery at our monthly
+meetings, I fear that you will be disappointed, not only with the
+subject of this paper, but also with the commonplace incidents which I
+have to relate, and yet I think that the part taken by the Union army in
+the so-called reconstruction of civil government in the rebellious
+states immediately after the war deserves a place in the history of that
+army and of the war. All the world knows how bravely our soldiers
+fought, how willingly they endured hardships of the camp and of the
+wearisome march, how patiently they bore sickness, wounds, and
+sufferings of every kind, and how faithfully they obeyed the orders of
+advance to danger and to death. But there is still another trait of
+their character, perhaps the greatest of them all, that of the good
+citizen, who was able, as soon as the last smoke of battle had cleared
+away, to restrain all feelings of enmity and revenge, to take the enemy
+by the hand, to guide, help, and protect him and his in all the rights
+of citizenship, and it is of that I would relate some facts that came
+under my own observation and experience.
+
+"Having been stationed at Duvall's Bluff, Arkansas, in command of a
+brigade, of which my own regiment, the Third Minnesota infantry, formed
+a part, I received orders from Maj. Gen. J. J. Reynolds, commanding the
+Department of Arkansas, on the 15th of May, 1865, to establish a
+military post at Batesville, Arkansas, on the upper White river, and to
+take command of a district comprising the north-eastern portion of that
+state. The field organization of the Seventh army corps, to which we
+belonged, was being broken up. Some of the regiments were sent home to
+be mustered out of service; others were sent to different points for
+purposes of occupation. My own regiment and two squadrons of the Ninth
+Kansas Cavalry were detailed for the work given in my charge.
+
+"On the 18th of May we embarked on steam transports, and reached
+Batesville on the 20th. A few days later my post headquarters was
+established at Jacksonport, and the troops were distributed at different
+points with one or two companies for each, at Batesville, Searcy,
+Augusta, Powhatan; and the main force at Jacksonport, from which point
+frequent cavalry patrols were sent to the outlying stations.
+
+"The topography of that country is very irregular and unique. The
+eastern portion, bordering upon the Mississippi, is flat and marshy,
+with many lakes and bayous, and has a rich, alluvial soil. The other
+portion is very broken, with hills and mountain ridges, rocks, caves and
+beautiful streams, but poor soil. The lowlands had been occupied by
+wealthy slave owners, whose sympathies were strong for the Southern
+cause. The highlands were occupied by the poorer class, only a few of
+whom had owned slaves. Many of this class were strong Union men, and
+soldiers in the Union army. During the great struggle of four years many
+bloody tragedies had been enacted between the loyal and the rebel
+residents, and bitter feelings of revenge still rankled in the breasts
+of the survivors. During the whole period of the war the country had
+been swept clean, at rapid intervals, by both armies alternately, and
+each time new atrocities had been perpetrated, and all the worst
+passions of the people rekindled. It had also been a place of refuge for
+the worst rebel elements in southern Missouri, when too hardly pressed
+by our friend Gen. Sanborn[2] and other Union commanders. At the time of
+our arrival the surviving soldiers from both armies were returning to
+their homes, also many refugees,--rebels from Texas and Union men from
+the North,--most of them to find their families destitute and their
+property destroyed.
+
+[Footnote 2: Gen. John B. Sanborn, who was present when this paper was
+read.]
+
+"The irregular Confederate troops under Gen. Jeff. Thompson, numbering
+some eight thousand men, had not yet surrendered, but were scattered
+over the district in a thoroughly demoralized condition, so that the
+whole situation was rather peculiar and very bad, and it was a difficult
+task to prevent fresh outbreaks, and to restore order and get the people
+started anew in the peaceful avocations of life.
+
+"My instructions were to preserve law and order, to organize and arm
+companies of home colonists for self-protection, to encourage
+agriculture and commerce, and to assist the citizens in restoring civil
+government. The men under my command during the early reconstruction
+period had certainly no reason to love Arkansas, because they had not
+only buried their best friends and comrades within its borders, but had
+themselves for months and months experienced there that dreadful
+suffering most feared by all soldiers, and for which few receive any
+credit,--namely, the inglorious privation of the silent watch,--in the
+swamp, in the trenches, in the hospital, on the camp-stretcher, and in
+the ambulance,--when tired, sore, sick, thirsty, lonely, and seemingly
+forsaken by God and man, unknown and with praise unsung, with no
+cheering sound of drum or bugle, no battle flag or cheer in sight or
+hearing, no voice of comrades or of guns, and no magic touch of elbows
+or shouts of victory. These men had experienced all that, and had no
+special reason to sympathize with the inhabitants who had done their
+full share to bring them into so much misery. And now observe how they
+treated those inhabitants. Immediately on arriving at Batesville the
+following order was promulgated, and, by the aid of an old printing
+press and swift couriers, scattered all over the district:
+
+                                   'HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES,
+                                   'BATESVILLE, ARK., May 22, 1865.
+
+  'General Order No. 1.
+
+  'I. It is hereby announced to the people of Batesville and surrounding
+  country that the chief object of the federal occupation of this place
+  is their protection against armed forces, of whatever kind, to give
+  encouragement to agriculture and other peaceful pursuits, and to
+  restore commercial intercourse.
+
+  'II. The public safety and mutual interests demand that all persons
+  living within our lines and enjoying the protection of the nation's
+  forces shall declare their obedience to the government.
+
+  'III. It is ordered, therefore, that all persons now living or
+  hereafter coming within our picket-lines who have not taken but desire
+  to take the oath of allegiance, with the purpose of restoring and
+  establishing the national authority, shall register their names
+  without delay in the provost marshal's office, where the oath will be
+  administered.
+
+    'By order of
+                                   'COL. H. MATTSON, Commanding.
+
+  'P. E. FOLSOM, Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.'
+
+"On the same day a beginning was made to organize companies of home
+colonists among the great number of Union refugees who had followed the
+troops to Batesville. Arms and ammunition were placed in their hands,
+and the following instruction given:
+
+                                   'HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES,
+                                   'BATESVILLE, ARK., May 22, 1865.
+
+  '_To the members of Companies of Home Colonists_:
+
+  'You will, as soon as practicable, depart with your families to your
+  several homes, and there proceed to cultivate the land and secure a
+  crop for the coming year.
+
+  'The arms and ammunition with which you have now been furnished by the
+  government of the United States are for the protection of yourselves
+  and families, and for no other purpose.
+
+  'The laws of your state guarantee you full redress for private
+  injuries; you will therefore leave all disputes and wrongs to be
+  settled by them and by the military authority of the United States,
+  and it is only against the armed force of marauders that you will
+  resort to the use of these arms; remember, always, that you are not
+  soldiers, but citizens.
+
+  'You will promptly report to your own officers and to the military
+  commander of this post any information you may obtain of armed forces
+  of marauders; and in case of emergency you are authorized to act as a
+  military body in pursuing them. The commanding officer will always
+  extend to you aid, both in men and subsistence, so far as lies in his
+  power, but you must, like free and independent citizens, place
+  yourselves, by industrious labor, as soon as possible, beyond the
+  necessity of federal support.
+
+  'Let your conduct among your late enemies be such as will elicit their
+  friendship.
+
+  'By assisting me to carry out the magnanimous policy of our government
+  you will soon have peace and security restored to your community, and
+  happiness and plenty to yourselves and your families.
+
+    'By order of
+                                   'COL. H. MATTSON, Commanding.
+
+  'P. E. FOLSOM, Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.'
+
+"In a remarkably short time the news of the policy thus announced spread
+to the most remote parts of the district, and had a very beneficial
+effect. It inspired hope and confidence everywhere. The disloyal people
+came out of their hiding places, and, with apparent sincerity and
+gratitude, took the oath of allegiance, and went to work as good
+citizens to perform their part in the work of reconstruction. Union men
+and rebels shook hands over the bloody chasm, and agreed to bury the
+past and work together for a better future.
+
+"Soon another class of people came in large numbers to seek help and
+protection from the Union forces. It was the poverty-stricken old men,
+and the women and children who had lost their natural protectors. It
+was a sight sad enough to move the stoutest hearts to look at their
+helplessness and misery, and I never had a more pleasant duty to perform
+than that of relieving their wants at the expense of our generous
+government. The department commander had placed a steamboat at my
+disposal, and given me unlimited power to draw on the commissary stores
+at Duvall's Bluff. That steamer made regular trips with supplies for
+all who were actually in need, and most of the applicants returned to
+their homes with plenty of flour, bacon, salt, seed, corn and other
+necessaries, with a government mule sometimes thrown in to carry
+the load home, and there was no distinction made between rebels and
+Unionists, except that the former were placed on their good behavior as
+to their future conduct. It was in this work that our soldiers,--officers
+and men,--showed without exception, that trait of character which
+entitles them to the name of exemplary citizens as well as exemplary
+soldiers, which they had previously earned in a service of four years.
+They never forgot that the conquered inhabitants were our own people,
+and members of the same great republic.
+
+"After a while our picket lines were withdrawn, and only enough guards
+posted to take care of the public property. Citizens and soldiers
+mingled freely in social intercourse, not as conquerors and conquered,
+but as friends and equals, our men interesting themselves in everything
+that tended to the welfare of the citizens, often helping them in their
+work and business, and always treating the helpless with gallantry and
+tenderness. On the Fourth of July citizens and soldiers, ex-rebels
+and Union men, to the number of many hundreds, met under the stars
+and stripes, in a lovely grove, to celebrate the day around an
+old-fashioned barbecue, and, for nearly two days and a night, enjoyed
+a feast of brotherly love and good will, all proud of the old banner,
+and happy to be again united as one people.
+
+"During the summer elections were held for town and county officers, and
+as soon as such officers had qualified, the soldiers, even more readily
+than the citizens themselves, did all in their power to uphold their
+authority. In many instances good penmen and accountants among the
+soldiers gave their services gratuitously to help the newly-elected
+civil officers start their books and accounts. To the honor of the
+rebels, especially the returned soldiers, I must say that they behaved
+in a most exemplary manner, and accepted the situation with good grace
+and acted most cordially and loyally toward us. The Freedmen's Bureau
+was not established in that district during my time of command, but
+I was informed by a friend, Maj. J. M. Bowler, who had command
+the following winter, that the planters generally yielded to the
+requirements of that department as soon as it was established; that they
+made fair contracts with the liberated slaves and strictly and carefully
+observed them, and were in all respects considerate toward the freedmen
+generally. Of course, I do not mean to say that all the citizens behaved
+so well. There were exceptions, even in the first days of
+reconstruction, and those exceptions were nearly all by the men who had
+never faced the Union soldiers in open battle, but had either skulked or
+resorted to guerilla warfare. But I do mean to say that in those early
+days, before President Johnson had began to show his final hand, the
+rebels were disposed to accept the situation in a manly and loyal way,
+and that, if the policy inaugurated by the Union army had been adhered
+to, the country would probably have been saved from the Ku-Klux and
+other horrors of a later period.
+
+"One strange fact was deeply impressed upon my mind during the time of
+my command in Northeastern Arkansas, namely, the genuine regret and
+sorrow among the returning rebel soldiers over President Lincoln's
+death. They not only respected him, but actually regarded him as a
+friend, because they believed him to be kind and just; so that, whatever
+measures he might have adopted, had he lived, they believed that they
+could have submitted to them with full confidence that it would be for
+the best. I can not better illustrate that feeling, as it was daily
+manifested to me, than by comparing it to the faith and confidence of
+erring children to an offended but loving father.
+
+"The most noted and influential rebel in the district at that time was,
+undoubtedly, Gen. Jeff. Thompson. On the 3d of June this noted general
+arrived at my headquarters at Jacksonport, pursuant to previous
+arrangements, to surrender his command, consisting of eight thousand
+officers and men, who began to crowd in on that and the following day in
+great numbers. They were the hardest looking soldiers I have ever seen.
+Jeff. Thompson himself was a man of commanding appearance, and a perfect
+gentleman. In my journal of that day I have described him as follows:
+'He is a tall, sinewy, weather-beaten man, a queer looking genius,
+dressed in a suit of snowy white, from the plume in his hat to the heel
+of his boot, and with a white sword-belt and white gloves. He is a
+clever chap, full of fun, telling great yarns, and an incessant talker.'
+I should judge he was about forty-five years old. On the third day after
+his arrival the troops had all assembled, and the surrender took place
+in due form. A staff officer from the Department of Missouri and another
+from the Department of Arkansas witnessed the proceedings and received
+the documents. When all was finished, Jeff. Thompson had his men
+assemble on the levee in front of a steamboat, from the cabin-deck of
+which he delivered his farewell address. I stood by his side while he
+spoke, and expected every moment to see him pierced by some
+well-directed bullet from the crowd on shore, but he was allowed to
+finish his address without interruption, after which the men slunk out
+of sight, and before evening the whole motley crowd had left the town
+with the determination, as I verily believe, to follow the good advice
+of their general. The address deserves a place among our papers, and I
+will read it, as it appeared a few weeks later in Harper's Magazine,
+from a _verbatim_ report made by one of my officers. He said:
+
+  'Many of the eight thousand men I now see around me, very many of you,
+  have been skulking for the last three years in the swamps within a few
+  miles of your own homes,--skulking duty,--and during that time have
+  not seen your own children. I see many faces about me that have not
+  been seen by mortal man for the last three years; and what have you
+  been doing all that time? Why, you have been lying in the swamps until
+  the moss has grown six inches long on your backs, and such men call
+  themselves "chivalrous soldiers." A few weeks ago Gen. Reynolds sent a
+  flag of truce to my headquarters, and I sent out to gather a
+  respectable force to meet those officers, and not one of you
+  responded. A few days later, when Col. Davis and Capt. Bennett, of
+  Gen. Dodge's staff, bore dispatches to me from that general, I
+  attempted again to call about me enough of you to make a respectable
+  show, and how many of these brave men reported at the call? One
+  sore-eyed man with green goggles. But you rally like brave and gallant
+  men around Uncle Sam's commissary stores, and I have now come to
+  surrender you, and hope that you will make better citizens than you
+  have soldiers.
+
+         *     *     *     *     *
+
+  'Those of you who had arms, with a few exceptions, have left them at
+  home, and those who had government horses have failed to report them
+  here. Now let me say to you, one and all, those of you who have
+  retained your arms, as soon as you get home take them to the nearest
+  military post and deliver them up, or burn them, or get rid of them in
+  some manner, for as sure as there is a God in heaven, if they are
+  found in your houses, just so sure will your houses be burned to the
+  ground; and I hope to God every one of you who keep good arms or
+  military property of any kind in your houses will be hanged; and you
+  will, too.
+
+         *     *     *     *     *
+
+  'But I want you to go home and work hard and take care of your
+  families. Work early and late, and get up at night and see if your
+  crops are growing. Above all things avoid political discussions. If
+  any man says "nigger" to you, swear that you never knew or saw one in
+  your life. We have talked about the niggers for forty years, and have
+  been out-talked. We have fought four years for the niggers, and have
+  been d----d badly whipped, and now it is not "your put." The Yankees
+  have won the nigger and will do what they please with him, and you
+  have no say in the matter. If they want him they will take him; and if
+  they say that you must keep him, you have to do it, and no mistake. I
+  tell you that you have no say in the matter, and you oughtn't to have
+  any. Go home and stay there. Don't go anywhere but to mill. Don't go
+  to church, for the minister will put knots and mischief in your heads,
+  and get you into trouble. Be good citizens, and then those of you who
+  have been good, honest and brave soldiers need have nothing to fear;
+  but I warn those of you who have been nothing but sneaking, cowardly
+  jayhawkers, cutthroats and thieves, that a just retribution awaits
+  you, and I hope to God that the federal authorities will hang you,
+  wherever and whenever they find you, and they will do it, sure.
+
+         *     *     *     *     *
+
+  'Do not complain if you are not permitted to have a voice in elections
+  and civil affairs. You have forfeited all such rights, and it now
+  becomes you to submit to such laws and regulations as the federal
+  authorities may deem proper to enact. I believe and know that they
+  will do the best they can for you, especially if you show henceforth
+  that you now desire to merit their confidence by strict obedience to
+  the laws where you may reside.
+
+  'We are conquered and subjected; we have no rights, but must accept
+  such privileges and favors as the government may see proper to bestow
+  upon us. Again I say, go home; attend to your business, and try to
+  raise a new generation of boys that shall become better men than you
+  have been.'
+
+"Jeff. Thompson lived many years after that day, a good and loyal
+citizen. He was a brave and generous man, and had always treated our
+prisoners with humanity whenever they had fallen into his hands. His
+advice to his soldiers echoed the sentiments of the better class of the
+rebels in the district at that time.
+
+"We remained there the whole summer, always impatient to be mustered out
+and return to our own homes, but never deviating from the orderly and
+friendly position first taken. Many of the men formed friendships and
+other connections that have lasted ever since. Some of them returned
+after their muster out, and are still counted among the best citizens
+of that state; some formed engagements with the country girls, and went
+back to marry them. One of my young captains, a fine St. Paul boy,
+brought with the regiment to Minneapolis, as his bride, the most
+beautiful woman, as well as the most bitter rebel, of that portion of
+Arkansas, and I am glad to say that, although she soon returned with her
+gallant husband to her native state, where they still reside, she is
+now, and has been ever since, as true and loyal to our banner and our
+cause as any of our Northern wives and mothers.
+
+"I would not have it understood that all our work was so pleasant and
+peaceful. Sometimes we had to deal with tough cases of both sexes, and
+then the iron hand of power was freely used to restrain, but seldom to
+punish. As a relic of old slave times I will relate one incident of many
+that came under my observation.
+
+"One day a very tidy negro woman came and reported that her late master
+had recently killed her husband. I sent for the former master. He was a
+leading physician, a man of fine address and culture, who lived in an
+elegant mansion near the city. He sat down and told me the story, nearly
+word for word as the woman did. It was substantially as follows: Tom,
+the negro, had been his body-servant since both were children, and,
+since his freedom, still remained in the same service. Tom had a boy
+about eight years old. This boy had done some mischief, and I (said the
+doctor) called him in and gave him a good flogging. Tom was outside and
+heard the boy scream, and after a while he pushed open the door and took
+the boy from me, telling me that I had whipped him enough. He brought
+the boy into his own cabin, and then started for town. I took my gun and
+ran after him. When he saw me coming he started on a run and I shot him,
+of course. 'Wouldn't you have done the same?' he asked me with an
+injured look. The killing of his negro for such an offence seemed so
+right and natural to him that he was perfectly astonished when I
+informed him that he would have to answer to the charge of murder before
+a military commission at Little Rock, where he was at once sent for
+trial. What a great change in sentiment a quarter of a century has
+produced! Our children will never learn to realize what a curse slavery
+was, even while some of them were in their cradles.
+
+"It has been said that the old soldiers occasionally did a little
+foraging on their own hook, while in the enemy's country, and I rather
+think they did; but I wish to state most solemnly, that whatever bad
+habits the boys might have had in that respect before the surrender of
+the Confederate army, they reformed at once after that event, most
+thoroughly and sincerely, and during the whole summer of 1865, although
+scattered over a wide country, and almost free from military duty and
+restraint, there was never a complaint made against a man in my command,
+for depredation of any kind, and I verily believe that the rights of
+property, even down to the beloved shoat and chicken, were held as
+sacred by the Union soldiers in our district during that time as those
+rights are ordinarily held in any well-governed country during times of
+peace. All things considered I am fully convinced that the excellent
+conduct of our soldiers in the South during the early days of
+reconstruction, when the army took a prominent part in that work, did
+more to establish law and order and to foster friendly and loyal
+sentiments towards the Union, than all the laws and constitutional
+amendments enacted for that purpose. Had the great and noble Lincoln
+lived, or even if President Johnson had remained true to the principles
+of his early life, and left the Union soldiers at liberty to carry out
+the firm but humane policy of reconstruction which they inaugurated
+under the inspiration of Grant and Sherman, we would have had not only
+a united country, but a loyal and law abiding people in the South a
+quarter of a century ago, because the Union soldier was the best citizen
+and the best teacher of good citizenship. Armies of other nations have
+achieved victories as great as ours, other soldiers than ours have been
+patient, obedient, enduring and brave, but none in the world's history
+have shown such greatness in civic virtues as the Union soldiers of the
+war of the Rebellion.
+
+"In the beginning of September, 1865, the regiment was ordered home, and
+on September 16th it was mustered out at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on
+which occasion the following general order was read:
+
+  'General Order No. 16.
+
+  '_Officers and Men of the Third Minnesota Regiment_:
+
+  'After four years of active service this regiment is about to be
+  disbanded. Before another day you will all have received your
+  honorable discharges and be on your way to your quiet, happy homes.
+  The familiar sound of the bugle and drum will no longer be heard among
+  us. The "Stars and Stripes," which we have all learned to love, will
+  no longer wave over our ranks.
+
+  'You have toiled, struggled and suffered much during the last four
+  years, yet to those who are now here to enjoy the triumph over our
+  enemies and the peace and prosperity of our country, the reward is
+  ample. I know that we will all regard the acts of those years as the
+  noblest and proudest of our lives. For those, our noble comrades, who
+  have fallen victims in the struggle, let us always, with the most
+  tender affection, cherish their memory.
+
+  'You have served your country nobly and faithfully in every field
+  where duty called you, and I am proud to assert that on every occasion
+  and in every locality, from the northwestern frontier, against the
+  savage Indian foes, to the deathly swamps of the Yazoo and Arkansas
+  valleys, against the haughty Southern rebels,--wherever this regiment
+  has been, its rank and file, its bone and sinew, the true
+  representatives of our noble young state, have ever reflected honor
+  and credit on that state.
+
+  'As your commanding officer I am greatly indebted to you all, officers
+  and men, for your admirable conduct on all occasions, for your ready
+  obedience of orders, and for your fidelity, patriotism and
+  perseverance in the discharge of all your toilsome duties.
+
+  'In bidding you farewell, I give you all my most hearty thanks. May
+  peace, prosperity and happiness ever be your reward.
+
+  'For me, the greatest honor,--greater far than I ever expected to
+  achieve,--is the fact of having so long commanded, and at last led
+  home in triumph and peace, the always dear and noble Third Minnesota
+  Regiment.
+
+                                   'H. MATTSON,
+                                   'Colonel Commanding Regiment.
+
+  'P. E. FOLSOM, Lieutenant and Adjutant.'"
+
+During this war the Union army had mustered in 2,883,000 men, 400,000 of
+whom had lost their lives. To this army Minnesota contributed 25,052, or
+about one-seventh of her entire population. Of this number 2,500 were
+killed or died of sickness during the war, and it is calculated that
+5,000 died since the war on account of wounds and diseases contracted
+during service. The Third regiment had, during four years' service, a
+total enrollment of 1,417, of which number there were left only 432 men
+when we returned in September, 1865. The war cost the Union about two
+billion, seven hundred million dollars. The sacrifice of gold and blood
+was not too great. Not only America, but the whole human race has gained
+more through the victories of our army than can be estimated in gold and
+blood. And the Scandinavians of the West may justly feel proud of the
+part they took in this struggle for liberty and human rights.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+The war which closed with the events narrated in the last chapter was
+one of the most important of modern times, and proved the greatness and
+the resources of the American people never properly appreciated before.
+But it revealed a still greater nobility of character when our immense
+army, after four years' service, suddenly disbanded, its soldiers
+quietly and peacefully returning to their common daily toil without the
+least disorder or disturbance of any kind. The swords were turned into
+plowshares as quietly and naturally as if they never had been steeped in
+blood.
+
+For my own part--and that was undoubtedly the case with most of our
+volunteers--I entered the service because I considered it to be my duty
+to do my little part in defending the country which had adopted me as a
+citizen, and not, as many have supposed, on account of ambition or for
+the sake of gain; in fact, as has been shown already, I resigned a more
+important and remunerative position in the civil service than the one I
+first accepted in the army; hence it was quite easy for me to exchange
+the uniform for the plain garb of the citizen and hang my sword among
+the reminiscences of the past.
+
+One day shortly after my arrival home, while walking along a street in
+Red Wing, I noticed a former professor of a university, who had been a
+captain in the Sixth regiment working in his shirt sleeves with a plane
+and helping to build a house. After saluting him I asked how he liked
+this kind of work, to which he answered that another professor had been
+appointed in his place while he was in the war, and being through with
+the service, he neither liked nor could afford to be idle. Having
+acquired some skill in handling carpenter's tools in his youth, he said
+he found it easy to get work at two dollars a day, and meanwhile he
+could be on the look-out for a position as professor of mathematics at
+some college or university.
+
+Here is the key to the greatness of this country: Labor is respected,
+while in most other countries it is looked down upon with slight. The
+former professor and Capt. Wilson was soon thereafter appointed state
+superintendent of schools, while, if he had remained idle and dependent
+upon his relatives and friends for assistance, too proud to work, he
+would most likely have been looking around for something to turn up to
+this day.
+
+Another little incident, which occurred about this time may interest the
+Swedish reader. The great Gen. Sherman visited St. Paul, and a banquet
+was given to him at which I was present. During the conversation I asked
+about the Swedish Gen. Stohlbrand. "Do you know him?" Gen. Sherman
+inquired. "Yes, sir; he is my countryman, and we served in the same
+regiment in Sweden," I said. "Then," said he, "you may be proud of your
+old comrade, for a braver man and a better artillery officer than Gen.
+Stohlbrand could not be found in our entire army."
+
+At the same time the general told the following: Stohlbrand had served
+in his corps for some time with the rank of major, and performed such
+services as properly belong to a colonel or brigadier-general without
+being promoted according to his merits, because there had been no
+vacancy in the regiment to which he belonged. Displeased with this,
+Stohlbrand sent in his resignation, which was accepted, but Sherman had
+made up his mind not to let him leave the army, and asked him to go by
+way of Washington on his return home, pretending that he wished to send
+some important dispatches to President Lincoln. In due time Stohlbrand
+arrived in Washington and handed a sealed package to President Lincoln
+in person. Having looked the papers through the president extended his
+hand exclaiming: "How do you do, General!" Stohlbrand, correcting him,
+said; "I am no general, I am only a major." "You are mistaken," said
+Lincoln, "you are a general,"--and he was from that moment. In a few
+hours he received his commission and returned to the army with a rank
+three degrees higher than that he held a few days before.
+
+The subject of the conversation thus being Swedish officers, several
+honorable deeds were told of some of them, among others, how Col.
+Vegesack, his regiment making a charge with leveled bayonets, and his
+color-bearer receiving a mortal wound, himself seized the colors and led
+his regiment to victory.
+
+Soon after the close of the war a well-known lawyer and myself opened a
+law office in Red Wing, the name of the new firm being Mattson &
+Webster. I had successfully practiced law but a few months when it was
+announced that a new Swedish newspaper, to be called _Svenska
+Amerikanaren_, was to be established in Chicago. This enterprise was
+backed by a number of prominent Swedes of Illinois, who appointed me
+editor in chief without my knowledge or solicitation. At that time there
+was only one Swedish newspaper in this country, viz., _Hemlandet_, which
+was more of a church than a political paper, hence this was an open and
+large field for me. I accepted the appointment on condition that I
+should not move to Chicago, but simply help to start the paper and put
+it on a firm footing, and that I should be allowed to resign in case I
+found this kind of work unfavorable to my health, which had been very
+seriously affected by the hardships and sufferings of the war.
+
+On September 18, 1866, the first number of the _Svenska Amerikanaren_
+was published. I quote from the article announcing my having assumed
+editorial charge of the paper as follows: "It shall be my ambition to so
+write as to advance the interest of the laboring people of our
+nationality, and to guide them in becoming good American citizens. I am
+one of that class myself, and during my residence in the settlements of
+the West I have learned to know their wants." The paper was very
+favorably received both in this country and in Sweden, and, under the
+name of _Svenska Tribunen_, is still exercising a great and good
+influence among the Swedish Americans.
+
+The following winter (1867) the legislature of Minnesota established a
+state bureau with the purpose of inducing immigrants to settle in the
+state, and I was appointed by Gov. W. R. Marshall to be secretary of the
+board of emigration, with the governor and secretary of state as
+_ex-officio_ members; the Rev. John Ireland, now Catholic Archbishop of
+Minnesota, was also for a time a member of that board.
+
+The St. Paul _Press_ for March 14, 1867, contained the following
+concerning the new board:
+
+"The state board of emigration, composed of Gov. Marshall, Col. Rogers
+and Col. Mattson, was organized yesterday, and a general plan of
+operation agreed upon. We learn that the board concluded that, with the
+limited means at their disposal, it was not advisable to employ agents
+to work in Europe, but to use every practicable effort to turn
+immigrants to Minnesota, after their arrival in this country. Efforts
+will be made to procure the publication of facts in regard to the state,
+in eastern and European journals; to make arrangements with railroads,
+more advantageous to emigrants than, heretofore and to afford them
+through interpreters and otherwise reliable information in regard to the
+best routes to the state from eastern parts. To give the emigrant a
+general idea of the characteristics of every locality in Minnesota, it
+is proposed to procure a map or chart of the state, showing its
+boundaries, streams, lakes, navigable rivers, timber and prairie
+sections, etc."
+
+One of my first and most pleasant duties as secretary of the board was
+to secure aid for the settlers along the Minnesota river. This locality
+had suffered from drought the previous year, and the settlers, most of
+whom were Swedes, Norwegians and Finlanders, were almost entirely
+destitute, and had no grain left for seed. Having secured an order from
+the government in Washington for provisions from the commissary
+department at Fort Ridgely, and being furnished with a letter of credit
+from our own state, I left for the stricken territory in the beginning
+of April, passing through the counties of Redwood, Renville, Yellow
+Medicine and Chippewa. At New Ulm several hundred sacks of flour were
+purchased, and at Fort Ridgely large quantities of provisions were taken
+out of the United States military stores. Agents were appointed to
+distribute these among the people, seed wheat and corn were shipped
+there from the South, and the settlers were thus relieved.
+
+Soon after my return to St. Paul the board of emigration was again
+called together, and I was authorized to appoint Swedish, Norwegian and
+German agents and interpreters to meet our emigrants in New York and
+Quebec, and be their guides and protectors on the journey through the
+country to our state. Temporary homes were also secured until the
+commissioners in the service of the board could get work for those who
+wanted to work out, and direct the rest to the interior of the state,
+where they could settle on government land or buy cheap land from
+private parties.
+
+Arrangements were made with newspapers in different languages for
+publishing articles written by myself and others, which contained
+descriptions of Minnesota and its resources. Pamphlets and maps with
+more detailed accounts, were printed in Swedish, Norwegian and German,
+and distributed in the respective countries, on board the ocean
+steamers, at the railroad stations and at other convenient places. I was
+the author of nearly all of this literature, in which great pains were
+taken to describe everything in detail; how the chests or boxes ought to
+be made and marked before leaving the old country; what articles ought
+to be taken along; what kind of provisions were most suitable; what
+measures ought to be taken with reference to cleanliness and behavior
+during the long and tedious journey, etc. On my visits among our western
+farmers years afterwards I have often seen pamphlets in Swedish and
+Norwegian with my name as author standing in the little bookshelf side
+by side with the Bible, the prayer-book, the catechism, and a few other
+reminiscences from the old country. I also spent some time attending to
+the needs of the emigrants in the sea-ports and in Chicago, made
+arrangements with railroad companies for securing better accommodations
+and even free tickets for hundreds of emigrants, who would otherwise
+have been compelled to part with their companions before reaching their
+place of destination.
+
+While performing my duty as secretary of the board of emigration I also
+acted as land agent for one of our greatest railroad companies, whose
+line went through Wright, Meeker, Kandiyohi, Swift and Stevens counties,
+and near Lake Ripley, in Meeker county. I purchased some eight hundred
+acres of land for myself, on which I made extensive improvements and
+spent some time as a farmer.
+
+[Illustration: LAKE RIPLEY.]
+
+In the above-named localities there were only a few widely scattered
+families when I went there in 1867, while it is now one continuous
+Scandinavian settlement, extending over a territory more than a hundred
+miles long and dotted over with cities and towns, largely the result of
+the work of the board of emigration during the years 1867, 1868 and
+1869. The board of emigration did not show partiality toward any
+portion of the state, but did all its work with a view to the interest
+of the whole community. Our efforts, however, in behalf of Minnesota
+brought on a great deal of envy and ill-will from people in other states
+who were interested in seeing the Scandinavian emigration turned towards
+Kansas and other states, and this feeling went so far that a prominent
+newspaper writer in Kansas accused me of selling my countrymen to a life
+not much better than slavery in a land of ice, snow and perpetual
+winter, where, if the poor emigrant did not soon starve to death, he
+would surely perish with cold. Such was at that time the opinion of many
+concerning Minnesota. I would be more than human if I did not, in
+recalling these incidents, point with pride and satisfaction to the
+condition of the Scandinavians in Minnesota to-day, but will return to
+this further on.
+
+The position which I held enabled me to be of service to countrymen in
+more ways than one. Thus the interests of the church were by no means
+neglected, and I think my readers will excuse me for inserting the
+following lines from the minutes of the eighth annual council of the
+Swedish Augustana Synod, held in Berlin, Ill., June 13, 1867:
+
+"Whereas, The same conference reports that Col. Mattson has offered to
+procure sites for churches, parsonages and burial grounds for Lutheran
+churches in the new Scandinavian settlements in Western Minnesota,
+
+"Therefore Resolved, That the synod express its thanks to Col. Mattson,
+and request him to get deeds on said property to be given to the
+different churches of the Augustana Synod, as soon as they are organized
+at the different places."
+
+It has always been admitted that during those years the emigrants
+destined for Minnesota received better care, guidance and protection
+than was ever accorded to a like class before or after that time. It is
+also acknowledged that the state received great benefits in return by
+being settled by a superior class of emigrants from the northern
+countries. As for my own share in that work, although my efforts were
+sometimes misunderstood and I myself blamed, as any one will be who has
+to deal with newly-arrived emigrants, I felt much pride and satisfaction
+in the work, knowing that not only the state, but the emigrants
+themselves, and even the serving and laboring classes remaining in the
+old countries, were very greatly benefited thereby. While laboring hard
+for immigration to Minnesota my chief object was to get the emigrants
+away from the large cities and make them settle on the unoccupied lands
+in the northwest, where the climate was suitable to them, and where it
+was morally certain that every industrious man or family would acquire
+independence sooner and better than in the crowded cities of the east. I
+never attempted to induce anyone to immigrate, but tried to reach those
+only who had already made up their minds to do so, and the only people
+that I ever induced to leave their mother country were a number of poor
+servants and tenants among my own or my parents' acquaintances for whom
+I myself paid partly or wholly the cost of the journey.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+For many years I had desired to revisit the home of my childhood, and in
+December, 1868, saying good-bye to family and friends, I set out alone
+on my first visit to Sweden, after an absence of nearly eighteen years.
+The chief object of the journey was recreation and pleasure; the second
+object to make the resources of Minnesota better known among the farming
+and laboring classes, who had made up their minds to emigrate. This
+visit to the fatherland marked an important era in my life. Being only
+eighteen years old when I first left it, my impressions were vague and
+imperfect. Nor had I seen much of that beautiful country until my return
+in 1868. I shall now endeavor to relate some of those impressions and
+experiences as faithfully as memory permits, and should I have to record
+some things that will offend certain classes of my countrymen, I do it
+with no unfriendliness or lack of kindly feeling, but simply in the
+interest of truth; for after having been a true and loyal American
+citizen for nearly forty years I still cling to Sweden, its people and
+institutions, with the affection of a child toward its mother.
+
+When I left Sweden in 1851 there were no railroads. On my return the 23d
+day of December, 1868, via England, Germany and Copenhagen, I landed at
+Malm� just in time to walk to the railroad station and take the train
+to Christianstad. The beautiful station with its surroundings, the
+uniformed and courteous officials in attendance, the well-dressed and
+comfortable-looking people in the first and second-class waiting room,
+all made a pleasant impression upon me, which soon was to be disturbed,
+however, by the following little incident: As I stepped up to the
+ticket window to buy my ticket I observed a poor working woman at the
+third-class window with a silver coin in her hand and with tears in her
+eyes begging the clerk to give her the change and a ticket. I heard her
+pleading that she had left three little children alone at home, that
+this was the last train, and if she did not get home with it she would
+have to walk in the mud after dark. The clerk insultingly refused her,
+stating that he had no time to bother with her trifles unless she paid
+the even change; she asked several gentlemen near by to change her money
+for her, but they all turned away as if fearing contamination by coming
+in contact with one so poor and lowly.[3] I had only a few large bills,
+and as the woman was crowded away, the same clerk at the first-class
+window took one of my bills, and, with a most polite bow, gave me a
+handful of large and small change. Of course I got the woman her ticket
+also. This was possibly an exceptional case, but to me it was a striking
+example of the difference between Swedish and American ways and
+courtesy. I venture to say that in no railway station or other public
+place in the whole United States, north or south, east or west, would a
+poor woman in her circumstances be left one minute without a friend and
+protector. Men of all classes,--from the millionaire to the day-laborer,
+or even street loafer,--would have vied with each other in trying to be
+the first to render her assistance.
+
+[Footnote 3: The rules in Sweden give the ticket clerks the right to
+demand even change.]
+
+I passed my old home at �nnestad station after dark, and soon arrived in
+Christianstad, where four years of my youth had been spent. It was my
+purpose this time only to pass through the city without looking up any
+old acquaintances. This was my thirty-sixth birthday, and, thinking of
+family and friends in my western home, I felt lonely, and repaired to my
+room at the hotel. I was not left alone very long, however, for the news
+of my arrival had preceded me by a telegram from Copenhagen, and soon an
+old schoolmate called, and a few minutes later the editor of the leading
+newspaper, Karl M�llersv�rd, who was exactly of my own age and had been
+on a short visit to America, and with whom a warm and lasting friendship
+was soon formed. The stroll through the little city the following
+morning brought many tender recollections, and I should have enjoyed it
+more had I not been such an object of attention and curiosity to
+everybody there.
+
+The advent of the railroad and the leveling of the old fortifications
+had brought many improvements on the outskirts, but the interior of the
+town with its little, narrow, but rectangular squares, streets and
+alleys, and its little one and two-story houses had undergone no change.
+And yet I could hardly realize that it was the same, because those
+objects which, to my boyish fancy, had seemed grand and imposing now
+appeared so diminutive that it was more like a dream than a living
+reality. This was particularly the case when, at noon, I watched the
+guard-mount of the artillery at the great square, and saw a large number
+of finely-uniformed officers, many of them grey with age and service,
+their breasts covered with decorations and crosses. With their sabres
+dragging and clashing against the pavement, and their spurs rattling,
+they walked up to the parade line from which they reviewed a couple of
+dozen soldiers with an air of solemn dignity, which might have done
+honor to a Grant, a Sherman, or a Sheridan, while reviewing our hundreds
+of thousands of veterans of a hundred battlefields. Truly, if the army
+of Sweden is defective in anything it is not in the dignity and style of
+the officers of the Vendes artillery; but, joking aside, the splendid
+bearing and discipline of the regiment made a good impression. This
+regiment has in fact become noted as a training school for young men,
+who are afterwards employed in the railroad service, and in large
+establishments where ability, punctuality and practical knowledge are
+necessary.
+
+Christmas eve found me in Fjelkinge, at the old homestead where my
+father was born, and where his people had lived for generations. The
+place was now owned by a cousin of mine, an excellent and very prominent
+man in his locality. The telegram had not reached this quiet, and, to
+me, sacred, spot. The astonishment and surprise of my honored cousin and
+my two aged uncles, who were still living, can more easily be imagined than
+described, and I was received with cordiality and joy. That night, spent
+under the roof of my forefathers, surrounded by the old people and the
+many dear recollections, and by a new generation that had come into
+being since my last visit there, stands vividly in my memory as one of
+the most delightful of my life.
+
+Another cousin of mine, a younger brother of Hans Larson, of Fjelkinge,
+was rector at Trolle-Ljungby, not far from the old homestead. In his
+church there was to be an early service Christmas morning. We
+consequently left Fjelkinge very early, and arrived at Ljungby just as
+the candles were lighted and the service commenced. We entered and sat
+down in the sacristy just as my cousin had left it to enter the pulpit
+in the church. He did not know that we were there, but we could see him,
+and hear his words during the solemn "Otte song." On his return with his
+family to the sacristy after the services, there was another surprise,
+and such joy as we then experienced does not often fall to the lot of
+mortal man. He told us that he had just had a dream about me that very
+night, and his mind was full of anxiety about my safety; but he had not
+expected to meet me so soon. Between him and me there had been a bond of
+friendship and brotherhood, even from childhood, which was now renewed,
+never to be broken again.
+
+I had a third uncle, my father's youngest brother, who lived in Visl�f,
+three Swedish miles from Fjelkinge. The second day after my arrival he
+sent his son asking me to come to him immediately, as he had been
+waiting for me a long time, and I went to his house the same evening.
+This uncle had been stricken with paralysis two or three years before,
+and been a bed-ridden invalid ever since, unable to use his limbs,
+and at times even to speak. His eldest son had gone to Minnesota
+the previous summer. The evening which I spent at his bedside was a
+remarkable one. As soon as I approached his bed he partly raised himself
+to sitting posture and began to speak, which he had not been able to
+do for a long time. His wife was sick abed in another room, but his
+youngest son and two daughters were at his bedside with myself. He said
+he had been wanting to die for a long time, but when he had heard that I
+was to visit Sweden he wished to live until he could see me again. He
+asked me to tell all about my father, our family and friends, and his
+eldest son. Then he asked me to take his family with me to America
+when he was dead. When he had no more questions to ask or anything to
+communicate he sent his son for two of the neighbors, said good-bye to
+all of us with the exclamation: "Thanks for all you have related and
+promised! Now I am ready to die! Farewell! God bless you all!" after
+which he breathed his last. The following spring his family accompanied
+me to Minnesota.
+
+I decided to spend New Year's eve with one of my most intimate boyhood
+friends, Mr. Nils Bengtson, in the little village of Skogl�sa, where I
+was born. Some of the dearest friends of my parents and a number of my
+childhood acquaintances were present there, and on New Year's day we
+attended services together in the old church at �nnestad. My presence
+was expected, and the church was crowded with people who had been
+friends and neighbors of my parents, or school and playmates of myself.
+Even the pastor had chosen a text applicable to me: "I think of the
+bygone days, and of the time that is past." The solemn services made a
+deep impression on all of us. A day or two later, in company with some
+friends I visited the little cottage where I was born, and where a
+number of the neighbors had now gathered to see me. One of my earliest
+recollections from childhood was the spruce tree, which, as I mentioned
+in the first chapter, was planted in the little garden by my parents. It
+was the only tree of its kind for a great distance around. It had grown
+to be a foot in diameter, was very beautiful, and was the pride not only
+of the present owner of the little farm, but of the whole neighborhood.
+After breaking off a sprig or two of the tree to carry back to my
+parents, we left the place early in the evening for Nils Bengtson's
+home, which was about half a mile distant, and where I was still a
+guest.
+
+Early the next morning my host awoke me with the news that the owner of
+the cottage had arrived before daylight, anxious to communicate a
+strange accident. Upon being admitted he stated that shortly after I
+left his house in the evening, a single gust of wind swept by in great
+force and broke the spruce tree off with a clean cut a few feet from
+the ground. It seemed very strange to us all, and he regarded it as an
+ill-omen, sold the place shortly afterward, and went with me to America
+the following spring.
+
+At that time only a few Swedish emigrants had returned from America, and
+to see a man who had been eighteen years in America, and had been a
+colonel in the American army must have been a great curiosity,
+especially to the country people; for wherever it was known that I would
+pass, people flocked from their houses to the roads and streets in order
+to catch a glimpse of the returned traveler. So great was their
+curiosity that on New Year's eve the servant girls of Nils Bengtson at
+Skogl�sa, drew lots as to who should carry in our coffee, and thereby
+get a chance to take the first look at the American colonel. One of the
+ladies of the house told me afterwards that when the girl returned to
+the kitchen she put the tray down with great emphasis and
+disappointment, exclaiming indignantly: "Oh, pshaw! He looks just like
+any other man!"
+
+Now followed a season of visits and entertainments in Christianstad and
+the neighboring country, which I shall ever hold in grateful
+remembrance. I was received with cordiality everywhere among the common
+people and the middle classes, while the aristocratic classes looked on
+with distant coldness, as they always do when a man of the people has
+succeeded in getting beyond what they would call his legitimate station,
+and is what we would call, in other words, a self-made man. My plain
+name and humble ancestry were in their eyes a fault that never could be
+forgiven. This did not trouble me, however, for I sought no favors, or
+even recognition from the great, but found plenty of delight in the
+cordial welcome of the middle classes.
+
+In the month of February I visited Stockholm, in company with my friend
+Nils Bengtson. It was the first time I had been there, and, like all
+other travelers, I was charmed with the beautiful city, and its gay and
+festive life. The parliament (Riksdag) was in session, and as a liberal
+from America I was received with great cordiality by the liberal party.
+One grand dinner and two evening parties were given by some of its
+members in my honor, at which some of the most distinguished liberal
+members of parliament were present. Of course numerous toasts were
+proposed and speeches made, in one of which I was called upon for my
+views on the Swedish militia as corresponding largely to the lately
+disbanded volunteer army of the United States.
+
+There was quite a famine in some of the Swedish provinces that winter,
+and when the government asked the parliament for an appropriation of
+several millions for carrying on field maneuvers of the army the coming
+season, the liberals made a strong opposition, preferring to use the
+money on some public improvement in the famished provinces. Of course I
+expressed my sympathy strongly in favor of the volunteer organizations
+and against the proposed maneuvers of the regulars. A few days afterward
+my words were quoted in the parliament, and gave rise to a spirited
+correspondence in one of the Stockholm conservative newspapers.
+
+Returning to Sk�ne I found myself besieged by people who wished to
+accompany me back to America in the spring. Having visited my wife's
+relatives at Ballingsl�f, and enjoyed their hospitality, and made some
+trips to Wermland, Gothenburg, Lund and Copenhagen, I spent the rest of
+my time with friends in Christianstad, Ljungby and �nnestad.
+
+Having been for many years a Free Mason in America, and advanced to the
+highest degrees in that order, I was received in great state and full
+ceremony into the provincial lodge at Christianstad, and on Good Friday,
+if I remember right, I had the honor of marching in the Masonic
+procession between the two highest Masons of the province, the aged
+brothers, Barons Rolamb, wearing their gorgeous uniforms, while I was
+dressed only in a plain black dress suit. The procession marched from
+the lodge to the chapel, only half a block distant on the same street,
+but a great crowd had gathered to see the mystic order, and I noticed
+many manifestations of satisfaction among the masses at the honor
+bestowed upon me, while I have reason to believe that some of the
+uniformed brethren silently choked down a grudge over the plain citizen
+whom the strict rules of the order, for that day at least, had placed in
+a higher position than most of them could ever hope to attain.
+
+Time passed swiftly, and, as the crowds of intending emigrants were
+increasing daily, it was found that it would be impossible for one
+steamer to carry them all, so I went early in April to Helsingborg,
+where one shipload was started for Minnesota under the leadership of
+Capt. Lindberg, a veteran from the Anglo-Russian and the American war. A
+few weeks later I followed across the Atlantic with a party which
+numbered eight hundred people, and in due time returned to my home in my
+adopted country.
+
+On the whole that first visit to Sweden was exceedingly pleasant,
+although there would occasionally come up disagreeable incidents
+whenever America was the subject of discussion. The laboring and middle
+classes already at that time had a pretty correct idea of America, and
+the fate that awaited emigrants there; but the ignorance, prejudice and
+hatred toward America and everything pertaining to it among the
+aristocracy, and especially the office holders, was as unpardonable as
+it was ridiculous. It was claimed by them that all was humbug in
+America, that it was the paradise of scoundrels, cheats and rascals, and
+that nothing good could possibly come out of it. They looked upon
+emigrants almost as criminals, and to contradict them was a sure means
+of incurring their personal enmity and even insult.
+
+I remember a conversation at an evening party in N�sby between a
+learned doctor and myself. He started with a proposition that it was
+wrong to leave one's native country, because God has placed us there,
+and, although the lot of the majority might be very hard, it was still
+their duty to remain to toil and pray, and even starve, if necessary,
+because we owed it to the country which had given us birth. In reply I
+referred to one of the first commandments of the Bible, that men should
+multiply, go out and fill up the earth; that if it were wrong for Swedes
+to emigrate, it was equally wrong for the English, the Germans, the
+Spaniards and even our progenitors, the ancient Arians, and if so,
+what would the result be? Portions of this bountiful earth would be
+overcrowded, privation, crime, bloodshed and misery would follow, while
+other continents would lie idle. If it had been wrong to emigrate,
+America, which to-day is the larder and granary of the world, would have
+remained in the possession of a few savages. My argument was of no
+avail; the doctor, otherwise a kind and humane man, would rather see his
+poor countrymen subsist on bread made partly out of bark, which hundreds
+of them actually did at that very time in one of the Swedish provinces,
+than have them go to America, where millions upon millions of acres of
+fertile lands only awaited the labor of their strong arms to yield an
+abundance, not only for themselves, but also for the poor millions of
+Europe.
+
+Hard as it is for the individual to change habits of long standing, it
+is still harder for nations and races to free themselves from prejudices
+centuries old, especially in a small country like Sweden, isolated from
+the great nations and thoroughfares of the world. The importance of a
+military officer in Sweden dates from an age when the common soldier was
+simply an ignorant machine, and the difference between "a faithful
+servant of the king" and a common mortal was immense. The common mortal
+of to-day, however, is climbing bravely up towards the military
+demi-god. To command a company, or even a regiment, in modern warfare,
+especially in times of peace, requires but little tact and skill
+compared with former times, when such commander often had to act
+independently and at his own risk, whereas now there is scarcely any
+branch of business which does not require more talent for its proper
+management than the command of a company or a regiment. It is therefore
+not on account of superior merits, but on account of old fogy notions
+and prejudices that the bureaucracy, military and civil, consider
+themselves to be of such immeasurable importance. My experience in life
+has taught me that individually men do not count for much in the world;
+that no man amounts to a great deal by himself; and that the highest as
+well as the lowest is dependent largely upon his fellows.
+
+What has been said about the military officers applies, in many cases,
+equally well to the civil officers, or rather, to a class of men holding
+life tenure offices in the civil service. Just now civil service reform
+is the question in American politics, and it means that officers in the
+civil service shall be appointed for life. I have always, for my part,
+doubted the wisdom of this reform, because I have seen so much evil
+growing out of that system in Sweden, England and India. To be sure,
+there would be much good springing from it, but it is very questionable
+whether the evil results would not be still greater.
+
+We Americans hold that all power of government emanates from the people
+(as it certainly does with us), and that the officers of the government,
+from the president down to the village constable, are merely the
+servants of the people, whose duty it is to enforce the laws and
+preserve good order. In the other countries named it is still, to a
+certain extent, supposed that God in his wisdom appoints the ruler, that
+all power lies in him, and that whatever privileges the people receive
+come as favors from the ruler. The influence and effect of these two
+ideas are as different in all the ramifications of the system as the
+ideas themselves are irreconcilable.
+
+In America the humblest citizen goes to a local, state, or United States
+official with head erect and demands that such and such things be done,
+according to the law. In the other countries the lowly and even the
+average individual comes before the magistrate cringing and supplicating
+for his rights as for a favor. Of course such a false and absurd system,
+practiced for hundreds of years, can not fail to leave a strong
+impression both upon the seekers and the granters of such favors.
+
+To me, brought up, ever since my boyhood, under the American system, the
+importance of the civil officers in Sweden seemed to be greatly at
+variance with the progress made in the elevation of the people in
+general. I will only take one example: The provincial governor
+(Landsh�fding) and his immediate subordinates of a little province of
+the size of half a dozen of our counties, appears with much more pomp
+and style than any of the governors of our great states; and I have no
+doubt that such a governor considers his office to be more important
+than that of the governors of some of our states, each of which has a
+population larger than that of the smaller kingdoms of Europe.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Politically the Scandinavians in America had exerted no particular
+influence beyond that they had generally been counted upon as loyal to
+the Republican party, and a few of them had held county offices and been
+members of the state legislatures in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The honor
+of first bringing out a Scandinavian for a state office belongs to F. S.
+Christensen, a young Dane, who, in the summer of 1869, was editor of
+_Nordisk Folkeblad_ in Rochester, Minn. One day he called on me and
+asked if I would be candidate for secretary of state, providing the
+Scandinavians of Minnesota should nominate me, to which I readily
+assented. A few weeks later a Scandinavian convention was held in
+Minneapolis and resulted in designating me as their choice for secretary
+of state. At the Republican state convention held in St. Paul in
+September that year, I was nominated almost unanimously by the whole
+Republican party. Being called to the platform after the nomination, I
+accepted the same in a brief speech, which at the time attracted much
+attention as echoing the sentiments of our people in the west. I
+therefore regard it of sufficient importance to quote it here:
+
+  "_Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention_:
+
+  "Allow me to tender you my hearty thanks for the honor you have
+  conferred upon me by this nomination. I feel doubly gratified for the
+  very large majority you gave me. The time does not admit of any
+  extensive remarks upon my part, yet so much has been said lately
+  regarding the Scandinavian element, that the subject, perhaps,
+  requires an explanation from me; and, as the chosen representative of
+  the Scandinavian people of this state in the present campaign, I am
+  authorized to express their views, and I do so from a thorough
+  knowledge of them. It is true that we have left our beloved land; we
+  have strewn the last flowers upon the graves of our forefathers, and
+  have come here to stay, come here to live, and come here to die. We
+  are not a clannish people, nor do we desire to build up a Scandinavian
+  nationality in your midst. You have known us here for many years; you
+  have seen us come among you unacquainted with your language and your
+  customs, and yet I know that you will bear me witness how readily
+  and fraternally we have mingled with you, learned your language
+  and adopted your ways, and how naturally our children grow up as
+  Americans, side by side with yours. We have been cordially received
+  in this great west by your own pioneers, and have become prosperous
+  and happy. Yes, we love this great country of freedom, and we wish to
+  be and remain Americans."
+
+Being elected a few weeks later by a large majority, I assumed the
+duties of secretary of state on the 1st of January, 1870. As secretary
+of state I was still a member _ex-officio_ of the board of emigration,
+and had charge of all its work and correspondence, which amounted often
+to a hundred letters a day.
+
+In the month of June following, rumor came to the capitol of a new
+Indian outbreak on our western frontier. It was said that Indians had
+come in the night and committed depredations, and quite an alarm was
+caused all along the frontier; the bloody massacre of 1862 was still
+fresh in the memories of our people, and while the state authorities did
+not believe this rumor, we deemed it necessary to take measures at once
+for pacifying the people by protecting the frontier. Therefore I started
+out at once with several hundred stand of arms, with ammunition
+and authority to organize the settlers into militia companies and
+commission officers for the same. Selecting a few friends for company
+and aids, we went by rail as far as Benson, Swift county, thence by ox
+teams northward, following the frontier settlements to the northern
+portion of Otter Tail county. Four companies of militia were organized
+and officers duly appointed, the last being in Otter Tail county, with a
+Swedish count, Ragnar Kalling, as captain. This prompt action stopped
+the panic, and all has been quiet since that time. The rumor of the
+Indian depredation proved to have originated with some settlers who, in
+the disguise of Indians, had tried to scare away a Norwegian from a
+claim which he had taken from another man.
+
+During this year one of the greatest railroad enterprises in the world
+was commenced, namely, the building of the Northern Pacific, extending
+from Lake Superior to the Pacific coast, a distance of over two thousand
+miles. The celebrated financier Jay Cooke, of Philadelphia, who had
+acquired a great reputation as the financial agent of President
+Lincoln's administration during the war, was at the head of the
+enterprise. The Northern Pacific Company had received a government grant
+of many millions of acres of land along the proposed railroad, and it
+required millions upon millions of dollars to build the road. One of the
+important financial questions with Jay Cooke was how to derive a revenue
+from the sale of lands, and how to get settlers and communities started
+along the line of the road. So ignorant were the people of this country
+about the region lying within the limits of the Northern Pacific
+railroad that it was generally supposed to be either barren or too far
+north for successful agriculture; yet that very region has since proved
+to be the greatest wheat producing country in the world. Mr. Cooke
+himself had been all over it with a small party, under the escort of
+United States cavalry, on an exploring tour, and he was perhaps the
+only man of that day who foresaw the future greatness of the Northern
+Pacific region.
+
+Late in the fall of 1870 I received a letter from Mr. Cooke, in
+Philadelphia, inviting me to come and spend a week with him and talk
+over the new Northwest. Upon the advice of ex-Gov. Marshall, who had
+spoken of me to Mr. Cooke, the then Gov. Austin and other prominent men,
+I repaired to Philadelphia, and spent some days at Mr. Cooke's palatial
+residence near that city. He had also for guests a delegation of French
+and German bankers, who had just arrived from Europe. Mr. Cooke
+impressed me as one of the greatest and noblest men I had ever met. His
+enthusiasm and eloquent arguments carried everything before him. The
+millions were raised, largely in Europe, and the road was built, as
+we all know. The result of my conference with him was my permanent
+engagement, at a salary more than twice as large as that I had from the
+state, to repair to Europe in the spring as agent of his enterprise,
+with headquarters in Sweden, my special duties being to make known in
+the northern countries of continental Europe the resources of the
+Northern Pacific, particularly the park region in Minnesota. I was also
+requested by Mr. Cooke to draw up a general plan on my return home for
+the disposal of the company's lands, which I did, and that plan was
+adopted for the guidance of its land and emigration officers and agents.
+
+In the month of December a national convention was held in the city of
+Indianapolis, Ind., for the purpose of devising measures for the better
+protection of emigrants on ocean steamers, and while in transit through
+this country. All the states interested in emigration sent delegates to
+that convention, and I was one of those representing our state; my
+knowledge and experience of the subject at issue enabled me to take
+such a part in the proceedings that at the close of the convention, I
+was appointed one of a committee of five (Gov. McCook, of Colorado,
+State Treasurer Smith, of Wisconsin, Banker Greenbaum, of Illinois,
+and a leading newspaper man of Philadelphia, were the other members)
+to draft a law for the protection of emigrants, and to proceed to
+Washington and lay the same before the president and congress. There I
+had an opportunity for the second time to meet Gen. Grant, who was then
+president. I spent much time with him, and he took a lively interest in
+the emigration question. The result of our work was the passage by the
+United States congress of the excellent laws in relation to emigration
+which still remain in force.
+
+In January, 1871, the state legislature of Minnesota again assembled.
+The senate then consisted of twenty-two members, and was opened and
+organized by Lieut. Gov. Yale, and the house of representatives, with
+forty-seven members by myself as secretary of state.
+
+During that winter I received several touching letters from Swedes
+located in the state of Mississippi. They were part of a little colony
+which had gone there the previous year, direct from Sweden. The climate
+was unsuitable; one-fifth of the people had already died, nearly all the
+rest were sick, and there was great distress and misery among them. They
+asked me to get them away into the healthy climate of Minnesota. They
+were entirely destitute of means, and had to be placed where the men
+could obtain employment when they should have regained sufficient health
+and strength.
+
+The Duluth & St. Paul Railroad Company, which was then a part of Jay
+Cooke's system, upon my request, furnished the necessary means, and sent
+Mr. F. S. Christensen, heretofore mentioned, to Mississippi to bring the
+party to St. Paul, which he did under many difficulties, in such
+satisfactory manner that upon his return he received an appointment by
+the company as local land agent at Rush City, in which position he
+remained many years. He is now president of the bank at that place,
+being married as before stated, to my niece, the little Zelma, whom the
+Indian squaws were so fond of playing with in the old log cabin. The
+little colony from Mississippi has certainly demonstrated that the
+northern climate is by far the best for the northern people. They had
+left Sweden strong, robust and hopeful men and women; after having
+stayed one year in the South they arrived in Minnesota pale, poor and
+broken down, lacking strength and energy, and almost without hope.
+
+The railroad company acted most generously towards them. It built them
+comfortable houses, furnished an abundance of provisions, cooking
+utensils and other necessaries; they gave the men employment at liberal
+wages as soon as they were able to work, and yet many of those very
+people growled and complained because we did not do more for them. I
+remember distinctly how one of the women, when her share of groceries
+and provisions arrived, was perfectly indignant because there was only
+granulated sugar, and she had always been "used to drink coffee with
+lump sugar in Sweden." This bad trait among newly arrived emigrants from
+any country is very common, gratitude and contentment being exceptional
+the first year or two, as all will testify who have had anything to do
+with them. It really seems that the more that is done for them the less
+satisfied they are. I am glad to say, however, that after a few years
+they get over this bad fault, and so did the little party from
+Mississippi, most of whom have all of late years repented and even
+apologized for their former folly and ingratitude. They formed the
+nucleus of the large Swedish settlement west of Rush City, now one of
+the most prosperous in the state.
+
+After the close of the legislature in the spring of 1871 preparations
+were made for carrying out my agreement with Jay Cooke to go to Europe
+for an indefinite time. Having been criticised by some of my countrymen,
+for resigning the office of secretary of state at that time, I owe them
+the following explanation: First: Personally, I was comparatively poor,
+and the salary which I received from the government, with the great
+draw-backs for all sorts of charities and public enterprises, which an
+official in that position has to meet, was insufficient to support me
+and my family, and I considered that I had the same rights as any other
+citizen to better my pecuniary condition, which I did by accepting the
+offer of Jay Cooke. Secondly: It was of greater importance to the
+public, and I could render better service to the state at this period of
+its early development, as agent for a great railroad company, which fact
+was fully recognized by our leading public men, and it was with their
+advice and at their earnest request that I took the step. I accordingly
+tendered my resignation to the governor of our state, but he, out of
+polite consideration, preferred that I should take a leave of absence
+until fall, when the people would have an opportunity at the political
+convention, to designate my successor, and wrote me the following
+letter:
+
+                                   "STATE OF MINNESOTA,
+                                   "EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
+                                   "St. Paul, May 25, 1871.
+
+  "_Col. H. Mattson, Secretary of State_:
+
+  "Dear Sir: Learning that it is your intention, on taking your
+  departure for Europe, to resign your office of secretary of state,
+  allow me to ask you to reconsider that resolution. You will leave a
+  very competent deputy, perfectly acquainted with all the duties of the
+  office, and in whose integrity, as well as in his honesty, the public
+  have unlimited confidence. Within a few months your successor will be
+  indicated by the delegates chosen by the people, comprising the
+  dominant party of the state, and then he may be appointed, if you are
+  to resign at all, with no uncertainty as to the popular choice of the
+  individual who should fill that important post. For these reasons I
+  hope you will conclude to withhold your resignation, at least for the
+  present. I most cordially wish you a pleasant journey to the field of
+  your new labors, great success there, and a safe return to the land
+  you have served and loved so well.
+
+                    "Very truly yours,
+
+                                   "HORACE AUSTIN, Governor."
+
+It is true that even after the state convention the governor did not
+appoint my successor, but preferred to leave the office nominally in my
+hands in charge of my very able assistant, the Hon. Pennock Pusey, until
+the end of the term, so that in fact I did not resign, but kept my
+office during the whole term for which I had been elected.
+
+In the last week of May I left for Sweden the second time, taking my
+family with me. The journey passed very pleasantly over England, Germany
+and Denmark. We arrived in Hamburg in the morning of the day when the
+Hamburgian troops returned under Prince Carl from the Franco-Prussian
+war, and made a triumphant entry into the city, being received with the
+greatest enthusiasm by the whole populace. It was indeed a grand sight,
+as all these troops marched by our hotel, men and horses literally
+covered with wreaths, flowers and bouquets, thrown over them by the
+grateful people. On this journey I carried important business letters
+from leading railroad men in Minnesota to some capitalists in Holland,
+who had advanced several million dollars for the construction of
+railroads in our state. I mention this, because it paved my way to very
+important business connections with prominent Hollanders a few years
+afterward.
+
+Shortly before entering upon this journey, a private banking and foreign
+exchange business was established in St. Paul under the firm name of H.
+Mattson & Co. My partners were Consul H. Sahlgaard and A. T. Lindholm,
+who successfully managed the business during my absence. A few years
+later this affair was merged into the St. Paul Savings Bank, of which
+Mr. Sahlgaard became the cashier, while Mr. Lindholm and myself both
+withdrew. The banking firm H. Mattson & Co. was one of the first firms
+that, as agent for the Cunard Line, introduced the system of prepaid
+steamship tickets from Europe to America, which has gradually gained the
+confidence of the people, and developed into a very extensive and
+important business.
+
+
+
+
+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 G�ta Canal--A Trip to
+  Finland and Russia--King Oscar II.--A Trip to Dalarne in the Winter.
+
+
+On June 21, 1871, I landed a second time in my native country at Malm�.
+As already stated, I was this time accompanied by my wife and children,
+and intended to remain in Europe several years, which we also did.
+
+At Hessleholm we were met by relatives and friends who conducted us to
+the old city of Christianstad, where we were to make our home. The early
+part of the beautiful northern summer we spent in visiting friends and
+kinsmen. Entertainments, excursions and festivities of all kinds
+alternated continually. The kindness and hospitality of the people knew
+no bounds, and no matter how defective some of the old institutions of
+Sweden may be they are in my opinion more than counterbalanced by the
+many beautiful and noble traits of character of the people, which we
+observed everywhere, and which are faithfully stored up in our hearts
+and minds, so that we always find a great delight in looking back to
+those days.
+
+Having spent a large portion of the summer in this manner, I started in
+the month of August on a tour to the northern part of the country,
+visiting Stockholm, Upsala, Gefle, Hudiksvall, and several other places.
+This was my first opportunity to see the beautiful scenery of northern
+Sweden, the fine, quiet bays, the magnificent lakes, the pleasant
+valleys, the green hills, the mountains dark with pine forests, all of
+which contribute to make the scenery of Norrland so varied and
+attractive.
+
+In the fall I returned to southern Sweden, and had an opportunity to
+witness the field maneuvers of the largest portion of the Swedish army,
+and also to meet the popular king Charles XV. The maneuvers were very
+fine, but, in my opinion, the troops could not have endured a long
+campaign, with its exhaustive marches and hardships. The soldiers
+complained loudly of fatigue, and quite a number of them were taken sick
+after the march of only fourteen to eighteen miles, although the weather
+was fine, cool, and bracing. Compared with our American army during the
+late war, when marches of twice that distance were quite frequent, the
+Swedish army was inferior; but these weak points would probably soon be
+remedied by practice in actual warfare.
+
+After having seen King Charles I was no longer astonished at his great
+popularity among the people. There was something about him which seemed
+to electrify and charm everyone who came within the circle of his
+personal influence. I saw him again the following winter at the opening
+of parliament in Stockholm. With all due respect for old Swedish customs
+and manners, I cannot but compare this pageant to a great American
+circus--minus the menagerie, of course. I would like to describe this
+serio-comical demonstration for the benefit of my American readers; but
+I am sorry to say that I can no longer remember the titles of the
+different officers, heralds, guards, lackeys, pages, etc.,--all of them
+dressed in the most gorgeous costumes, some of them preceding, others
+following the king and the royal princes, who were adorned with all the
+medi�val clap-trap insignia of royalty, and wrapped in huge mantles of
+gay colors, and with long trains borne by courtiers or pages. We can
+comprehend the importance of a display of this kind a couple of
+centuries ago, but it seems to me that the common sense of our times
+demands its abolishment, and unless I am very much mistaken King Charles
+himself, who was a practical and sensible man, was of the same opinion.
+
+The same winter I made a visit to Norway, which was repeated the
+following summer. The social and political conditions of the country
+reminded me somewhat of America, Norway being ahead of Sweden in that
+respect, and I am not surprised that the Norwegians are proud of their
+beautiful country.
+
+One of my most pleasant journeys in Europe was a trip which I took in
+company with wife and children in the early part of the summer of 1872.
+On this trip we went through the lovely province of S�dermanland, and
+thence by rail to Stockholm, where we met many old friends and
+acquaintances. Midsummerday was celebrated in the circle of a number of
+happy friends at Hasselbakken, and on the following days we made
+repeated visits to the enchanting surroundings of the capital. On one of
+these outings to Drotningholm, a summer palace, we met other American
+tourists, and I remember distinctly how we all agreed that this was just
+the locality for some charitable institution, where the unfortunate poor
+and suffering members of society could be taken care of, as, for
+instance, a home for old widows, or orphans, or old men who have served
+their country faithfully in peace or war, but have been reduced to
+poverty in their old age. As a contrast to Drotningholm we pictured in
+our minds the Soldiers' Home near Washington, where Abraham Lincoln had
+a few rooms, and found rest and recreation among trees and flowers, and
+it seemed to us that some of the country palaces of Sweden might just as
+well be used for a similar purpose.
+
+Having remained in Stockholm for some time, we directed our course
+southward, by way of the G�ta canal, past Motala, Trollh�ttan, and
+Gothenburg. How great, how delightful, how glorious! Dull and coarse
+must that man or woman be who can make this trip without being proud of
+the sons of Sweden and their peaceful avocations. In school I had read
+the history of Sweden, but it treated chiefly of warfare and of the
+exploits of the kings, only incidentally touching the achievements of
+peaceful work and the development of social and moral culture, which, in
+my opinion, are of supreme importance, and deserve the greatest honor.
+But then, it must be remembered that Swedish history was at that time
+written with the assumption that royalty and a few warriors are the sun
+and the stars around which the whole people and the country revolve, and
+from which they received their light and value. A better time has now
+dawned on Sweden, and even common people are acknowledged to have a
+certain inherent worth. Still I am afraid it will take some time before
+old prejudices can be dispelled.
+
+In the fall of the same year I took a trip through Finland and Russia,
+having secured a passport issued by Gen. C. C. Andrews, who was then
+United States minister in Stockholm. I went with the steamer Aura from
+Stockholm to �bo, Helsingfors, and Cronstadt. The pine-clad islands and
+shores of the Bay of Finland afforded a beautiful panorama from the
+steamer. The sight of Sveaborg made me feel that I was still a Swede in
+soul and heart, for I was overpowered by a deep sadness when I thought
+of the heinous treason by which this impregnable fortress was forced to
+surrender.
+
+I spent several days in St. Petersburg, during which I took in the chief
+sights of this grand city, such as St. Isaac's church, the monument to
+Peter the Great, the winter palaces, etc. It happened to be the
+anniversary of the coronation of the Czar, and I had the pleasure of
+seeing the magnificent military parade arrayed for the occasion. My
+American passport opened all doors to me wherever I tried to enter, and
+I was treated with the greatest politeness by military as well as civil
+authorities. To an uninitiated eye my personal liberty and independence
+seemed just as great here as in Washington; but that was not the case,
+for I knew that my every step was being closely watched.
+
+One day my guide conducted me to a place in one of the suburbs, where
+some hundred prisoners were starting on their long journey to Siberia.
+He also conducted me to the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, where the
+Russian Czars are crowned and buried; and through the fortress and
+prison, in whose moist, murky dungeons the political prisoners hear the
+great bell in the steeple striking the hour, and the watchman crying his
+monotonous, "God save the Czar," while from year to year the victims of
+despotism suffer and languish, often on a mere suspicion, and without a
+fair trial, until death finally puts an end to their sufferings. What is
+the reason that politically Russia has always been on the most friendly
+terms with the United States? How can liberty and the rankest tyranny
+have anything to do with each other? This has always been a riddle to
+me. I despise the friendship of a despotism like that of Russia, where
+the government orders innocent men and women to be seized in the silence
+of the night, torn away from their homes and families, incarcerated in
+dungeons, and subjected to bodily torture and social disgrace simply
+because they are suspected of having expressed or cherished liberal
+ideas.
+
+Returning to Sweden by way of Finland I remained a few days at
+Helsingfors. Having presented my passport to the authorities of the
+city, the commander of the garrison sent an officer inviting me to visit
+the barracks and other places of interest. I accepted the invitation and
+spent two days under the guidance of my cicerone. This was of course a
+rare treat, and it brought me in contact with many prominent citizens
+and officers. We also took a ride out in the country to see the
+condition of the peasants. In common with all other Swedes I have always
+sympathized with unfortunate Finland, in the belief that its people must
+be very unhappy and yearn for a reunion with Sweden. This proved to be a
+great misconception. What a peculiar contradiction! The Russian despots
+treat the Fins with generosity and justice, and as far as I could
+understand, the people were highly pleased with Russian supremacy, and
+would not become subjects of Sweden again, even if they could.[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: Since the above was written the Russian government has shown a
+disposition to treat Finland in a way that will soon change the friendly
+feelings of the Finnish people.]
+
+The following winter I had the honor of meeting King Oscar, of Sweden,
+at the funeral solemnities arranged by the grand lodge of Free Masons on
+the occasion of the death of King Charles XV. I have attended quite a
+number of official gatherings of different kinds in different countries,
+and seen persons vested with the highest authority conducting the same,
+but as to true dignity and lofty majesty, King Oscar excelled them all.
+When I compare him with the czar of all the Russias, or compare the
+condition of the Swedes with that of their Russian neighbors, I thank
+God for my old native land and its noble king.
+
+Of my numerous trips in Sweden I must mention one in particular,--a
+journey by sleigh,--in company with my old friend Karl M�llersv�rd,
+from Upsala to Gefle, and from Falun south, through Dalarne, past
+Smedjebacken, and the lakes below this to Vester�s. The beauty of the
+country of a northern clime does not show itself in its entire splendor
+until dressed in the garb of winter. The branches of the mighty pines
+loaded down by the dazzling snow; millions of snow crystals, more
+beautiful than diamonds, glittering from every twig as the sun sends
+its first morning rays through the forests; the picturesque costumes of
+the peasantry; the comfortable inns with their fine dishes of northern
+game; the neat sleighs drawn by small, swift, sure-footed horses; here
+and there a smelting furnace or a country church,--all these things
+combined left on my mind a picture of rural life more quiet, happy and
+beautiful than I had ever seen before.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+Visit in Minnesota and Philadelphia--Conversation with Jay Cooke--The
+  Crisis of 1873--Negotiations in Holland--Draining of a Lake in
+  Sk�ne--Icelandic Colony in Manitoba--Return to America.
+
+
+In the spring of 1873 I returned to Minnesota in company with a large
+number of immigrants. Being anxious to have my children learn the
+Swedish language, I left my family in Sweden where the children attended
+school. They spent this summer at Ronneby watering place, where the
+surroundings are characteristic of the mild and pleasant scenery of
+southern Sweden.
+
+In traveling from the Atlantic to Minnesota we came by way of the Great
+Lakes and the Sault St. Marie canal. Having spent a couple of months in
+Minnesota I returned to Europe again via Philadelphia, New York and
+Quebec. The reader may remember that the Northern Pacific railroad was
+building at that time, and that Jay Cooke, by means of his enthusiasm
+and great popularity, had succeeded in raising large sums of money for
+this stupendous enterprise. The Union Pacific railroad, south of us, was
+already in operation, and its owners, fearing the competition of the new
+road, had resorted to all conceivable schemes to undermine the
+confidence of the public in the Northern Pacific road and its promoters.
+Many of those who had furnished money began to feel uneasy, but Jay
+Cooke went ahead, full of hope and confidence in its final success. Just
+as I called at his private office in Philadelphia in August, one of his
+bookkeepers handed him a card from a prominent moneyed man in
+Philadelphia who wished to see him, and the following conversation took
+place between the two:
+
+"What can I do for you, my friend?" Jay Cooke said.
+
+"We begin," said the capitalist, "to lose confidence in your railroad
+schemes. I have bought $20,000 worth of bonds, but I am getting a little
+afraid, and came to ask your advice."
+
+"My dear sir, the Northern Pacific Railroad bonds are just as safe as
+United States bonds."
+
+"If this is your conviction, will you please exchange them for my
+bonds?"
+
+"Certainly. Here; give this"--he handed him a slip of paper with a few
+lines on it--"to my cashier, and he will give you United States bonds in
+exchange."
+
+The gentleman withdrew perfectly satisfied, and Jay Cooke turned to me
+with the following explanation: "I have seen the Northern Pacific
+country; that's the reason I am so confident in the success of this
+railroad enterprise. If we only succeed in accomplishing the work, I
+shall certainly prove that I was right; but if we fail, our antagonists
+will get a grist to their mill. But, whatever the result may be, no one
+shall have a right to say that I did not stake my fortune on my
+conviction."
+
+The same day I left Philadelphia for Europe, but I had scarcely reached
+Sweden when the great crisis came. Jay Cooke, whose fortune was
+estimated at twenty million dollars, was a ruined man. The work on the
+Northern Pacific railroad was suddenly stopped, and the obligations of
+the company depreciated to almost nothing. We all remember the terrible
+crisis that followed. Thousands of people were ruined, and the whole
+country suffered one of the most disastrous financial crises of modern
+times. My own loss was a very hard blow to me, not merely because I
+lost my position, but because my property in Minnesota, which consisted
+exclusively of real estate, stock and farm products, lost its value.
+This catastrophe was chiefly due to business jealousy, and there was no
+real cause for the panic, which was also clearly proven afterward. The
+Northern Pacific railroad has now been completed, and has proven to
+possess all the merits which Jay Cooke claimed for it. Its obligations
+are again above par. Jay Cooke has paid every dollar of his debt, with
+interest, and again lives in affluence and luxury, respected and honored
+by the whole country.
+
+Returning to Sweden I passed through Holland, which country I had
+visited a couple of times before, as already mentioned. I carried
+important business letters from the leading men of the St. Paul &
+Pacific Railroad Company, now known as the Great Northern Railroad
+Company. Dutch capitalists had advanced the money--about twenty million
+dollars--for building this road. The company had received very extensive
+land grants from the United States government; but during the first few
+years after the construction of the road to Breckenridge the country
+through which it passed was so sparsely settled that the traffic of the
+road was insufficient to pay its running expenses, hence their stocks
+and obligations depreciated very much in value. But the American
+railroad officials with whom I had been connected in the capacity of
+land agent were firmly convinced that if this road could be extended
+about thirty miles to the Northern Pacific railroad, and a little more
+time allowed for the settlement of the country along the line, the
+enterprise would pay a handsome dividend. It was my task to explain this
+to the Dutch capitalists, and persuade them to advance another
+$150,000--a mere trifle compared with what they had invested already--to
+build said extension, which was to pass through a perfectly level
+country. The president of the company, George L. Becker, and its land
+commissioner, Herman E. Trott, had previously visited Holland on the
+same business. But all our representations were in vain. The Dutch were
+stubborn, and would not give out another dollar. "It is of no use," they
+said, "to throw away a small sum of good money after a large sum of bad
+money, for it is all lost, anyway." The crisis of 1873 aggravated the
+situation still more, for this company, and its bonds were continually
+depreciating. The St. Paul & Pacific railroad had pledged itself to
+accept its own bonds at par in payment for its land, and as I and others
+had sold hundreds of thousands of acres of this land to new settlers on
+credit, I tried, and also succeeded, in perfecting an arrangement with
+the Hollanders, by which the new settlers who had purchased land on
+credit, were allowed to buy on time the bonds of the company, at about
+twenty-five per cent. of their face value, and apply the same, without
+discount, on their debts for the land, a method of liquidation that was
+highly advantageous to the settlers. As soon as this was found out in
+Minnesota, bankers and other capitalists sent agents to Holland to make
+similar arrangements, and, in the course of the next three years, a
+brisk business was done in exchanging those bonds for land, by which
+thousands of settlers saved large sums of money, and a number of bankers
+and agents made small fortunes. If I had returned to Minnesota
+immediately I could have realized a very handsome profit by this
+arrangement; but I had made agreements which compelled me to stay in
+Sweden some length of time, and I left this business in the hands of my
+former partner, Consul Sahlgaard, and the St. Paul Savings Bank. But
+they did not grasp the importance of this matter until it was too late,
+and the lion's share of the profits went to new parties; who thus reaped
+the benefit of my plans, as is often the case under such circumstances.
+
+As in the case of the Northern Pacific Railroad, the subsequent success
+of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad proved that Messrs. Becker, Trott,
+and myself were right, and if the Dutch bondholders had followed our
+advice they would not only have saved their twenty million dollars, but
+also made as much more. The bonds continued to depreciate to almost
+nothing until the company was declared insolvent, a receiver appointed,
+and very expensive legal measures were resorted to, until finally the
+Dutch became disgusted with the whole matter and transferred all their
+interests to an American syndicate headed by J. J. Hill, of St. Paul, at
+present the well-known Minnesota railroad king. The sum paid was a mere
+trifle. Hill's syndicate procured money for building the connecting link
+and completing the system. The syndicate made twenty million dollars by
+this transaction, and, within five years after the Dutch had sold their
+bonds for a mere bagatelle and the company had changed its name to the
+St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, practically the same bonds were sold
+on the exchange in Amsterdam for one hundred and fifty cents on the
+dollar.
+
+The only profit I derived from my connection with this business was that
+I gained the respect and confidence of the Dutch capitalists, who very
+soon understood that they would have been all right if they had followed
+my advice. Therefore, when another Dutch company, known as the Minnesota
+Land Company, shortly afterward was brought to the verge of ruin by
+mismanagement, the affairs of this company were intrusted to my hands,
+and when the Maxwell Land Grant Company of New Mexico, which also
+consisted of Dutch capitalists, got into similar trouble they appointed
+me American manager of the affairs of that company, to which I shall
+refer further on.
+
+Soon after my return to Sweden in the fall of 1873 I became interested
+in an important business enterprise near my old home. A few years
+before this a number of Englishmen had organized a stock company for the
+purpose of draining a big swamp, and a lake called Hammarsj�, in the
+vicinity of Christianstad. After expending a large sum of money the
+company failed to accomplish the undertaking. An officer in the Danish
+army, Captain M. Rovsing, who had had experience in that kind of work,
+in company with myself bought all the privileges and rights as well as
+the plant and material of the English company, and the work was
+completed under the supervision of Captain Rovsing in the latter part of
+1875. This Captain Rovsing was not only a firstclass engineer, but also
+an able and good man in other respects. I cannot tell whether it is luck
+or something else, but it is certain that I have always had the good
+fortune to enter into close business connections, and to form ties of
+intimate friendship, with persons distinguished by the highest sense of
+honor and integrity, and of those acquaintances Captain Rovsing occupies
+one of the foremost places.
+
+During a part of this time I also contributed some time and work toward
+colonizing the province of Manitoba, and thereby gave an impetus to the
+establishment of the first Icelandic colony in the Northwest.
+
+In the spring of 1874 we moved to Gothenburg, where we stayed until the
+work at Hammersj� was completed, and in January, 1876, we said good-bye
+to Sweden, and arrived in America after a stormy voyage of nineteen days
+across the Atlantic. For sixteen days the storm was so violent that the
+life-boats and everything which was loose on the deck was swept away by
+the waves, and the officers serving during the night had to lash
+themselves to the rigging by ropes, not daring to rely on their hands
+and feet.
+
+It is strange how easily people in the course of time get used even to
+the most unpleasant circumstances. This was illustrated in a striking
+manner by the few cabin passengers who sat packed together in the cabin
+during this storm. After a couple of weeks we got so used to it that we
+finally found our voyage quite endurable. Still we were very glad when
+the beautiful steamer Circassian of the Allan Line brought us safely to
+shore in Portland, Me. A few days more on rail, and we were again safe
+and sound in our dear Minnesota.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+"The world do move" nowadays, and most emphatically so in the great
+American Northwest. An absence of four years is almost enough to bury
+one out of sight, at least that is what I found on returning to
+Minnesota. The crisis of 1873 had left my finances in anything but a
+flourishing condition, to which was added the ravages of the
+grasshoppers, which caused considerable losses to me on my farm at
+Litchfield, that being about the only property I then owned.
+
+My attention was soon drawn from these private reverses to public
+affairs. The first steps toward re-entering the field of politics was my
+nomination for presidential elector by the Republican state convention,
+held at St. Paul in the summer of 1876. At the request of the Republican
+state central committee, I took an active part in the campaign that
+followed, as in fact I had done at every previous election since my
+residence in this state, but this time I spent the whole autumn in
+making a thorough political canvass through most of the Scandinavian
+settlements in the state. During that canvass it was my good fortune for
+a long time to be associated with the late William Windom, then a United
+States senator, and afterward twice secretary of the treasury.
+
+Mr. Windom was at that time in the very prime of his noble manhood; his
+fine mental and physical endowments made him an object of love and
+veneration among the people. Though a man of the purest character and
+exemplary life, he was a pleasant, boon companion, fond of a joke and a
+good story, liberal and charitable in his judgment of others, easy and
+polite in his manners, open-hearted and kind toward all. He was a large,
+broad-shouldered man, weighing over two hundred pounds, with a high
+forehead, dark eyes, and smoothly shaved face. As a speaker he was
+earnest, though quiet, fluent and humorous. He never used tobacco or
+spirits in any form. We traveled together in all sorts of conveyances,
+and held meetings in country stores and school houses; ate and slept in
+the lowly cabins of the farmers, but everywhere Mr. Windom felt at home,
+and made every body else feel at ease also. I was afterward with him
+often and in many places,--from the executive mansion in Washington to
+the frontier cabin in the west,--and for the last time in New York city,
+when he went there in August, 1890, to save the nation from a financial
+crisis, but never did I notice any difference in his conduct toward the
+humblest laborer or the highest in power. In sorrow and adversity he was
+a tender friend; in manners he was a Chesterfield; in the senate a
+Roman, and in the treasury department a Hamilton. By his death the
+nation, the state of Minnesota, and his numerous friends, among whom for
+many years I had the honor to be counted, sustained a heavy loss.
+
+Soon after the close of the campaign I commenced to publish a Swedish
+weekly newspaper called _Minnesota Stats Tidning_, in Minneapolis, to
+which place I had just removed with my family, and continued as its
+chief editor until the summer of 1881.
+
+In 1877 friends in Chicago and myself started another Swedish weekly,
+called _Svenska Tribunen_, in that city, and for some time I had the
+actual management of both papers, dividing my time between Minneapolis
+and Chicago. My aim in this journalistic work was mainly to instruct and
+educate my countrymen in such matters as might promote their well-being
+and make them good American citizens. The _Stats Tidning_, or at least a
+part of it, gradually became a kind of catechism on law and political
+economy, containing information under the heading "Questions and
+Answers." This was intended especially for the Swedish farmers in the
+state. If a farmer was in doubt as to his legal rights in the case of a
+road, a fence, the draining of a marsh, or wished to know how to cure a
+sick horse or other animal, or how he could get money sent from Sweden,
+or if he wished advice or information on any other question relating to
+everyday life, especially if he got into trouble of some kind, he would
+write to the _Stats Tidning_ for the desired information. Such letters
+were then printed in condensed form and followed by short, clear,
+pointed answers, and, so far, I have not heard of a single person being
+misled by those answers. On the other hand, I know that the public, and
+more especially the newcomers, reaped very great benefits from them. Few
+persons have any idea of how irksome and laborious this kind of
+journalism is, and at times I was on the point of giving it up in
+despair. As an example I will relate one little incident connected with
+this work. A farmer in a neighboring county had, through ignorance of
+the homestead law, met with difficulties in securing title to his claim.
+As usual he wrote to the _Stats Tidning_, and received the desired
+information just in time to save his property, which was worth over
+$1,000. On a visit to Minneapolis a short time afterward his feeling of
+gratitude directed him to the office of the paper to express his thanks.
+In a conversation with him I found that he had never subscribed for the
+paper himself, but was in the habit of going to his neighbor every
+Saturday afternoon to read it. I asked if it would not be well for _him_
+to subscribe for it also; it might happen to contain useful information
+in the future, and he could afford to pay for it. To this he answered:
+"No, I cannot do that, for I have not much time to read, and if I want
+to read I have some back numbers of a church paper, from Sweden, and
+should I want to read answers to any questions I can borrow a copy of
+your paper from my neighbor." So highly did this good and pious farmer,
+from a financial point of view, appreciate information which had saved
+him his home. In my opinion such people do not deserve reproach, but
+sympathy on account of their gross ignorance. It is also a fact, that,
+during all this time, the income received from the paper did not cover
+its expenses, and if it had not been for other resources the enterprise
+would have failed even at the very climax of its popularity.
+
+After five years of untiring journalistic work I was only too glad of an
+opportunity to sell the paper in the spring of 1881 to a publishing
+company, which soon moved the plant to St. Paul. My former associates,
+Messrs. Lunnow and Soderstrom, soon after commenced the publication of a
+new Swedish weekly, called _Svenska Folkets Tidning_, which has now a
+larger circulation than any other Swedish paper in our state. Having
+sold my share in the _Svenska Tribunen_ in Chicago a few years before,
+and thus being no longer connected with any newspapers, I found more
+time to devote to my wheat farm in the Red River valley.
+
+[Illustration: FARM IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY.]
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+In the morning papers of July 2, 1881, a telegram from Washington
+announced that President Garfield had appointed me consul-general to
+India, in the cabinet meeting of the previous evening. The same telegram
+also announced that the president had left Washington for New England,
+where he intended to spend his summer vacation in the country. It was
+with mingled feelings of satisfaction and misgiving that I faced the
+opportunity to satisfy my longing to see the wonderful Orient,
+especially India, in which country the missionary Dr. Fjellstedt had
+aroused my childish interest, as stated in the beginning of these
+reminiscences. After consulting wife and children concerning this, to
+us, important news, I walked down town, receiving congratulations from
+friends and acquaintances on the way, and, arriving at one of the
+newspaper offices, I found a large crowd of people eagerly reading on a
+bulletin-board a dispatch to the effect that President Garfield had been
+shot by Guiteau. The news caused an excitement and consternation almost
+as intense as that produced by the assassination of Lincoln. Telegrams
+were received from Washington continually, and outside the newspaper
+offices were placed bulletins describing the condition of the wounded
+president, who was very popular with the American people. The last
+telegram of that day announced that he was very low, and would probably
+die before morning. The next morning the dispatches announced that the
+president was still living, and that on the previous evening, believing
+that he had only a few more hours to live, he had caused to be made out
+my own and four other commissions and had signed them with his dying
+hand. I feel justified in narrating this in detail, inasmuch as I am in
+possession of the document which contains the last official signature of
+our second martyred president, and which is a very dear treasure to me.
+Believing that it will interest the reader to see the last signature of
+President Garfield, I submit a photographic fac-simile of the same.
+
+[Illustration: GARFIELD'S SIGNATURE.]
+
+I had only one month to prepare for the journey, and on account of the
+long and expensive voyage, it was decided, in family council, that I
+should go alone, leaving wife and children in Minneapolis. It was also
+understood that I would only be absent about one year, for it was hardly
+to be expected that a person of my age could stand the dangerous climate
+of India much longer.
+
+The 17th of August, 1881, was an important day for our little family,
+for on that day I left my home for a journey of thirteen thousand
+miles,--to distant Calcutta, the capital of India. Passing through
+Chicago on the following day, a number of my Swedish friends at that
+place had arranged a splendid banquet in my honor. About sixty of us
+spent a most delightful evening around the bountiful table; but what I
+prized more highly than anything else were the friendly and cordial
+feelings which were expressed in speech and song.
+
+In Washington I spent a few days in order to receive the last
+instructions from the state department. Hon. W. Windom, who was
+secretary of the treasury under the administration of Garfield,
+accompanied me to the White house, where the president was yet hovering
+between life and death. We were not admitted to the inner room, which
+was separated from the front room only by draperies. I can vividly
+recall the picture of the president's noble wife as she stepped out to
+us, and, with an expression of the deepest suffering, affection and hope
+in her face, told us that the patient had taken a few spoonfuls of
+broth, and that he now felt much better, and would soon recover. Thus
+life and hope often build air-castles which are destined to be torn down
+again by the cruel hand of fate.
+
+When the steamer touched the coast of Ireland the first news which the
+eager passengers received was that the president was still living and
+had been taken to a place on the coast. The voyage across the Atlantic
+from New York to Liverpool was a pleasure trip in every respect, and was
+favored by the most delightful weather. On board the White Star Line
+steamer Celtic,--a veritable palace of its kind,--the passenger had all
+he could wish, as far as solidity, speed, reliability, order, comfort,
+and good treatment are concerned. On September 9th I arrived in Paris.
+It seemed to me as if it had been only a couple of days since I was
+sitting in the midst of that happy company of friends in Chicago, whose
+tender and cordial farewell still sounded as an echo in my ears--or
+maybe in my heart. Nevertheless I was already in the grand and happy
+capital of the third French republic.
+
+I had time and opportunity to stay a few days in the large cities
+through which I passed, each one of which left a particular impression
+on my mind, and, although they are similar in most respects, each of
+them has its peculiarities, especially with regard to the character,
+temperament and customs of the people. I cannot refrain from describing
+a few of them. Washington did not seem to be itself when I passed
+through it, a cloud of sadness and mourning brooding over it on account
+of the critical condition of the president. Boston is prim and stiff,
+and seems like a place of learning. New York is a turmoil of pleasure
+and business. "Hurry up" seems to be written in every face; "tumble
+harum-scarum in the ever-changing panorama of the world!" Liverpool is a
+good deal like New York, but on a smaller scale. London is the stiff
+colossus of Europe. Amsterdam and Rotterdam bear the stamp of thrift,
+cleanliness, earnestness, and comfort. Antwerp and Brussels that of
+joyous abandonment. Paris includes everything which is worth seeing in
+the others, and shows everything in gayer colors and to greater
+perfection.
+
+I remained only four days in the city on the Seine, and the impressions
+of such a short stay are naturally fleeting and probably even
+unreliable. Paris has its imposing monuments from the days of Louis XIV.
+and the two Napoleons, which glorify the exploits of war; it has its
+beautiful churches, palaces and museums like other great cities; but in
+my eyes the greatness of Paris is to be found in her boulevards and
+public promenades. I also made a visit to Versailles, the wonderful city
+of palaces, and spent a day among the great monuments of grandeur and
+royalty, misery and tyranny. As works of art they are grand and
+beautiful, but their historical significance produce varied feelings.
+In the French capital everything seemed to indicate comfort and
+satisfaction. The workman of Paris is a gentleman in the best sense of
+the word. He feels free, independent, and proud in the consciousness
+that he is a part of the state. Soldiers were no longer to be seen in
+the city; they being garrisoned at Versailles and other neighboring
+cities; still there has never before been such a feeling of profound
+peace and security in France. Liberty is a great educator. The style,
+name, and other indications of the empire are passing away, and the
+republic has put its stamp on Paris. The commune is no longer feared,
+for the state is no longer an enemy of the people, but a protector of
+its rights and liberty. Fortunate Paris! Happy France!
+
+But I must hurry on, in order to reach the end of my long journey. On
+the 13th of September I saw the majestic Alps with their snow-clad
+summits, which seemed to touch the very vault of heaven. The same day I
+passed through the tunnel at Mont Cenis, and arrived the following day
+at Rome, via Turin and Florence. And is this great and glorious Rome?
+Yes! These walls, ruins, palaces, and Sabine hills,--aye, the very air I
+breathe,--all this belongs to the eternal city. From the window of my
+room in Hotel Malori I can read the signs,--"Via di Capo le Care," "Via
+Gregoriana," etc., and among these an index pointing to the Rome and
+Tivoli street-car line. Indeed, I have seen the great city of Rome, with
+its churches, statues, paintings, and ancient ruins and catacombs; the
+little monument to the Swedish Queen Christina in the St. Peter's
+church; the triumphal arch which commemorates the destruction of
+Jerusalem, and the temple of Vesta where the ancient vestal virgins
+guarded the sacred fire. Two thousand years thus passed in review before
+my eyes in a few days.
+
+[Illustration: ROME.]
+
+From Rome I proceeded to Naples. This city is built on the most
+beautiful bay in the world, and has a population of six hundred thousand
+inhabitants. It is built in the form of an amphitheatre, with a steep
+decline toward the water. In the south we see the island of Capri,
+fifteen miles distant, and on the east coast the volcano Vesuvius,
+which, by its threatening clouds of smoke, seems to obscure the eastern
+part of beautiful Naples, although it lies fourteen miles distant from
+the city. Long before the time of Christ the bay looked about the same
+as it does now. The chief cities around it at that time were Naples,
+Herculaneum and Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius, however, did not look as it
+does now, but rose as a green hill, called "La Somma," and served as a
+summer resort for many wealthy Roman patricians. The city of Pompeii had
+about forty thousand inhabitants. On August 23, A.D. 79, terrific
+rumblings were heard from the interior of La Somma, the summit of which
+suddenly burst open, and a pillar of ashes, steam, and red-hot rocks
+shot up through the opening to a great height, and fell, scattering
+itself over the surrounding country, while streams of melted lava rolled
+down the hill-sides and buried Herculaneum and everything in it under a
+layer of ashes and lava to the depth of eighty feet. Toward night the
+eruptions increased in force, and before morning Pompeii and some
+smaller towns were also buried under the glowing rivers of volcanic
+rocks, ashes and mud.
+
+The remarkable history of this place absorbed my mind as I passed
+through the two thousand years-old streets of Pompeii, which, in the
+course of this century have again been brought to light by the removal
+of the petrified ashes and other volcanic matter. The ancient city now
+looks a good deal as it did eighteen hundred years ago. It is situated
+on a round knoll, and measures three miles in circumference. The houses
+are built of stone, and only one story high, with roofs of brick and
+floors of cut stone, just as the modern houses in that vicinity are
+built to-day. Every house has an open court in the center, and all
+aisles and doors lead to this. Glass windows were not used, but the
+rooms received light from the open court, which could be covered by
+canvass as a protection against the sun and rain. I measured the
+streets. They proved to be twelve feet wide, with a four-foot-wide
+sidewalk on either side. The paving consisted of boulders, with a flat
+surface about twenty inches in diameter, and contained deep grooves made
+by the chariot wheels. The houses were standing in their original
+condition, with fresco paintings on the walls and statues in their
+proper niches. The temples with their sacrificial altars, the theatres,
+the court, the council-house, and all other public buildings were
+adorned with marble pillars and choice works of sculpture. I saw a
+barber-shop with chairs, niches for the soap and mugs, and the waiting
+sofa. In a baker's house I saw the oven, the dough-trough, scales, and
+petrified loaves of bread. In a butcher shop were a saw, a knife, and
+other tools. There were also furniture, vessels for cooking, bowls,
+grain, pieces of rope, and plaster of Paris casts of the human bodies
+which had been found, generally prostrate, with the face pressed against
+the ground. There lies a cast of a man with a pleasant smile on his
+lips; he must have passed unconsciously from sleep to death. But it is
+fruitless to try and describe this remarkable place which has no
+parallel on the face of the earth. I heard the Swedish language spoken
+in this city of the dead, and had the pleasure of making the
+acquaintance of Alderman T�rnquist and wife, from Wimmerby, and a Doctor
+Viden and his daughter, from Hern�sand. Thus the living meet among the
+dead, representatives of the new times stand face to face with the dead
+of antiquity, children of the cool North in the sunny South. What a
+wonderful world this is, to be sure!
+
+The 17th of September I embarked on board the steamer La Seyne, destined
+for Alexandria in Egypt. The warm, Italian noonday sun poured down its
+dazzling rays; we were surrounded on all sides by ships and steamers
+carrying the flags of all nations; hundreds of fishing crafts were
+sailing out of the harbor, and in the distance the mighty volcano
+Vesuvius towered in imposing majesty above the vine-clad hills. There
+was a life and a traffic which it is difficult to describe. While La
+Seyne was lying at anchor for several hours out in the bay, Italian
+singers in their boats swarmed around the ship and entertained the
+passengers with music. Other boats contained three or four men each, who
+begged the passengers to throw coins into the water. As soon as a coin
+was thrown, down dived one of the men to the bottom, and invariably
+returned with the coin in his mouth although the water was very deep,
+perhaps from seventy-five to one hundred feet. The voyage across the
+Mediterranean was very pleasant, especially in the vicinity of the
+island of Sicily. The deep blue sky, the orange groves and vineyards on
+the island, and the neat, white cottages,--all gave an impression of
+indescribable tranquility and happiness.
+
+On this voyage, which lasted three days, I became acquainted with
+several interesting persons, among others with a Professor Santamaria,
+professor in an university in Egypt, and his family, and with a Jesuit
+priest, Miechen by name. By birth a French nobleman of a very old and
+rich family, he had been educated for a military life, and had served in
+the army with distinction, and in the late Franco-German war he had been
+advanced to the rank of major, although he was only thirty years of age.
+But suddenly he had been seized with religious enthusiasm, and had given
+up his illustrious family name, renounced his fortune, his honors, and
+the brilliant military career which lay open to him, in order to become
+a priest. After two years of theological studies he was ordained a
+priest, and admitted into the Jesuit order.
+
+He had now been ordered to supply himself with a full set of certain
+scientific instruments, and with them to repair to Cairo, Egypt, where
+he would receive further orders. I talked a great deal with this man. He
+spoke English fluently, and was equally familiar with nearly all the
+other European languages. He was no fanatic or religious crank, but a
+polished, cultured gentleman, who had seen and learned to know the
+world, reaped its honors and tasted its allurements, and he was
+evidently as liberal and tolerant as myself. And this man went to a
+field of action of which he had no knowledge whatsoever. Probably an
+honorable position as professor in a university was awaiting him, or
+perhaps he would have to go to some isolated mountain to observe a
+phenomenon of nature in the interest of science, or penetrate a
+malarious wilderness as missionary among savages, where he would be
+debarred from all intercourse with civilized people, and deprived of all
+the comforts and conveniences to which he had been used during his
+previous life. Still he went willingly and joyfully to his work,
+completely indifferent as to his fate, thoroughly convinced that he was
+on the path of duty--to accomplish what God intended he should do. I was
+on my way to a great country and a court as the representative of one of
+the greatest nations on earth, but when I walked the deck arm in arm
+with this humble priest, I felt my inferiority compared with him, and I
+actually considered his position enviable. On the same voyage I became
+acquainted with a Danish traveler,--A. d'Irgens-Bergh,--who afterward
+met me in India, where we visited many places of interest together, and
+established a friendship which afforded both of us much pleasure.
+
+On the morning of September 21st the coast of Egypt appeared in sight.
+There is Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great, and formerly
+renowned for its commerce, and as the centre of learning and culture of
+the then known world. Even now this city is grand and beautiful,
+although its beauty and style are different from anything else that I
+have seen. We often form conceptions of things which we have not seen,
+but which are interesting to us, and when we afterward find that those
+conceptions are wrong we feel disappointed. Thus I had always thought of
+Egypt as a country of a dark tone of color, probably on account of the
+fertility of the soil of the valley of the Nile, since we Northerners
+find that fertile soil is dark and poor soil of a lighter color.
+Therefore I could hardly believe my own eyes when everything I saw on
+the shore looked white. Not only the houses, palaces, and huts, but even
+the roads and the fields, all had a white color.
+
+As we neared the harbor, and even before the pilot came on board, we
+noticed that all the flags were at half-mast. As soon as I landed and
+had shown my passport to the customs officer an elegant equipage was
+placed at my disposal under the charge of a dragoman, and we drove to
+the office of the American consulate, where also the flag was at
+half-mast. The sad occasion for this soon became apparent. President
+Garfield had died during my voyage across the Mediterranean, and the
+whole civilized world was in mourning.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+I was now in Africa and Egypt, among the remnants of ancient glory of
+which I had read so much, and which I so often had longed to see, in
+the wonder-land of Egypt, with which every Christian child is made
+acquainted through the first lessons in Bible history, the country to
+which Joseph was carried as a slave, and whose actual ruler he finally
+became by dint of his wisdom and virtue. I was in the Nile valley where
+Pharaoh built his magazines and stored up grain for the seven years of
+famine, and whence Moses conducted the children of Israel by means of "a
+pillar of a cloud and a pillar of fire." In the land of the pyramids
+everything seemed strange and wonderful, and different from anything I
+had seen before. The streets crowded with people, the bazaars, the
+oriental costumes, the Babylonian confusion of all the tongues of the
+earth,--all this combined made on me an overwhelming impression.
+Cleopatra's needle; Pompey's pillar; the caravans of camels on their way
+into the desert; the old graves and catacombs; the palm groves, the oxen
+turning the old-fashioned water-wheels which carry the water from the
+Nile for irrigating the fields, just as in the days of Moses,--all this
+was reproduced in actual, living pictures before my wondering eyes.
+Side by side with these remains of the past we meet with the great
+European improvements of our days,--the large ships in the harbor, the
+churches, the schools, the universities, the modern markets for trade
+and commerce, the splendid hotels and exchanges.
+
+[Illustration: ALEXANDRIA.]
+
+I stopped two days in Alexandria. The second day I visited the summer
+palace of the khedive, or vice-king, on which occasion a funny incident
+took place. Like every other foreigner coming to Egypt I had bought a
+sample of the head-gear generally used in that country, consisting of a
+red cap called "fez," which is made of very thick, soft felt, and fits
+very closely to the head. With this cap on and wearing a tightly
+buttoned black coat I rode in the equipage already mentioned to the
+palace. Ishmael Pasha, the former khedive, who had just abdicated and
+left the country, had been very popular among his servants and
+adherents. I was of the same size and build as he, my beard was cut like
+his, and in my red fez I looked so much like him that when our carriage
+passed through the gateway to the palace some of the servants whispered
+to each other that Khedive Ishmael had returned, and when the coachman
+stopped at the entrance I was surrounded by a number of servants who
+greeted me and evinced the greatest joy. The poor creatures soon
+discovered their mistake. Their good friend the khedive will never
+return to Egypt, for England and France will not allow it. He was too
+sincere a friend of his own people, and too independent in dealing with
+the shareholders of the Suez canal built during his reign.
+
+Alexandria has a population of two-hundred-fifty thousand. It was
+founded by Alexander the Great three hundred years before Christ, on
+account of the great natural advantages of this place as a seaport. At
+the time of Christ it had about half a million inhabitants. It was
+repeatedly ravaged by destructive wars, and finally completely pillaged
+by Caliph Omar, who is also said to have burnt its library, the largest
+and most valuable collection of books of antiquity, an act by which
+civilization suffered an irreparable loss, the library containing the
+only copies of a number of ancient literary works. It is claimed that
+the caliph gave his generals the following characteristic answer, when
+asked what was to be done with the library: "If it contains anything
+contrary to the Koran it is _wrong_; if it contains anything that agrees
+with the Koran it is _superfluous_; therefore, at all events, it ought
+to be burnt."
+
+[Illustration: PILLAR OF POMPEII.]
+
+The most remarkable of the ancient monuments still remaining in
+Alexandria is Pompey's pillar, which is a monolithic shaft of polished
+red granite, seventy-three feet high and twenty-nine feet eight inches
+in circumference. One of the most interesting objects of a more recent
+origin was the Caf� El Paradiso. It consists of an immense restaurant
+and concert hall, or rather halls, for there are many of them. One of
+these extends over the water, so that when one sits there drinking
+genuine Mocha coffee and smoking a Turkish nargileh one can hear
+the beating of the waves and feel the undulations of the azure
+Mediterranean. I drove out into the country a few miles to see the
+Egyptian fellahs, or peasants. No--I shall not disgrace the name
+"peasant" by using it here; for the Egyptian fellah is an ignorant,
+superstitious, absolutely destitute, and, in every respect, miserable
+wretch, and is worse off than a slave. Four walls of stones or earth
+make one or two rooms, with a floor of clay and a roof of straw or sod.
+A wooden box, a couple of kettles, and some mats made of grass or palm
+canes, are the only pieces of furniture. A couple of goats, an ass, or,
+at the very best, a yoke of oxen, are all he possesses in this world. He
+works hard, and his fare is exceedingly plain. He neither desires nor
+expects anything better, nothing stimulates him to acquire wealth; for
+that would only give the tax-gatherer a pretext for extra extortions.
+Miserable Egypt! I have seen much poverty and much misery among men; but
+of everything I have seen in that line nothing can be compared with the
+wretched condition of the Egyptian fellah.
+
+[Illustration: FELLAH HUT.]
+
+Still these unfortunate people seem to find happiness in their religion.
+Here some one might object that this is a wretched happiness, because
+their religion is Mohammedanism or Islamism. Man feels himself drawn to
+a higher power. No matter what his condition, he longs for a life after
+this, and searches after an object for his worship, and when he has
+found this object he will give up his life rather than give up his
+faith. And still that object for which a person or a nation is willing
+to sacrifice even life itself is ridiculed and despised by another
+person and another nation. If the ignorant were the only ones who
+disagree in matters of faith, this condition might be easily explained;
+but even the highest civilization has failed in its attempts to
+harmonize the different religions, and, in my opinion, this fact ought
+to make all thinking men tolerant and liberal toward those who hold
+different religious views. The Mohammedan faith has made a deep and
+lasting impression on a population scattered over a large part of the
+surface of our earth, and no one dares deny that its adherents are much
+more devoted to their religion and much more conscientious in observing
+its rites than we as Christians are with reference to our religion.
+
+[Illustration: FELLAH WOMAN.]
+
+The adherents of Mohammed now number one hundred and thirty millions,
+and the number is constantly growing. Many believe that this religion
+gains so many adherents because it is sensual, and allows all kinds of
+debauchery. But this supposition runs counter to the facts. It is true,
+that Mohammed allowed a man to have four wives; but it must be
+remembered that he limited the number to four, and that the number had
+been unlimited before. The life of an orthodox Musselman is an unbroken
+chain of self-denial and self-sacrifice, and, in this respect, we must
+acknowledge that he is superior to us Christians. His chief article of
+faith is expressed in this dogma: "There is no god but Allah, and
+Mohammed is his prophet." The leading commandments bearing on the
+practice of their religion are prayer, ablutions, alms-giving, fasting,
+and a pilgrimage to Mecca. The use of intoxicating drinks is strictly
+prohibited, hospitality is recommended, gambling and usury are not
+allowed. Friday is the Mohammedan's day of rest. Since my first visit in
+Egypt I have been very closely connected with many Mohammedans, several
+of whom have been members of my own household, and it affords me great
+pleasure to testify that, as far as my observations go, they have lived
+faithfully according to the precepts of their religion. Nay, I am
+convinced that in most cases they would renounce property, liberty, and
+even life itself, rather than violate any of the cardinal precepts of
+the Koran. But as to the Egyptian fellah, he has no comfort to
+renounce, his whole life being made up of continual fasting and
+abstinence from sheer necessity, so that it is comparatively easy for
+him to be a good Mohammedan.
+
+[Illustration: IRRIGATION MILL.]
+
+Having engaged a berth for the voyage from London to India on the
+steamer City of Canterbury, which I was to take about this time at the
+west end of the Suez canal, I could not remain any longer in Egypt, but
+took the Austrian steamer Apollo to Port Said, at the entrance to the
+Suez canal. On September 25th, in the evening, I embarked on the City of
+Canterbury where I made myself comfortable in a fine state-room which
+had been reserved for me. It takes two days to pass through the Suez
+canal, which runs through a great sandy plain that was formerly covered
+by the waters of the Red Sea. Among the many memorable places which were
+pointed out to us during this passage was also the spot where Moses is
+said to have conducted the Israelites across the Red Sea. The work on
+the Suez canal was commenced in 1859 and completed in 1869, and it cost
+about $95,000,000. The length of the canal is one hundred miles, its
+width at the surface of the water is three hundred and twenty-eight
+feet, at the bottom seventy-two feet, and its depth twenty-six feet. To
+a ship sailing from Sweden or England to Bombay in India, the distance
+by way of the Suez canal is five thousand miles shorter than by the
+passage around the Cape of Good Hope.
+
+I recollect an anecdote which dates from the opening of the canal in
+1869. On that occasion an irreverent speaker is claimed to have said in
+toasting De Lesseps, the French engineer who planned and executed the
+work, that the latter was the only man who had improved upon the work of
+the creator: He had connected the waters of the Red Sea and those of the
+Mediterranean. Thus the significance of a great work may also find an
+expression in the garb of a bold joke.
+
+Having remained in Suez a short while, the steamer glided out on the Red
+Sea, keeping close up to the naked coast of Africa. On the second day of
+our Red Sea voyage we saw Mount Sinai looming up some distance from the
+coast of Arabia. September is the hottest month of the year in that
+region, and as we had the wind with us, the customary breeze caused by
+the motion of the steamer was neutralized, and the heat was terrific. We
+slept on the deck, and we hailed the morning hour with joy on account of
+the shower-bath which was afforded when the sailors washed the deck. It
+is a conundrum to me why this body of water is called the Red Sea, for
+there is nothing whatever to suggest this color. One day we had a
+miniature illustration of a sand storm. A strong wind carried the sand
+from the coast of Africa several miles into the sea and covered the
+steamer with a layer of fine, white sand, which looked like fresh snow.
+We also had a chance to see flying fish which flew over the ship, and
+occasionally fell down on the deck. These fish were small and
+silver-colored, their fins looking a good deal like the wings of the
+bat. They can not turn in their course, nor can they fly up and down at
+pleasure, but only upward and forward in a straight line; and when they
+fall down on the deck they are just as helpless as any other fish out of
+water.
+
+Having reached the Indian ocean, the temperature became more pleasant,
+so that we no longer suffered so much from the heat. At last our
+splendid steamer plowed its course up the majestic Ganges, the sacred
+river with its one hundred mouths, on whose peaceful bosom millions and
+millions of human bodies have been carried to the ocean. For a distance
+of eighty miles we sailed up this wonderful river, and on either side
+we could see cities, temples, palm groves, and large crowds of people.
+On October 15th we arrived at Calcutta, where I was received by the
+American vice-consul, and comfortably quartered in the Great Eastern
+hotel.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+This is India, the wonderful land of the Hindoos. Africa had appeared
+strange to us compared with Europe and America; Asia seemed still more
+so. The Hindoos have a high and very old civilization, but entirely
+different from that of Europe and America. The country is named after
+the river Indus. It is hardly equal in area to one-half of the United
+States, but contains a population of more than two hundred and
+sixty-nine millions, eighty-one millions of whom are Mohammedans, one
+hundred and ninety millions Brahmins, two millions Christians, three and
+a half millions, Buddhists, Parsees or fire-worshipers, two millions
+Sikhs, and the rest are Jews or adherents of unknown religions. Queen
+Victoria of England is Empress of India, and the country is ruled in her
+name by a viceroy. It is divided into three great presidencies, viz.,
+Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, and these are again divided into a number of
+districts and native principalities. In order to maintain her supremacy
+in India, England keeps an army of about two hundred thousand regulars,
+of whom a little over one-third are English and the rest natives; and
+beside these there is a large militia and police force. Most of the
+native soldiers hail from the mountain districts. The most prominent of
+them belong to the Sikhs and Gourkas, two Indian nations. The Sikhs are
+tall, stately fellows, in my opinion ideal soldiers for a standing army.
+The Gourkas are smaller in stature, but very energetic and hardy; and
+both are renowned for their courage and endurance. It is said that a
+Gourka soldier would rather fight than eat, while a Sikh takes the
+matter more philosophically, and eats first and then fights. All native
+regiments are commanded by British officers, and a native seldom
+attains the rank of a commanding officer,--not because he is incapable
+of performing this duty, but rather because the English do not trust him
+implicitly.
+
+[Illustration: SIKH CAVALRY MAN.]
+
+The bulk of the people belong to the Arian race, as we do; with the
+exception of the complexion, which is a little darker, their features
+are the same as ours. Occasionally a Hindoo may have red hair, but never
+blonde hair and blue eyes. Comparing the higher and the lower classes,
+the complexion of the former is lighter, and their bodies are better
+built and statelier than those of the lower or laboring classes, who
+also have a darker skin. The English language is used at the court and
+in all official circles, and the men of the higher classes among the
+natives speak and read English.
+
+The plain of Bengal, in which Calcutta is situated, is triangular in
+form, each side being about one thousand miles in length. It is bounded
+by the Bay of Bengal, the Indian ocean, the Bay of Persia, and the
+Himalaya mountains. The soil is very rich, and, having been cultivated
+for thousands of years, it still produces two or three fair crops a year
+without fertilization or proper cultivation. As the Nile in Egypt
+deposits a rich sediment over its valley, so does the river Ganges carry
+from the mountains a whitish, slimy silt, which it deposits during its
+annual overflow in the plains of Bengal. This silt is a great
+fertilizer, and thus nature supplies what poor husbandry fails to
+provide.
+
+It is not my intention to give a description of India and its wonderful
+people, but simply to give some pen pictures of scenes and incidents
+which came within the range of my observation and experience during the
+year and a half which I stayed there. I shall therefore ask the reader
+to follow me on my daily walks of life as well as to some of the f�tes
+and entertainments where I was a guest, and on my travels through the
+wonderful country. I had a chance to come in contact with all classes,
+as the rank to which my official position entitled me not only opened
+the doors of the palaces and temples to me, but also paved my way to the
+humblest houses.
+
+[Illustration: STREET IN CALCUTTA.]
+
+India has over five hundred cities. Of these Calcutta is the largest,
+and has a population of about eight hundred thousand. It is called "the
+city of palaces," but only certain portions of the city deserve that
+name. Owing to the warm climate, the buildings in India, as in all other
+warm countries, are low, seldom more than two stories high, and the
+walls and roofs are very thick. The building material generally consists
+of brick and cement, the roofs being mostly made of the latter. There
+are verandas on the sides of the houses, and these, as well as the
+windows, are protected by heavy Venetian blinds. In the evening the
+doors and windows are thrown open so as to let in the cool night air,
+but in the morning they are closely shut, so as to keep as much of it as
+possible. Inside there are many contrivances for protecting the people
+against the excessive heat. The most important of these is the punkah,
+consisting of a wooden framework which is stretched with heavy canvass
+and is about two and a half feet wide, and from ten to twenty feet long,
+according to the size of the room. It is suspended from the ceiling, and
+reaches down to the heads of people sitting on chairs. By means of
+pulleys this punkah is kept in an oscillating motion by coolies
+stationed in the back of the house or on the back porch, and it creates
+such a pleasant breeze that one forgets all about the heat. Every room
+or office in the houses of Europeans and Americans has its punkah, and
+even the churches have a great number of them during the hot season.
+From March till October the punkahs are kept in motion all night over
+the beds of those who can afford the luxury of four "punkah walla"
+(pullers); for it always takes two pullers for each punkah in the
+day-time, and two others at night to relieve each other every hour or
+two. Servants' wages are very low in India, and as the punkah walla
+belongs to the lowest grade of servants his wages are only five rupees
+($2.50) a month, and he must board himself as do all other servants.
+
+The clothing which people wear also adds largely to their comfort. The
+cooley, or common laborer, wears a long piece of cloth wrapped around
+his waist and tucked up so as to resemble a short pair of drawers, and a
+head gear somewhat resembling a turban; the breast, back, and upper
+limbs being entirely naked. Both men and women of the better class of
+natives have loose falling robes of jute, silk or cotton. Europeans
+generally dress in white linen trousers and jackets, and it is only
+toward evening when taking a drive near the public parks, or at night
+while attending parties and receptions, that etiquette compells them to
+put on the black dress suit. What strikes the newcomer most on his first
+arrival in India is perhaps the great number of people that he meets and
+sees. The cities are veritable bee-hives of moving crowds of people, and
+the bazaars, shops, and dwellings resemble honey-combs, with their many
+subdivisions, giving each man or group of men the smallest possible
+space.
+
+[Illustration: TYPES OF THE LOWEST CASTE.]
+
+Sitting in my comfortable easy chair with my eyes closed, thinking of
+the past, I now see a picture of a spot in Calcutta called "Dalhousie
+Square," where I loved to walk in the cool evening shades. I wish I were
+an artist and could paint the picture on canvas for my readers; but
+since I am not I will try to describe it with the pen. Dalhousie square
+is about twice the size of our ordinary city parks; it is laid out in
+walks, flower beds and grass plots, and planted with flowers, shrubs and
+trees of almost every imaginable kind; it is a perfect gem of a little
+park. It is surrounded by a high iron railing, with gates at the four
+corners, which are open in the day time. On one side of the park are the
+new government office buildings, while the other sides are lined with
+ordinary business houses, separated from the park by wide streets. The
+principal one of these streets leads from the viceroy's palace up to the
+native part of the city, and is generally frequented by a great number
+of fine carriages, hacks, palanquin bearers, horsemen, and thousands of
+pedestrians.
+
+At one corner is a hack stand, with hacks just like our own; but instead
+of our American hackdriver we find the native Jehu, or coachman, who,
+while waiting for a customer, sits perched on the seat with his feet
+drawn up under his body, engaged with needle and thread in sewing a
+garment for himself or his wife, perhaps, or occupying himself with a
+piece of embroidery or fine crochet work.
+
+In front of yonder fine office building is seated a Durwan (doorkeeper),
+who is a Brahmin or priest. He sits at that door or gate all day long,
+and sleeps in front of it at night on his little bed, which resembles a
+camp cot. Early in the morning he takes up his bed and walks with it to
+the rear, where stands a little cookhouse in which he prepares his food
+for the day, consisting chiefly of boiled rice and vegetables. Just now
+he is reading aloud, and with a singing voice, from the Shastras (the
+Hindoo Bible) to a crowd of listeners, who eagerly and reverently seize
+on every word from the holy writings. Just behind me on a green spot in
+the park a dozen or more Mohammedans lie prostrate, their foreheads
+touching the ground, repeating their prayers; and if it happens to be at
+the setting of the sun hundreds of people are seen in the streets,
+shops, hotel corridors, or wherever they happen to be, turning their
+faces toward the holy city Mecca, reverently kneeling and saying their
+evening prayers.
+
+Here on the side-walk, close by me, sits a money-changer and broker. He
+has a box filled with coins of almost every kind and description; he
+buys and sells gold and silver of other countries, such as are not
+current in Calcutta, loans money on jewelry and other valuables, and
+does a general banking business on a very small scale. There comes a
+peddler,--more of them. Now they are crowding in by the hundred, selling
+canes, parasols, embroideries, watches, jewelry, and trinkets of every
+description, following the foot passengers, running beside the carriages
+going at full speed, sticking their goods through the windows and
+imploring the occupants to buy.
+
+Going around to the more quiet side of the square, I find a professional
+writer squatted on the side-walk. He has a bundle of dry palm leaves,
+and a customer of the lowest Hindoo classes stands before him stating
+what message he wishes to send to his wife and relatives in the country.
+With a sharp steel instrument the writer inscribes some strange Bengal
+letters on the palm leaf, folds it up into a little package which is
+sent by a traveling neighbor, or, perhaps, by a swift messenger, to the
+dear one in the humble cottage which stands somewhere out on the plain
+among the rice fields.
+
+A little further on sits a native barber, also on the side-walk.[5]
+Instead of a barber's chair he has a common-sized brick. The man who is
+to be shaved squats down opposite the barber; if the customer is the
+shorter of the two the brick is put under his feet, but if he is taller
+the barber puts the brick under his own feet, in order that they may be
+on a perfect level before the operation begins. A Hindoo barber not
+only shaves and cuts the hair, but also cleans the nails and ears and
+does other toilet work.
+
+[Footnote 5: The Hindoos never sit as we do, but squat on the ground and
+rest the weight of the body on the heels.]
+
+[Illustration: HINDOO BARBER.]
+
+There I see two stately men walking arm in arm; they have fine cut, very
+regular features, and beautiful black hair and beard; their intelligent
+looks and easy carriage command attention; they wear japanned shoes,
+snow white trousers, long white linen coats buttoned close to the chin,
+and high black hats without brim. They are Parsees, descendants of the
+ancient Persians and fire-worshipers, and probably merchants and men of
+wealth. And there again I see a group of Asiatic Jews in skull caps and
+long gowns,--keen, thoughtful and intelligent, without the slightest
+change in manners, costumes, or features since the days of the Jews of
+nineteen hundred years ago.
+
+In the crowded street I suddenly hear a shout, and see two men running
+with staffs in their hands, hallooing: "Stand aside, get out of the way,
+you fellows! The Prince of Travancore is coming! Clear the road, get out
+of the way!" Close on the heels of the runners is a magnificent carriage
+drawn by four Arabian steeds. By the side of the driver sits a
+trumpeter, who occasionally blows in a long horn to make known that the
+great personage is coming. Inside is the prince, and behind the carriage
+are four mounted soldiers, his body guard.
+
+Just coming in sight around a street corner, turning up one of the
+native streets, is a long line of ox-carts. They are loaded with cotton,
+jute, hides, indigo, or other native products. They are very light, and
+are drawn by a pair of Hindoo oxen no larger than a two-year-old heifer
+of our cattle, but with fine limbs and a high hump over the shoulders.
+They are yoked far apart, about the same way as in Sweden; but the
+coolie driver sits close behind them and guides them by a twist of the
+tail with his hand. Several palanquin-bearers are passing the square.
+The palanquin is a long covered box attached to a long pole and carried
+by four men, two at each end of the pole, which rests on their
+shoulders. Inside the palanquin is perhaps a Hindoo merchant going to a
+bazaar, or a couple of students going to the university, or maybe the
+wife of some well-to-do native merchant on the way to the home of her
+parents.
+
+[Illustration: INDIGO CART.]
+
+The trees in the park are all full of flowers, like the tulip tree and
+the chestnut in bloom. Innumerable birds of gay colors flutter among the
+branches of the trees, and on the roofs of the highest houses we
+discover a couple of the so-called adjutant birds, a species of stork,
+which stand like sentinels on guard watching the thousands of ravens
+that hover over the city ready to dive for any garbage that may be
+thrown out into the street or alley. Formerly, these were the only
+scavengers in the cities of India. A dozen coolies who are almost naked
+are seen running among the carriages sprinkling water on the streets
+from goat skins, to keep the dust down.
+
+There comes a family procession of the lower class with a basket of
+bananas and wreaths of flowers going to the river Ganges to offer
+sacrifices and enjoy an evening bath in the open river. Early every
+morning thousands upon thousands may be seen in the streets bent on a
+similar errand. Men from Cashmere, Afghanistan, China, Arabia, Thibet,
+etc., are seen in the throng, dressed in their native costumes. It is a
+strange and beautiful picture to look at for a little while. I have
+described only a small portion of it, for fear of tiring the reader.
+
+[Illustration: HINDOO MERCHANTS.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+The Promenades of the Fashionable World--Maidan--The Viceroy--British
+  Dominions in India.
+
+
+No European or American walks out doors in India, excepting a promenade
+early in the morning or late in the evening. They are either carried in
+palanquins, or, which is more common, they keep a horse and carriage.
+Observing the good old rule of adopting the custom of the country, I
+also procured a phaeton and a gray Arab as well as the indispensable
+Hindoo driver and runner, and I now invite the reader to take a ride
+with me late in the afternoon, when hundreds of equipages fill the
+fashionable driveways.
+
+It is five o'clock in the afternoon, and the dim rays of the setting sun
+allow us to lower the top of the carriage so that we may have an open
+view all around. But before doing this, we must exchange the white
+business suit and broad-brimmed Indian hat (which are made of the light
+pith of an Indian shrub somewhat similar to our elder bush, and covered
+with a thin layer of cotton) for the conventional black hat and coat,
+for these people are dreadfully ceremonious. The _chandra_ takes his
+place in the driver's seat, and the _badon_ on the steps behind the
+carriage. They are both dressed in snow-white outer garments, which look
+a good deal like a common nightgown, and a head dress consisting of ten
+yards of white muslin, wound several times around the head in the shape
+of a round turban. The Mohammedan coachmen and runners generally wear
+the colors of their masters in the same manner as other native servants
+do. In my case, of course, it was the red, white and blue sashes, belts
+and turbans. The runner has his place on a step behind the carriage, and
+it is his duty to jump off and run in front to clear the way whenever it
+may be necessary.
+
+We start from the Great Eastern hotel, where I first resided, down a
+long street called Chowringhee road, which is two miles long and very
+broad, and lined on the east side by English residences built of stone.
+Every mansion stands in a large garden full of tropical trees and
+plants, and surrounded by a stone wall five feet high. There are wide
+double gates for carriage drives, and at these gates the durwan (gate or
+doorkeeper) sits the whole day long. On the west side of the street runs
+a double street-car track, and beyond this is an immense common parade
+or pleasure ground, the Maidan, which extends to the Hoogley, a branch
+of the Ganges. On the west side it is bounded by the Strand, and on all
+other sides by a macadamized road about one hundred and fifty feet wide
+and planted with large, shady trees on either side. The east side of
+this road is already described. On the north side, from the river to
+Chowringhee road, between Eden Garden and the palace, it is called the
+Esplanade. Another hundred-foot-wide road runs south from the palace,
+and divides the ground into halves. This is called the Red road because
+it is macadamized with crushed red brick. From the Red road opposite
+Fort William another great road runs to Chowringhee road. A great number
+of foot-paths cross each other in all directions, and in the evening
+these are crowded with people in oriental costumes going to their homes
+in the suburbs.
+
+Here and there are statues erected to the honor of prominent English
+generals and statesmen, and certain parts of the grounds are also
+dotted with small groups of palms and other tropical trees. All these
+trees and plants are different from those growing in the North. Most of
+them have very broad and thick leaves, nearly all of them bear beautiful
+flowers, and many of them fruits. They are green the whole year round.
+In the north-east corner of the grounds is a garden of about forty acres
+which is called Eden. It is exceedingly beautiful and contains a great
+variety of trees and flowers, an Indian pagoda, lakes, canals and
+bridges, and thousands of birds enjoying an almost undisturbed
+existence, and singing and twittering among the trees and flowers. Eden
+Garden is surrounded by a low brick wall with several gates, the widest
+of which is the one next to the Strand. Inside this gate is a high
+orchestra stand, and below a square promenade on the fine grass plat.
+From six to seven o'clock in the evening a military band plays to the
+fashionable world which gathers here to take an evening walk.
+
+[Illustration: GOVERNMENT HOUSE.]
+
+A quarter of a mile below the Eden garden is the historical Fort
+William, around which Lord Clive and other heroes struggled to found the
+British Empire of India. Below the fort and next to the Strand is the
+drill-ground, and below this again a large race course. South of Maidan
+are several suburbs, and beyond these a zoological garden.
+
+Driving past the imposing orange-colored palace of the viceroy, called
+the government house, which very much resembles our capitol at
+Washington, but is neither so large nor so elegant, we finally strike
+the Esplanade, where the Chowringhee road meets the Red road. We stop a
+few minutes at the Esplanade to take a look at the gay picture. The
+Esplanade is crowded with a surging mass of humanity, all going from the
+river bank to their homes in the Eastern part of the city. It is the
+sixth day of the new moon, and thousands of men, women and children have
+been down to the river, washed themselves in its waters, and offered
+sacrifices consisting of fruits and flowers. The women are dressed in
+white, red, yellow, green, blue or violet garments. The smallest
+children sit astride on the left hip of their mothers, the men carry
+large baskets of fruit, mostly bananas, on their heads for the river-god
+received only a small portion, and the rest is to be eaten at home. Here
+and there among the pedestrians is a well-to-do Hindoo who takes his
+family, consisting of two or three wives and a crowd of children, to the
+river in an ox-cart. There are hundreds of musicians and peddlers in the
+throng, and all are joyful and rejoicing. It must be observed that only
+people of the lower classes take part in such public demonstrations in
+company with women and children. Fashionable women would never walk
+beyond the gardens around their own houses and do not appear in company.
+
+Soon carriages are seen passing by in long rows, either down the Red
+road or to the right along the Esplanade toward the Strand. We follow
+the latter and arrive at the river bank where thousands of people are
+yet busy with their sacrifices or trading with peddlers for fancy goods
+and dainties, while others listen to the music from peculiarly
+constructed flutes and drums, which vie with each other in producing the
+most ear-rending discord. Elegantly covered carriages swarm in four
+lines up and down the road. Most of the occupants are Englishmen with
+their ladies; but you may also see quite a number of Hindoo princes or
+noblemen with their ladies in oriental costumes, or Parsee merchants in
+black silk coats and high caps. To the right there is a veritable forest
+of ship's masts extending along the beach for miles, and to the left
+some native soldiers are being drilled. We drive down and have a chat
+with the English officers and stop to see a game of polo played, the
+native cavalry contesting with their English officers, all displaying a
+wonderful skill. Every now and then a couple of young Englishmen or
+officers on horseback meet each other, and yonder are two half-naked
+Hindoos on a jog-trot carrying a load which looks like a big coffin, but
+which turns out to be a palanquin occupied by a passenger who, in an
+inclined position, smokes his cigar and takes as much comfort as he can
+get in that primitive mode of traveling. But see there! At a given sign
+hundreds of men arrange themselves in long rows with their faces turned
+to the west, just as the sun sinks below the horizon; they prostrate
+themselves with their faces turned toward Mecca, and say their evening
+prayers. They are Mohammedans.
+
+Returning we stop at the gate to the Eden garden where a large number of
+equipages have already arrived before us, compelling us to wait for our
+turn to drive up and get out of the carriage. The garden is now
+illuminated by thousands of gas and electric lights; men, women and
+children walk forth and back on the soft grass plats; the military band
+plays well-known tunes; Chinese, Parsees, Jews, Hindoos and Arabs, in
+the most varied costumes, mingle with each other and with the Europeans.
+There are plenty of seats for such as wish to sit down and rest; but it
+is now time for exercise, and they walk in rows of ten or more until the
+band winds up its program for the evening by playing "God save the
+Queen." In the midst of a general hurry and confusion we hunt up our
+carriage which was to stop at a certain spot, and return to the
+crossroad from which the roads of Maidan as well as the streets in the
+city may be seen glimmering in the gaslight as far as the eye can reach.
+When we reach home it is just time to dress for dinner, which generally
+begins at eight o'clock, lasting two or three hours. As to fashionable
+life, social pleasure, display of dress and finery, etc., Calcutta
+excels every other place in the world.
+
+[Illustration: PARSEE FAMILY.]
+
+My exequatur not having arrived from London, I had to obtain a special
+recognition from the viceroy as American consul-general, after which my
+formal presentation took place. The Marquis of Ripon was viceroy during
+my stay in India. On presenting my credentials I had a lengthy
+conversation with him, and learned to admire him from that moment. From
+my memorandum book written on that day I quote the following:
+
+  "Lord Ripon is a plain, manly man, whose character, head, and heart
+  would have made him a great man even if he had been born in obscurity,
+  but now he ranks as one of the highest, and is one of the wealthiest
+  of the English nobles. He said, among other things, to me: 'I like
+  America and her people very much. I was there on a commission which
+  tended to make America and England better friends, and all such
+  efforts are well worthy all men (he referred to the Alabama treaty, in
+  which as Earl de Gray he was one of the commissioners). With American
+  and English ideas of liberty it is hard to understand how to rule
+  India. I would educate the natives,' said he, 'even if I believed that
+  it would be dangerous to English power, because it would be right to
+  do so; but I don't think it is dangerous. India has always had a few
+  very able and highly-educated men, while the millions have been in
+  utter ignorance and superstition, and such a condition is more
+  dangerous to English rule than if all are raised in the scale of
+  knowledge. My only object, and I think England's, in India, is to
+  benefit India. Our schools and railroads are doing away with
+  ignorance, and are fast destroying the _caste_ system. Considering the
+  natives as enemies, we must put on a bold front and fear no danger,
+  but be always on the guard.'"
+
+Afterward I became intimately acquainted with this truly noble man, and
+was proud and happy to be counted by him as one of his very few friends
+in India who stood by him when the powerful Anglo-Indian bureaucracy
+turned against him on account of his humane efforts to raise the natives
+socially and politically. Unfortunately for India, she has not had many
+British rulers like Lord Ripon, but most of them, in conjunction with
+the office-holding class, rule India, not for the good of India, but for
+their own interests.
+
+Our British friends are certainly entitled to credit for the audacious
+pluck which they showed when a handful of their soldiers and citizens
+conquered that great country with its innumerable inhabitants. The only
+thing, however, that made it possible to do so, and which makes it
+possible to hold India to-day, is the internal strifes, the jealousies
+and the religious intolerance among the natives themselves. If they were
+united they could free the country from the foreigners in a month. But
+why should they? The country is better governed than ever before, and it
+is gaining fast in progress and prosperity. Still there is a deep hidden
+feeling of ill-will toward the English, and the time will yet come when
+a terrible struggle will be fought in India. Perhaps Russia will have a
+hand in the fight. It will be a bloody, savage war, and will cause Great
+Britain serious trouble. I said that India is better ruled now than ever
+before; but that is not saying much, for it ought to be ruled still
+better and more in the interest of the natives. India has civil service
+with a vengeance, the office-holding class being even more arrogant,
+proud and independent than the titled nobility. They rule the country
+with an iron hand, regard it simply as a field for gathering in enormous
+salaries, and after twenty-five years' service they return to England
+with a grand India pension. The English look down upon the lower classes
+with haughty contempt, chiefly because the latter try to insinuate
+themselves into favor with the former by means of all kinds of flattery.
+Nobody is of any account in India unless he is an officer, either civil
+or military; hence all the best talent is circumscribed within narrow
+office routine limits, and nothing is left for the peaceful industrial
+pursuits except what the government may undertake to do, and that is
+usually confined to railroad and canal improvements. England wants India
+for a market, therefore nothing is done to encourage manufactures, but
+rather to cripple them. With the cheapest and most skilled labor in the
+world, the natives of India are compelled to buy even the cotton
+garments they wear from England though they raise the cotton themselves,
+and England is very careful not to establish a protective tariff in
+India.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+An Indian F�te--The Prince of Burdwan--Indian Luxury--The Riches and
+  Romantic Life of an Indian Prince--Poverty and Riches.
+
+
+I shall now invite my reader to accompany me to the city of Burdwan,
+which is situated about seventy miles north of Calcutta, for the purpose
+of attending an Indian f�te to which I was invited shortly after my
+arrival at Calcutta. Burdwan is the name of an old principality (as
+well as of its capital) situated on the great Indian railway. The
+principality of Burdwan is now under the English government, but it has
+its own maharajah, or prince, to whom the English government grants
+certain rights over the people and property of this principality.
+The ruling prince during my stay in India was a young man of about
+twenty-two years. He had a good European education, spoke English well,
+and had, to a great extent, adopted European manners and customs. His
+name was Aftab Chand Muhtab Bahadur. In the beginning of December, 1881,
+he was installed as maharajah of Burdwan by Sir Ashley Eden, at which
+time he came into actual possession of his inherited rights; and this
+event was celebrated by great festivities in the palace and city of
+Burdwan.
+
+The f�te which commenced December fifth and closed December tenth was
+celebrated according to a well-chosen program for each day. About fifty
+English civil and military officers with their families were invited as
+guests to the palace. Some of them occupied rooms in the palace, others
+lived in tents pitched in military order in the palace garden, and about
+three hundred Indian guests were lodged in private houses in the city. I
+was the only foreign guest, and was assigned a neat pavilion, built
+partly over an artificial lake in the garden, and the second place of
+honor at all ceremonies--an honor which was, of course, due to the
+republic which I represented.
+
+The palace consisted of several large buildings two or three stories
+high, and several small pavilions, all in Italian style, situated in a
+park or garden of some forty acres, and surrounded by a stone wall
+twelve feet high, with two beautiful porticos. The largest building
+contained the private apartments of the prince, two large parlors, two
+dining halls, a ball room, a billiard room, a library, several picture
+galleries and a large armory,--all of them furnished in the most
+expensive and magnificent style. The floors and stairways were of
+Italian marble, and the walls of the large parlors adorned by huge
+mirrors set in frames inlaid with emeralds, rubies, and other precious
+stones. Sculptures of marble from Italy, of porphyry and alabaster from
+Egypt, and porcelain vases from China, etc., adorned the corridors and
+niches of the halls of the main building.
+
+Another large building was inhabited by the women, among whom the mother
+of the prince is the mistress; but they themselves, as well as the
+interior of their palace, remain concealed from the gaze of the guests.
+Elegant carriages with drivers, servants and grooms in oriental livery,
+caparisoned horses, saddles and bridles shining with gold and silver
+trimmings, were day and night at the disposition of the guests, and at
+his arrival every guest received a small blank book with fifty leaves on
+which to write his name and the kind of refreshment he wished, and
+hundreds of servants dressed in white were always ready to fetch it to
+him in the palace garden, at the race courses, or in the summer houses.
+
+[Illustration: NAUTCH DANCER.]
+
+The festivities and merriments were arranged so that every guest had
+perfect liberty and sufficient time to follow his own taste. The
+following may serve as an illustration:
+
+On Wednesday, December 7th, at half-past seven o'clock, a high school
+was inspected, and the governor of Bengal distributed prizes among the
+scholars; at ten breakfast in the large dining hall; at twelve the
+instalment of the young prince; at two luncheon; at three the opening of
+the races; at half-past seven illumination and pyrotechnics; at eight
+grand dinner; at ten a ball in the palace for the Europeans; and nautch
+dancing and music by native women in a pavilion in the garden.
+
+One day a canal was opened and dedicated. It was twenty miles long, and
+built for the purpose of supplying several cities and country districts
+with an abundance of water. All the streets and roads in and around
+Burdwan were in a splendid condition, wide and macadamized with crushed
+brick. From the railroad station to the palace and two miles beyond to
+two villas, as well as along the principal streets in the city, and
+along all paths and roads in the palace garden, bamboo poles forty feet
+long were erected on both sides, and about forty feet apart. These poles
+were all wrapped in red and white glazed paper, and had flags at the
+top. The poles were connected by lines along which colored glass lamps
+were suspended six inches apart, and these were all lighted at six
+o'clock. I was told that there were over forty thousand such lamps, and
+that it took five hundred men to fill, light, and attend to them. From
+nine to twelve o'clock every night an electric light was beaming from
+one of the palace towers, and Wednesday evening there was a magnificent,
+display of pyrotechnics around an artificial lake about a mile from the
+palace. The latter cost about twenty-five thousand dollars. Its effect
+on men, animals, and the tropical plants was such that a man from the
+North found it difficult to realize that he was still on this earth of
+ours, and not far away in the fairy world of fiction.
+
+[Illustration: COLLEGE BUILDING.]
+
+Reality is so wonderful in India that I have hardly dared to tell the
+following without gradually preparing my reader for it. This young
+prince, whose guest I was and with whom I talked a good deal, is a poor
+foundling, having been adopted by the old prince, who died childless,
+and by the consent of the English government he was made his sole heir.
+His landed estates were so large that he paid two million two hundred
+thousand dollars to the English government in annual taxes on the income
+from his lands! How large his total income is, nobody knows. Inside the
+palace walls, which were protected by a strong body-guard night and day,
+were deep subterranean vaults with secret entrances, where gold and
+jewels were concealed in such quantities as may be imagined only when it
+is remembered that during a period of three hundred years the family has
+been accustomed to accumulate these treasures by at least three "lacs
+rupees," or one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, a year. But during
+the same time millions upon millions of people have starved to death in
+the principality of Burdwan, and even now it is safe to say that
+nine-tenths of the people who cultivate the soil and live on the estates
+of the maharajah and pay him tribute are so poor that they could
+scarcely sustain their life a single month in case of drought or
+inundations.
+
+To describe the whole f�te would require a whole book, and I therefore
+select the installation ceremony, which, by the way, was the most
+important of the festivities. It took place in a small mango forest,
+about a mile from the palace. A pleasant country road, decorated with
+banners and spanned by triumphal arches covered with flowers, led to the
+place. A tent pavilion sixty feet long and forty feet wide was erected
+about a hundred yards from the road. The tent was supported by forty
+pillars covered with silver tinsel paper, and the canvas consisted of
+heavy linen woven in many-colored squares, which were about three feet
+each way. The sides of the tent were open, and between each of the outer
+pillars was stationed a Hindoo soldier dressed in shoes, gray stockings,
+black knee breeches, and a red coat, one half of which was embroidered
+with gold and silver, while the head was covered by a red turban richly
+adorned with gold ornaments. These soldiers were gigantic, dark figures,
+armed with curved sabres and long lances. They stood immovable as
+statues, and only the rolling of their flashing eye-balls showed that
+they were living men. At the upper end of the tent was an elevated
+platform with a gilt chair for the governor, and behind this, chairs for
+the European ladies. From the platform to the entrance at the opposite
+end was an aisle, on each side of which were four rows of chairs for the
+guests, all numbered and placed according to their rank. The aisle and
+the walk to the country road were covered with expensive Persian rugs,
+and chamberlains in dazzling costumes conducted the guests from the
+carriages to the seats assigned to them in the tent. The European
+officers were seated on the first row to the right, and the Hindoo
+princes and noblemen on the first row to the left, with the young
+maharajah next to the platform. The other chairs were occupied by Hindoo
+and Mohammedan zemindars (proprietors of landed estates), scholars, and
+dignitaries.
+
+A most splendid display of costumes in satin and velvet in all possible
+colors and fashions, all of them richly adorned with gold and silver
+trimming and embroideries, besides glittering necklaces and diamond
+rings, added brilliantly to the scene. All the natives kept their
+headdresses on, most of them wearing low turbans of colored or white
+silk, ornamented with gold, pearls and gems.
+
+Only the prince of Burdwan and the young prince of Kutch Behar were
+armed, and these only with Damascus cimeters. The prince of Burdwan wore
+a purple satin garment, red silk shoes and a high cap in the shape of a
+crown. His breast, neck, headdress and hands glittered with diamonds and
+rubies. Over this garment he wore a mantle of dark yellow cloth, which
+was very artistically woven, and cost about ten thousand dollars. Most
+of the native nobles distinguished themselves by a stately, military
+bearing, looking both handsome and intelligent. Some of them were very
+dark, but most had about the same complexion as the Spaniards. Jet black
+hair and black, flashing eyes were universal, only a single one having
+dark red hair and beard.
+
+When all had been seated the governor, accompanied by two adjutants and
+several servants, arrived. A guard of honor, consisting of one hundred
+Sepoys, was stationed in front of the tent, and saluted the governor by
+presenting arms, during which the military band played an English
+national tune. Eight huge elephants were arranged in a row between the
+road and the tent; these were covered by rich caparisons adorned with
+heavy gold and silver embroideries, and carrying on their backs small
+pavilions in which richly dressed drivers walked a few steps back and
+forth. At the door of the tent the governor was received by eight
+artistically uniformed aids-de-camp carrying marshal's staffs, silver
+horns, lances and perfumes.
+
+The act of installation was now in order, and was performed in the
+following manner: The maharajah stepped up before the governor and
+received from his hand a parchment roll, by which the queen conferred
+authority. Having read this in a loud and solemn voice, the governor
+hung a chain of diamonds and rubies around the neck of the prince, and
+made a short congratulatory address to him. The minister of finance
+brought a silver basin filled with Indian gold coins, which he handed to
+the governor as an emblem of tribute to the English government. The
+prince now resumed his seat, and two chamberlains brought gold vessels
+on silver trays containing attar of roses, and two others brought spices
+in similar receptacles. The attar of roses was sprinkled over the
+audience, and each one of the native guests received a small quantity of
+spices wrapped in a palm leaf. Finally the band struck up a march, and
+the whole retinue returned to the carriages by the road side and drove
+back to the palace. One of the carriages of the procession was loaded
+with silver coins, which were thrown right and left to the thousands of
+poor and beggars, who crowded the road on both sides. In the evening,
+again, provisions and clothing were distributed to about fifteen
+thousand poor, who had flocked in from all parts of Burdwan, but who had
+not been allowed to enter the city.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+Allahabad--Sacred Places--Kumbh Mela--Pilgrimages--Bathing in the
+  Ganges--Fakirs and Penitents--Sacred Rites--Superstitions.
+
+
+Allahabad means the dwelling of God, and the Hindoos regard it as one of
+the most sacred places of India. It is a city of one hundred and fifty
+thousand inhabitants, and has a strong fortress with an English
+garrison. It is the seat of the government of the north-western
+provinces, and is situated on a point of land between the rivers Ganges
+and Jumna, on the great Indian railroad, about five hundred and
+sixty-five miles from Calcutta, and about the same distance from the Bay
+of Persia.
+
+In a tropical climate where rain seldom falls during nine months of the
+year, it is quite natural that the people regard streams and rivers as
+their greatest benefactors, and by means of the vivid imagination of the
+South this sentiment has occasionally been developed into religious
+worship and idolatry. In this manner the great Ganges, which flows
+nearly through the entire length of India, has, since time immemorial,
+been regarded as sacred, as have also all places where three rivers
+meet. At Allahabad the Jumna meets the sacred Ganges, thus affording two
+of the necessary conditions to make the place sacred, and it was easy
+for the fertile imagination of the Brahmins to create the third, which
+is said to consist in a spiritual current from above, pouring down
+continually at the point where the Jumna and the Ganges meet and
+mingle. It is claimed that this invisible river is very abundant,
+especially in the month of Magh, from the middle of January to the
+middle of February, but the most favorable period in this respect is
+under the astronomical cycle Yuga, which occurs every twelfth year in
+the month of Magh, and is called "Kumbh." This occurred in 1882, which
+was therefore a very important year for the Hindoos.
+
+To bathe in the Ganges always means a spiritual purification, and to
+bathe there where the three rivers meet at Allahabad in the month of
+Magh is a very sacred rite. Every good Hindoo endeavors, if possible, to
+bathe at this place at least once during his lifetime; but to bathe
+there during the Kumbh Mela, or the twelfth year's cycle, is the most
+sacred act a Hindoo can perform, and such a bath is said to atone for
+the greatest sins both of the bather and his nearest relatives, be they
+living or dead. Out of the immense population of India, one hundred and
+ninety millions profess the above faith. Being a very religious people
+in their way, and testifying to their faith by their works, it is no
+great wonder that Allahabad in the course of four weeks was visited by
+nearly two million pilgrims, who came there only for the purpose of
+bathing in the sacred river. Partly from curiosity and partly in order
+to obtain reliable information, I also made a short pilgrimage to this
+place.
+
+[Illustration: INDIAN CART.]
+
+I said that nearly two million people visited Allahabad during the Kumbh
+Mela, which I attended. They came from all parts of India, men and
+women, young and old, but especially the old, of all classes from the
+beggar to the prince, of all castes from the despised coolie to the
+haughty Brahmin. They came on crowded railroad trains, or on elephants,
+camels, horses, asses, in ox-carts and in boats on the rivers, but most
+of them on foot along roads and pathways, across fields and meadows, the
+living ones carrying the ashes of the cremated bodies of their dead
+relatives to throw them in the holy river. Many of them had traveled
+great distances and been on the journey for months. Old men who did not
+expect to return to their homes, but were in hopes of finding a grave in
+the sacred waters, and had said good-bye to everything which bound them
+to life; cripples and invalids expecting to be cured on the banks of the
+Ganges, congregated in large numbers at this sacred place. Fanatical
+penitents came crawling on hands and feet; holy Fakirs had measured the
+way by the length of their own bodies for scores of miles. The penitent
+Fakir who travels in this manner lies down on the ground with his head
+toward the place of destination, makes a mark in the ground in front of
+his head, and crawls forward the length of his body and lies down again
+with the feet where he had his head before; a new mark, another movement
+ahead, etc., and so he keeps on, one length of his body at a time, until
+he reaches the holy river. During this journey the Fakir is surrounded
+and followed by a large concourse of people who furnish him with food
+and drink, and regard him as a saint. There are instances of men having
+traveled over five hundred miles in this manner. Every day and hour the
+crowd was increased by new arrivals, until the river banks, the fields
+and roads swarmed with countless masses,--a most wonderful gathering.
+Thousands of Brahmins offered their services to guide and bless the
+pilgrims, most always for a valuable consideration; thousands of
+peddlers sold small idols, flower wreaths, rosaries, and other sacred
+objects at high prices; others peddled rice, fruit, thin bread and other
+provisions, and thousands of barbers cut the hair and shaved the temples
+of the pilgrims. There, in the shade of some mango trees a Hindoo prince
+had gone into camp with his elephants, horses, soldiers and servants,
+the retinue consisting of about two hundred people; and yonder in the
+shadeless valley is a camp of a thousand or more Fakirs huddled
+together. Many are entirely naked, others are protected by a few yards
+of dirty cotton cloth, most of them sprinkled with ashes or dry clay,
+their faces streaked in gray, red or yellow colors, and the hair done up
+in the shape of a chignon and held together with wet clay; but although
+presenting a picture of dire want in their persons they have in the camp
+a large herd of costly elephants richly adorned with covers of satin and
+velvet embroidered in gold, silver, precious stones and gems, proving
+that their begging has not been in vain.
+
+[Illustration: FAKIRS.]
+
+On the river bank is the headquarters of the pilgrims from one of the
+Southern provinces, and over yonder that of those from the North or
+East. Everywhere is heard the noise of trading and bargaining, of
+greeting and ecstacy, of laughter and astonishment, and of the moaning
+and cries of the sick and suffering--indeed a regular pandemonium.
+
+The February sun already shone scorchingly hot upon the low, shadeless
+valley, the thermometer rising to 90�. In the night, however, it was
+unusually cold for that country, and most of the pilgrims being poor and
+their clothing and food wretched, dangerous diseases began to break out
+among the weak and exhausted. The terrible cholera claimed numerous
+victims every day, many died from weakness and negligence, others again
+perished through accidents on land and water, for nobody seemed to be
+very particular about human life, since death just there was considered
+so very desirable. Along the shores of the river flickered hundreds of
+fires, at which the remains of the dead are burned to ashes and
+scattered into the river by the officiating Brahmins, to the infinite
+edification of the relatives of the dead.
+
+The Hindoos are a very peaceful and loyal people, and willingly submit
+to order and discipline. Thus designated groups were conducted to the
+water at certain times and places, which was highly necessary, as
+otherwise the strong would have trampled down and crushed the weak.
+
+The first ceremony consists in shaving the head, or at least the front
+part of it; the hair which is cut off ought to be offered to the Ganges,
+but the barber smuggles most of it out of the way, to be sold in more
+civilized countries. From the barber the pilgrim is turned over to the
+care of the Brahmin, who leads him down into the river, under the
+following ceremonies: The Brahmin repeats a Sanscrit formula which is
+called "Sankalpa," and which states that "the pilgrim N. N. on the day
+X. of the month Y., and in the year Z., takes his bath in the sacred
+water for the purpose and intention of cleansing himself from all sins
+and frailties," after which the pilgrim immerses himself several times
+under the water and rinses his mouth with a handful of it, after a few
+minutes returning to the shore where he is at once surrounded by
+peddlers who offer him flowers, milk and lean cows or goats for sale at
+an exorbitant price. He always buys the flowers and the milk and offers
+them to the river, and, if he has sufficient money, he buys a cow or a
+goat and offers it to the Brahmin; but if his means are too limited the
+latter must be content with the few coins the pilgrim can spare. Most of
+them, however, have brought a handsome offering to the Brahmin, because
+they regard the duty toward him just as important as the duty toward the
+river god.
+
+Then follows the "Shiadda" ceremony, consisting of an offering of cake,
+sugar, plums and dainties to the ghosts of their deceased relatives;
+next a banquet is spread before the Brahmins, the sacred places of the
+vicinity are visited, offerings are made at most of these, and a present
+called "vidagi" is made to the Brahmin who has attended to the spiritual
+wants of the giver.
+
+And now the object of the long and arduous journey is accomplished, the
+pilgrimage, "tisthayatra," is successfully performed, and the cleansed
+sinner stands ready to begin a new record of sin. He has been plundered
+of his last penny, and, if he succeeds in reaching his distant home,
+his neighbors and friends will look up to him as an exceptionally happy
+being, and his own soul is filled with the hope of temporal and eternal
+bliss.
+
+Those who have reaped the pecuniary benefits of the pilgrimage are the
+Brahmins and Fakirs, the former through offerings and the latter through
+begging. They have filled their coffers and collected large herds of
+cattle, and now they can lead a gay and happy life until the next Mela,
+when they will again try to fan the dying embers of enthusiasm into a
+flame by sending emissaries all over India for the purpose of convincing
+the credulous populace that it is greatly to be feared that the Ganges
+will soon lose its power of salvation, and that therefore as many as
+possible ought to come next time, which may be the last chance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+Benares, the Holy City of the Hindoos--Its Temples and Worshipers--The
+  Sacred Monkeys.
+
+
+Returning from Allahabad I visited Benares, the holy city of India and
+the centre of Hindooism or Brahminism, its religion, art and literature.
+It is situated on an elevation on the east bank of the Ganges about four
+hundred and seventy-six miles from Calcutta. Benares is to the Hindoos
+what Jerusalem was to the Jews, Rome to the medi�val Christians, and
+what Mecca is to the Mohammedans, and it is visited by thousands of
+pilgrims and penitents every year. The learned men or Pundits of India
+have their academies and gatherings there, and many of its princes and
+nobles have their costly palaces in which they usually spend a few weeks
+every year.
+
+The whole city seems abandoned to sacrificing priests and idolatry in
+its most disgusting forms. There are one thousand four hundred temples
+for idols, and nearly three hundred mosques, besides hundreds of
+shrines, holy graves, wells, trees and other objects of Hindoo worship.
+Benares is a very old city; great and renowned when Babylon and Nineveh
+were competing with each other; when Tyre sent out her colonists; when
+Athens was in her infancy; before Rome existed, and long before
+Nebuchadnezzar had carried the Israelites into captivity.
+
+We are accustomed to look at hoary ruins with reverent interest, and it
+is no wonder that the first sight of the historical monuments of Benares
+made a profound impression on my mind. I felt almost as if transported
+to a time far back in the misty past, and found it difficult to realize
+that I walked the same streets, lanes and market places where the
+Babylonian heralds of war and the ambassadors of Alexander the Great
+were received by the same people whose descendants still inhabit the
+same city, and have retained the same civilization and the same
+institutions through all the intervening centuries.
+
+[Illustration: HINDOO TEMPLES.]
+
+The sun cast its last rays over the memorable city when I had the
+pleasure of seeing it for the first time. At a distance of two miles I
+could see the palaces and temples with their domes, cupolas, and
+minarets merged into a confused mass, and on the summit of the hill
+towered the renowned mosque of Emperor Arungzebes with two minarets, the
+spires of which rise two hundred and fifty feet above the level of the
+Ganges. It was a beautiful oriental picture, the most beautiful I had
+yet seen.
+
+The next morning at sunrise a Mohammedan dragoman or interpreter took me
+down the river in a boat, and in the course of an hour we passed,
+according to the estimate of the interpreter, over twenty thousand
+bathing Hindoos. Every two miles are built ghats, or broad flights of
+steps down to river, some of these being eighty feet high. Along the
+edge of the water Brahmins are squatting about twenty feet apart under
+large sun shades made of palm leaves in the form of an umbrella. These
+Brahmins have a certain inherited right to these little spots where they
+have thus raised their sun shades for the purpose of collecting an
+offering from every bather. Men and women bathe side by side. They all
+go into the water in their thin cotton suits, and everything is
+conducted with order and decorum.
+
+After the bath flowers are offered to the river, and oils and fruits to
+the Brahmin.
+
+A short distance above the edge of the water is an open place for the
+cremation of the bodies of the dead, and on the river close by are
+scores of boats and barges loaded with wood which is cut into small
+sticks and is used for the funeral-pyres. We stopped a few minutes here
+while three corpses were brought on biers. They were covered by a white
+cloth with a red dye-stuff scattered over the chest. The body was first
+immersed in the river and then placed on its pyre, which was kindled by
+the nearest relative of the deceased. After the cremation the ashes were
+scattered on the river by the Brahmin, who, of course, charged a round
+sum for these highly important services.
+
+We next went up the high steps and visited several temples and other
+objects of interest of which I shall give a brief description.
+
+The Hindoo temples are not so large as our churches, but only from
+fifteen to forty feet square, and their style of architecture is
+frequently very pleasing to the eye. They contain no seats or pulpits,
+and the ceremonies consist exclusively of offerings, prayers, and signs.
+People come and go incessantly, there is no silence or devotion, but all
+is noise and turmoil. The Brahmins glide quietly around everywhere and
+watch closely so that no one escapes until he or she has parted with as
+much loose change as possible, and it frequently happens that the
+Brahmin and the worshiper get into a loud quarrel about the fee which
+the latter is to pay for the benediction.
+
+We ascended an eight-foot-wide street paved with large flag stones,
+which were crowded with endless rows of people coming out or going into
+the temples on either side. To some of these a few steps led downward,
+to others upward.
+
+In some of the nooks and niches formed by the outer walls of the temple
+sat peddlers selling ornaments, flowers, fruit, boiled rice, popcorn,
+confectioneries, and small idols, of stone, porcelain, or metal.
+
+[Illustration: DYING BRAHMIN.]
+
+We stepped into the so-called golden temple, dedicated to Bishashar, or
+Shiva, the most prominent deity of Benares. Like most of the temples it
+is built of brick, and has a gray coat of plastering on the outside. It
+has three domes which are covered with colored metal, and the interior
+is divided into three rooms, in each of which is a stone image
+representing the creative principle. The worshipers throw rice and
+flowers at these images, and officiating Brahmins continually pour over
+them water from the Ganges. Within a separate inclosure is a sacred well
+called "Gyan-Bapi," or the well of knowledge, into which the rice and
+the flowers from the images are washed by a continual stream of water.
+Out of this well rises an intolerable stench from the putrefying mass
+which poisons the air in and around the temple, for it is not permitted
+to take these offerings out of the well. Around the well is a colonnade
+of small beautiful pillars, back of which, on the east side, is a
+seven-foot-high stone statue of a bull consecrated to the god of
+Mahadeva.
+
+Another temple is divided into stalls which contain well-fed sacred
+animals, such as bulls, cows, goats and birds, all of which are objects
+of worship of the faithful. This temple was kept more clean than the
+former, but the bellowing of the animals and the jostling and crowding
+of the worshipers made the visit to those deities intolerable.
+
+One of the finest temples in Benares is called "Durga Kund," and is
+devoted to the goddess Durga. It is a large and beautiful pyramidal
+structure with a number of towers and steeples of different sizes, and
+the whole building is adorned with fine works of sculpture, representing
+the sacred animals of Hindoo mythology. Inside the temple, facing a wide
+entrance, stands a large stone statue of Durga with the face of an ape,
+and in front of this is a well into which the faithful throw flowers.
+But the most interesting feature about this temple is the great number
+of monkeys which are kept there. A large, square court surrounds the
+temple, and in this as well as on the steps, floors, pillars, roof and
+walls, inside and outside of the temple itself and in the neighboring
+houses, in the trees, on the streets, in the gardens, in short, wherever
+they can find a footing, there are thousands of gray, yellow, black,
+white and brown monkeys, with all possible monkey physiognomies and
+monkey natures, sitting, lying, jumping, hanging and climbing. They are
+considered sacred and must not be killed, consequently they are
+increasing so fast that if no interdicts are fulminated against them
+they will soon become the ruling element in Benares. And so assiduously
+is this temple visited by well-to-do and generous worshipers that both
+the Brahmins and the monkeys live in affluence and luxury. Incredible as
+it may seem, I have myself seen one crowd of people after another enter
+this temple and prostrate themselves in worshiping the living monkeys as
+well as the ape-faced stone image, and then return home rejoicing
+because the Brahmins have assured them that their worship and offerings
+have opened for them the gates of heaven.
+
+[Illustration: MONKEY TEMPLE IN BENARES.]
+
+In some temples domestic animals are sacrificed by the servants of the
+priests, the blood and the meat being distributed among the priests, the
+intestines and other offal among the poor. In others, butter, oils,
+sweetmeats and rice are offered by first giving the idols a taste in the
+same manner as our children feed their dolls, whereupon the rest is
+consumed by the priests and the people. In several temples are Fakirs or
+saints sitting in unnatural positions with lean limbs and vacant looks,
+and these are also objects of the worship and offerings of the people.
+In other temples are even lewd women, who, by their dancing and singing,
+act as mediators between the people and their angry gods.
+
+As far as these descriptions go, they may be applied to all temples and
+ceremonies, and the chief and absolute universal feature is the question
+of money and other offerings to the Brahmins. All the temples are
+surrounded with beggars who are as importunate as the Brahmins
+themselves, and the whole of it makes the European wish to get away from
+the sacred places of the Orient as soon as possible.
+
+Man Modir, is the name of a remarkable astronomical observatory which
+towers above the temples on the Ganges, close to the place where the
+dead bodies are cremated. It was built two hundred years ago by the
+emperor, Jai Sing, and still remains in well-preserved condition as an
+evidence of the deep astronomical knowledge of the Hindoos at that
+period. It is a large stone building with a flat roof, on which are
+constructed astronomical instruments and figures of brick and mortar of
+gigantic proportions. As examples I shall mention a quadrant which is
+eleven feet high and nine feet wide in the direction of the meridian,
+and is made for calculating the altitude of the sun, and another
+instrument, thirty-six feet long and four and one-half feet high which
+is used in calculating the altitude and distance of a planet or a star
+from the meridian.
+
+Descending from the observatory my attention was called to a large crowd
+of people on a knoll near the river bank. Going over there I found what
+might be called a religious circus attended by thousands of people, in
+the midst of which was a group of Fakirs. Most of them were squatting
+with crossed legs, one arm extended toward the river, and the eyes fixed
+on a certain spot in the water or on the sky. One was squatting on a
+plank through which long sharp nails were driven with their points
+projecting upward over an inch. I counted eight such nails about an inch
+long under each foot. The nails had not caused bleeding wounds, but
+simply made deep indentures in the flesh which must have been very
+painful, at least in the beginning. One Fakir had suspended himself on
+an eight-foot-tall cross, with the head downward, by tieing one of his
+feet to the top of the cross by a cord. Formerly they used to suspend
+themselves by a big iron hook penetrating their muscles, thus swinging
+their bodies back and forth for hours; but this practice is now
+prohibited by the English government. An acrobatic Fakir was turning
+sommersets on a grass mat, and was considered very holy because he could
+twist his limbs as if they had been without bones. Another carried an
+iron cage which was forged around his neck, and which he had carried
+thus for years in order to mortify his flesh. A loathsome dwarf, kept
+in an iron cage, was blessing the admiring crowd, several dancing girls
+gave animation to the scene by singing and dancing, some Brahmins were
+exhibiting a sacred bull, others sacred monkeys, and liberal offerings
+were made everywhere by the enraptured pilgrims. Such are the religious
+ceremonies in the sacred city of India.
+
+[Illustration: FAKIR WITH IRON CAGE.]
+
+During my stay in Benares I visited one of the most remarkable ruins in
+the world, situated six miles from the sacred city. It is the remnants
+of two large and tall towers built of brick and cut stone, about three
+thousand years ago. These towers were closely connected with the history
+of Buddha, one of them, according to tradition, being his dwelling and
+the other his place of worship. This was formerly the site of a great
+city, called Sarnath.
+
+[Illustration: TOWER OF SARNATH.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+Nimtoolaghat--Cremation in India--Parsee Funeral Rites.
+
+
+India is the only country in the world where the civilization of the
+East and that of the West are found side by side with equal rights and
+equal chances of a free and full development. For, although the English
+have conquered, and at present rule the country, they have respected the
+peculiar customs and manners of the Hindoos, and guaranteed them liberty
+to practice the same and to develop their social and religious
+institutions in so far as they do not conflict with the generally
+acknowledged principles of humanity.
+
+Accordingly in Calcutta and other cities in India we frequently find a
+stately Christian church side by side with a Hindoo temple with its
+officiating priests. On one side of the street we may see a fine
+European residence filled with guests around the dinner-table, eating,
+chatting, and toasting just as at home, and on the other a Hindoo villa,
+where turbaned Brahmins, in a squatting posture, eat their rice or smoke
+their hokah, while extolling the merits of their juggernaut. At popular
+meetings and f�tes European lords, bishops, officials, and ladies are
+often seen engaged in a friendly conversation with Hindoo princes, or
+learned pundits, Mohammedan warriors, Persian, Armenian or Jewish
+merchants. On the streets and promenades the European carriage and the
+Hindoo palanquin are seen side by side; in Calcutta there are scores of
+high schools and academies on the European plan, and close to these
+again others where young students in oriental costumes and turbaned
+heads, squat before a half-naked Brahmin, seeking wisdom and knowledge
+from the works of the Vedas or Shastras.
+
+It is therefore not surprising that in the very harbor where American
+and European flags are waving from hundreds of mast-heads lies
+Nimtoolaghat, a Hindoo place of cremation, from which the whole day long
+dense clouds of smoke arise, scattering the vapors of burning human
+bodies. It is a large brick building which is divided into two
+apartments by a brick wall. The apartment which is next to the street is
+covered by a roof, but the one next to the harbor is open at the top.
+The floor is made of clay, excepting the spots under the funeral pyres,
+where it consists of large flagstones. I have often stood at this place,
+and it always seemed to me that our cemeteries with their monuments,
+grass plots, trees, and flowers are dear places which, to some extent,
+reconcile man to stern death, while here everything seemed dead and
+hopeless. I will describe for the reader what I saw at one of my visits
+to this place of desolation. On the flagstones in the roofless apartment
+were six separate pyres, two of which were already reduced to ashes when
+I entered, two others were about half consumed by the fire, only a few
+bones being visible among the fire-brands; but on each of the other two
+was a naked corpse, the outside of which was scorched by the flames,
+while blood and water were slowly oozing out of mouth and nostrils,
+while the burning flesh hissed and sputtered where the heat was most
+intense, so that the whole presented a shocking sight. A score of
+half-naked Brahmins were busy around the pyres muttering prayers and
+making signs over the dead, while the nearest relatives walked around
+the corpses uttering cries of lamentation. Particularly violent was the
+grief of a young woman whose mother had just been laid upon the pyre,
+deep sorrow and heart-rending lamentations testifying to the love she
+had borne the deceased.
+
+[Illustration: NIMTOOLAGHAT--PLACE OF CREMATION.]
+
+Now the fine-split wood is piled up into a new pyre about six feet long,
+two feet wide, and two and one-half feet high, and four men bring the
+corpse of a man on a bier. It is covered with a white sheet, which is
+taken away, so as to leave only a small piece of cloth covering the
+corpse. This is the body of a Fakir, a stately man with fine features,
+and past the prime of life. As soon as the body is placed on the pyre,
+two Brahmins pile fine-split wood around and over it so that only the
+face is visible. Then comes the eldest son of the deceased and rubbing
+the face with fresh butter lays several lumps of it on the pyre. He then
+walks three times around the corpse and lights with a fire-brand a whisk
+of straw in his father's pyre. The fire spreads rapidly through the dry
+wood. The melting butter flows through it, the flames roar and crackle,
+and the dead body makes writhing muscular motions under the influence of
+the fire, the skin bursting open in several places, and a thin fluid
+trickling out which adds fuel to the flames. The face shrinks and
+vanishes under our eyes, an unpleasant smell of burnt flesh permeates
+the air, and in a little while all is over, and the Brahmins gather the
+ashes and scatter them on the waters of the sacred Ganges.
+
+Who can wonder that a stranger, witnessing such a ceremony, experiences
+in his own breast questions and surmises such as these: Is this, then,
+all? Where is the Fakir who mortified his body by all kinds of torture,
+who struggled and suffered in order to become acceptable to the gods?
+Was there nothing more than that shell, consumed before our eyes? Is the
+man who spent half of his life-time gazing into the boundless realm of
+space and yearning and longing for the unknown, the infinite, no longer
+in existence? Was his longing only a mockery, or was it a foreshadowing
+of that which is to come? What would life be if all terminated in the
+pyre or in the grave? To what purpose, then, all noble endeavors, whose
+aim and object only relate to the uncertain future? The deepest
+premonitions of the human soul, and the most beautiful hopes of the
+heart, how far are these from the thought that all our feelings, our
+loftiest ambitions,--in one word the best part of our being,--can be
+annihilated in a crematory! The Fakir whose body was now reduced to
+ashes had lived in the faith of his immortality, had worshiped the
+deities of his people, because he knew no better, but was he on that
+account less welcome in the everlasting mansions?
+
+Formerly the wife was burned alive on the pyre of her husband, but this
+practice has been abolished by the English government, although it is
+still said to be adhered to secretly in the interior of the country.
+That woman is considered very fortunate who can enjoy the privilege of
+"sati," that is, be burned alive on the funeral pyre of her husband, for
+thereby she secures unquestionable happiness in the next world. So
+strongly can religious enthusiasm, even in our days, influence a
+sensible and civilized people. We generally suppose cremation in India
+to be an imposing ceremony, such as a great pyre, intense heat, which
+keeps a devout congregation at a proper distance, etc. Such is not the
+case, however; for, leaving out the mourning relatives, it may better be
+compared with the hilarious soldiers around the camp-fire roasting the
+booty of a nightly raid,--a shote or a quarter of beef.
+
+An entirely different mode of burial is used among the Parsees, who are
+descendants of the ancient Persians, and live in the western part of
+India where they were driven from Iran by the Mohammedans. They profess
+the religion of Zoroaster and are fire-worshipers. They regard the
+earth, air, water and fire as sacred objects, but a corpse, on the
+contrary, as something unclean, and therefore they would not pollute the
+fire by burning the dead, nor soil the earth or the sea by burying them.
+In place of this they expose the dead bodies in the open air to be
+devoured by birds of prey. For this purpose are erected towers of stone,
+on the top of which are iron grates to put the bodies on. In one of the
+suburbs of Bombay are three such towers on Malabar hill. They are called
+"The Towers of Silence." Each of them has only one entrance, and they
+are about twenty feet high. Large flocks of ravens and vultures surround
+them sitting on branches of the palm trees in the vicinity. As soon as a
+corpse is exposed there is a fierce rush for it, and within an hour the
+birds have consumed everything except, of course, the bones, which drop
+down into a vault under the tower, or are thrown there by means of tongs
+held by gloved servants, who afterward clean themselves by bathing and
+change of clothing.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Having given a sketch of the divine worship, religious rites and
+sacrificial feasts of the Hindoos, I shall now call the attention of the
+reader to a brief description of their religion and spiritual culture in
+general.
+
+"In the hoary past India had mighty religious leaders and authors who
+laid claim to divine authority. Religious systems were announced, and
+voluminous, erudite verses were published for the guidance of the
+people, or rather the Brahmins or priests, which writings are still the
+Bibles of the Hindoos. The most important of these books are called
+'Vedas,' 'Shastras,' and 'Puranas.' The lively imagination of the
+authors and the religious enthusiasm of the people were not content with
+a few deities, therefore their number has been increased from time to
+time, until they now amount to thirty-three million gods and goddesses.
+The most important of the former are Brahma, Visnu and Shiva, and of the
+latter Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. The former are worshiped as the
+creating, preserving and destroying powers, and from these three all the
+others have originated; at first considered as representatives of
+certain attributes and principals of the three chief deities, but later
+as independent, individual deities. Many of these gods are represented
+by images and pictures, which originally the whole people, but at
+present only the learned, regard merely as representations of certain
+divine principals and attributes. Later on these were put in the place
+of the things which they represented, so that the stone image, the
+river, the tree, or the animal is regarded as the god himself by the
+ignorant multitude.
+
+"According to the Hindoo doctrine of creation the earth rests on the
+back of a tortoise, and the human race was originally created members of
+four different classes or castes. Thus the class or caste distinction of
+India is closely incorporated with its religion, and shows that the
+priests have been very shrewd in founding a religious system which
+secured for themselves not only salvation after death, but, above all,
+an abundance of the good things of this world. Brahma was from the
+beginning, and from him emanated Vishnu and Shiva. Thereafter Brahma
+created first water, then the earth, then from out of his head a man who
+was the _Brahmin_, and became the chief of the caste of priests, or the
+highest class. After this he let a _Kshatriya_ issue from out of his
+arms, a _Vaisya_ from his loins and a _Sudra_ from his feet, and which
+became respectively the progenitors of the three other castes, the
+warriors, the craftsmen and merchants, and the common laborers. These
+castes have gradually been divided into many subdivisions, but the four
+principal ones still remain with all their rigid distinctions. Through
+certain misdemeanors, which may be very insignificant, a person
+belonging to a higher may be degraded to a lower caste, but one of a
+lower caste can never rise to a higher, not even by the most meritorious
+achievements."
+
+Of all the cruel chains by which tyrants have fettered men, none has
+been a more formidable enemy of liberty or a greater impediment to human
+progress than this dreadful system of caste. It has stifled all noble
+efforts, all brotherly love and humane feelings; it has plunged the
+people into superstition, indifference and ignorance; it has doomed
+ninety-nine hundredths of the myriads of India to the most cruel
+slavery, in body and in soul; it has placed locks and fetters on the
+human mind and branded the infant in its mother's womb to infamy and
+execration; and, the worst of all, it has stifled all incentive to
+progress and development. It has smothered many noble feelings, and
+taught men to hate and despise each other; and so strong is the class
+distinction of this system that a good Hindoo of our day would a
+thousand times rather die of thirst or hunger than take a glass of water
+or a piece of bread from a person of a lower caste. Like other evils it
+has also been a curse to its authors, the Brahmins themselves, by
+lulling the great majority of them into ignorance and indifference. For
+why should they take the trouble to study or work when the whole world
+with its joys, pleasures and honors is open to them anyway? Space does
+not allow discussing this matter more fully, hence I will simply cite
+some of the doctrines which the Brahmins claim to have found in the
+divine books, and which the people still regard as sacred:
+
+"Whoever disturbs a Brahmin during his religious contemplations shall
+lose his life; if a person of a lower caste sits down on the mat of a
+Brahmin, his back shall be burned with red-hot irons; if he touches the
+hair, beard or neck of a Brahmin, the judge shall order both his hands
+to be cut off; if he listens to evil reports about the Brahmins, molten
+lead shall be poured into his ears; if he does not arise when a Brahmin
+approaches, he will be changed into a tree after death; if he casts an
+angry look at a Brahmin the god Yama shall pluck out his eyes. The
+Shastras teach that a gift to a Brahmin is of incalculable value to the
+giver. Whoever gives a Brahmin a cow shall gain a million years of bliss
+in heaven, and whoever wishes success in anything must f�te the
+Brahmins and wash their feet. Whoever bequeathes land or other valuable
+property to the Brahmins on his death-bed immediately receives
+forgiveness of sins and the greatest bliss in heaven. To drink the water
+in which a Brahmin has washed his feet and to lick the dust from under a
+Brahmin's feet are works of great merit for the life which is to come.
+No one but a Brahmin is allowed to give religious instruction, and all
+offerings to the gods must be brought to the Brahmin, because no
+ceremony will avail anything unless it is accompanied by an offering to
+them. Therefore a multitude of ceremonies have been introduced by the
+Brahmins in order that their coffers may be well filled. I will name a
+few of those ceremonies which relate to everybody's life and death, and
+which cannot, therefore, be neglected.
+
+"As soon as a mother knows she has conceived, a Brahmin must be sent for
+to read certain formulas; when the child is born a Brahmin must be
+called for the same purpose, also when it is a week, six months, two
+years and eight years old, and again when the young people are to be
+married; in all cases of sickness, at the death-bed, at the cremation of
+the body, and every month the first year after a person's death; and at
+each one of these visits the Brahmin is entitled to money or other
+gifts. Also if a family is subject to any misfortune the Brahmin must be
+called to conjure the evil powers; if a bird of prey alights on the
+roof, the owner of the house must call a Brahmin to purify the house by
+his blessing; when he moves into a new house the Brahmin must bless it
+beforehand; when a man dies on an _unlucky day_ his son must pay the
+Brahmin money to ward off a similar calamity from him; when a well is
+dug a Brahmin must bless it before its water can be used; during
+eclipses of the sun and the moon everybody sends gifts to the Brahmins;
+at every change of the moon the Brahmin is entitled to gifts as well as
+on forty regular holidays every year; during small-pox or cholera
+ravages he is called to ward off the plague; the farmer cannot reap his
+grain, the fisherman cannot go to sea, the merchant cannot make a
+bargain unless he has bought the blessing of the Brahmin and paid for
+the same."
+
+And still the Hindoos possess a high culture, and their civilization is
+one of the oldest in the world. They are endowed with a strong religious
+feeling. They are profound, peaceful, diligent, economical and law
+abiding; many of them have become distinguished in learning, art and
+science; they have been the teachers of the philosophers and scholars of
+other nations, and for thousands of years they have pondered deeply on
+questions pertaining to the human soul, immortality and the life to
+come, and endeavored to satisfy their craving and yearning for a closer
+union with the infinite by a devotion and self sacrifices which can well
+be compared with the sufferings of the Christian martyrs. Accordingly if
+any people could attain a higher development and a happy condition by
+other means than the influence of the Christian religion, that people
+ought to be the Hindoos. Yet, after all their struggles, we now find
+them on a lower level than they were thousands of years ago. What a
+picture! All these millions of civilized, peaceful, diligent, sensible
+people bend their knees before thirty-three millions of disgusting
+images and pictures, and among all this people, in all their thirty
+thousand cities there was not a hospital for the sick, not an asylum for
+the blind or deaf, not a home for lepers or insane, not one voice saying
+to the lowly and the poor: "Thou art my brother."
+
+Then came Buddha, the great reformer, preaching the religion of self
+denial and human love. The old petrified social fabric and religion were
+shaken to their foundation, and the system of caste was on the verge of
+dissolution. Under the first wave of enthusiasm caused by the teachings
+of Buddha, hospitals for the sick and asylums for the poor were
+established. Every fifth year the Buddhistic kings gave away their
+riches, not only to the monks but also to the poor, to the orphans and
+outcasts, and even asylums for sick animals were established. But
+Brahminism soon avenged itself by bloody wars, Buddhism was to a large
+extent driven out of India, and gradually its noble principles were
+forgotten. Nearly the same condition as that which prevailed before the
+Buddhistic reformation again prevailed, until the Christian civilization
+quite recently began to make itself felt through the practical measures
+introduced by the English government. Woman without liberty, without
+human worth, and almost without virtue; the countless many oppressed and
+despised by the privileged few, and not even allowed to read a religious
+book at the risk of eternal damnation; one of the greatest and mightiest
+nations on earth, discordant within itself, divided into different
+hostile classes; the one suspicious, envious, and full of hate toward
+the other, all of them humiliated, conquered, and ruled by a few
+strangers,--the English,--whose forefathers were savages a thousand
+years after the period when the Hindoos possessed the highest
+civilization of antiquity.
+
+The cause of this deplorable condition is clear enough to those who have
+grown up under the influence of Christian civilization. With all its
+studies, all its wisdom, all its genius, and all its religious
+contemplation, this people have neglected or spurned the simple truths
+on which the Christian civilization is founded,--love and charity: "Thou
+shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."--"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto
+one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me,"--these
+beautiful principles are not found in the Hindoo Bibles, and,
+consequently, not in their acts and lives.
+
+But a happier day has dawned on India. The star of Bethlehem is seen at
+the horizon. A new light is kindled which shall soon lead the people out
+of the ancient darkness to a true and happy condition. And, strange
+enough, the youngest of the nations,--America,--is foremost in
+missionary work among the oldest, and next to the Americans are the
+Scotch, the English, the French, the Germans, the Belgians; and even
+good old Sweden has one or two mission fields there where the results
+are as yet rather meager; but in the course of time this work, too, will
+undoubtedly bear golden fruits, for just as surely as people and races
+are to continue, just as surely shall the simple doctrine which the
+great Master taught be spread and accepted among them all, because it is
+the only one by which the nations can reach their true destiny.
+
+[Illustration: KESHUB-CHUNDER-SEN.]
+
+A remarkable attempt at reformation in the spirit of Christianity has
+been made in our day by a native Hindoo, the late Keshub-Chunder-Sen,
+the founder of the society, Brahmo Somaj in Calcutta, whose object was
+to introduce the Christian civilization in all its better forms. One day
+I went to hear a lecture by this renowned Hindoo prophet and teacher,
+which afforded me one of the most pleasant and instructive hours in my
+life. The great hall contained an audience of nearly three thousand
+people, consisting chiefly of persons of influence and high rank, among
+the cultured Hindoos of the capital. The speaker was listened to with
+the greatest attention and respect, and the impression he made could not
+but be beneficial and lasting. I sat very close to the speaker, and took
+pains to notice his ways and manners while speaking to the large
+audience. His bearing in the pulpit made a remarkable impression,
+especially when, under the influence of some absorbing and transporting
+thought, his body was stretched out to its full height, and seemed to
+grow by the glow of inspiration. He was at that time a man of about
+forty-five years of age, of robust health, of symmetrical proportions,
+and with a face which beamed with intelligence and enthusiasm. The fame
+of this man is not limited to his native land, for even in Great
+Britain, where he spent several months a few years ago, he is very
+highly respected by thinking men and women of all classes who are
+devoted to the progress and improvement of mankind, and in his own
+country he is almost idolized. His faith, as far as formulated in
+definite language, coincides with that of the Unitarians of America,
+although he called it unitrinitarian, _i.e._, he believed in one God,
+the Creator of the world and the father of all men; and also in Christ
+and the Holy Spirit as revelations of the divine, which is one but not
+as three different persons in the deity. He believed that the
+propagation of true religion in the world has been greatly impeded by
+what he called the idolatry which in Christian countries has grown up
+around the human person of Jesus Christ, manifested as in the flesh, and
+he begged the missionaries who came to India not to confuse the minds of
+the Hindoos by any such idea as a deity consisting of three different
+persons; polytheism had been the curse of India from time immemorial.
+
+Such are the main features of the teaching of this reformer which seem
+to promise a better time for the oppressed people of India. Later I
+became more intimately acquainted with him, and he had intended to visit
+America in my company, but was taken sick shortly before I left India,
+and died a couple of months thereafter.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Having received all its tributaries on its course from the Himalaya
+Mountains through Central Hindustan, the Ganges has now swelled to such
+vast proportions that it cannot keep its volume of water within one
+regular channel through the level, soft soil of the Hindoo Peninsula,
+but flows into the ocean by several independent channels. One of these
+which is called the Hoogley, and has been mentioned already, is at
+Calcutta, about eighty miles from the sea, as broad as the united
+Missouri and Mississippi at St. Louis, and still the eastern half of it,
+close to the city, is so crowded with ships, barges and boats for a
+distance of six miles that it requires great care and skill at the helm
+to navigate safely.
+
+On Jan. 2, 1882, the Calcutta rowing club had arranged a race between
+Barrackpoor and Serampoor, to which four hundred guests, including
+myself had been invited. Two large and ten smaller river steamers, all
+adorned with flowers and waving flags, lay around the pier between the
+Hoogley and the Nimtoolaghat waiting for us. Other steamers packed with
+natives, and Indian river boats with their half-naked rowers, crowded
+around the little flotilla, partly from curiosity, partly in order to
+sell flowers, garlands and fruits to the guests. On the river bank were
+thousands of Hindoos and Mohammedans sitting or standing, in white
+clothes. Here and there was a penitent Fakir, bareheaded, his half-naked
+body partly covered with ashes, his eyes riveted on a point at the
+horizon or on the water, without being in the least disturbed by the
+noise and the festivity. From Nimtoolaghat a dozen small clouds of smoke
+were seen ascending uniting into one column of smoke, above the roofless
+building. A number of unkempt, half-naked Brahmins were carrying ashes
+and bones of cremated bodies from the crematory down to the river.
+Stately carriages with murky coachmen and fore-runners in white garments
+arrived in long lines at the pier with the guests of the day. When all
+were on board, the steamers whistled, the band struck up "God save the
+Queen," and the little flotilla steamed up the river amid merry chatting
+and deafening hurrahs.
+
+[Illustration: STEAMER ON THE GANGES.]
+
+We first passed hundreds of Indian river boats from twenty-five to
+seventy-five feet long, with roofs supported by bamboo poles and loaded
+with grain, cotton, fruit, jute, goats, etc. The crews consisted of men,
+women and children who live on these river boats for years. They take
+advantage of the tides in going up or down the river, and also use a
+broad oar in the prow of the boat.
+
+[Illustration: RIVER BOAT.]
+
+On the west side of the river lies the manufacturing city Howrah, with
+the largest railroad depot in India, and dock-yards extending about two
+miles. On the east bank, a short distance above Calcutta are immense
+warehouses and hydraulic presses for preparing jute, a kind of hemp. The
+largest of these employs three thousand workmen day and night, and
+belongs to a Greek firm, Rally Brothers, who are said to have the
+greatest mercantile establishment existing. They own branch houses in
+thirty-six of the largest commercial cities of the world.
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE ON THE RIVER BANK.]
+
+[Illustration: WATER CARRIER.]
+
+Amid the happy strains of music we passed up the river. Stately palm
+trees in small groups rose above the surrounding groves, villages,
+temples and houses, while the dense foliage of other kinds of trees hung
+down the river banks wherever they were allowed to grow. Many of these
+bore flowers resembling tulips, acacias, jasmines, etc. Birds of the
+most gorgeous colors, but poor songsters, were flitting and hopping
+about among the branches; vast numbers of small, white cows and oxen
+were being herded by children on the meadows between the rice fields
+along the river, and at intervals of about two miles were temples
+consecrated to Hindoo gods. These temples were of a beautiful style and
+of perfect symmetry. Toward the river was an open portico. From this a
+flight of steps led down to the water. This was a Hindoo bathing place,
+where the holy water was taken. Just then a number of women were seen on
+the steps fetching water in clay jars, somewhat similar to the one
+Rebecca used at the well. These jars are carried either on the head or
+on the left hip. On either side of the portico, but from fifty to a
+hundred feet to the rear, stood the temples proper, in rows, facing the
+river, generally six on either side, with an eight to twelve-foot-wide
+path between each temple. The temples are about sixteen feet square,
+with a pointed roof surmounted by a round cupola. They are made of
+brick, with a coating of white plaster on the outside; there are no
+windows, and only one door, opening on the river side. Inside this door
+is a niche in which the idol is placed. Only the Brahmins are allowed to
+enter these temples; wherefore the common heathen has to content himself
+with simply looking at the god from the outside; the Christians also are
+generally kept at a respectful distance.
+
+Here and there along the banks of the river nestle rustic villages, the
+houses of which are generally square, and from sixteen to twenty feet on
+the sides, with pointed thatched roofs. The walls are of bamboo poles,
+interwoven with grass mats or plastered with mortar. There are no
+wooden floors, no furniture, and the only utensils are a few bowls of
+clay for cooking, baking vessels of brass, some straw mats spread on the
+clay floor to sleep on during the night. The country is low and flat,
+and during the wet season, which lasts from July to October, destructive
+inundations are quite frequent.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE HOUSES.]
+
+Our steamers soon approached Barrackpoor, a garrisoned city on the east
+bank of the river. This place, which is one of the summer residences of
+the viceroy, has a very beautiful park, where there are several samples
+of the remarkable banyan or sacred fig-tree. From the branches of the
+tree certain shoots grow downward, and when they reach the ground they
+strike root and grow into new trunks, so that one and the same tree
+finally covers a vast space of ground, and looks like a pillared hall.
+In the park at Barrackpoor may be seen one of these trees, large enough
+to cover one thousand men. On the west side of the river, directly
+opposite, lies the old city of Serampoor, which formerly belonged to
+Denmark, but was taken by the English in the beginning of this century,
+and now has only a few inscriptions and documents which remind us of the
+Danish period.
+
+[Illustration: BANYAN TREE.]
+
+In the river, midway between these cities, a gigantic government barge
+was anchored. On this occasion it was covered with canvas, and served as
+a dining room where a tiffin, or lunch, for four hundred persons was
+served. Our steamers anchored, and we sat down at the sumptuous tables.
+A band of forty pieces from a Sepoy regiment garrisoned at Barrackpoor
+struck up an English march, the champagne bottles popped, and all was
+life and joy. After lunch we witnessed six different boat races, all
+between Englishmen, and, the prizes having been awarded, the whole
+company walked on foot about a mile through a fine park to the railway
+station, whence a special train carried the excursionists back to
+Calcutta.
+
+After a summer of eight months in the Bengal lowlands with a constant
+temperature of 90� to 100� Fahrenheit in the shade, fresh breezes and
+cool air become luxuries more keenly enjoyed than those who live in a
+more temperate climate can conceive. To benefit by both I made a short
+journey in October, 1882, to the celebrated Himalaya mountains, among
+which the city of Darjieling is situated. The train on the Bengal
+railroad carried us about three hundred miles in a northerly direction
+through a level lowland teeming with gardens, palm groves and rice
+fields, to Siligori, at the foot of the mountains, where we arrived in
+the morning at sunrise. Having enjoyed a good breakfast and a bottle of
+Norwegian export beer at the railway eating house, we were transferred
+to a train on the Darjieling & Himalaya railroad to be carried up seven
+thousand feet high in a distance of forty-two miles.
+
+This mountain railroad is so different from all other railroads that it
+deserves a special description. It is narrow gauged in the fullest sense
+of the word, the distance between the rails being only two feet. The
+cars are very small and low, and the wheels are about twelve inches in
+diameter. The car is ten feet long and six feet wide, and contains four
+seats, each of which accommodates four persons; it is open on the sides
+so that passengers can get on and off easily and have an open view. The
+locomotive is no larger than the cars, but powerful enough to pull ten
+or twelve of them up the mountain at the rate of eight or ten miles an
+hour. Nowhere is the track straight even for a distance of a couple of
+hundred yards, but it winds right and left in the most fantastic manner,
+and reminded me strikingly of the lines described in one of the old
+country dances.
+
+The signal is given, the pigmy locomotive puffs and sputters, the train
+with its load of humanity rolls away up hills and mountains and across
+awful chasms, up, up, up; hour after hour, with a grade of one to
+eighteen and twenty-eight, or on an average of twenty-three feet. It
+winds along the rugged mountain side, over awful chasms, and with such
+short curves that one's hair stands on end when looking down or up the
+steep cliffs, the summits of which tower above the clouds. A loose stone
+rolling down, a broken rail, or a derailment would immediately hurl the
+iron horse with its cars and human lives thousands of feet down to the
+bottom of the abyss, and reduce the whole to an unrecognizable wreck.
+Beautiful trees, grass, flowers, creeping plants adorn hills and vales
+except in the ravines and cliffs, where foaming creeks and cataracts
+have torn away the vegetation by tumultuously tossing themselves from
+rock to rock, from cliff to cliff, from valley to valley, gradually
+uniting in the rivers that continually feed the mighty Ganges.
+
+The track follows a twenty-five-foot-wide driveway, the most part of
+which is hewn out of the solid rock, and on this highway may be seen the
+mountaineers from Nepaul and Thibet driving large numbers of pack
+animals (ponies and cattle) carrying products of Europe and America into
+and beyond the mountains to the peoples of northern Asia. Here and there
+on the green hills are the best tea plantations of India. These long,
+low, white buildings are the residences and factories of the planters,
+and close by are the dwellings of the native laborers, consisting of
+long rows of thatched huts, and in terraces along the steep hills are
+endless rows of tea bushes, among which laborers dressed in picturesque
+costumes of gay colors are busy picking tea, advancing in irregular
+lines--resembling the skirmish lines of an army. This picture is at
+first seen against the horizon, so far up that the men can scarcely be
+distinguished from the bushes, and a couple of hours later the same
+picture may be viewed far down in a deep valley.
+
+After awhile at the head of a long valley appear lofty, white objects
+whose summits rise far up above the mist and the clouds; it is the
+highest peaks of the Himalaya mountains, from sixty to one hundred miles
+distant. Thus the journey is continued up the mountains until the train
+finally stops at Darjieling, which is one of the most noteworthy places
+in the world. It is a sanitarium, and the summer residence of the
+government of Bengal, and during the hot season makes a favorite resort
+for many of the Hindoo nobles and princes as well as Europeans. The city
+has a few thousand inhabitants, the majority of whom are Thibetan and
+Nepaul mountaineers. There we see the Christian church, the Mohammedan
+mosque and the Hindoo temple in close proximity to each other, and on
+the streets one may often meet Catholic monks carrying the crucifix,
+and Llamas or Thibetan priests in long, brown felt mantles, turning
+their praying-wheel, which consists of an artistically made machine of
+silver, in which are engraved the following words: "Rum mahnee padme
+hang," which means, "Hail thee, jewel and lotus flower," or "Glory to
+God."
+
+[Illustration: PALACE AND TEMPLE IN THE HIMALAYAS.]
+
+Residences, churches, hotels and all public and private buildings lie in
+a semi-circle on the western slope of one of the mountains, offering a
+very fine picture. Excellent roads are built in zigzag form up and down
+over hills and mountains. There are scarcely any carriages but a kind of
+palanquin called dandies, and small ponies which are so sure-footed that
+they can climb up and down the mountains like goats. Both men and women
+ride these or are carried by three strong bearers from Thibet.
+Darjieling is elevated eight thousand feet above the level of the sea,
+and at this place black clouds may often be seen sweeping along the
+western side far below one's feet. The air is so clear, fresh and
+salubrious that it seems to infuse new strength, vitality and almost new
+life. It impels either to activity or to sleep; it is impossible to sit
+still or be mentally inactive. The view of the landscape below is
+claimed to be the most beautiful in the whole world. Beneath the
+terraces on which we walk are seen smiling valleys, one below another,
+away down far into the plains of Bengal, variegated by rivers, forests,
+cities and many-colored fields, and far away to the distant north
+against the blue horizon, one great mountain rises above and beyond
+another, capped with eternal crowns of snow high up among the restless
+clouds--twenty thousand feet higher than Darjieling, and twenty-nine
+thousand feet above the sea,--over five miles in height.
+
+The loftiest peaks are Kinchinjunga forty-five miles, and Mount Everest,
+sixty miles distant from Darjieling. It is claimed that these peaks can
+be seen for a distance of three hundred miles in clear weather. There
+these mighty giants stand clad in snowy garbs, like sentinels at the
+portals of infinite space, seemingly belonging more to heaven than to
+earth. No wonder that the Hindoos look at them with solemn awe, for cold
+and insensible to beauty and grandeur must he be, who does not, at this
+sight, feel his own littleness and the inconceivable greatness of the
+creator.
+
+
+
+
+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 F�te.
+
+
+The cholera has its home proper in India, and breeds in the Bengal
+lowlands after the rainy season, which closes in the fall. Its ravages
+are most pronounced in the month of December, but cases are quite
+frequent the whole year round. During my second year's sojourn in India
+it was very violent in December, but I would scarcely have known of it
+at all if my official duties had not made it incumbent on me to report
+from the board of health of India to that of the United States at
+Washington. Now and then I was reminded of the existence of the malady
+by the sudden deaths of my acquaintances. On three different occasions I
+enjoyed a pleasant evening entertainment in company with a number of
+friends, one of whom was not only dead, but even buried before the next
+morning.
+
+Although India is ravaged by different deadly diseases, especially a
+kind of fever of which people die after one or two days' sickness;
+still, disease and death are scarcely ever mentioned among
+Anglo-Indians. They don't like to talk about such unpleasant things. A
+friend is suddenly and unexpectedly snatched away from social circles,
+but his death is seldom or never mentioned, just as if a secret and
+united agreement of taciturnity had been entered into by the survivors.
+Once I was invited to dine at the table d'hote of the officers at the
+military station Dum-Dum, a few miles from Calcutta. I drove out there
+in the evening, and at eight o'clock I had dinner in company with about
+forty officers, the majority of whom belonged to the Scotch frontier
+regiment. Col. Chapman, one of the party, was a jolly old Scotch warrior
+and Lieut.-Col. Hill was my host. After a splendid dinner such as India
+alone can offer, the company grouped themselves around several
+whist-tables according to the custom in the higher circles among the
+English. Col. Chapman was my partner, and we parted company at one
+o'clock. I accompanied Lieut.-Col. Hill to his villa, and retired for
+the night. At eight o'clock the next morning he entered my room with the
+sad news that he was just returning from the funeral of Col. Chapman.
+The stern old warrior who returned unscathed from twenty battle-fields
+was attacked by the cholera at two o'clock, died at four o'clock, and
+was buried at six o'clock. Such is life in India.
+
+At the foot of the Himalayas is a very extensive territory called Teraj.
+Its soil is very fertile and adapted for tea culture. The whole
+territory is covered with timber, bushes and other plants, which, with
+the exception of certain cultivated portions, form an impenetrable
+jungle, affording a natural resort for tigers, leopards, and other wild
+beasts. The lofty mountains and the dense jungles shut out the sun, and
+the whole region is full of poisonous vapors which are never dispelled.
+It would be almost certain death for an European to live there for any
+length of time, and it is customary even in passing through the country
+on the railway train to take double doses of quinine as a precaution.
+The fever and cholera which are thus generated in the jungles and spread
+through the rice fields cause terrible ravages, not only among the
+Europeans, but also among the natives. Medical science has done a great
+deal to mitigate this evil, and the cholera, at least, has been
+carefully studied and controlled by the medical department of the
+Anglo-Indian army, so at present the malady is not feared so much as
+might be expected. The germs of the disease consist of microbes, which
+are carried in swarms by the wind. If such a pestiferous current of air
+strikes a place where soldiers are stationed, they are immediately
+ordered to break camp, and in a few hours the whole force is marching at
+a right angle with the wind, and after a day's march and a night's
+bivouac the physicians are generally able to tell whether the troops are
+out of the cholera district or not. If not, the march is continued day
+after day, always at a right angle with that of the preceding day, until
+the air contains no more cholera microbes.
+
+Old officers of the army told me that they had seen the cholera pass
+over one part of the camp attacking every fourth man on one side of the
+camp street without touching a single one on the other. It is claimed
+that the fear and anxiety caused by this dreadful malady are even more
+dangerous than the disease itself.
+
+One day while sitting at my breakfast table I received a message from
+the University hospital that an American sailor was very anxious to see
+me before he died. I immediately drove over there and was met at the
+entrance by the president, Dr. J. M. Coates, but when I arrived in the
+cholera apartment the man had just died. A sister of mercy was present
+at his death-bed, and had promised to carry his last message to me,
+which consisted in a greeting of love and a few trinkets to be sent to
+his mother in the state of Maine. There was a large apartment filled
+with cholera patients. Many of the native patients were visited by their
+friends and relatives; for the Hindoos do not entertain any fear of
+death, but rather court it, believing that a death caused by a
+contagious disease or a poisonous snake is simply a dispensation of
+Providence by which they are called away to a better life.
+
+As an illustration of this fact I mention the following incident: One
+day while I was inspecting an American vessel a Hindoo laborer fell
+overboard, and a Norwegian sailor plunged into the water and saved him.
+After being brought safely on the deck the Hindoo became so angry at the
+Norwegian that he could have killed him, simply because he had prevented
+his entering paradise. Such occurrences are quite frequent.
+
+I mentioned that I met a sister of mercy at the death-bed of an American
+cholera patient in the hospital. I cannot neglect this opportunity to
+express my heartfelt gratitude to these noble women, the modern nuns of
+the Catholic church. I have seen them in the dens of degradation and
+wretchedness in the American cities, among the sick, wounded and dying
+soldiers on the battle-fields of the South; I have seen them in an
+Arabian sea-port, searching for poverty-stricken travelers, among the
+cholera patients and among the unfortunate inmates of the prisons of
+India, always performing the same angelic duty, helping the poor,
+tending the sick, and comforting the despondent. Of course I am no
+Catholic, nor is it my intention to defend the Catholic faith; but I
+wish to acknowledge my appreciation of and pay my respect to the noble
+work which the priests and nuns of that church are carrying on among the
+lowly and erring members of our race.
+
+The Hindoos are the most polite and clever people I ever saw. Their
+manners are exquisitely fine; no rudeness, no profanity, no intemperance
+is to be found among them, not even among the lowest classes. As has
+been said already, the higher classes are exceedingly polished and
+cleanly; all treat their parents and old people with marked respect. I
+shall narrate a few incidents to illustrate this: Shortly after my
+arrival in Calcutta I became acquainted with the two Princes Tagore,
+especially the younger of them. They are titled princes, and enormously
+rich. They have many palaces, hundreds of secretaries, workingmen,
+servants, and pensioners, and, as is the custom among the Hindoos, whose
+families are governed according to the principles of patriarchal life,
+they all live together and get their support from the common property. I
+visited them several times, but mostly the younger prince who was at
+that time about forty-five years old, and a great admirer of America.
+Although a man of that age and rank he never talked in the presence of
+his elder brother until the latter had by a word or a nod signified that
+he was allowed to speak. A son is never allowed to talk in the presence
+of his father until the latter has finished. The eldest member of the
+family is its highest ruler, and even the Princes Tagore would never
+take any important steps before obtaining the consent of their aged
+mother.
+
+Many prominent Hindoos and Mohammedans, some of whom were native rulers,
+came and visited me, before they invited me to their great f�tes. One of
+the frequent visitors was Dr. L. N. Maitra, a Brahmin of the highest
+class, and one of the most intelligent and clever men I met in India. He
+used to sit with me for hours, telling about the life, history and
+religion of the Hindoos. Having become acquainted with each other by
+several months' intercourse, one day he sat a long while at my house as
+if absorbed in deep thought, and when he was ready to leave he asked if
+I would allow him to recite a Hindoo proverb in Sanskrit. In doing this
+he proved himself to be a fine elocutionist, and it seemed to me that I
+had never heard more music in prose, although I could not, of course,
+understand a single word of it.
+
+[Illustration: DR. MAITRA READING SANSKRIT.]
+
+I asked him for a translation, and the next day he sent me one with the
+assurance that he intended to apply the proverb to me. It reads thus:
+"Do not enter into a very intimate acquaintance with anybody; but if you
+do, see that your friend is not a stranger; but if he is a stranger, see
+to it that he is not an educated man; but if he is educated, never part
+from him; but if fate compels you to part from him, then try to control
+that which we cannot control, that is, die, for death alone can make up
+for the loss of such a good man." I have told this to show not only the
+Hindoo's conception of the happiness of death, but also his exquisite
+politeness and delicacy of feeling.
+
+When a Hindoo wishes to pay an elderly man or woman his respect or in
+some manner honor them, he calls them father or mother, or, if they are
+his equals in age, brother or sister. Even to-day, when my former clerks
+write to me they call me father, and ask me to remember them to their
+dear mother, that is, my wife.
+
+[Illustration: MY CHIEF CLERK.]
+
+On a few occasions some Hindoo princes and nobles would arrange special
+entertainments and f�tes for me, or rather in honor of the country
+represented by me, and on such occasions the invitation was not limited
+to me, but was extended to my friends also, so that I could take with me
+of these as many as I pleased.
+
+The Tagore family had a beautiful country house outside the city, where,
+one day shortly after my arrival, a party was given in honor of myself
+as representing the United States. Among the friends who accompanied me
+on this occasion was the Danish traveler, D'Irgens-Bergh, whose
+acquaintance I had made on my journey from Naples to Alexandria. The
+villa might more correctly have been called a palace, for it was on a
+grand scale and a perfect gem of architectural beauty. The floors and
+walls of all apartments were of marble. A beautiful and finely kept park
+surrounded the palace, and here, on the evening of our visit, hundreds
+of Chinese lanterns illuminated the spacious grounds. The most brilliant
+feature of the entertainment was music rendered by a complete orchestra
+of native musicians who used Hindoo instruments entirely different from
+ours; but pianos, guitars and other instruments with which we are
+acquainted, were also used. The younger prince was a great lover of
+music, and maintained, at his own expense, a conservatory of music and a
+large orchestra, giving instruction in music free of charge to any young
+man who was peculiarly gifted in that line. He is also well versed in
+Sanskrit literature, and has written several scientific works in
+Sanskrit. Before I left he presented me with one of these works
+containing his autograph, which is reproduced here as a sample of the
+hand-writing of an educated Hindoo:
+
+[Illustration: (dedication note)]
+
+Our refreshments at the f�te consisted of dainties prepared by native
+cooks. Cream, rice, sugar, eggs, fish, flour, and spices were the chief
+ingredients of the different courses. Champagne and other European
+drinks were served with the courses, and after the repast we were
+offered coffee, and the servants brought wash basins and towels. Finally
+the major domo passed an urn-shaped golden goblet, placed on a gold
+tray. In this goblet was a fine sponge soaked with attar of roses, which
+costs about a dollar a drop, and in which the guests dipped the tips of
+their fingers and moistened their foreheads and clothes. The least
+contact with this attar causes a fragrance which lasts for months.
+
+Neither on this occasion nor at any other festivity arranged by native
+Hindoos were any of the women present or visible to us, although we knew
+they were close enough to see us through windows or gratings. The men
+themselves assisted in waiting on us, but tasted nothing in our
+presence. When finally the carriages drove up and the guests parted each
+one of them received a huge bouquet of beautiful, fragrant flowers.
+
+[Illustration: RAJAH TAGORE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+Agriculture, Manufacture and Architecture--Wheat Growing--The
+  Farm Laborer--His Condition, Implements, etc. The
+  Taj-Mahal--Jugglers--Snake Charmers--From My Journal.
+
+
+A large majority of the Hindoos are agriculturists. The staple crops are
+wheat, rice, and different species of pease. The wheat production of
+India exerts a great influence on the grain market of Europe, and is one
+of the most dangerous competitors to our American wheat. Having been
+ordered by the United States government to report on the wheat growing
+of India, I made this a special object of investigation and study, and
+in December, 1882, sent a report to the government in Washington which
+is our first reliable information on that subject; it elicited a great
+deal of attention, and was a source of genuine surprise in this country.
+I submit a few extracts from this report:
+
+  The annual wheat production of India now reaches two hundred and forty
+  million bushels, of which two hundred million may be exported, while
+  the natives make their bread from other kinds of grain. The total area
+  devoted to wheat each year is now a little over twenty million acres,
+  and the best average yield is thirteen and one-half bushels per acre.
+  Wheat growing is now receiving the special attention of the general
+  and local governments, and important works are being made and
+  projected for an extensive system of canal irrigation. One of these,
+  the Sirhind canal in the Punjab, has just been completed; it was built
+  mainly by prison labor, is five hundred and two miles long, and will
+  irrigate seven hundred and eighty thousand acres through two thousand
+  five hundred miles of minor channels.
+
+  The wheat is sown in the autumn and harvested in March or April; it
+  is usually sown in drills or rows, weeded like garden stuff, and in
+  quantities not much larger than garden patches in the United States.
+  The agricultural population numbers nearly two hundred millions; it is
+  the aggregate of innumerable little units which, in agriculture, as in
+  everything else in India, brings the country into importance; and this
+  fact is so closely interwoven with the whole social, industrial and
+  legal network of India, that it bears a strong influence even upon the
+  future question of Indian _versus_ American wheat.
+
+[Illustration: PLOWING IN INDIA.]
+
+  The Indian agriculturist,--"Ryot,"--can in no sense be compared to the
+  American farmer, but rather to the late serf of Russia. He is a tenant
+  on hard conditions, and is by custom and bigotry almost a fixture on
+  the spot of land where he was born; his farming is done on a very
+  small scale and according to old methods, to which he clings with
+  religious veneration; his wants are very few, and he endures poverty
+  and even hunger with patience; he cultivates his patch of five to
+  fifteen acres on shares for the landed proprietor,--"zemindar,"--who
+  holds under rental to the government, and the better half of his gross
+  income generally goes to the zemindar, the priest (Brahmin) and the
+  usurer, in the form of rent, presents, offerings and interest, and if
+  he can net ten cents a day by his hard and hopeless labor, that will
+  suffice for the most pressing wants of his household. His home is a
+  mud, or bamboo-hut, his property a pair of small bullocks, a few cows,
+  calves and goats, a wooden cart, and a few brass and earthen pots, in
+  all worth about fifty dollars, and his implements and tools are of the
+  rudest kind, such as his ancestors used a thousand years ago; and yet
+  he is making some progress under British rule, and finds his wants
+  increasing, and at the same time better outlets for his produce and
+  better recompense for his labor, and on the whole, is so independent
+  on ten cents a day, that he will eat or store his wheat rather than
+  sell it below a certain price. Of course he does not employ machinery
+  in farming, but plows his land with a crooked piece of iron-pointed
+  wood, harrows it with an instrument resembling a common ladder laid
+  flat on the ground and dragged by little bullocks crossways over the
+  field; he sows by hand, reaps with a rude sickle, carries the sheaves
+  home on his back or in the bullock cart, threshes them with a wooden
+  club, or lets the cattle tramp out the grain, and cleans it by
+  hand-winnowing.
+
+[Illustration: LABORERS AT THE INDIGO PRESS.]
+
+India of course yields a great number of other kinds of agricultural
+products, especially the indigo plant, from which the renowned
+dye-stuff is made; rape, mustard and other species of seeds from which
+oils are pressed, the opium plant, etc.
+
+In the cities and towns the people devote themselves to trades and
+handicrafts, in some of which they attain greater perfection than any
+other people. Their beautiful carvings in wood and ivory, their
+exquisite embroideries, their textiles and yarns exceed everything in
+that line. But their ability is not due to any genius or ingenuity, but
+to close observation and patient application. According to their
+religious tenets the sons must learn the trade of their father, and they
+begin to work at his side as soon as they can handle a needle, chisel,
+or other tool, and continue the practice day after day, year after year,
+until they also in turn, have taught their children and grandchildren
+the same trade. Certain places are noted for certain industries, as
+Dakka for its fine muslin; Benares for its embroideries, etc. The muslin
+weavers of Dakka can with their hands spin and weave fabrics which are
+almost as fine as cobweb, and a person who is not accustomed to such
+work would not be able to feel the thread between his fingers; but the
+sensitiveness of the Hindoo spinner in Dakka has been developed to such
+an extraordinary degree during a hundred generations that he is able to
+perform works which would be perfectly impossible for others. I have
+seen a garment presented to a Hindoo king which was so fine in texture
+that, although it was a complete suit, it was folded up and safely
+packed into a mango shell, which is only a little larger than an almond
+shell, and thus presented. I have in my possession a little box two
+inches wide and four inches long, made of sandal-wood and adorned with
+fine carvings; all the edges are inlaid with pieces of ivory, in which
+are again inlaid more than two thousand separate pieces of different
+metals so skilfully put together that the joints can not be detected
+even by using a magnifying glass.
+
+In architecture the Hindoos also distinguished themselves centuries ago
+by the erection of buildings which are still objects of the admiration
+of the world. One of these master works of architecture is regarded as
+the most beautiful ever erected by the hands of men. It is the Taj-Mahal
+at Agra, a mausoleum erected by emperor Shah Jehan over the remains of
+his wife, Bengos Begum, who died in 1630. "During a period of seventeen
+years after her death Shah Jehan collected building material of marble
+and precious stones to be used in the construction of the mausoleum. All
+parts of India contributed to this, as did the different parts of the
+Holy Land to the temple of Solomon, and its estimated cost is
+twenty-five million dollars. It is built in Moorish style, with slender
+pillars, and its majesty and beauty profoundly impress the beholder.
+Many buildings in the world excel this temple in size, but none can
+rival it in ideal beauty and finish. It looks more like a temple of
+thanksgiving and praise than an abode of sorrow, and the spirit of love
+seems to fill its silent chambers, quickening and warming the cold
+marble and transforming the whole building into a dream, into a psalm in
+stone. It is rich in mosaics, and precious stones of different colors
+assume the shape of fresh vines and living flowers. There it stands in
+solemn silence on the banks of the Jumna, like an enchanted vision. It
+seemed to grow in magnificent splendor before my eyes as I approached
+it. The airy dome and the white marble pillars glittered in fabulous,
+mystic beauty, and towered far above the gigantic cypress trees, which
+stood in rows like sentinels around it. One enters the park in front of
+the main building through a pillared archway of colossal dimensions,
+built of red sand-stone and surmounted by twenty-six white cupolas. The
+height of the arches is one hundred and forty feet.
+
+[Illustration: TAJ-MAHAL.]
+
+"Taj-Mahal is erected on a base of red sand-stone nine hundred and
+sixty-four feet long and three hundred and twenty-nine feet wide, one
+side of which is washed by the river Jumna, and on each of the four
+corners is a tower of red sand-stone covered by a white marble kiosk.
+Two mosques take up the east and west sides. From this ground rises a
+fine terrace of white marble, three hundred and thirteen feet square, in
+the center of which is the beautiful main building itself. At each angle
+is an airy marble spire of exquisite style, surmounted by a noble cupola
+resting on eight pillars. They are about one hundred and fifty feet
+high, and a spiral stairway leads to the very top. The ground-plan of
+Taj-Mahal forms a regular octangle. The four sides on which the
+entrances are located are each about one hundred and thirty feet long,
+and turn to the four cardinal points of the compass. The roof is seventy
+feet above the base. Over each corner is a gorgeous spire, and over the
+center towers a marble dome measuring seventy feet in diameter, and
+rising to a height of one hundred and twenty feet. It is covered by a
+gilt vault in the shape of a half-moon about two hundred and sixty feet
+above the floor. All this is of the finest Jaypoor marble, carefully
+polished, and still retaining its pure color.
+
+"Notwithstanding the colossal size of Taj-Mahal, every part of it, from
+the foundation to the dome, is adorned with artistically executed
+designs, and the whole is as carefully wrought as the finest ebony
+ornament. Thus the entire Koran is inscribed on it. Even to-day the
+burial vault of the beautiful queen is filled with the fragrance of
+roses, jasmines and sandal-wood. The graves of the empress and emperor
+constitute sarcophagi of the purest marble, covered with elegant inlays
+of agate, carnelians, lapis lazuli and other precious stones, and
+surrounded by a six-foot-high gallery in the open net-work of which
+lilies, roses and other flowers of gems are inlaid. The dome in
+Taj-Mahal produces an echo which is more pleasant, pure and lasting than
+any other. A single musical sound produced by the human voice seems to
+flow or soar up there like a prolonged, pleasant modulation, which dies
+away so slowly that one seems to hear it after it is silent, just as one
+seems to see a lark after following it with the eyes after it has
+disappeared. Twenty thousand workmen were engaged for twenty-two years
+in erecting this mausoleum."
+
+These recollections from India would be incomplete if I should omit to
+describe some of the wonderful tricks which I saw performed by Hindoo
+jugglers. As I was sitting one day in an open place before the hotel in
+Benares, together with some English army officers, an ordinary looking
+Hindoo of the lower classes, accompanied by a small boy, appeared before
+us, and asked permission to show the mango trick. This being granted,
+the boy scraped up some earth on the road before our eyes, and made a
+little mound of it on the floor of the open veranda in front of the
+hotel. The magician, who had no other garment on than a loosely wrapped
+cotton cloth, usually worn by the men, and in his hand a white cloth and
+a little bag containing a few sticks and other small implements, stooped
+down beside the little mound of earth, and, with his eyes fixed on us,
+took a mango kernel about twice the size of a peach stone, which he
+planted in the little mound. Having smoothed the mound with his hands he
+recited several prayers and incantations, and made some motions over the
+mound with a magic wand, carefully assuming an air of expectancy. After
+a minute or two we saw the mound slowly opening at the top and the
+tender shoot of a plant coming up through the crack. The Hindoo sat with
+folded hands, occasionally breathing on the plant, and every now and
+then he would invoke some invisible being. Meanwhile the plant grew
+taller and more solid, until it finally assumed the shape of a dwarf
+tree, which kept growing and sent out branches and leaves. This
+development took place gradually and slowly, until finally a ripe mango
+fruit was seen hanging down from one of the branches. During this
+wonderful performance the magician had only now and then for a moment
+covered the plant with the cloth in his hand.
+
+At another time, when I was on the deck of a large steamer, a Hindoo
+accompanied by a little girl asked the passengers to permit him to
+perform a trick. This being granted, he placed a round wicker basket,
+resembling a paper wastebasket, on the deck, and the little girl sat
+down in it so that her head and feet were flush with the edge of the
+basket, which was thus fairly filled up by the girl. Thereupon the
+Hindoo put the cover on and took a long, straight, double-edged sword
+which he ran through the basket in all directions. It was a shocking
+sight, some of the ladies screamed, others fainted. But when he removed
+the cover from the basket the girl came out alive and without injury.
+The sword was handed to us for inspection, and I am perfectly sure that
+it was a straight, solid, honest infantry weapon. During all this time
+the basket stood on the deck of the ship so that no springs, machinery
+or other contrivance could be concealed under it.
+
+Snake charmers are very common in India. "When one of these is to
+perform a trick he asks for a piece of paper, which he puts in the
+out-stretched hand of the spectator, and begins to play on his flute,
+and stare with his eyes as if he sees something near the hand. His whole
+body seems to be changed; writhing like a worm, he continually plays on
+the instrument and keeps his eyes riveted on the hand. Suddenly he
+rushes forward and points to the same. But the spectator sees nothing,
+and the charmer again plays and contorts his body still more wildly. His
+arms are bare up to the elbows, and he holds the flute with both hands.
+Suddenly he throws his flute away, continues his motions and repeats
+incantations. Again he points to the paper, and while the observer turns
+his eyes in that direction without seeing anything unusual, the charmer
+presses his folded hands down on it and pulls out three large cobras,
+raising their heads and stretching out their poisonous tongues in
+different directions while he holds them in his hand."
+
+[Illustration: SNAKE CHARMERS.]
+
+These and similar tricks are performed daily, yet no one has been able
+to detect how they are done. The theory of hypnotism has recently been
+advanced, and it does not seem improbable.
+
+The following extract from my journal may be of interest:
+
+  Oct. 8, 1882.--Yesterday I witnessed one of the most important
+  expressions of public opinion ever recorded in Asia, in favor of
+  religious liberty. Three thousand prominent persons, mostly Hindoos
+  and Mohammedans, and a few Christians and Parsees, assembled in the
+  city hall of Calcutta, and brilliant speeches were made eliciting most
+  animated applause from the native non-Christian inhabitants as a
+  protest against the police prosecuting the salvation army, lately
+  arrived in Bombay. What do the American and European Christians think
+  of the necessity for Brahmins, Mohammedans, and Parsees to protest
+  against prosecutions by Christians against Christians?
+
+  Darjieling, Oct. 17, 1882.--Here dwells a tribe of mountaineers who
+  are polyandrists, the reverse of polygamists. Each woman has several
+  husbands, who are generally brothers or near relatives. This practice
+  has locally decreased the population, while in all other Hindoo sects
+  it is rapidly increasing.
+
+  The English aristocracy is strongly represented here. The summer
+  residence of the Bengal government, which is located here, as well as
+  the excellent sanitarium, attract thousands of travelers. Excursions,
+  dinners, balls and other festivities follow each other in rapid
+  succession. This afternoon I was present at one of these gatherings,
+  and met the Greek merchant Patochi, and made other interesting
+  acquaintances. This evening shall attend a ball given by the governor
+  of Bengal. At all these parties "simkim," or champagne, flows in
+  streams. Life is gay and luxurious among the aristocracy in India.
+
+  Nov. 23, 1882.--Was present at a quiet and select entertainment with
+  the king of Kutch Behar, in his palace in Calcutta. His wife is a
+  daughter of the great Hindoo reformer Keshub-Chunder-Sen; she is a
+  well educated, beautiful woman, who, together with her husband, the
+  young and elegant king, defies the Hindoo caste restrictions, and
+  appears publicly in company with other ladies and gentlemen.
+
+  Dec. 28, 1882.--Attended the decennial missionary conference; five
+  hundred missionaries from all parts of Asia, Africa and Australia were
+  present, and made it a most interesting religious convention. It was a
+  gathering of highly cultivated, intelligent, courageous men and women,
+  from the gray haired veteran to the young novice fresh from college.
+  The American missionaries took a most prominent part, notable among
+  whom was Dr. Thoburn, since made a bishop in the Methodist church.
+  There were also three Swedes, with whom I formed an
+  acquaintance,--Ungert, Edman and Erikson.
+
+  Jan. 18, 1883.--Attended the great state ball in the palace of the
+  viceroy. Fifteen hundred guests were present, and the throng formed a
+  brilliant picture of beauty, fashion and royal splendor. There were
+  many native nobles, princes and rulers, the most prominent ones being
+  the gawkwar (king) of Baroda, and the Kahn of Khelat. Wherever the
+  gawkwar went he was closely followed by half a dozen turbaned
+  attendants and four body guards armed with daggers and cimeters, or
+  Damascus blades. His garment consisted of blue and green plush and
+  satin, and the many-colored turban was almost covered with diamonds.
+  It was claimed that the jewels he wore that evening on his breast and
+  turban had a value of two million dollars.
+
+  Feb. 10, 1883.--In spite of all efforts to live quietly I am
+  incessantly drawn into the whirl of social life; yesterday I attended
+  one of the most pleasant festivities of the season. It was a
+  magnificent f�te given by the Mohammedan prince Raja Rajendra Naryan
+  Bahadur in his gorgeous palace and parks in Shova Bazar in honor of
+  the British victory in Egypt. Three thousand guests were present.
+  All kinds of amusements were arranged, such as dancing, concerts, a
+  circus with uninterrupted performances, nautches or dances performed
+  by native dancing girls, etc. In different parts of the palace
+  refreshments were served, all in the same grand style as the rest of
+  the entertainment. The parks and gardens were illuminated by thousands
+  of Chinese lanterns and many electric lights.
+
+The following is also taken from my journal:
+
+  * * * Received visits from the Reverend Phillips Brooks and Joseph
+  Cook, and from a young Swedish count, Wachtmeister by name, who was on
+  his way through Asia, and also from a young prince from Madagascar, a
+  son of the queen of that country, who, under the guidance of Ludvig
+  Larson, a Norwegian sea captain, made a voyage through the seas of
+  Asia for the purpose of learning practical navigation. The young
+  prince spoke English fluently, and was a very intelligent man.
+
+  Attended a great festival at a masonic lodge where about one hundred
+  and fifty members of the order were present, among whom were men of
+  nearly every nationality and religion. The Master's degree was
+  conferred on three brothers who knelt before the same altar. One was a
+  Christian, and took his obligation with the hand on the Bible; one was
+  a Mohammedan, who took it with the hand on the Koran; the third, a
+  Hindoo, with his hand on the Shastra. The obligation was dictated by
+  an English lord, judge of the supreme court, assisted by the secretary
+  of the Grand Lodge, my friend Rustomji, a Parsee and fire-worshiper.
+  With the religious intolerance in India, where all unite in hating the
+  Christians, it is only among the Free Masons, who know of no
+  nationality, race or other barrier, that such things are possible.
+
+[Illustration: THE GODDESS KALI.]
+
+  Visited the temple of the goddess Kali in a suburb of Calcutta. Kali
+  is the goddess of hate and vengence, and this temple is one of the
+  most celebrated in India. One hundred and fifty Brahmin priests
+  officiate in the same. The chief priest, Roonish-Chunder-Mokerje, was
+  a young man with liberal education. He had spent several years in
+  American mission schools. His office is held by inheritance. He was a
+  most agreeable companion, well versed in western as well as Sanskrit
+  literature. Once upon telling him that I had an intimate friend in
+  Sweden who was a Christian priest, he gave me some pictures of the
+  goddess Kali and other idols to send him with his compliments. In
+  return, I had the pleasure a few months later to present him with a
+  Swedish Bible, with his name in golden letters on the cover, from my
+  friend, the Swedish minister, which present he cherished very highly.
+  This Bible is now kept in the temple of Kali.
+
+  At my request Mokerje prepared a brief extract of the religious
+  doctrine of the Hindoos, which reads as follows:
+
+  "We believe in heaven and hell as temporary abodes of reward and
+  punishment. When a man dies his good and evil deeds are weighed on the
+  scales. First he goes to heaven to receive his reward, then to hell to
+  suffer in proportion to his sins. When everything is squared up he
+  again returns to the world in the form of another being, the same
+  process is repeated again and again, and he can attain perfect bliss
+  only after he has reached such a stage of development that he can do
+  neither good nor evil deeds, but must lose himself in the
+  contemplation of God until he finally ceases to exist as an individual
+  being, and is reunited with God of whom he really constitutes a part."
+
+[Illustration: ABDUL, MY MOHAMMEDAN SERVANT.]
+
+  Was invited to the home of Col. Gordon to see some proofs of
+  occultation, which is very wide-spread in India, and witnessed
+  phenomena, which were so strange, that I hesitate to write them down.
+  I saw heavy objects moving in the air through the room above our
+  heads, and a man with the chair on which he sat rising several feet
+  from the floor without the aid of any visible force whatever. I heard
+  a slate pencil, moved by an invisible power, writing on a slate, and
+  read in plain English what was written. I also saw in the same manner
+  a pen writing on paper with ink, and felt with my hand the moisture of
+  the ink. I know not wherein the invisible power consisted which caused
+  these phenomena, but that such a power does exist I know for certain,
+  for in this case, at least, there was no chance for deception.
+
+  At the home of the prince Tagore I met the renowned Madame Blavatsky,
+  and many Hindoo theosophists. She is a large, corpulent woman, with
+  intelligent, though rather coarse, features. She believes that she is
+  attended by Kut-Humis-Lal-Sing, a Buddhistic hermit who is claimed to
+  be two thousand years old, and have the power of moving his "astral
+  body" as swiftly as thought to the most distant places. For my part I
+  saw nothing remarkable among the theosophists, but it is a common
+  belief among the Hindoos that certain pundits, or learned men, who
+  for years have lived in the mountains as hermits, abstaining from food
+  and all sensual pleasures, thereby attain such a power of mind over
+  matter as to be able to separate the former from the body and let it,
+  untrammeled by the laws of matter, move from place to place, still
+  retaining the same form and ability to speak and act. Whether this is
+  so or not I cannot say, but this I know, that "there are more things
+  in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy."
+
+[Illustration: TYPES OF MOHAMMEDAN SERVANTS.]
+
+[Illustration: SOBULLA, AN IDIOT.]
+
+  What luxuries one may enjoy here in the most pleasant company,--a
+  glorious nature, palatial residences, choice fruits, dishes and wines,
+  pleasures of all kinds, surrounded by a host of servants, who, in
+  snow-white garments and with bare feet, noiselessly and swiftly move
+  about in order to gratify one's desires upon the slightest sign,--and
+  still how I long for the home in the North, with the cool winds and
+  frost and snow which quicken the blood, give appetite, and fill one
+  with a feeling of surging vitality and energy, unknown in the
+  enervating climates of the South.
+
+  From my veranda I see a crowd of people on the street who seem to pay
+  homage to some one. It proves to be an idiotic beggar, Sobulla. The
+  Hindoos believe that when a person has lost his reason he is filled
+  with the spirit of God, and hence they always treat the insane with
+  respect and tender care.
+
+  This April heat makes it easy to realize the Hindoo proverb, which
+  says: "Never run when you may walk, never walk when you may stand
+  still, never stand when you may sit, never sit when you may lie down."
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+From our point of view the social condition of women in India is highly
+deplorable. The women are not regarded as the equals of men, but rather
+as an appendix to them. Their religion teaches that they have no
+acknowledged rights as individuals, and that the only happiness they can
+attain in this world and in the world to come is to become wives and
+mothers of men, and that the more a woman sacrifices herself for man the
+greater will be her reward in the future. If the man to whom she is
+married dies, the remainder of her life is full of sorrow and suffering,
+and it is only in the life hereafter that she can expect any happiness,
+and that by being reunited with him.
+
+This belief gave rise to the so-called "sati," or the custom to burn the
+wife on her deceased husband's pyre in order that she might _at once_ be
+reunited with him and enjoy salvation through him. "Sati" is now
+prohibited by the English government, but every widow in India is still
+doomed to a life of misery and degradation.
+
+When we consider that polygamy is practiced to a very large extent among
+the rich so that a man is allowed to have any number of wives, and
+may keep on taking new wives as long as he lives, it may easily be
+understood what a great number of widows there must be. There is an old
+man, for example, who dies and leaves many widows of different ages,
+some of them only ten or twelve years old, none of whom are allowed to
+marry a second time. They are deprived of all ornaments, and compelled
+to wear a very coarse, plain dress, to live on the plainest food, and
+work hard for the man who inherits the property of the deceased husband,
+and who is generally his brother or his son. This is the reason that
+rich families have a large number of women in all ranks and conditions,
+from the mistress of the house, which position is held by the husband's
+mother, to the humblest servant woman. The education of women is
+prohibited; hence they are very much like children, playing with their
+dolls, jewels and other toys, and having no higher idea of life in
+general than what they have been taught in the nursery. It is rather
+fortunate, therefore, that these lamentable victims of prejudice live in
+ignorance, as long as the present condition exists, for otherwise their
+life would be still more miserable.
+
+In the course of the last few years missionaries from Europe and America
+have opened schools for the education of girls. The most prominent of
+these is located in Calcutta, and has many branches in other parts of
+India. It is called "the American Zenana," or ladies' mission, and
+during my stay in India it was managed by a Miss Hook, a very estimable
+lady of Danish descent, the fruits of whose noble work will be of
+incalculable value to future millions of Hindoo women.
+
+[Illustration: MISSION HOME AND SCHOOL.]
+
+At an examination in this school I had the honor of distributing the
+prizes, consisting of five hundred American dolls sent by Cyrus Field of
+New York. The recipients were the most dainty and pretty little girls
+one could see. I wish I could describe this festivity. I sat on the
+platform in the great hall with Miss Hook to the right, a pundit or
+learned Brahmin to the left, and surrounded by the American and native
+teachers and some American tourists. The immense hall might be compared
+with a beautiful flower terrace alive with different colors, every
+little girl shining like a pretty flower in her red, green, white, blue
+or purple dress, her pretty black hair sparkling with gold and silver
+ornaments or jewels. They were all listening with close attention until
+their names were called, when they modestly, their faces beaming with
+joy, stepped up to receive the pretty dolls sent by the generous
+American.
+
+At first these schools met with bitter opposition on the part of the
+better classes of natives, but these prejudices gradually died away, and
+at present the mission schools are not subject to either persecution or
+ill-will.
+
+One day in February, 1883, I received a visit at my home by a Brahmin of
+the highest class, accompanied by his young wife and her little sister.
+Her name was Annandabai Joshee. Her husband was postmaster in the old
+Danish city Serampoor. He was a highly educated man, about forty years
+of age, with fine, affable manners. His wife was nineteen years old, and
+they had been married nine years. With the exception of the queen of
+Kutch Behar and a few in the Zenana mission, she was the first educated
+Hindoo woman that I had met. Her husband had given her an excellent
+education.
+
+[Illustration: ANNANDABAI JOSHEE.]
+
+Their errand was to consult me and, if possible, obtain my assistance in
+a matter of the greatest importance to the women of India. The young
+woman had reflected somewhat in this manner: "Since I have acquired
+education, and the same amount of knowledge as a man, why may not other
+women in India do the same? In America many women are renowned for their
+great learning, and many of them are doctors of medicine. The women of
+India are not allowed to be visited by any man except their husband, and
+as all our physicians are men, who cannot see and carefully examine
+their female patients, they cannot, of course, prescribe proper
+treatment for them; hence many women in India must suffer and die
+without a remedy, which often could be avoided if women studied
+medicine. If American women can become physicians, then I can, and I
+have decided to go to America and enter the female medical college in
+Philadelphia and study for the degree of doctor of medicine, and then
+return to India and do good among my countrywomen, and disprove the
+false doctrine which keeps Hindoo women in ignorance and degradation."
+Her husband was very enthusiastic for her plan, and, being rich, was
+also able to assist her in carrying it out if I would favor it and
+contribute toward its realization by reason of the influence my official
+position gave.
+
+A few weeks later, the noble minded little Brahmin woman was on her way
+across the great ocean to that country where not only man but also woman
+enjoys a free existence. She carried official letters from me to all
+American authorities with which she might come in contact, also to the
+mayor of Philadelphia, and to the state department at Washington. Before
+leaving Calcutta she delivered an extempore address before a large
+audience at the University of Serampoor, of which address I have made
+the following extracts:
+
+"I am asked hundreds of questions about my going to America. I take this
+opportunity to answer some of them.
+
+"I go to America because I wish to study medicine. I now address the
+ladies present here, who will be the better judges of the importance of
+female medical assistance in India. I never consider this subject
+without being impressed that none of those societies so laudably
+established in India for the promotion of science and female education
+have ever thought of sending one of their female members into the more
+civilized parts of the world to procure thorough medical knowledge, in
+order to open here a college for the instruction of women in medicine.
+The want of female physicians in India is keenly felt in every quarter.
+Ladies, both European and native, are naturally averse to expose
+themselves in cases of emergency to treatment by doctors of the other
+sex. There are some female doctors in India from Europe and America,
+who, being foreigners, and different in manners, customs and language,
+have not been of such use to our women as they might. As it is very
+natural that Hindoo ladies who love their own country and people should
+not feel at home with the natives of the other countries, we Indian
+women absolutely derive no benefit from these foreign ladies. They
+indeed have the appearance of supplying our need, but the appearance is
+delusive. In my humble opinion there is a growing need for Hindoo lady
+doctors in India, and I volunteer to qualify myself for one.
+
+"Are there no means to study in India? I do not mean to say there are
+_no_ means, but the difficulties are many and great. There is one
+college at Madras, and midwifery classes are open in all the
+presidencies; but the education imparted is defective and insufficient,
+as the instructors are conservative, and to some extent jealous. I do
+not find fault with them. That is the character of the male sex. We must
+put up with this inconvenience until we have a class of educated ladies
+to relieve these men. I am neither a Christian nor a Brahmin. To
+continue to live as a Hindoo, and go to school in any part of India, is
+very difficult. A convert who wears an English dress is not so much
+stared at. Native Christian ladies are free from the opposition or
+public scandal which Hindoo ladies like myself have to meet within and
+without the Zenana. If I go alone by train or in the street some people
+come near to stare and ask impertinent questions to annoy me. Example is
+better than precept. Some few years ago, when I was in Bombay, I used to
+go to school. When people saw me going with my books in my hand they had
+the goodness to put their heads out of the window just to have a look at
+me. Some stopped their carriages for the purpose. Others walking in the
+streets stood laughing, and crying out so that I could hear: 'What is
+this? Who is this lady who is going to school with boots and stockings
+on?' Does not this show that the Kali Ugla has stamped its character on
+the minds of the people? Ladies and gentlemen, you can easily imagine
+what effect questions like this would have on your minds if you had been
+in my place!
+
+"Once it happened that I was obliged to stay in school for some time,
+and go twice a day for my meals to the house of a relative. Passers-by,
+whenever they saw me going, gathered round me. Some of them made fun and
+were convulsed with laughter. Others, sitting respectably on their
+verandas, made ridiculous remarks, and did not feel ashamed to throw
+pebbles at me. The shop-keepers and venders spit at the sight of me, and
+made gestures too indecent to describe. I leave it to you to imagine
+what was my condition at such time, and how I could gladly have burst
+through the crowd to make my home nearer.
+
+"Yet the boldness of my Bengali brethren cannot be exceded, and is still
+more serious to contemplate than the instances I have given from Bombay.
+Surely it deserves pity. If I go to take a walk on the strand,
+Englishmen are not so bold as to look at me. Even the soldiers are never
+troublesome, but the Baboo boys[6] have their levity by making fun of
+everything. 'Who are you?' 'What caste do you belong to?' 'Whence do you
+come?' 'Where do you go?'--are in my opinion, questions that should not
+be asked by strangers. There are some educated native Christians here in
+Serampoor who are suspicious; they are still wondering whether I am
+married or a widow; a woman of bad character or excommunicated. Dear
+audience, does it become my native and Christian brethren to be so
+uncharitable? Certainly not. I place these unpleasant things before you
+that those whom they concern most may rectify them, and that those who
+have never thought of the difficulties may see that I am not going to
+America through any whim or caprice.
+
+[Footnote 6: Educated Hindoo of the middle class.]
+
+"Shall I not be excommunicated when I return to India? Do you think I
+should be filled with consternation at this threat? I do not fear it in
+the least. Why should I be cast out, when I have determined to live
+there exactly as I do here? I propose to myself to make no change in my
+customs and manners, food or dress. I will go as a Hindoo and come back
+here to live as a Hindoo. I will not increase my wants, but be as plain
+and simple as my forefathers, and as I am now. If my countrymen wish to
+excommunicate me, why do they not do it now? They are at liberty to do
+so."
+
+After my return to America I visited her twice at the medical college in
+Philadelphia, where she became everybody's favorite, being one of the
+best students that ever crossed the threshhold of the institution. She
+did not renounce her religion or her habits of life, but observed all
+of these strictly. After three years of hard study she passed her
+examination with high standing, and practiced a few months in American
+hospitals, but she gradually succumbed to the dread disease, pulmonary
+consumption, and returned to India after an absence of four years, only
+to die in Poonah, the city where her ancestors had lived as highly
+respectable people for two thousand years past. She left India with the
+curse of the Brahmins on her head, but returned as the idol of her
+people. Thousands upon thousands crowded around her home, almost
+worshiping the frail, noble being whose youthful life was slowly ebbing
+away.
+
+Strange are the ways of Providence. When Rev. Dr. Fjellstedt kindled a
+desire to see India in the bosom of the young country boy, who could
+then have guessed that this boy was to become a medium to assist that
+Brahmin woman who was destined to be the first one of the millions of
+India to clear the way to education and liberty for her unfortunate
+sisters!
+
+Besides my report on wheat culture I sent numerous official reports to
+our government on different industries, and other matters in India, such
+as tea culture, the decline of American shipping in Asia, the railroads,
+the population of India, our commercial relations with India, etc. These
+reports attracted such attention in Washington that during the month of
+February, 1883, I received orders from the state department to make a
+tour of inspection to those provinces and cities which belonged to my
+district and report to the government anything of national interest.
+Shortly after receiving this order, which was accompanied by a leave of
+absence for six months, I also received a cablegram from Holland
+offering me the position of managing American director of the Maxwell
+Land Grant Company in New Mexico, whereof more hereafter.
+
+On the 12th of April I turned over all my official affairs to the
+vice-consul, Mr. C. C. Bancroft, and took the steamer Raipatoonah for
+Burmah, where I visited the most important seaports, Rangoon, Mulmain,
+and Akjab. Buddhism is there the prevailing religion, and the caste
+system, such as is found among the Hindoos, is unknown. The people are
+more prosperous. The city of Rangoon has, among other notable objects, a
+celebrated Buddhist pagoda, the great dome of which is covered with
+solid gold plate. The pagoda is situated on a high elevation above the
+city, and the dome is one of the most notable and costly works of
+architecture in the world. It is visible at a great distance out on the
+ocean, and when the tropical sun throws its rays on it, it looks like a
+flame of fire, whose splendor is too dazzling for the eyes to endure.
+
+At a dinner party arranged for me by the American consul at Rangoon, I
+met many of the prominent men in this city. Among these a judge of the
+supreme court, one Mr. Allen, who, late in the evening, at a game of
+whist, informed me that he had on that day been engaged in the trial of
+a Birmese prince accused of murder, and that he should pronounce
+sentence the following day. I could see that he had already made up his
+mind; still he politely asked me a few questions on international law
+with reference to the trial. The next day the prince was sentenced to
+death because he had violated the law of the land, which seems to prove
+that the English administration of justice in Asia is no respecter of
+persons.
+
+In Birmah elephants are used for loading and unloading goods in the
+harbors. In the city of Mulmain I saw some of these wise animals piling
+up heavy timber in a lumber yard. The elephant put his tusks under the
+beam and his trunk over it and handled it with great ease. Having lifted
+the beam on the pile, he looked at it carefully to see if it lay in
+right shape, and if not, he would move it with his trunk. It was
+wonderful to see how well these animals seemed to understand what their
+drivers said. If a very big log could not be moved in the usual manner
+he would roll it with his feet or shove it with his head, or even put a
+chain around it and pull it along, and all this at the command of the
+driver who remained sitting on the head of the animal.
+
+[Illustration: ELEPHANTS PILING TIMBER.]
+
+On April 25 I again embarked, this time on the steamer Asia, sailing
+across the Bay of Bengal, and arrived on the first day of May at the
+seaport, Bimlipatam, on the Madras coast. It was a pleasant city of
+white houses and situated at the foot of a high volcano. Here I saw for
+the first time the notorious car of Juggernaut, in which the image of
+the god is dragged through the streets. The car is of stupendous size,
+and rests on sixteen wheels. Thousands of pilgrims followed the car, and
+formerly many of the worshipers used to throw themselves under the
+wheels in order to be crushed to death; but this barbaric custom has
+been prohibited by the English government. The idol of Juggernaut is
+regarded as very sacred, for according to tradition it contains a bone
+of Krishna, the Hindoo Apollo, one of the ten incarnations or
+manifestations of the god Vishnu. This relic worship, which is otherwise
+unknown to the orthodox Hindoo faith, is a remnant of Buddhism, which
+formerly prevailed throughout the whole province of Orisa.
+
+[Illustration: THE CAR OF JUGGERNAUT.]
+
+On the second day we arrived at Kokonada, where a flotilla of nearly one
+hundred short-masted sailing vessels of native construction after having
+received their cargoes lay waiting for us. Again we steamed away along
+the coast, stopping at the seaports Kalingapatam, Vizagapatam,
+Masulipatam, and finally arrived at Madras, on the fifth of May. This is
+one of the handsomest cities in Asia. It is situated near the equator,
+so that it is very hot there; but the fresh ocean breezes cool the air
+in the afternoon, and make the temperature particularly delightful.
+
+On the 10th of May I left with the steamer Assam for Ceylon, and arrived
+at Colombo, the principal city and harbor on this island, on the 13th.
+Ceylon is called the pearl of Asia, and justly so. I remained there two
+days, in the company of the American consul, and visited the cinnamon
+groves, the Buddhistic temples, and other objects of interest. Along
+the coast south of Colombo is a drive-way for several miles, passing
+through groves of cinnamon and other spice trees which fill the air with
+fragrance. There are also artificial lakes, canals, parks and flower
+gardens in endless profusion; in a word, this place is one of the most
+delightful spots I have ever seen.
+
+[Illustration: BUDDHA TEMPLE AT CEYLON.]
+
+The Egyptian patriot Arabi Pasha was recently banished to this island on
+account of his taking such a prominent part in the late rebellion in
+Egypt. I drove out to his fine residence located near the sea, and found
+him to be a very pleasant and highly educated man, who spoke English
+fluently, and with whom I soon became on friendly terms on account of my
+sympathy for the Egyptian people.
+
+Ceylon is the centre of modern Buddhism in India. The temples of the
+Buddhists are very interesting to see. Many of their priests are men of
+learning and culture. I spent a few hours with them, and received much
+attention on their part on account of my being a representative of
+America. There is an old tradition among the Hindoos that the garden of
+Eden was situated on the island of Ceylon. The Hindoo narrative of the
+fall of man has many features in common with the biblical narrative, but
+with this difference: that Adam, being reproached for his sins, did not,
+according to the Hindoo legend, put the blame on Eve, but took it all on
+himself, and said that he alone was to blame, and that the woman should
+not be cursed. It is further told that when they were expelled from
+paradise they turned their course northward, and when they came to the
+shallow water which separates Ceylon from the main land of Asia, Adam
+took Eve in his arms and carried her across.
+
+Having remained two days at this delightful place we embarked again, and
+on the 20th of May we were steaming along the coast of Arabia, being
+within sight of land the whole morning. In my note-book I find the
+following lines for this day: "Under thick canvass there is a strangely
+mixed crowd of people on the half-deck, gathered for divine worship, and
+when they closed the same by singing:
+
+    'O, hear us as we cry to Thee
+     For those in peril on the sea,'
+
+the voices of Mohammedans, Jews, Buddhists and Brahmins from a dozen
+different countries were blended with those of the Christians."
+
+We spent the 22d of May in the city of Aden, in South Arabia. This place
+is hot and dreary. Accompanied by one of my fellow-passengers I took
+a ride on camel-back through the desert to the celebrated water
+reservoirs. It seldom rains more than once in every three years at this
+place. To preserve the water that falls on these occasions the Arabians
+have built a series of cisterns, or large reservoirs, for the water
+along the foot of a mountain. These cisterns are made with great
+architectural skill; they are built of stone and cement, and are much
+more compact and durable than similar works of modern times. Water is a
+great luxury in Southern Arabia, and it is customary to offer the driver
+a drink of water for his camel or horse as an encouragement to drive a
+little faster or to show him a favor. At the same time the driver does
+not object to a tip, which in oriental countries is called, as in Egypt,
+"backshish," an expression with which every traveler soon becomes
+familiar.
+
+From Aden we had a pleasant voyage up the Red sea to Suez. The cholera
+was, so to speak, in the air, and our steamer was the last one which
+escaped quarantine. From Suez I traveled in company with some other
+passengers by rail to Cairo. We stopped an hour at the little city
+Ismailia, which is situated on the canal, and is a fine place, noted
+especially for the great f�te given by Count F. de Lesseps at the
+opening of the Suez canal, for which occasion a fine palace was built
+for the accommodation of Empress Eugenie of France. On the way to Cairo
+we passed through the valley which in the Bible is called Goshen, and
+which Pharaoh gave to the brothers of Joseph to live in, and where the
+brick yards are located in which the Israelites were compelled to make
+brick without straw and oppressed in different ways by their
+task-masters.
+
+During the day I had occasion to see a portion of the canal "Bahr
+Jussuf," or Joseph's canal, a masterwork some four thousand years old,
+which the legend ascribes to Joseph, and which still proves what a
+blessing this man conferred upon the people of Egypt, not only by
+warding off the dread famine, but also by executing many great and
+useful works. The canal began at Siut, on the Nile, and meandered
+through the valley on the west side of the river for a distance of
+nearly two hundred and fifty miles, until its level was so far above
+that of the river that its waters could be carried westward into the
+province of Fajuin, and change its formerly sterile soil into the
+richest and most fertile fields.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+The train has stopped, and we are in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The
+beautiful, the joyous, the memorable Cairo, with its gorgeous mosques,
+its half mystic, half historical monuments, its narrow streets, and a
+life, a commotion and an oriental splendor strongly reminding one of the
+legends "One Thousand and One Nights." In company with a friend from
+America I visited the principal mosques, bazars, parks and other places
+of interest, and the next day we drove out to the great Cheop's pyramid,
+which is located about eight miles from the city. Here I again met with
+a monument of antiquity which filled me with wonder and admiration. The
+pyramid of Cheops was built before the birth of Moses,--yes, before
+Jacob came down with his sons to Egypt,--and it is possible that Joseph
+pointed out the same to his aged father as a proof of the greatness of
+the country and its resources.
+
+[Illustration: MOHAMMEDAN MOSQUE.]
+
+According to Herodotus one hundred and twenty thousand men were occupied
+twenty years in building it. Its base covers about eleven acres, and its
+height is about four hundred and eighty feet. One can get an approximate
+idea of the enormous mass of material in it, when it is calculated that
+it contains stone enough to build a wall one and a-half feet thick and
+ten feet high around all England,--a distance of nearly nine hundred
+miles.
+
+The renowned Sphinx is hewn out of the solid rock. It is in a reclining
+position, and, although partly buried by sand, I could easily trace its
+back for a distance of thirty paces.
+
+At the foot of the pyramid I met an Arabian chief, a gesture from whom
+showed me that he belonged to the mystic brotherhood of Free Masons,
+which gave rise to warm handshaking, and an interesting conversation
+through the aid of my interpreter. In pressing the hand of this son of
+the desert sighing under despotism, and reading the feelings of his
+heart through the wrinkles of his face, while he talked of the great
+country in the West, whence I came, and whose free institutions,
+granting equal rights to all, were to him a heavenly light pointing
+forward and upward, I felt more deeply than ever before what a blessing
+it is to be a citizen of a commonwealth where a man is measured, not by
+his birth or his wealth, but by his own personal merits.
+
+[Illustration: THE PYRAMIDS AND THE SPHINX.]
+
+Returning to Cairo the remainder of the day was spent in the Boulak
+museum, among the most wonderful antiquities of the world. Shortly
+before there had been discovered in the Nubian hills, beneath the temple
+Dayr-el-Baheree, a burial place containing the bodies of the old
+Egyptian kings. These had been brought to Cairo, where a separate wing
+of the museum had been opened for their keeping, and there they lay in
+their coffins in a fine state of preservation, owing to the Egyptian
+method of embalming. There were the very men who built the pyramids;
+there was Amases I., the founder of the new empire, Thotmes III., the
+great Sethi I., and his famous son Ramses II., and that Pharaoh who is
+supposed to have brought up Moses; there was also his daughter Mirrhis,
+who afterward became his queen, the same who found Moses as an infant
+floating in the Nile.
+
+[Illustration: RAMSES II., WHEN YOUNG.]
+
+Their bodies--yes, even their features--were well preserved. They lie in
+coffins of wood, which show skilled workmanship, the corners being
+carefully dovetailed together. Even their shrouds and ornaments of
+flowers and herbs show plainly that the style of dressing the dead among
+the Egyptians four thousand years ago was very much the same as it is
+now with us.
+
+[Illustration: RAMSES II.]
+
+When I stood among the ruins of Pompeii or of the tower Sarnath, the
+home of Buddha, I thought nothing could be more wonderful and
+awe-inspiring than those hoary monuments; but here lay before my eyes
+the very man who for many years was a friend and protector of Moses,
+with his wonderful, commanding features and eagle nose, his long dark
+hair, which lay in thick folds under his neck. The arms, rings, jewels
+and other ornaments worn by those kings and their queens, formed part of
+this wonderful collection, and, by their skillful workmanship, showed
+the high degree of civilization of the ancient Egyptians.
+
+The following day I took the train for Alexandria. The railroad follows
+the river Nile in its general course. The valley is densely populated,
+and wretched mud houses and villages appear in every direction. The
+cholera had now broken out in its most deadly form, and we saw many dead
+and dying at the stations. The steamer Tanjore lay ready to sail for
+Europe, and I was soon comfortably quartered in one of its spacious
+cabins.
+
+[Illustration: NILE BOAT.]
+
+On Sunday, June 3d, a beautiful Italian day, as we were rapidly steaming
+north through the Adriatic sea, we could see the coast of Greece to the
+right and that of Italy to the left. We arrived at Brindisi the same
+afternoon, and at Venice two days later. Surely the beauties of nature
+and of art that meet the eve in this lovely city seem to be the climax
+of everything beautiful on earth, and, quietly gliding forward during
+many hours through numerous canals in a half-dreamy, half-waking
+condition, with two silent gondoliers at the oars, I could scarcely
+realize whether this was a beautiful dream, an illusion, or reality.
+
+[Illustration: RIALTO BRIDGE IN VENICE.]
+
+The next morning, accompanied by an interpreter, I walked through St.
+Mark's square, carefully studying its many wonderful attractions, its
+splendid shops, the clock, the thousands of tame doves, the belfry of
+St. Mark's, the palace of the Doges, the marble pillars of the winged
+lions, and finally, the most remarkable of all, the wonderful church
+with its irregular, yet harmonious, unique and impressive architecture.
+In the church were seen ordinary visitors roaming about under the domes,
+humble worshipers counting their beads and rosaries, closely-shaved
+monks and royal officers with clanging sabres, and artists busy with
+their studies.
+
+With a shudder I crossed the Bridge of Sighs, with its horrid
+associations, and spent a quarter of an hour in the dark dungeons to
+which it leads, and in which so many poor mortals, prisoners often
+without accusers and guiltless of crime, had sighed and suffered through
+the cruelties of man to man, well knowing that when they crossed that
+bridge into the dungeon, they had left all earthly hope behind.
+
+In Venice I parted with my American companion, Mr. Robins, in whose
+company I had traveled all the way from Madras.
+
+Having promised to be in Holland at an early day, I was compelled to
+hurry, and left Venice on the evening of the second day. This time I
+took the route through the St. Gotthard tunnel, which is nine and a half
+miles long, and through which it takes nearly half an hour to pass. The
+beautiful lake Como and the grand Alpine scenery have been so often
+described, that I consider it superfluous to dwell on them in these
+pages.
+
+In Mayennes I left the railroad and took the steamer down the beautiful
+Rhine to Cologne, passing the vine-clad hills and the medi�val castles,
+in delightful conversation with some American and Swedish tourists just
+returning from the German watering places.
+
+From Cologne I traveled by rail to Rotterdam, where I arrived June 9th,
+and met my old friend, G. P. Ittman, one of the men with whom I
+formerly had business connections concerning railroad matters in
+Minnesota. The following day he accompanied me to the Hague to see Baron
+de Constant Rebeque, one of those European noblemen who would have been
+a nobleman even if he had been born in a hut. He was then chamberlain of
+the king, and one of the directors of the Maxwell Land Grant Company,
+the management of which had been offered to me as already stated.
+
+The next day we all met at the office of the vice-president of the
+company, the banker Mr. W. F. Ziegelar. The board of directors held a
+meeting, at which I was elected business manager for America, and it was
+decided that Messrs. Ziegelar and Rebeque should meet me in America a
+month later, and that all of us should then proceed to New Mexico to
+inspect the property and investigate the economical standing of the
+company, after which I could decide whether I would accept the position
+or not.
+
+A few days later Mr. Ziegelar accompanied me to London, where one of the
+directors and many of the creditors of the Maxwell Company resided. Here
+I also found some friends from India, and in their company spent a
+couple of days at the beautiful country residence of an English
+nobleman, Sir Balfour. Among the prominent and excellent men with whom I
+formed an acquaintance at that place was Maj. Horace Durrant, formerly
+of the queen's hussars, who was also largely interested in the Maxwell
+Company, and one of the men from different countries, nationalities and
+creeds who will always live in my memory like beaming stars on life's
+varied journey.
+
+Soon afterward I renewed my acquaintance with John Ennis in Liverpool,
+an Irishman, and a friend of mine for more than twenty years. He is a
+man who is never happier than when he can do someone a favor, and he has
+had occasion to do me many. In the evening he took me out to see a
+sight, as he called it, and truly a wonderful sight it was. In a vacant
+space among the back streets and alleys of Liverpool, near the shipping,
+stood erected an enormous tent, containing seats for three thousand
+people. My friend Ennis led me through the back entrance onto the
+platform, where a few ladies and gentlemen were already seated. The tent
+was lighted with gas; the people were crowding into it through half a
+dozen different entrances. I have never seen such a crowd before or
+since. There were thieves, pickpockets, beggars, prostitutes, drunkards
+and ragamuffins of both sexes and of all ages, the very slums and filth
+of that great seaport, laughing, shouting, cursing, weeping, and noisy
+in every way.
+
+Soon the great tent was filled, and could contain no more.
+
+Then a little man appeared on the platform, whom Mr. Ennis introduced to
+me as the Rev. Father Nugent, an Irish Catholic priest, very small in
+stature, but with a countenance beaming with intelligence and
+benevolence. He stepped to the front, and the moment he was seen by the
+vast audience order and perfect silence reigned.
+
+Here was another Keshub-Chunder-Sen, but with no new religion or
+doctrine to advance, only re-echoing what the man of Nazareth had said
+to the same class of people eighteen centuries ago. This priest has done
+much noble work, rescued many from a life of degradation, brought up and
+secured places in America for thousands of street gamins and orphans,
+and his name is better known, especially among the English-speaking
+Catholics, than that of any king or emperor. And who would not rather be
+a Father Nugent than a king?
+
+In the morning of the fourth of July I arrived in New York city, and
+soon found President Chester Arthur, Gen. Garfield's successor,
+occupying rooms near my own in the Fifth Avenue hotel. After breakfast I
+was given an interview with him, and, of course, was pleased to learn
+that he had followed my little work in India with interest, and
+expressed much regret when I informed him of my intention to resign at
+the expiration of my leave of absence.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+On the 8th of July I was again home with family and friends in
+Minneapolis, and found everything pretty much as I had left it nearly
+two years previously; except that my good old father had gone to his
+final rest. A couple of days later I visited my farm, in the Red River
+valley, and my old and faithful friend Capt. H. Eustrom, who lived close
+by and was then holding an important office, and who had faithfully
+attended to my interests at that place during my absence.
+
+My Scandinavian friends had meanwhile arranged a reception for me, and
+on the 11th some eighty of them joined in a banquet at Lyndale Hotel,
+then situated in the suburbs of Minneapolis at Lake Calhoun. The
+afternoon was devoted to a steamboat tour around the beautiful lake, and
+in the evening the party all sat down to a sumptuous banquet, where many
+addresses of welcome and tokens of friendship were spoken, read and
+sung. I had been absent nearly two years, seen and experienced much of
+the world and enjoyed many pleasures, but I found the old saying true;
+"There is no place like home." These two years had been of particular
+importance in the history of the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The
+population had nearly trebled during that time, and such improvements
+had been made that I could hardly recognize them.
+
+A week after my return my friends from Holland arrived, and we proceeded
+to New Mexico, where we found the great Maxwell estate, valued at ten
+million dollars, and containing one and a half million acres of land,
+consisting of coal fields, gold mines, timber and grazing lands, in a
+deplorable condition caused by extravagance and mismanagement. We found
+that there was nearly a million dollars of current debts, while the
+income was not sufficient to buy postage stamps to carry on the
+necessary business correspondence.
+
+An agreement was finally effected whereby the former president and
+American manager relinquished his interest and resigned his position;
+the Holland directors determined to raise the necessary funds in Europe,
+and I agreed to undertake the liquidation of the affairs of the company.
+
+Shortly after I repaired to Washington to report my inspection tour in
+India, and tender my resignation, which was accepted, an unusual
+courtesy being shown me by extending my leave of absence to January the
+next year. The following two years were devoted principally to business
+journeys to New Mexico, England and Holland. I visited the latter
+countries four times during that period. With the powerful aid of Baron
+Rebeque, who had spent several months with me in this country in the
+summer and fall of 1883, a syndicate, backed by several million dollars,
+was at last formed in Holland, and the whole estate was turned over to
+it. Having accomplished this, I voluntarily withdrew from the concern,
+and returned to my own farm and home in Minnesota.
+
+The Maxwell estate is situated within the Rocky mountain region, on an
+elevation of from six thousand to twelve thousand feet above the sea.
+The climate is delightful and the scenery beautiful, but the country is
+not fit for cultivation, except such parts as can be irrigated. Hence
+most of it is devoted to stock raising, and herds of countless cattle
+were roaming over the prairies, the Maxwell Company alone owning at the
+time I left its service nearly twenty thousand head.
+
+In the fall of 1886 I was for the second time elected secretary of state
+by the citizens of Minnesota, re-elected in 1888, and thus made for the
+third time the head of the state department.
+
+In the fall of 1887 the citizens of Minneapolis were honored by a visit
+from a large number of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish military officers,
+non-commissioned officers and soldiers. They arrived by an express train
+from Chicago, and were met at the union depot by thousands of people.
+The Swedish Guard, Normanna Infantry, and the society Dania were paraded
+outside the depot building. The guests were received by a committee, and
+conducted in procession through the illuminated and crowded streets to
+Dania hall, where a splendid banquet was enjoyed, while music was
+discoursed by the Svea and Normanna bands. The city mayor, Dr. Ames,
+made an address of welcome, after which several Scandinavians made
+speeches. I had been elected as the spokesman for the Swedes, and
+expressed myself as follows:
+
+  "_Honored Guests from Sweden, Norway and Denmark_:
+
+  "From the place where we now stand the roar of the St. Anthony falls
+  may be heard through the still night. You are, therefore, far back in
+  the depths of the American West; and yet this is only the modern gate
+  of entrance to the great North-west.
+
+  "A couple of hours ago a half dozen railway trains left our depot over
+  different roads and are now speeding on toward the setting sun, and
+  some of them do not cease their journey until they have passed
+  distances greater than that between London and Rome, through fertile,
+  but, as yet, mostly unsettled regions. Thirty-four years ago I, with a
+  few other of your countrymen, some of the earliest in Minnesota, gazed
+  for the first time at the St. Anthony falls. There was no city, not
+  even a sign of a city, on this side of the river; the red man chased
+  his game in the woods where our churches and school-houses now stand;
+  the country west of us was an unknown wilderness, Minnesota did not
+  exist as a state, and many of our western states, which now contain
+  millions of happy inhabitants, were not even projected.
+
+  "Now, on the contrary, our state alone is a mighty empire, with a
+  population of nearly a million and a half, and with an assessed
+  valuation of six hundred million dollars. Minnesota now produces a
+  hundred million bushels of grain annually on her fertile fields, six
+  hundred and fifty million feet of lumber from her forests, and her
+  infant iron mines already show an annual production of half a million
+  tons of rich ore. The Scandinavians constitute more than one-fourth of
+  the population of the state, and produce at least one-third of our
+  agricultural products on their own lands, as most of them are farmers.
+  The amount of grain which in Minnesota alone is annually produced,
+  would be more than sufficient to furnish the whole population of
+  Sweden with bread from the beginning to the end of each year.
+
+[Illustration: CAPITOL OF MINNESOTA.]
+
+  "Our beautiful city of Minneapolis has already a population of one
+  hundred and sixty thousand, of which at least one-fourth, or forty
+  thousand, are Scandinavians or their descendants.
+
+  "I hope you will all have an opportunity to see our city with your own
+  eyes before you leave us,--its mills, churches, schools and happy
+  homes,--and will therefore not consume the time by referring to these.
+
+  "As to yourselves, gentlemen, we have heard what has been said to you
+  so expressively in Chicago by our friends there, and we join them
+  heartily in their praise.
+
+  "When we heard that the soldiers and representatives of Denmark,
+  Norway and Sweden would honor us with a visit we all rejoiced, and we
+  have come together this evening to express our joy in a cordial
+  welcome.
+
+  "We have intentionally conducted you to this hall where we may, under
+  our own roof, pay you our homage in the plain manner of our sturdy
+  Scandinavian forefathers, and give you an opportunity to see us as we
+  are in our daily life. We are men of the people; we have come here as
+  poor immigrants, ignorant of the language and of the customs of
+  the country. Our sole heritage was our strong arms and our good
+  cheer,--no, excuse me, another heritage of more worth than gold or
+  genius have we brought from our old homesteads,--our share of Northern
+  fidelity, strength, and virtue; and the talent confided to us we have
+  used in all branches of industry, science, fine arts, in the service
+  of the community, the state, and the Union, in peace and in war, and
+  we perform our share in the great national work, the result of which
+  is a new and powerful commonwealth, the foundation of which lies in
+  the individual worth and right of man.
+
+  "I think I can see a Providential dispensation in this, that when the
+  time arrived for the new world to take its place among the nations
+  with a new and powerful cosmopolitan race, the Scandinavian people
+  were also chosen to contribute a part in that grand work, and that it
+  was especially reserved for the 'men of the people' to receive in this
+  country free and equal opportunity for their development. Who can fail
+  to see the stamp of the Scandinavian people on the entire social
+  fabric of the new world?
+
+  "We would be forgetful if we did not gratefully remember the great
+  good which the fatherland has bestowed upon us from tender childhood
+  to the very hour when we bid it farewell; we would be unworthy of the
+  name and fame of our fathers if we did not honor and love as a dear
+  mother the ever memorable land of our birth, and you, its worthy
+  representatives, as our relatives and brothers.
+
+  "Your presence among us is a proud event, and its remembrance shall be
+  cherished as one of the most pleasant. And when you return to those
+  dear places where we took the first steps on life's eventful journey,
+  we wish you to take back cordial greetings from us all, and say to our
+  kindred that we teach our children to love and honor the people and
+  institutions in the Northern lands, although they have never seen
+  them; and say to them that, far out in the wide West by the laughing
+  water of Hiawatha, and hundreds of miles beyond, are friends and
+  brothers whose fidelity and affection neither time nor distance can
+  obliterate."
+
+The address was responded to with much feeling by Col. Liljeh�k of
+Sweden. The festivities continued amid addresses, music and song until
+long past midnight. The following day the guests were shown around the
+city, after which they visited St. Paul, where they also received a
+cordial welcome, and were presented to the governor.
+
+The following year, on the 14th of September, an event took place which
+deserves particular mention. It was the celebration of the two hundred
+and fiftieth anniversary of the landing of the first Swedish settlers on
+the Delaware. The Revs. J. Enstam and C. J. Petri, together with myself,
+in the middle of the summer called a meeting of Swedish-American
+citizens to prepare for such celebration. Committees were appointed and
+elaborate preparations made, to which nearly all the Swedes lent a
+willing and helping hand. The great exposition building was given up to
+our use: bands of music were engaged, a choir of one hundred and fifty
+Swedish singers, mostly from the different churches, was trained, and
+eminent orators, statesmen and professors were invited. A souvenir badge
+was sold at the Swedish business places in the city; the net
+proceeds,--amounting to about eight hundred dollars,--were donated to
+the fund for the relief of the sufferers by the great fires in
+Sundsvall, Ume� and Lilla Edet in Sweden.
+
+The program of the day included a fine parade with bands of music and
+banners; but a heavy rain came early in the day, and the parade had to
+be abandoned, and the people instructed to assemble at the exposition
+building at their own convenience, _which they also did_, in such great
+numbers that before the hour of opening the exercises every seat and
+standing place in the great auditorium were occupied. Many came from
+distant towns, cities and states; a special train brought nearly one
+thousand from St. Paul, with marshals, music and banners; the general
+council of the Lutheran Church, then assembled in Minneapolis, came in a
+body and occupied seats on the platform to the right of Cappa's Seventh
+New York Regiment Band, while the Swedish chorus of one hundred and
+fifty voices, under Prof. Norman, occupied the platform to the left.
+
+The platforms were decorated with numerous society banners, and the
+colors of Sweden were seen everywhere. The lofty pillars reaching to the
+roof were wrapped in alternate stripes of blue and yellow, the national
+colors of Sweden, and side by side and uppermost were the stars and
+stripes. A large picture of the old Swedes Church in Wilmington,
+Delaware, built in 1698, was hung in front of the speakers' platform,
+and attracted general attention.
+
+As chairman of the committee of arrangements I had the honor to act as
+presiding officer of the day. The government of Sweden was represented
+by Consul Sahlgaard, with other distinguished guests, and the historical
+society of Delaware by Maj. Geo. Q. White. As near as can be estimated
+there were fully fifteen thousand people present, and the interest
+manifested by that vast audience can best be understood from the fact
+that thousands stood upon their feet during the whole proceedings, which
+lasted three hours.
+
+[Illustration: OLD SWEDES CHURCH AT WILMINGTON.]
+
+The festivities commenced at two o'clock in the afternoon with a musical
+selection by Cappa's band, at the close of which the audience was
+welcomed by myself in the following words:
+
+  "The discovery of America was the greatest event which had taken place
+  from the days of Christ till it was made, but the settlement of
+  America by the right kind of people was, in its beneficial effects
+  upon the human race, a matter of still greater importance. It seems
+  like an order of Divine Providence that this new world was left in its
+  natural or savage state during all the dark centuries of schooling and
+  experiments in Asia, Africa and Europe, in order that it might remain
+  a virgin soil for the higher civilization which was to follow.
+
+  "To establish this civilization, based upon true principles of
+  government required not only wisdom and strength, but toleration,
+  brotherhood, justice and exalted virtue. The people chosen for that
+  great work came from different countries and different conditions of
+  life,--the English Pilgrims to New England, the Dutch, the Swedes and
+  the Quakers to the middle country, the English Cavaliers, the Scotch
+  Highlanders and the French Huguenots to the South,--and in them all,
+  combined and intermingled, were found the elements of body and of
+  mind, which have given to the world its best government, its greatest
+  nation, and its highest civilization.
+
+  "Since the English were the largest in number their language became
+  the language of all, and for that reason, perhaps, history has been
+  partial to those who first spoke it. Memorials and anniversaries have
+  often been celebrated over the landing of the Pilgrims and the valor
+  of the knights; their just praise has been written and sung a thousand
+  times, so that their honored names have become precious household
+  words among the generations of our day, while the others have often
+  been forgotten or ignored.
+
+  "Fully recognizing the merits of all, we have assembled here to-day
+  from many parts of the United States to commemorate a great historical
+  event,--in celebrating the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the
+  landing of the Swedes on the Delaware, and to do honor to their memory
+  in prayer, song and speech, and to this intellectual feast I bid you
+  all a hearty welcome."
+
+This celebration was unquestionably the largest and most important
+gathering that ever took place among the Swedes in America; great
+attention was paid to it all over the country, and it contributed
+greatly toward placing the Swedes rightly in the estimation of the
+people, throwing a clearer light on the achievements of the past, and
+emphasizing the importance of the Swedish-Americans of the present.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Much has been said on the causes of immigration. These are numerous, but
+the chief cause I have found to be that the people of the old world are
+now being aroused to the fact that the social conditions of Europe, with
+its aristocracy and other inherited privileges, are not founded on just
+principles, but that the way to success ought to be equally open for
+all, and determined, not by privileges of birth, but by the inherent
+worth of man. And here in America is found a civilization which is, to a
+large extent, built on equality and the recognition of personal merit.
+This and the great natural resources of the country, the prospects for
+good wages which a new continent affords, and in many cases greater
+religious liberty, draws the people of Europe, at any rate from Sweden,
+to this country.
+
+Sweden is a very good country, but more especially so for those who are
+fortunate enough to be born to title, honor or riches. To be sure, even
+there instances are known of men from the ordinary walks of life making
+their way to wealth and prominence; but those are exceptions, possible
+only in cases of unusually great personal merit. Here, on the other
+hand, the reverse is the rule; the self-made man accomplishes most, as
+instanced by the history of our presidents, governors, financiers and
+other distinguished men. And this is quite natural, for the prospects
+and possibilities which a man sees before him in this country stimulate
+his ambition, and arouse his energies to surmount the greatest
+difficulties.
+
+The new ideas now permeating society in Europe, and which will gradually
+transform it, have, to a great extent, originated in America, more
+particularly the idea of brotherhood, the sympathy with equals, the
+conviction that it is our duty to better the condition of our
+fellow-men, and not despise them, even if they are unfortunate. In this
+respect, as well as in many others, America exerts a great influence
+over Europe. To me the better situated classes of Sweden seem
+short-sighted in their hostility to emigration, for a man of broad views
+must admit that emigration has been beneficial even to Sweden herself.
+It may not have benefited the higher classes directly, as they cannot
+hire servants and laborers as cheaply as formerly; but the people have
+benefited by it as a whole, their condition being now better than
+formerly, when competition between the laborers was greater.
+
+America also exerts a great influence on the mental and moral
+development of the people of Sweden, although this may not be so
+apparent on the surface. The thousands and hundreds of thousands of
+letters written every year by Swedish-Americans to the people of the
+working classes of Sweden arouse the latter's ambition, and develop
+liberal, political and religious ideas among them. No one can calculate
+the scope of this influence, to say nothing of the eloquent language
+spoken by the millions of crowns which are annually sent home to poor
+relatives and friends, and which either lighten the burden of poverty or
+enable the recipients to prepare a brighter future for themselves in
+this country, and how many a poor, down-trodden fellow, who could
+expect nothing better than the poor-house in his old age in Sweden has
+become an able and useful citizen in this country!
+
+When the poor young laboring man or woman, who in Sweden has felt the
+oppression of poverty and looked forward to a life without hope, arrives
+in this country, the timid, bashful looks give way to hopefulness and
+self-reliance. It is true that this is often carried too far, especially
+in the line of expensive and extravagant dress, which sometimes makes
+the wearer appear ridiculous; but these are trifles, the main thing
+being that those people learn to know their own worth, and are able to
+create a brighter future for themselves.
+
+The tact and manner acquired within a short time by common laborers who
+looked thoughtless and careless while at home, are simply astonishing.
+A Swedish diplomat, who visited Minnesota twenty years ago, and, among
+others, met one of his father's former farm laborers, who was now in
+good circumstances, in an official report to the government of Sweden
+expressed his astonishment at the change which the Swedish people had
+undergone in that respect.
+
+It cannot be denied that many among the higher classes in Sweden feel
+very unfriendly toward the United States, and it was even not long ago
+a common saying among them, "America is the paradise of all rogues and
+rascals."
+
+Many Americans suppose themselves to be better than all others, and
+believe their country and institutions to be perfect. In this they are
+mistaken, for in several respects this country is as yet in its infancy,
+and has many defects which the countries in the north of Europe have
+long since outgrown. As one instance I would mention that the school
+system is altogether too dependent on local influences, so that while
+the common schools in the northern cities and towns are very fine,--in
+some instances perfect,--those in the country rate very low compared
+with the same class in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Northern Germany.
+Another case in point is the system of taxation which notably gives
+unprincipled men of wealth opportunities for escape, while the poorer
+classes are taxed for the full amount of their property, the burden thus
+falling proportionately heaviest where it ought to be lightest, and
+_vice versa_. Again, the laws which make possible rings, monopolies, and
+trusts, to the great prejudice of the people, or permit gambling on the
+produce of the country as carried on in the great commercial marts of
+America, robbing the producer of the fair wages of his toil, and many
+other things which would not be tolerated among the nations of Europe.
+Thus it lies within the power of one man, in this our great state of
+Minnesota and other states, to make or unmake cities, towns, and
+communities, by a single edict locating a railroad, fixing a time-table,
+and in many other ways exercising arbitrary power that no European ruler
+would think of assuming. The execution of our laws, also, in many places
+has proven highly unsatisfactory, often making our much-boasted jury
+system, especially in criminal cases, a farce and a disgrace.
+
+The trouble is that political demagogues and Fourth of July orators
+continually keep pointing out only the best sides of our institutions,
+which undoubtedly are both many and great, while few have the courage to
+speak of the defects and short-comings.
+
+As for the conduct of the native Americans toward the immigrants who
+settle among them, I venture to say that although they consider
+themselves very tolerant, and are so in a general way, they are in many
+respects very intolerant and prejudiced; but this is owing to a lack of
+knowledge concerning other nations. It is true that the immigrant,
+especially from the north of Europe, is bidden welcome, and is generally
+well received, but he is expected to be content with shoveling dirt,
+chopping wood, carrying water, plowing the fields, and doing other
+manual labor, no one disputing his right or his fitness for these
+occupations. But when he begins to compete with the native American for
+honor and emolument in the higher walks of life, he is often met with
+coldness, mingled, perhaps, with a little envy, and although the adopted
+citizen may, in many instances, start on an equal footing with the
+natives in culture, intelligence, and business ability, it is only
+exceptionally that he will be recognized as an equal socially; and there
+is scarcely an adopted citizen of the non-English-speaking nationalities
+who has not deeply realized the truth of this statement.
+
+It may be safely said that it will on an average take two generations
+before the children of the non-English-speaking immigrants shall cease
+to suffer more or less from these prejudices. Certainly the children of
+immigrant parents, although born and brought up in this country, are
+often subjected to sneers and taunts by their more fortunate
+playfellows, even within the walls of the American public schools.
+
+This antipathy is most noticeable in places where the number of
+foreigners is very great, but less where they are few, and may be
+explained and partly excused by the fact that, when a great number of
+foreigners live together they are more apt to maintain their customs,
+language and amusements, which differ from those of the native-born. But
+the chief reason is that when the immigrants, most of whom belong to the
+hard-working classes, arrive directly from a long and exhausting
+journey, they are often poorly dressed, awkward and ignorant of the
+language and customs of the country, and look forlorn and crestfallen.
+The first impression which the native American thus receives remains
+with him, while he does not stop to consider that the same class of
+people coming from America to Europe would not appear to better
+advantage if they should go there as immigrants. Nor does he consider
+the injustice of judging whole nationalities by their less favored
+representatives under such circumstances. There are, of course, many
+noble exceptions among the native Americans; but as to genuine tolerance
+between different nationalities, I have seen far more of it in the great
+cosmopolitan cities of Europe, Asia and Africa, than in America.
+
+But these shortcomings may be easily overlooked for the many noble
+traits of character which all admit him to possess. And most striking and
+beautiful of these is the honor and respect he shows to woman. There is
+no other country in the world where woman is treated with such
+consideration, and where she is as safe and honored as among Americans,
+and if we judge nations by the way their women are treated, as I think
+we should, the American nation has no peer in the world.
+
+But if the Americans have a one-sided and wrong conception of
+foreigners, so have also many foreign people a wrong conception of
+America, and we ought not to blame the former more than the latter. The
+Swedish press, for instance,--with praise-worthy exceptions, of
+course,--has always shown great prejudice or ignorance in its treatment
+of America, and especially of the Swedish-Americans. Thus it has always
+been ready to dwell on the dark sides and keep silent about that which
+is praiseworthy in this country. If, for instance, a lawless deed has
+been perpetrated on the frontier it is pointed to as a sample of
+American civilization, without considering that such things take place
+only in the western cow-boy or mining life, the days of which will
+soon belong to the past. And if an immigrant, who, deservedly or
+undeservedly, has been unsuccessful writes a letter to his old home and
+slanders America, how eager the newspapers are to rush into print with
+it. Even if the man has been here only a few months, and seen only a
+small spot of the country, they are still ready to accept his story as
+reliable testimony, and judge the whole country accordingly. But this
+by no means applies to Sweden and the Swedish press alone; it may with
+equal truth be said of the Europeans and the press of Europe generally.
+
+There is no gainsaying the fact, however, that new-comers as a rule must
+expect adversity and difficulty on account of being strangers, and
+because of their unfamiliarity with the English language. And such as
+are unaccustomed to manual labor and have not learned a trade stand a
+poor chance, especially in the beginning. Book learning is of little use
+at first, for there is no lack of educated people in America. Hence it
+is a great mistake for young men with nothing but an education to depend
+upon to come here with the expectation of making a fortune, for the only
+way to success will at first generally be by taking hold of the spade or
+the axe. Have they the courage to do this? Then let them come, for
+opportunities will open after a while to those who shall deserve them.
+Certificates of character and recommendation are here of little value;
+titles and family connections of still less. One cares not much for what
+you have been; but only for what you are.
+
+In the last civil war a young German officer came to President Lincoln
+and offered his services as a volunteer in the army. The man had high
+recommendations, and talked a great deal about his noble birth, and even
+intimated that royal blood was flowing through his veins. Having
+patiently listened to all this, Lincoln, putting his hand on the young
+man's shoulder, said, encouragingly: "Don't let this trouble you, my
+friend, for I assure you that if you only do your duty well and
+faithfully, these things will be no impediment to your success. We are
+not so unjust in America as to think less of a man on account of his
+European titles. No, I can assure you that you have precisely the same
+chance for advancement and success as if you had been a man of the
+people, provided you prove as competent and meritorious as one of
+them."
+
+I have often heard Europeans wonder how it is that with such a
+democratic spirit so many American heiresses seem anxious to marry
+European noblemen. But it should be remembered in the first place that
+there are not many, but comparatively only a few who manifest this
+desire, and also that those few by no means represent public opinion
+here. On the other hand, is it not quite natural that when European
+gentlemen of the highest classes meet and get acquainted with American
+girls, their social and intellectual equals, that a mutual attachment
+may in most cases be the true motive for such alliances? For, as the
+grand Lincoln remarked, when the European nobleman possesses all other
+requisite qualifications his titles are no barrier to his success,
+either in the army, in business affairs, or with the fair sex. Old names
+and titles are usually a guaranty of good education, culture, and other
+praiseworthy acquisitions.
+
+In my contact with the world and with men of different peoples and
+races, I have found that it is unjust to judge them by nations or
+classes, as if one nation or one class were necessarily better or worse
+than others, for there are both good and bad characters among all, and a
+good man is just as good, and a bad one just as bad, whether he be
+Hindoo, Mohammedan, or Christian, American or Swede, nobleman or
+peasant. Much good may be hidden under a coarse and common exterior, and
+we must not search for virtue only among the accomplished, the rich, and
+the fine-looking. Just as much, indeed, is found among the lowly and
+unobserved; and in the quiet, humble daily walks of life are constantly
+enacted deeds of heroism and virtue which are never known or applauded
+by the world, though fully as deserving as many of those which are given
+an honored place in the annals of history; yes, often much more so.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+REVIEW.
+
+
+A few weeks ago I made a short visit to Vasa, our first home in
+Minnesota. The occasion was the eighty-seventh birthday of my mother,
+who still lives near the old homestead.[7] With spirited horses I drove
+in company with a son and a grandson over the same road which was first
+marked out by our simple ox wagon thirty-eight years before.
+
+[Footnote 7: Since dead.]
+
+What a change! The former wilderness changed into smiling fields dressed
+in the purest green of early summer, and along the whole road are fine
+homes, nearly all of which belong to Swedish-Americans, who commenced
+their career as poor immigrants like myself, or to their children, most
+of whom are to the manor-born.
+
+We stop twelve miles from Red Wing close to our old farm, at a little
+cottage surrounded by tall trees. There, by the window, sits
+greatgrandma, watching eagerly for someone whom she knows always spends
+that day with her.
+
+Close to the quiet home stands the large Lutheran church, one of the
+finest country churches in America, and to the peaceful cemetery
+surrounding it we all soon make a pilgrimage to scatter flowers on the
+graves where my good father and sister, my wife's parents, sister, and
+many other near relatives have found a resting place. The little
+cemetery is clothed in a flowery carpet of nature's own garb, and
+studded with several hundred marble monuments with inscriptions that
+testify to the Swedish ancestry of those who rest under them.
+
+[Illustration: SWEDISH CHURCH IN VASA.]
+
+From this place, which is the most elevated point in Vasa, the
+surrounding country affords a picture of such rural peace and beauty,
+that even a stranger must involuntarily pause to wonder and admire; how
+much more, then, I, who was the first white man that trod this ground!
+Below, toward the south, we see the wooded valley, watered by a little
+creek from Willard's spring, where we came near perishing that cold
+January night in 1854; at the head of the valley, the hill where we
+built the first log cabin; immediately beyond this hill the hospitable
+home of my wife's parents, from which I brought my young bride to our
+own happy little home, which stood on another hill near the same spring,
+and of which a part still remains; here, just below the church, is the
+field I first plowed; over there in the grove where we cut logs and
+fencing material, stands now the orphan home, established by Rev. E.
+Norelius; and on the other side the road is his handsome residence and
+garden, but he himself sits inside, frail and suffering on account of
+the hardships of the first few years.
+
+Close by are the post-office, two stores, a blacksmith shop, a
+school-house, two smaller churches, one Methodist and one Baptist, and
+several other public and private buildings, and a few miles farther
+north, near the Cannon river, are two railroads, running from the
+Mississippi westward, connecting with other roads which span the
+continent, and only terminate on the shores of the Pacific ocean.
+
+All around, so far as the eye can see, are green fields, grazing herds
+of cattle, planted and natural groves, comfortable buildings, and great
+white-painted school-houses. Not a hill, not a valley or a grove but
+they call forth touching recollections, some mingled with sorrow and
+pain, but by far the most bright and cheerful; for here I spent the
+first hopeful years of my manhood; here we lived, the first Swedes in
+Minnesota, in a circle of innocent and faithful friends; here I won the
+wife who tenderly and faithfully has shared the vicissitudes of life
+with me, in sorrow and in joy ever the same; here those of my countrymen
+who followed me when I was yet but a youth, have acquired independence,
+happiness, and such esteem that the settlement of Vasa has a reputation
+among the communities of the state which reflects honor upon the memory
+of the great king whose name it bears.
+
+But this picture of development, culture and progress is not confined to
+this settlement, for countless other Scandinavian settlements in the
+west and northwest have made as great progress within a comparatively
+short time.
+
+On my arrival in 1852 the Mississippi river was the north-western
+boundary line of civilization with the exception of the state of Iowa,
+which then had only a small population. Since that time twelve new
+states further west have been peopled and admitted into the Union. There
+was no railroad west of Chicago; now the immense distance between the
+Mississippi and the Pacific ocean is spanned by four giant railroads,
+while more than a hundred trunk and branch lines intersect the country
+in all directions, and lakes and rivers are navigated by hundreds of
+steamers, which compete with the railroads in carrying the products of
+the West to the Atlantic, whence they are distributed over the whole
+civilized world.
+
+Hundreds of cities that did not exist, even by name, have since sprung
+up as if by magic, and some of them have already become renowned
+throughout the world for their industry, commerce and culture. Among
+them are Minneapolis and St. Paul, already intertwining their arms
+around each other in an embrace that will soon unite them into one. The
+former did not exist when I first gazed on St. Anthony falls, which now
+furnishes motive power for its magnificent mills and factories, and the
+latter was a town of about two thousand inhabitants. Their combined
+population is now one-third of a million. St. Paul contains a large
+number of Scandinavians, but Minneapolis seems to be their favorite
+city, the Swedes alone numbering over forty thousand. They have many
+churches, private schools, academies and other institutions of learning.
+
+[Illustration: FLOUR MILLS IN MINNEAPOLIS.]
+
+The three Scandinavian nationalities agree pretty well in our good
+state, and have united their efforts in several enterprises of some
+magnitude. In Minneapolis there are several banks and other monetary
+institutions owned and controlled by them, not to mention hundreds of
+other important commercial and manufacturing establishments due to the
+enterprise of our countrymen. Having gradually learned the language
+and the ways of this country, a surprisingly large number of the
+Scandinavians who began their career as common laborers have engaged
+successfully in business on their own account, and many have devoted
+themselves to professions demanding a higher education, which is greatly
+facilitated by a number of excellent academies and colleges established
+and supported by them in several of the western states. A great number
+of county offices are filled by the Scandinavian-Americans; in our
+legislature there are generally from thirty to forty members of that
+nationality; many of them have occupied positions of the highest trust
+and honor as officers of the state and of the United States, and no one
+can deny the fact that they have universally proved themselves fully
+equal in ability and trust-worthiness to the native born.
+
+But it is not only in Minneapolis or in Minnesota, but throughout the
+whole country that the Scandinavians have gained such a good name, that
+in all the recent agitation against foreign emigrants, not one voice has
+been heard against them. They learn the English language well and
+quickly, and assimilate readily with the native American element, which
+is natural enough considering that they are to a very large extent of
+the same blood and ancestry as the English people, and that the English
+language is borrowed to no small extent from the Scandinavian.
+
+Americans often express astonishment at the ease and correctness with
+which the Scandinavian immigrants acquire the English language. A little
+study of philology will readily account for it. If we take, for
+instance, the names of household goods, domestic animals, and other
+things appertaining to the common incidents of plain every-day life, we
+find the English words almost identical with the Scandinavian terms,
+only varying in the form of spelling or perhaps pronunciation, as those
+are apt to change with time and locality. For example: English--ox, cow,
+swine, cat, hound, rat, mouse, hen, goose, chicken; Swedish--oxe, ko,
+svin, katt, hund, rotta, mus, h�na, g�s, kyckling. Of implements:
+English--wagon, plow, harrow, spade, axe, knife, kettle, pot, pan, cup;
+Swedish--wagn, plog, harf, spada, yxa, knif, kittel, potta, panna, kopp.
+Or the part of our own bodies, such as: English--hair, skin, eyes, nose,
+ears, mouth, lips, teeth, shoulders, arm, hand, finger, nail, foot, toe,
+etc.; Swedish--h�r, skinn, �gon, n�sa, �ron, mun, l�pp, tand, skuldra,
+arm, hand, finger, nagel, fot, and t�. Or of the occupations of the
+common people, such as: English--spin, weave, cook, sow, sew;
+Swedish--spinna, v�fva, koka, s�, sy, etc. In this connection it may not
+be out of place to quote one of England's most eminent authors and
+scholars, Edward Bulwer Lytton, who says:
+
+  "A magnificent race of men were those war sons of the old North, whom
+  our popular histories, so superficial in their accounts of this age,
+  include in the common name of the 'Danes.'
+
+  "They replunged into barbarism the nations over which they swept; but
+  from the barbarism they reproduced the noblest element of
+  civilization. Swede, Norwegian and Dane, differing in some minor
+  points, when closely examined, had yet one common character viewed at
+  a distance. They had the same prodigious energy, the same passion for
+  freedom, individual and civil, the same splendid errors in the thirst
+  for fame and the point of honor, and above all, as a main cause of
+  civilization, they were wonderfully pliant and malleable in their
+  adventures with the people they overran.
+
+  "At that time, A.D. 1055, these Northmen, under the common name of
+  Danes, were peaceably settled in no less than fifteen counties in
+  England; their nobles abounded in towns and cities beyond the
+  boundaries of those counties, which bore the distinct appellation of
+  Danelagh. They were numerous in London, in the precincts of which they
+  had their own burial-place, to the chief municipal court of which they
+  gave their own appellation--the Husting."
+
+It is, of course, impossible to ascertain the exact number of
+Scandinavians and their descendants in this country, but we can come
+very near it by studying the statistics of the United States treasury
+department, a recent report from which gives the number of emigrants
+during the last seventy years from Sweden and Norway as 943,330, and
+from Denmark as 146,237, or a total since the year 1820 of 1,089,567;
+while the same report gives the number during the same period from
+Germany as 4,551,719; Ireland, 3,501,683; England, 1,460,054; English
+Colonies, 1,029,083; Austria-Hungaria, 464,435; Italy, 414,513; France,
+370,162; Russia, 356,353; Scotland, 329,192; Switzerland, 174,333.
+
+When we take into consideration the numerous Swedish colonies that
+settled in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the seventeenth
+century, and their descendants, together with the descendants of
+Scandinavian emigrants of the last seventy years, I think it is safe to
+estimate the total population of Scandinavian descent at over four
+millions, or fully one-sixteenth of the entire population of the United
+States. The very fact that the nationality assimilates so readily with
+the native American element causes it to be lost sight of; and it should
+be so, for the only desirable immigrants to this country are those who
+cease to be foreigners, and merge right into the American nation. Such
+are certainly the Scandinavians. They do not bring over any grievances
+from the mother country to correct or avenge, and there are no
+Clan-na-Gael, no Mafia societies among them, nor are there any
+anarchists or revolutionists. They come here to build homes for
+themselves and their children; they are contented and grateful for the
+privileges of American citizenship, and make themselves worthy of it by
+pushing into the front rank in the onward march of education,
+philanthropy and religion, as well as in material progress.
+
+One illustration, among many that might be given, is found in the report
+of a late conference of the Swedish Lutheran Church, from which it
+appears that they have now in Minnesota alone two hundred and forty-five
+parishes, with one hundred and seventy-nine churches, valued at over six
+hundred thousand dollars, and all paid for. The Norwegian Lutheran
+Church would undoubtedly show equal if not better results, though I
+cannot give the exact figures.
+
+It is a great mistake which some make, to think that it is only for
+their brawn and muscle that the Northmen have become a valuable
+acquisition to the American population; on the contrary, they have done
+and are doing as much as any other nationality within the domain of mind
+and heart. Not to speak of the early discovery of America by the
+Scandinavians five hundred years before the time of Columbus, they can
+look back with proud satisfaction on the part they have taken in all
+respects to make this great republic what it is to-day.
+
+The early Swedish colonists in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
+worked as hard for liberty and independence as the English did in New
+England and in the South. There were no tories among them, and when the
+continental congress stood wavering equal in the balance for and against
+the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, it was a Swede, John
+Morton (Mortenson), of the old Delaware stock, who gave the casting vote
+of Pennsylvania in favor of the sacred document.
+
+When nearly a century later the great rebellion burst upon the land, a
+gallant descendant of the Swedes, Gen. Robert Anderson, met its first
+shock at Fort Sumter, and, during the bitter struggle of four years
+which followed, the Scandinavian-Americans were as true and loyal to
+their adopted country as their native-born neighbors, giving their
+unanimous support to the cause of the Union and fighting valiantly for
+it; nor should it be forgotten that it was the Swede John Ericson, who,
+by his inventive genius, saved the navy and the great seaports of the
+United States, and that it was another Swede by descent, Admiral
+Dahlgren, who furnished the model for the finest guns of our artillery.
+Surely love of freedom, valor, genius, patriotism and religious fervor
+was not planted in America by the seeds brought over in the Mayflower
+alone.
+
+Yes, it is verily true that the Scandinavian immigrants, from the early
+colonists of 1638 to the present time, have furnished strong hands,
+clear heads and loyal hearts to the republic. They have caused the
+wilderness to blossom like the rose; they have planted schools and
+churches on the hills and in the valleys; they have honestly and ably
+administered the public affairs of town, county and state; they have
+helped to make wise laws for their respective commonwealths and in the
+halls of congress; they have, with honor and ability, represented their
+adopted country abroad; they have sanctified the American soil by their
+blood, shed in freedom's cause on the battle-fields of the revolution
+and the civil war; and though proud of their Scandinavian ancestry, they
+love America and American institutions as deeply and as truly as do the
+descendants of the Pilgrims, the starry emblem of liberty meaning as
+much to them as to any other citizen.
+
+Therefore, the Scandinavian-American feels a certain sense of ownership
+in the glorious heritage of American soil, with its rivers, lakes,
+mountains, valleys, woods and prairies, and in all its noble
+institutions; and he feels that the blessings which he enjoys are not
+his by favor or sufferance, but by right; by moral as well as civil
+right. For he took possession of the wilderness, endured the hardships
+of the pioneer, contributed his full share toward the grand results
+accomplished, and is in mind and heart a true and loyal American
+citizen.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Amendments:
+
+Page 1: immemmorial amended to immemorial
+Page 1: Skane amended to Sk�ne
+Pages 2, 3: Onnestad amended to �nnestad
+Page 7: amusments amended to amusements
+Page 14: doller amended to dollar
+Page 24: acquaintenances amended to acquaintances
+Page 38: begining amended to beginning
+Page 47: neigh-hood amended to neighborhood
+Page 106: added "be" to "can more easily be imagined"
+Page 140: Amerian amended to American
+Page 154: Pharoah amended to Pharaoh
+Page 159: acknowlege amended to acknowledge
+Page 166: fetes amended to f�tes
+Page 168: punka amended to punkah
+Page 187: Wesdnesday amended to Wednesday
+Page 194: astromical amended to astronomical
+Page 197: embroideried amended to embroidered
+Page 200: hundred amended to hundreds
+Page 210: acknoweldged amended to acknowledged
+Page 214: surburbs amended to suburbs
+Page 217: degraged amended to degraded
+Page 237: Fete amended to F�te
+Page 256: methodist amended to Methodist
+Page 256: magnificient amended to magnificent
+Page 256: fete amended to f�te
+Page 257: bible amended to Bible
+Page 260: begger amended to beggar
+Page 264: ANNADABAI amended to ANNANDABAI
+Page 266: conntry amended to country
+Page 272: of of amended to of
+Page 275: bible amended to Bible
+Page 279: of of amended to of
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Reminiscences, by Hans Mattson
+
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Reminiscences, by Hans Mattson
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Reminiscences
+       The Story of an Emigrant
+
+Author: Hans Mattson
+
+Release Date: May 17, 2010 [EBook #32399]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMINISCENCES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by K Nordquist, Ren� Anderson Benitz and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<div>
+
+<br /><br />
+<div class="tranotes">
+<p><span class="smcap">Transcriber&rsquo;s Note</span>: Most variations in hyphenation,
+capitalization, and spelling have been retained as in the original.
+Spelling errors have been corrected when most occurrences of the word
+in question are correct. Obvious typos have been amended. All
+amendments are underlined in text; original text appears in a mouse
+hoverbox over each amendment, like <span title=" thsi " class="hoverbox">this</span>. Minor printer errors
+(quotation marks, punctuation, etc.) have been amended without note.
+Mid-paragraph illustrations have been relocated between paragraphs for
+easier reading, causing some page numbers to be removed. Table of
+Contents has been added.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft"><br /><br />
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="286" height="450" alt="Book Cover" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figright"><br /><br />
+<img src="images/author.jpg" height="450" width="319" alt="H. Mattson" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h2><br /><br />REMINISCENCES</h2>
+<h1><span class="smcap">The</span> STORY</h1>
+<h4>OF AN</h4>
+<h1>EMIGRANT</h1>
+<h3><span class="smcap">By</span> HANS MATTSON,</h3>
+<h6><span class="smcap">Late Consul General of the United States, in India</span></h6>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image001.jpg" height="20" width="121" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="smfont">
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">saint paul:</span><br />
+D. D. MERRILL COMPANY<br />
+1891.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<div class="smfont">
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyrighted</span> 1891<br />
+<span class="smcap">by</span><br />
+D. D. MERRILL COMPANY<br />
+<span class="smcap">st. paul, minn.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+<p class="smfont center"><i>All Rights Reserved</i></p>
+<hr class="hr3" />
+
+<h3 class="serfont">CONTENTS</h3>
+<br />
+<h4><a name="TOC_1" id="TOC_1"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER I.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Ancestry and country home in Sweden&mdash;Home influences&mdash;My first
+school years&mdash;Christmas&mdash;Military life&mdash;Departure for
+America.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_2" id="TOC_2"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER II.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Arrival at Boston&mdash;Adventures between Boston and New
+York&mdash;Buffalo&mdash;An Asylum&mdash;Return to New York&mdash;A
+Voyage&mdash;On the Farm in New Hampshire.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_3" id="TOC_3"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER III.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>The Arrival of my Father and Brother&mdash;Journey to
+Illinois&mdash;Work on a Railroad&mdash;The Ague&mdash;Doctor
+Ober&mdash;Religious Impressions&mdash;The Arrival of my Mother, Sister
+and her Husband&mdash;A Burning Railroad Train&mdash;We go to
+Minnesota&mdash;Our Experience as Wood Choppers and Pioneers.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_4" id="TOC_4"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER IV.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Future Hopes&mdash;Farm Life&mdash;Norwegian Pioneers&mdash;The
+Condition of the Immigrant at the Beginning of the
+Fifties&mdash;Religious Meetings&mdash;The Growth of the
+Settlement&mdash;Vasa Township Organized&mdash;A Lutheran Church
+Established&mdash;My Wedding&mdash;Speculation&mdash;The Crisis of
+1857&mdash;Study of Law in Red Wing&mdash;I am admitted to the Bar and
+elected County Auditor&mdash;Politics in 1860&mdash;War is Imminent.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_5" id="TOC_5"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER V.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>The Beginning of the Civil War&mdash;The Scandinavians taking part in
+it&mdash;Appeal in <i>Hemlandet</i> to the Scandinavians of
+Minnesota&mdash;Company D. Organized&mdash;The Expressions of the
+Press&mdash;The Departure&mdash;The March over the Cumberland
+Mountains&mdash;The Fate of the Third Regiment.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_6" id="TOC_6"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>CHAPTER VI.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Events of 1863&mdash;The Siege of Vicksburg&mdash;Anecdotes about Gens.
+Logan, Stevenson and Grant&mdash;Little Rock Captured&mdash;Recruiting
+at Fort Snelling&mdash;The engagement at Fitzhugh&rsquo;s Woods&mdash;Pine
+Bluff&mdash;Winter Quarters at Duvall&rsquo;s Bluff&mdash;Death of
+Lincoln&mdash;Close of the War&mdash;The Third Regiment Disbanded.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_7" id="TOC_7"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>CHAPTER VII.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Reconstruction in the South&mdash;Third Regiment Mustered Out&mdash;The
+Farewell Order&mdash;Sacrifices and Costs of the War.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_8" id="TOC_8"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>CHAPTER VIII.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>My Reason for Taking Part in the Civil War&mdash;The Dignity of
+Labor&mdash;The Firm Mattson &amp; Webster&mdash;<i>Svenska Amerikanaren</i>,
+its Program and Reception&mdash;The State Emigration Bureau of
+Minnesota&mdash;Its Aim, Plan and Work.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_9" id="TOC_9"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>CHAPTER IX.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Visit to Sweden in 1868-1869&mdash;The Object of my
+Journey&mdash;Experiences and Observations During the
+Same&mdash;Difference Between American and Swedish Customs&mdash;My
+Birth-place&mdash;Arrival and Visit There&mdash;Visit to
+Christianstad&mdash;Visit to Stockholm&mdash;The Swedish
+Parliament&mdash;My Return to America&mdash;Reflections on and
+Impressions of the Condition of the Bureaucracy of Sweden.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_10" id="TOC_10"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>CHAPTER X.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>The Importance of the Scandinavian Element&mdash;A Swede Elected
+Secretary of State in Minnesota&mdash;False Rumors of Indian
+Depredations&mdash;The Northern Pacific Railroad is Built&mdash;Trip to
+Philadelphia&mdash;The National Convention at
+Indianapolis&mdash;Delegation to Washington&mdash;A Swedish Colony in
+Mississippi Moved to Minnesota&mdash;The Second Voyage to Europe.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_11" id="TOC_11"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>CHAPTER XI.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>In Sweden Again&mdash;Reception at My Old Home&mdash;Visit to Northern
+Sweden&mdash;Field Maneuvers in Sweden&mdash;The Opening of
+Parliament&mdash;In Norway&mdash;Visit in Stockholm&mdash;Royal
+Palaces&mdash;The G&ouml;ta Canal&mdash;A Trip to Finland and
+Russia&mdash;King Oscar II.&mdash;A Trip to Dalarne in the Winter.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_12" id="TOC_12"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>CHAPTER XII.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Visit in Minnesota and Philadelphia&mdash;Conversation with Jay
+Cooke&mdash;The Crisis of 1873&mdash;Negotiations in
+Holland&mdash;Draining of a Lake in Sk&aring;ne&mdash;Icelandic Colony
+in Manitoba&mdash;Return to America.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_13" id="TOC_13"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>CHAPTER XIII.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Grasshopper Ravages in Minnesota&mdash;The Presidential
+Election&mdash;Chosen Presidential Elector&mdash;Minnesota <i>Stats
+Tidning</i>&mdash;<i>Svenska Tribunen</i> in Chicago&mdash;Farm in Northwestern
+Minnesota&mdash;Journalistic Work.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_14" id="TOC_14"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>CHAPTER XIV.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>I am Appointed Consul-General to India&mdash;Assassination of
+Garfield&mdash;Departure for India&mdash;My Stay in Chicago and
+Washington&mdash;Paris and
+Versailles&mdash;Rome&mdash;Naples&mdash;Pompeii&mdash;From Naples to
+Alexandria&mdash;Interesting Acquaintances on the Voyage&mdash;The First
+Impressions in Egypt.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_15" id="TOC_15"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>CHAPTER XV.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Alexandria and its Monuments&mdash;The Egyptian
+&ldquo;Fellahs&rdquo;&mdash;The Mohammedans and Their Religion&mdash;The
+Voyage Through the Suez Canal&mdash;The Red Sea&mdash;The Indian
+Ocean&mdash;The Arrival at Calcutta.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_16" id="TOC_16"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><b>CHAPTER XVI.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>India&mdash;Its People, Religion, Etc.&mdash;The Fertility of the
+Country&mdash;The Climate&mdash;The
+Dwellings&mdash;Punkah&mdash;Costumes&mdash;Calcutta&mdash;Dalhousie
+Square&mdash;Life in the Streets.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_17" id="TOC_17"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><b>CHAPTER XVII.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>The Promenades of the Fashionable World&mdash;Maidan&mdash;The
+Viceroy&mdash;British Dominions in India.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_18" id="TOC_18"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><b>CHAPTER XVIII.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>An Indian F&ecirc;te&mdash;The Prince of Burdwan&mdash;Indian
+Luxury&mdash;The Riches and Romantic Life of an Indian
+Prince&mdash;Poverty and Riches.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_19" id="TOC_19"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><b>CHAPTER XIX.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Allahabad&mdash;Sacred Places&mdash;Kumbh
+Mela&mdash;Pilgrimages&mdash;Bathing in the Ganges&mdash;Fakirs and
+Penitents&mdash;Sacred Rites&mdash;Superstitions.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_20" id="TOC_20"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><b>CHAPTER XX.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Benares, the Holy City of the Hindoos&mdash;Its Temples and
+Worshipers&mdash;The Sacred Monkeys.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_21" id="TOC_21"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><b>CHAPTER XXI.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Nimtoolaghat&mdash;Cremation in India&mdash;Parsee Funeral Rites.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_22" id="TOC_22"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><b>CHAPTER XXII.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Heathenism and Christianity&mdash;The Religion of the
+Hindoos&mdash;Caste&mdash;The Brahmins&mdash;Their
+Tyranny&mdash;Superstition&mdash;The Influence of
+Christianity&mdash;Keshub-Chunder-Sen, the Indian Reformer&mdash;His
+faith and Influence.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_23" id="TOC_23"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"><b>CHAPTER XXIII.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Steamboating On the Ganges&mdash;Life on the River&mdash;The Greatest
+Business Firm in the
+World&mdash;Sceneries&mdash;Temples&mdash;Serampoor&mdash;Boat
+Races&mdash;An Excursion to the Himalayas&mdash;Darjieling and Himalaya
+Railroad&mdash;Tea Plantations&mdash;Darjieling&mdash;Llamas&mdash;View
+from the Mountains.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_24" id="TOC_24"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV"><b>CHAPTER XXIV.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Cholera and other Diseases&mdash;The Causes of Cholera&mdash;How the
+Soldiers are Protected Against it&mdash;Sudden
+Deaths&mdash;Fevers&mdash;The Teraj&mdash;Contempt for Death&mdash;The
+Cholera Hospital&mdash;The Sisters of Mercy&mdash;The Princes
+Tagore&mdash;Hindoo Family Customs&mdash;Hindoo Gallantry&mdash;A Hindoo
+F&ecirc;te.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_25" id="TOC_25"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XXV"><b>CHAPTER XXV.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Agriculture, Manufacture and Architecture&mdash;Wheat Growing&mdash;The
+Farm Laborer&mdash;His Condition, Implements, etc. The
+Taj-Mahal&mdash;Jugglers&mdash;Snake Charmers&mdash;From My Journal.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_26" id="TOC_26"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI"><b>CHAPTER XXVI.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>The Women of India&mdash;The Widows&mdash;The American
+Zenana&mdash;Prizes Awarded in a Girl&rsquo;s School&mdash;Annandabai
+Joshee&mdash;Her Visit to America&mdash;Reports to the
+Government&mdash;Departure from
+India&mdash;Burmah&mdash;Ceylon&mdash;Arabia&mdash;Cairo.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_27" id="TOC_27"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII"><b>CHAPTER XXVII.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Cairo&mdash;Cheop&rsquo;s Pyramid&mdash;Venice&mdash;The St. Gotthard
+Tunnel&mdash;On the Rhine&mdash;Visit in Holland and
+England&mdash;Father Nugent&mdash;Arrival at New York.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_28" id="TOC_28"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII"><b>CHAPTER XXVIII.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>Home from India&mdash;A Friendly Reception&mdash;Journey to New
+Mexico&mdash;The Maxwell Land Grant Company&mdash;Renewed Visits to
+England and Holland&mdash;Re-elected Secretary of State&mdash;Visit of
+the Swedish Officers in Minneapolis and St. Paul&mdash;Two Hundred and
+Fiftieth Anniversary of the Landing of the First Swedes in Delaware.</p></div>
+
+<h4><a name="TOC_29" id="TOC_29"></a> <a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX"><b>CHAPTER XXIX.</b></a></h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>The Causes of Immigration&mdash;American Influence on Europe, and
+Especially on Sweden&mdash;The Condition of the Swedes in
+America&mdash;American Characteristics&mdash;Antipathy against
+Foreigners&mdash;The Swedish Press on America&mdash;American Heiresses.</p></div>
+
+<h4>
+<a name="TOC_30" id="TOC_30"></a>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXX"><b>CHAPTER XXX.</b></a>
+</h4>
+
+<div class="blocktoc"><p>REVIEW.</p></div>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center lgfont serfont">NOTE.</p>
+
+<div class="smfont"> <p>These <i>reminiscences</i> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p class="right"> THE AUTHOR.</p><br />
+<p><span class="smcap">Minneapolis, Minn.</span>, October, 1891.<br /></p>
+</div>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">- 1 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a><a href="#TOC_1">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER I.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Ancestry and country home in Sweden&mdash;Home influences&mdash;My first
+school years&mdash;Christmas&mdash;Military life&mdash;Departure for
+America.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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 <span title=" immemmorial " class="hoverbox">immemorial</span>, placed Sweden, as a land of constitutional
+liberty, in the front rank among all the countries of the Old World.</p>
+
+<p>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, <span title=" Skane " class="hoverbox">Sk&aring;ne</span>,
+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.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">- 2 -</a></span>
+
+<p>My mother was born on the island of If&ouml;, my father&rsquo;s family also
+came from that island and were the owners of the estate described by Du
+Chaillu in his &ldquo;Land of the Midnight Sun&rdquo; with the
+remarkable crypt built by Bishop Andreas Suneson<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> 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 <span title=" Onnestad " class="hoverbox">&Ouml;nnestad</span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<p><span class="line1">&ldquo;The morning light shall wake me</span><br />
+<span class="line2">To the strains of sacred song,&rdquo; etc.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>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<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_3" id="Page_3">- 3 -</a></span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>My parents were doing well on their little farm, which they sold about
+this time, buying a larger one on the <span title=" Onnestad " class="hoverbox">&Ouml;nnestad</span> Hills. Here they
+erected larger and more commodious buildings.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 615px;">
+<img src="images/image002.jpg" width="615" height="324" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OUR HOME.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>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<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_4" id="Page_4">- 4 -</a></span> the village school until I had learned
+all that was taught there. During the vacations I worked on my father&rsquo;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.</p>
+
+<p>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<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_5" id="Page_5">- 5 -</a></span> 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&rsquo;s house.</p>
+
+<p>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<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">- 6 -</a></span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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&rsquo;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 dopparebr&ouml;d. 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<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">- 7 -</a></span> 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 &ldquo;Lut Fisk,&rdquo; 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&rsquo;clock before the tables were cleared. The
+remainder of the evening was spent in quiet <span title=" amusments " class="hoverbox">amusements</span>, 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 (ottes&aring;ng) in the parish church, at five o&rsquo;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<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">- 8 -</a></span> 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, &ldquo;Happy Christmas&rdquo; 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,
+&ldquo;Var h&auml;lsad sk&ouml;na morgon stund&rdquo; (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&rsquo;clock, and the
+rest of the day was spent quietly at home by everybody.</p>
+
+<p>On the next day, called Second Day Christmas, the previous solemnity was
+discarded, and the time for visiting and social enjoyments commenced.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">- 9 -</a></span>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>Of the incidents of my childhood I will mention a few, which have left
+the most vivid impression on my mind:</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>At one time I went in company with my mother to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">- 10 -</a></span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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:
+&ldquo;Do right and fear nothing.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">- 11 -</a></span> tried how long I
+could go without food, and still not lose my mental and physical vigor.</p>
+
+<p>When I was sixteen years old, an event took place which had a decisive
+influence on my whole life.</p>
+
+<p>A captain of the army boarded at my father&rsquo;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, &ldquo;There is
+Hans!&rdquo; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">- 12 -</a></span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">- 13 -</a></span>
+
+<p>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 &ldquo;folks I
+left behind.&rdquo; A couple of days&rsquo; journey brought us to a little
+seaport, where we took leave of my father and boarded a small schooner
+for the city of Gothenburg.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">- 14 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a><a href="#TOC_2">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER II.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Arrival at Boston&mdash;Adventures between Boston and New
+York&mdash;Buffalo&mdash;An Asylum&mdash;Return to New York&mdash;A
+Voyage&mdash;On the Farm in New Hampshire.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>The good brig Ambrosius landed us in Boston on June 29, 1851, but during
+the voyage about one-half of the passengers were attacked by small-pox
+and had to be quarantined outside the harbor. My good friend and I were
+fortunate enough to escape this plague; but instead of this I was taken
+sick with the ague on our arrival at Boston.</p>
+
+<p>Now, then, we were in America! The new, unknown country lay before us,
+and it seemed the more strange as we did not understand a word of the
+English language. For at that time the schools of Sweden paid no
+attention to English, so that although I had studied four languages,
+English, the most important of all tongues, was entirely unknown to me.</p>
+
+<p>The first few weeks of our stay in Boston passed quietly and quickly,
+but the ague grew worse and my purse was getting empty. My friend,
+however, had more money than I, and as long as he had a <span title=" doller " class="hoverbox">dollar</span> left he
+divided it equally between us. I cannot resist the temptation to relate
+a serio-comical escapade of this period, one that to many will recall
+similar occurences in their own experience as immigrants ignorant of the
+language of the country.</p>
+
+<p>In Gothenburg we had become acquainted with a bright young man from
+Vexi&ouml;, Janne Tenggren by name, who had also served in the army.
+When we met him he had already<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">- 15 -</a></span> bought a ticket on a sailing
+vessel bound for New York, so that we could not make the voyage
+together. But we agreed to hunt each other up after our arrival in
+America. We left Sweden about the same time with the understanding that
+if we arrived first we should meet him in New York, and if he arrived
+first he should go to Boston to meet us there.</p>
+
+<p>About a week after our arrival in Boston, we heard that the vessel on
+which he had embarked had arrived, and I immediately left for New York
+to fulfill our promise. But, unfortunately, I found he had already gone
+west, so I bought a return ticket to Boston the same day. The journey
+was by steamboat to Fall River, thence by rail to Boston. We left New
+York in the evening. I remained on the deck, and went to sleep about ten
+o&rsquo;clock on some wooden boxes. About eleven o&rsquo;clock I awoke, saw the
+steamer laying to and, supposing we were at Fall River, hurried off and
+followed the largest crowd, expecting thus to get to the railroad depot.
+Striking no depot, however, I returned to the harbor, only to find the
+steamer gone, and everybody but myself had vanished from the pier.</p>
+
+<p>There I stood, in the middle of the night, without money, ignorant of
+the language, and not even knowing where I was! Tired and discouraged I
+finally threw myself down on a wooden box on the sidewalk, and went to
+sleep. About five o&rsquo;clock in the morning a big policeman aroused me by
+poking at me with his club. This respectable incarnation of social order
+evidently took me for a tramp or a madman, and as he could not obtain
+any intelligible information from me in any language known to him, he
+took me to a small shoe store kept by a German.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, my acquaintance with the German language was sufficient to
+enable me to explain myself, and I soon found that I had left the
+steamer several hours too early; that the name of this place was New
+London, that another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">- 16 -</a></span> steamer would come past at the same time
+the next night, so that all I had to do was to wait for that steamer and
+go to Boston on the same ticket.</p>
+
+<p>I spent the day in seeing the city and chatting with my friend, the shoe
+maker, and in the evening returned to the wharf to watch for the Boston
+steamer.</p>
+
+<p>This being my ague day, I had violent attacks of ague and fever, so that
+I was again forced to lie down to rest on the same wooden box, and again
+went to sleep. After a while I was aroused by the noise of the
+approaching steamer; rushed on board in company with some other
+passengers, and considered myself very fortunate when reflecting that I
+would surely be in Boston the next morning. I had made myself familiar
+with the surroundings during the day, and when the steamer started, I
+noticed that it directed its course towards New York, instead of Boston.
+I had no money to pay my fare to New York, could neither borrow nor beg,
+and so I crawled down in a little hole in the fore part of the steamer,
+where the tackles and ropes were kept, thus, fortunately, escaping the
+notice of the ticket collector.</p>
+
+<p>The next evening I again embarked for Boston and finally arrived safely
+at my destination.</p>
+
+<p>We stayed in Boston several weeks, and during that time my ague caused a
+heavy drain on our small treasury. We had no definite plan, did not know
+what to do, and as we had never been used to any kind of hard work,
+matters began to assume a serious aspect, especially in regard to
+myself. But then, as now, the hope of many a young man was the Great
+West which, at that time, was comparatively little known even in Boston.
+Toward the close of the month of July we, therefore, went to Buffalo,
+which was as far as our money would carry us. Here we put up at a cheap
+boarding house kept by a Norwegian by name of Larson, with whom we
+stopped while trying to get work. But having learned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">- 17 -</a></span> no trade
+and being unused to manual labor, we soon found that it was impossible
+to get a job in the city; so we left our baggage at the boarding house
+and started on foot for a country place named Hamburg, some ten miles
+distant, where we learned that two of our late companions across the
+ocean had found employment. On the road to Hamburg, about dusk, we
+reached a small house by the wayside, where we asked for food and
+shelter. I was so exhausted that my friend had to support me in order to
+reach the house. We found it occupied by a Swedish family, which had
+just sat down to a bountiful supper. Telling them our condition, we were
+roughly told to clear out; in Sweden, they said, they had had enough of
+gentlemen and would have nothing to do with them here.</p>
+
+<p>We retraced our steps with sad hearts until a short distance beyond the
+house we found an isolated barn partly filled with hay. <i>There</i> was no
+one to object, so we took possession and made it our temporary home. I
+am glad to say that during a long life among all classes of people, from
+the rudest barbarians to the rulers of nations, that family of my own
+countrymen were the only people who made me nearly lose faith in the
+nobler attributes of man. I have an excuse, however, for this conduct in
+the fact that in the mother-country, which they had left a year before,
+they had probably been abused and exasperated on account of the foolish
+class distinction then existing there. They evidently belonged to that
+class of tenants who were treated almost like slaves. The following day
+we found our late companions a mile from our barn, both working for a
+farmer at $15.00 per month, which was then considered big wages. They
+were older men and accustomed to hard labor, so that their situation was
+comparatively easy. They received us kindly and procured work for
+Eustrom with the same farmer, while I, still suffering with the ague,
+could not then attempt to work,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">- 18 -</a></span> and therefore returned to my
+castle in the meadow, (the hay-barn). There I remained about a week
+living on berries which I found in the neighboring woods and a slice of
+bread and butter, which Eustrom brought me in the evening, when with
+blistered hands and sore back, he called to comfort me and help build
+better air castles for the future.</p>
+
+<p>A council was finally held among us four, and it was decided to send me
+back to Buffalo with a farmer who was going there the following morning.
+One of the men Mr. Abraham Sandberg on parting gave me a silver dollar,
+with the injunction to give it to someone who might need it worse than
+I, whenever I could do so. I have never met Abraham since; but I have
+regarded it as a sacred duty to comply with his request, and, in case
+these lines should come before his eyes I wish to let him know that my
+debt has been honestly paid.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching the old boarding house in Buffalo the landlord promised that
+he would send me to a hospital where I could receive proper treatment
+and care. I made up a little bundle of necessary underwear, and in an
+hour a driver appeared at the door; I was lifted into the cart and off
+we went through the muddy streets to the outskirts of the city, where I
+was duly delivered at a large building which I supposed to be the
+hospital. It was near evening, and I was brought into a large
+dining-room, with a hundred others or more, served with supper, corn
+mush and molasses water, after which I was shown to a bed in a large
+room among many others. I suffered with fever, and for the first time in
+my life with loneliness. Exhausted nature finally took out its due, and
+I slept soundly until awakened in the morning by a loud sound of a gong.
+As soon as dressed I walked out in the yard, or lawn, back of the
+building. On one side was a high plank fence, behind which I heard some
+strange sounds. I found a knot-hole, and, peeping through this, I
+observed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">- 19 -</a></span> another lawn, on which were many people. They were
+strange looking; I never saw any like them before. Some were swinging,
+some dancing, others shouting, singing and weeping and behaving in a
+most out-of-the-way manner. I wondered and wondered, and finally it
+dawned upon me that it must be a lunatic asylum. It was, in fact, as I
+since learned, the county poor farm, where one part was used for the
+lunatics and the other for paupers like myself. Has it come to this? I
+asked myself; is this the goal of all my ambition and hopes? Going back
+to the room, where I had slept, I stealthily took my little bundle,
+slipped out through a side door into a back yard, found a gate open and
+was soon in the street. I started on a run with all the power in me, as
+if pursued by all the furies of paupers and lunatics, never stopping
+until I was near the old boarding house, where I was taken in exhausted
+and in deep despair. I would have killed the landlord for deceiving me
+if I had been able to do so. One good thing resulted from the sad
+experience of that day: the mental shock on discovering where I was,
+cured me for the time being of the ague.</p>
+
+<p>The next day my friend returned from Hamburg, where he could no longer
+get any employment on account of his blistered hands, and poor health in
+general. We now put our wise heads together and agreed that we had
+already had enough of the West for the time being. Having plenty of good
+clothes, bedding, revolvers and other knick-knacks, we sold to our
+landlord whatever we could spare, in order to raise money enough to pay
+our way back to Boston.</p>
+
+<p>During our stay in Buffalo, our renowned countrywoman, Jenny Lind,
+happened to give a concert there. We were standing on the street where
+we could see the people crowd into the theatre, but that was all we
+could afford, and we never heard her sing. Our host advised us to go and
+ask her for help; but our pride forbade it.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">- 20 -</a></span>
+
+<p>At this time the Swedes were so little known, and Jenny Lind, on the
+other hand, so renowned in America, that the Swedes were frequently
+called &ldquo;Jenny Lind men,&rdquo; this designation being often
+applied to myself.</p>
+
+<p>Having purchased tickets for Albany, we returned East in the month of
+August. I still remember how we rode all night in a crowded second-class
+car, listening to the noisy merry-making of our fellow-passengers; but
+we understood very little of it, for up to this time we had lived
+exclusively among our own countrymen, and learned only a few English
+words&mdash;a mistake, by the way, which thousands of immigrants have
+made and are still making.</p>
+
+<p>Arriving at Albany, we sat down by an old stone wall near the railroad
+depot, to talk over our affairs. Fate had been against us while we
+remained together, and we probably depended too much upon each other.
+Accordingly, we decided to part for some time and try our luck
+separately; and if one of us met with success he would, of course, soon
+be able to find a position for the other. We decided by drawing lots
+that Eustrom should go to Boston and I to New York. When we had bought
+our tickets there remained one dollar, which we divided, and we left for
+our respective places of destination the same evening.</p>
+
+<p>Our landlord in Buffalo had given us the address of a sailors&rsquo;
+boarding-house in New York, which was also kept by a Norwegian by the
+same name of Larson. So when I left the Hudson River steamer early the
+next morning, I paid my half-dollar to a drayman, who took me to said
+boarding house. I found Mr. Larson to be a kind, good-natured man, told
+him my difficulties right out, and asked him to let me stop at his house
+until I could find something to do. He agreed to this, and for a week or
+so I tried my best to get work. But, when asked what kind of work I
+could do, I was compelled to answer that I had learned no trade,
+but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">- 21 -</a></span> that I would gladly try to learn anything and do anything
+whatever, even sweep the streets, if necessary. As a result of my
+protracted sickness, I was so weak and exhausted that nobody thought I
+would be able even to earn my bread. As to easy or intellectual work, I
+had no earthly chance, as long as I did not know the English language.
+Finally Mr. Larson took me to a ship-owner&rsquo;s office. I still remember
+that a Norwegian captain was cruel enough to remark in my hearing, that
+he did not intend to take any half-dead corpses along with him to sea.</p>
+
+<p>After two weeks of fruitless efforts to get work for me, my host finally
+declared that he could not very well keep me any longer, because his
+accommodations were crowded with paying customers; nevertheless, he
+allowed me to sleep in the attic free of charge, while I had to procure
+my food as best I could, which I also did for another two weeks. Being a
+convalescent, I had a ravenous appetite, and, indeed, I found how hard
+it is to obtain food without having anything to pay for it. Of the few
+articles of clothing which I brought with me from Buffalo, I had to
+sacrifice one after another for subsistence. When all other means were
+exhausted, I was compelled to go to the kitchen-doors and tell my
+desperate and unfortunate condition by signs, and more than one
+kind-hearted cook gave me a solid meal.</p>
+
+<p>Tramps! In our day there is a great deal of talk about tramps, and it
+has become customary, to brand as a tramp, any poor wandering laborer
+who seeks work. There are undoubtedly many who justly deserve this
+title; but I think there are tramps who are not to blame for their
+deplorable condition, and who deserve encouragement and friendly
+assistance, for I have been one of them myself, without any fault or
+neglect on my part. It always provokes me to hear a young or
+inexperienced person use the expression &ldquo;tramp&rdquo; so
+thoughtlessly, and in such a sweeping manner. Long ago<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">- 22 -</a></span> I made up
+my mind that no tramp should ever leave my door without such aid as my
+resources would allow. It is better to give to a thousand undeserving,
+than to let one unfortunate but deserving suffer.</p>
+
+<p>My good host, like his Buffalo namesake, finally contrived to get rid of
+me by representing me as a sailor, and hiring me to the captain of the
+bark &ldquo;Catherine,&rdquo; a coasting vessel bound for Charleston, S.
+C., telling me that I was to serve as cabin boy. My wages were to be
+five dollars a month, of which he received seven dollars and a-half in
+advance, so that I could pay my debts and buy a sailor&rsquo;s suit of
+clothes.</p>
+
+<p>On the second day of our voyage we encountered a storm. I was on deck
+with the sailors and the captain stood on the quarter-deck. We were
+coursing against the wind and were just going to turn when the captain
+called on me to untie some ropes. Understanding very little English, and
+being no sailor, I naturally knew nothing about the names of the
+different ropes, and I grabbed one after another, but invariably missed
+the right one. The captain was swearing with might and main in English.
+Seeing that I did not understand him he suddenly roared out angrily the
+name of the rope in good Swedish and added: &ldquo;Do you understand me
+now, you confounded blockhead!&rdquo; Turning to him, cap in hand, I
+answered: &ldquo;No, captain, I do not know the name of a single
+rope.&rdquo; &ldquo;And still,&rdquo; he continued &ldquo;you have
+followed the sea three years, what a dunce you are.&rdquo; I answered:
+&ldquo;Indeed Mr. Captain, I have never been a sailor, and will never be
+worth anything at sea. But I am willing and anxious to do all you ask if
+within my power.&rdquo; The captain, whose name was Wilson, was a
+Swedish American and, although somewhat gruff, he was in fact one of the
+noblest men who ever commanded a ship. He immediately saw how the matter
+stood; the boarding house man had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">- 23 -</a></span> cheated both him and me and
+from that hour Captain Wilson became my friend and benefactor.</p>
+
+<p>Afterwards I found out of the whole crew, which numbered twenty-six men,
+nine-tenths were Scandinavians, but they always used the English
+language while on board the ship. Captain Wilson told me to see him in
+his cabin as soon as the work was performed. Here he asked me about my
+circumstances, and I told him the short story of my life, which elicited
+his sympathy to such an extent that he even asked me to pardon his rude
+behavior toward me. He assigned me to a place to sleep in the cabin;
+told the officers not to give me any orders as he was going to do that
+himself, and treated me with the utmost kindness and consideration in
+every respect.</p>
+
+<p>After this I was excused from all work properly belonging to a sailor,
+but kept the cabin in order, and helped the steward in waiting at the
+table, and the officers with their calculations. During my spare hours I
+read and conversed with the captain and his two mates, one of whom was a
+Dane and the other an Irishman, both splendid fellows. The first mate
+was preparing the second mate for a captain&rsquo;s examination, and I, having
+recently taken a course in mathematics, at a military school, was able
+to assist them in their studies.</p>
+
+<p>On the table in the cabin was a large English Bible, with which I spent
+many happy hours, and by which I learned the English language. At first
+I used to pick out chapters of the New Testament, which I knew almost by
+heart, so that I could understand them without a dictionary or an
+interpreter. After my first conversation with the captain I did not
+speak another word in the Swedish language during the voyage, and when I
+returned to Boston, three months afterwards, it seemed to me that I
+could talk and read English about as well as Swedish.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">- 24 -</a></span>
+
+<p>I made two trips with the captain from New York to Charleston and back
+again. At the wharf of Charleston, I was, for the first time in my life,
+brought face to face with American Negro slavery in its most odious
+aspect. Crowds of Negroes were running along the pier pulling long
+ropes, by means of which the ships were loaded and unloaded. Each gang
+of Negroes was under the charge of a brutal overseer, riding on a mule,
+and brandishing a long cowhide whip, which he applied vigorously to the
+backs of the half-naked Negroes. During the night they were kept penned
+up in sheds, which had been erected for that purpose near the wharf.
+They were treated like cattle, in every respect. This sight influenced
+me in later life to become a Republican in politics.</p>
+
+<p>After our second return to New York, Capt. Wilson assumed the command of
+one of the first clipper ships which carried passengers to California in
+those days. This was at the most stirring time of the gold fever, and
+the captain kindly offered to take me along and let me stay out there,
+an offer which thousands would have accepted. But I was never smitten
+with the gold fever, and, having a distaste for the sea, I said good-bye
+to the kind captain, never to see him again. My wages were to have been
+only five dollars a month, but he generously paid me eight dollars, so
+that I bad earned enough money to pay my way to Boston, whence my friend
+Eustrom had written me and urged me to come.</p>
+
+<p>I arrived in Boston about the middle of December, and, when I returned
+to the old boarding house, I spoke English so well that my <span title=" acquaintenances " class="hoverbox">acquaintances</span>
+hardly believed it possible that I could be the same person. Mr. Eustrom
+was now working as wood polisher. He had made many friends and lived
+happily and contented on $4 a week. By strict economy these wages
+sufficed for board, lodging, and clothes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">- 25 -</a></span> It happened to be an
+unfavorable time of the year when I arrived, however, and many men who
+had been employed during the summer were now discharged at the approach
+of winter. Mr. Eustrom&rsquo;s employer had a good friend in New Hampshire, an
+old Swedish sailor, Anderson by name, who was farming up there. He
+promised to let me come and live with him and do whatever chores I could
+until something might turn up the next spring.</p>
+
+<p>A few days afterwards I went by rail to Contocook where I was met by Mr.
+Anderson, who took me out to his hospitable home a couple of miles from
+the town. This Anderson was a remarkable man. Having no education to
+speak of, he was a better judge of human nature and practical affairs of
+life than any other man I ever met. He was pleased with me, and said he
+wished I would sit down in the evening and tell him about Sweden, and
+explain to him what I had learned at school. Poor Anderson! He had one
+fault, rum got the better of him, and it was cheap in New England at
+that time, only sixteen cents a gallon. He bought a barrel of it at a
+time, and did not taste water as long as the rum lasted.</p>
+
+<p>The day after my arrival he asked me if I would like to go with him into
+the woods to help cut some logs. Of course I would, and we took our axes
+and started off. It was a very cold December day, and I had thin clothes
+and no mittens. Mr. Anderson went to cut down a tree, and I commenced to
+work at one which was already felled. This was the first time I swung an
+axe in earnest, and after a short while I felt that my hands were
+getting cold. But I made up my mind not to stop until the log was
+finished. By holding the axe handle very tight it stopped the
+circulation of the blood through my fingers, and when I finally stopped
+and dropped the axe I could not move my fingers, for eight of them were
+frozen stiff. Mr. Anderson now took off his cap, filled it with snow,
+put my hands into the snow, and thus we ran to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">- 26 -</a></span> house as fast
+as our legs would carry us. The doctor tried his very best; but,
+nevertheless, in a few days the flesh and the nails began to peel off,
+and two doctors decided to amputate all the fingers on my right hand.
+Fortunately I did not give my consent, but told them that I would rather
+die of gangrene than live without hands, for my future depended
+exclusively on them.</p>
+
+<p>My friend Eustrom, having heard of my misfortune, soon came to visit me,
+and brought with him an old Irish woman who was something of a doctor,
+and cured my hands by means of a very simple plaster which she prepared
+herself. But I was forced into complete inactivity for more than three
+months, during which time I was entirely helpless, and had to be washed,
+dressed, and fed like an infant. But, as to me, the old proverb has
+always proved true: &ldquo;When things are at the worst they&rsquo;ll
+mend.&rdquo; There were men and women in my accidental home who
+willingly tended to me in my trouble. May God bless them for it! In the
+latter part of March, Mr. Anderson, who had always treated me with the
+greatest kindness, quite unexpectedly told me that I was now able to
+work again and could try to get a place with some other family in the
+neighborhood, because he could not keep me any longer.</p>
+
+<p>Our nearest neighbor was a genuine Yankee, Daniel Dustin by name. He was
+very rich, well read, liberal minded, respectable and honest, but so
+<i>close</i> that he would scarcely let his own family have enough food to
+eat, and his wife was even more stingy. Mr. Dustin agreed to let me work
+for my board until spring, and then he would give me five dollars a
+month, which offer I cheerfully accepted. He immediately took me out
+into the woods to chop wood for the summer, and he was to haul it home.
+The new, tender muscles and nails on my fingers made wood chopping very
+painful to me, and I could feel every blow of the axe through<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_27" id="Page_27">- 27 -</a></span> my entire body. Never has any man
+worked so hard for me, when I afterwards hired help for good wages, as I
+worked for my board here; and, by the way, this board consisted chiefly
+of potatoes and corn meal cake. When the spring work commenced I got
+five dollars a month, and had to get up at five o&rsquo;clock in the morning
+to do the chores, and then work in the field from seven in the morning
+until dark.</p>
+
+<p>In the beginning of June I got a letter from my parents, stating that my
+father and brother were going to leave for New York immediately, and
+they asked me to meet them there and go West with them. I had never
+complained in my letters to my parents, but, on the other hand, I had
+not advised them to come to America, either. They had been advised to do
+so by some of my fellow-passengers on the &ldquo;Ambrosius,&rdquo; who
+went to Illinois, and were highly pleased with their prospects. So I
+went to Boston again. My father&rsquo;s voyage had been delayed, and I had to
+wait for him over a month, during which time I got sick, and would have
+been in a sorry plight, indeed, if it had not been for my friend
+Eustrom, who now felt like a rich man, with his six dollars a week. A
+couple of years later he became the partner of his employer.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">- 28 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a><a href="#TOC_3">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER III.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>The Arrival of my Father and Brother&mdash;Journey to
+Illinois&mdash;Work on a Railroad&mdash;The Ague&mdash;Doctor
+Ober&mdash;Religious Impressions&mdash;The Arrival of my Mother, Sister
+and her Husband&mdash;A Burning Railroad Train&mdash;We go to
+Minnesota&mdash;Our Experience as Wood Choppers and Pioneers.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>Finally my father and brother arrived, and again I turned my course
+westwards in company with them and their friends. We traveled by rail to
+Buffalo and across the lake to Toledo, thence by rail again to Chicago.
+In the summer of 1852 there were no railroads west of Chicago, and our
+company had to take passage on a canal-boat drawn by horses to La Salle,
+and from this place we rode in farmers wagons to Andover and Galesburg.
+The country around there was as yet only in the first stages of
+development; there was very little money in circulation, and no demand
+for farm products. The immigrants suffered a great deal from fever and
+other climatic diseases.</p>
+
+<p>My brother who was nearly sixteen years old soon obtained steady work
+from an American farmer, while my father and I had to do different kinds
+of work, such as building fences, stacking grain, etc. The only pay we
+could get was checks on some store. I remember what an abundance of
+provisions there was in that locality, and nobody seemed to be in need.</p>
+
+<p>A farmer near Galesburg, for whom I worked a week, had so many hens and
+chickens and eggs, that when people came out from town to buy eggs, they
+were told to pay ten cents,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">- 29 -</a></span> go out to the barn and fill their
+baskets with freshly-laid eggs, no matter how big the basket. Beef and
+pork had scarcely any value, and anybody could go into a cornfield that
+fall and gather a crop on half shares.</p>
+
+<p>There was much religious interest among the Swedes in Illinois at that
+time. The Methodists and Lutherans were already building churches, and
+held services side by side in many of the towns and settlements,
+although they numbered only a few families yet. I remember distinctly
+one Sunday attending service in a Methodist church listening to an
+eloquent preacher, taking for his text &ldquo;The Broad and the Narrow
+Ways.&rdquo; He depicted both in glowing language, and wound up with the
+following words, pronounced in a broad (Swedish) dialect: &ldquo;My dear
+brethren, I have now shown you the two ways, and you may take which ever
+you like; that is all the same to me.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>My father had taken with him only just enough money to pay his way,
+although he had by no means exhausted his resources in Sweden, for he
+had prudently decided to spend at least a year in seeing the country and
+making himself familiar with its institutions, customs, manner of
+tilling the soil, etc. At this time he was a strong man, at the age of
+fifty. In order to obtain steady work, we two, and a few others of our
+company, hired a man in Galesburg to take us to Rock River, where a
+bridge for the Chicago &amp; Rock Island Railroad was being built. We
+all got work, and had to take hold of the spade and the shovel. The
+wages in those days for railroad laborers were from seventy-five cents
+to one dollar per day. I received only seventy-five cents, out of which
+my board was to be paid, which, however, was very cheap, one dollar and
+a half per week only. A Swede by the name of Hoffman kept a boarding
+house for thirty-four of us, and all would have been well except for the
+ague. No man remained there many days without getting the
+&ldquo;shakes;&rdquo; I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">- 30 -</a></span> and my father got them the second day.
+The lower part of the shanty in which we boarded was used for
+dining-room and kitchen, the upper for sleeping on the floor. The shanty
+was as shaky as the ague, which came regularly every other day. Fate had
+so arranged it that seventeen of us had the chills one day, and
+seventeen the next day. Hoffman and his wife fortunately also had the
+chills alternate days, so that there was always one to attend to the
+cooking.</p>
+
+<p>Some may doubt it, but it is a solemn fact, that when seventeen ate
+dinner below, the shaking of those upstairs sometimes shook the house
+until we could hear the plates rattling on the table.</p>
+
+<p>During my healthy days I stood on the bottom of Rock River from seven
+o&rsquo;clock in the morning until seven at night, throwing wet sand with a
+shovel onto a platform above, from which it was again thrown to another,
+and from there to terra firma. The most disagreeable part of the
+business was that one-quarter of each shovel-full came back on the head
+of the operator.</p>
+
+<p>After a couple of weeks the company&rsquo;s paymaster came along, and upon
+settling my board bill and deducting for the shaking days, I made the
+discovery that I was able to earn only fifteen cents net per week in
+building railroad bridges.</p>
+
+<p>Being half dead by this time from over work and sickness, we decided to
+see if we could strike an easier job, and, if possible, a better
+climate. We happened to meet a farmer by the name of Peterson, with whom
+we rode to a place near Moline, where my father tended to me during my
+illness. When he was not occupied with this he chopped cord wood from
+dry old trees. I also tried to assist him in this, but found my strength
+gone.</p>
+
+<p>Among the Swedes living in Moline at that time was a tailor, Johnson by
+name, a good kind-hearted man who, together with his wife, was always
+ready to aid his needy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">- 31 -</a></span> countrymen and get something to do for
+such as could work. I went to him one day to ask for advice or
+assistance, just as a great many had done before me. I was so weak and
+sickly that they had to assist me in getting into the house, but they
+received me as if I had been their own son, and, after a short rest, Mr.
+Johnson took me to one Dr. Ober, who carefully investigated my mental as
+well as my physical condition, and told me that such hard work as I had
+been doing would kill me, and that I ought to rest and take it easy. He
+was one of those magnanimous, noble men who are to be met with in all
+climes and walks of life, but who are easily recognized because they are
+so few. As I have said before, I have been very fortunate in getting
+acquainted with the best men and women of different classes and nations
+with which I have come in contact. While we were sitting in his
+reception room the doctor suddenly left us and went into his private
+room. In a short time he returned accompanied by his wife, a lady whose
+silvery locks and benignantly sympathizing looks made her seem more
+beautiful to me than a madonna. Having simply taken a hasty look at me,
+the doctor and his wife again withdrew, and when they returned he
+offered to let me stay with them like a member of the family in order
+that he might try to restore my health; he also allowed me to avail
+myself of his library and to attend school, the only condition being
+that I should do chores around the house and take care of the horses.</p>
+
+<p>I moved the same day, got a pleasant room and a snug bed, good,
+substantial food, and, above all, good and friendly treatment, so that
+from the time I came there until the day I left, I felt as if I had been
+a child of the house. Dr. Ober, who was a religious man, belonged to the
+Baptist Church, and as I now lived under its beneficient influence, and
+also became acquainted with the Swedish Baptist Pastor, Rev. G.
+Palmquist, and a few others who constituted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">- 32 -</a></span> the nucleus of the
+First Swedish Baptist Church of America. I became a member of their
+society before spring and would probably have continued a member of this
+denomination, if circumstances which were beyond my control, had not
+brought me to other fields of action and other surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>This winter passed in a very pleasant manner. In the afternoon I
+attended an English school, and in the evening I gave instructions in
+English to other young men and women. The friendship of Dr. Ober and his
+wife never failed, and many years afterwards I was a welcome guest at
+their home in La Crosse, Wis., to which place they had moved from
+Moline. Both of them now slumber under the sod, but their many good
+deeds shall live for ever.</p>
+
+<p>My father was much pleased with the great west, and he wrote back to the
+rest of our family in Sweden to come to this country the next summer,
+and in May I started to meet them in Boston. As there were no railroads
+to Moline, I took a steamboat to Galena, and thence the stage-coach to
+Freeport, and from there to Chicago by rail.</p>
+
+<p>The vessel carrying my mother and the party with her was three months on
+the ocean, and there was great scarcity of provisions on board. The ship
+at last arrived, in the month of July, and a couple of days later the
+whole party, consisting of about two hundred, took the train for the
+west, I volunteering as their guide and interpreter. All went well until
+about one hundred miles east of Chicago, when the baggage car attached
+to our train in front caught fire. It was thought best to try to reach a
+station, and the burning train sped on at the rate of sixty miles an
+hour. The scene was a frightful one, the cars crammed full of frightened
+emigrants, the flames hissing like serpents from car to car, windows
+cracking, people screaming, and women fainting, all at the same time
+looking to me, who was not yet twenty years of age, for protection and
+deliverance.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">- 33 -</a></span>
+
+<p>As soon as possible I placed reliable men as guards at the doors to
+prevent the people from rushing out and crowding each other off the
+platform. The train did not reach the station but had to be stopped on
+the open prairie, where we all were helped out of the cars with no
+accident of any kind except every particle of baggage, saving only what
+the passengers had in their seats with them, was burnt. In due time
+another train brought us to Chicago, where the railroad company
+immediately offered to pay all losses as soon as lists of the property
+destroyed could be made out and properly verified. I undertook to do all
+that work without the aid of consul, lawyer or clerk, collecting nearly
+twenty thousand dollars, for old trunks, spinning-wheels, copper
+kettles, etc. Having lost nothing myself, I of course received nothing,
+and as the Company did not consider it their duty to pay me for my
+trouble, one of the emigrants suggested that they should chip in to
+compensate me for the valuable services I had rendered. Accordingly the
+hat was passed, the collection realizing the magnificent sum of two
+dollars and sixty cents, which was paid me for being their interpreter
+during the long journey and for collecting that large sum of money
+without litigation or delay. No lawyer, consul or agent would have been
+satisfied with less than five hundred dollars, but I can truthfully say
+that I never raised a word of complaint, but freely forgave the people
+on account of their ignorance. Many of them I also served afterwards on
+the way to Moline and Minnesota. In due time our party arrived in
+Moline, where my parents bought a small piece of property with the money
+brought from Sweden.</p>
+
+<p>Minnesota was then a territory but little known; yet we had heard of its
+beautiful lakes, forests, prairies and salubrious climate. Quite a
+number of our company had decided to hunt up a place for a Swedish
+settlement where land could be had cheap. It was finally agreed that a
+few of us<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">- 34 -</a></span> should go to Minnesota and select a suitable place.
+Being the only one of the party who could speak English, I was naturally
+appointed its leader. My father also went with us, and so did Mr.
+Willard and his wife, the whole party taking deck passage on a
+Mississippi steamer, and arriving at St. Paul in the month of August.</p>
+
+<p>At that time St. Paul was an insignificant town of a few hundred
+inhabitants. There we found Henry Russell, John Tidlund, and a few other
+Swedish pioneers. Mr. Willard and I had very little money, and for the
+few dollars which we did own we bought a little household furniture, and
+some cooking utensils. We therefore at once sought employment for him,
+while the rest of our party started off in search of a suitable location
+for the proposed settlement.</p>
+
+<p>We had been told that there were a number of our countrymen at Chisago
+Lake and a few near Carver, but that all had settled on timber lands. We
+also learned that near Red Wing, in Goodhue county, places could be
+found with both timber and prairie, and an abundance of good water.
+Having looked over the different localities we finally decided on the
+present town of Vasa, about twelve miles west of Red Wing. The first
+claims were taken at Belle Creek, south of White Rock, and afterwards
+others were taken at a spring now known as Willard Spring, near which
+the large brick church now stands.</p>
+
+<p>After selecting this land my father returned to Illinois. In company
+with the other explorers, I went to St. Paul, where a council was held
+in which all participated, and at which it was decided that three of us,
+Messrs. Roos, Kempe, and myself, should go to our claims that fall and
+do as much work as possible, until the others could join us the
+following spring.</p>
+
+<p>Having made the necessary preparations we three went to Red Wing by
+steamboat and found a little town with half a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">- 35 -</a></span> dozen families,
+among whom was the Rev. J. W. Hancock, who for several years had been a
+missionary among the Indians. The other settlers were Wm. Freeborn, Dr.
+Sweeney, H. L. Bevans, and John Day. Besides these we also met two
+Swedes, Peter Green, and Nels Nelson, and a Norwegian by the name of
+Peterson. On the bank of the river the Sioux Indians had a large camp.
+The country west of Red Wing was then practically a wilderness, and our
+little party was the first to start in to cultivate the soil and make a
+permanent settlement.</p>
+
+<p>At Red Wing we supplied ourselves with a tent, a cook stove, a yoke of
+oxen, carpenter&rsquo;s tools, provisions and other necessaries. Having hired
+a team of horses, we then packed our goods on a wagon, tied the cattle
+behind, and started for the new settlement. The first four miles we
+followed the territorial road; after that we had nothing but Indian
+trails to guide us. Toward evening we arrived at a grove on Belle Creek,
+now known as Jemtland. Here the tent was pitched and our evening meal
+cooked, and only pioneers like ourselves can understand how we relished
+it after our long day&rsquo;s tramp. The team was taken back the next day, and
+we were left alone in the wilderness.</p>
+
+<p>After a day&rsquo;s exploration we moved our camp two miles further south, to
+another point near Belle Creek, where Mr. Roos had taken his claim.</p>
+
+<p>It was now late in September, and our first care was to secure enough
+hay for the cattle, and in a few days we had a big stack. Having read
+about prairie fires, we decided to protect our stack by burning away the
+short stubble around it. But a minute and a half was sufficient to
+convince us that we had made wrong calculations, for within that time
+the stack itself was burning with such fury that all the water in Belle
+Creek could not have put it out. Still, this was not the worst of it.
+Before we had time to recover from our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">- 36 -</a></span> astonishment the fire had
+spread over the best part of the valley and consumed all the remaining
+grass, which was pretty dry at that time of the year. Inexperienced as
+we were, we commenced to run a race with the wind, and tried to stop the
+fire before reaching another fine patch of grass about a mile to the
+north; but this attempt was, of course, a complete failure, and we
+returned to our cheerless tent mourning over this serious misfortune.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning we all started out in different directions to see if
+any grass was left in Goodhue County, and fortunately we found plenty of
+it near our first camping-ground. Having put up a second stack of very
+poor hay, we proceeded to build a rude log house, and had just finished
+it when my brother-in-law, Mr. Willard, surprised us by appearing in our
+midst, having left in Red Wing his wife and baby, now Mrs. Zelma
+Christensen of Rush City, who is, as far as I know, the first child born
+of Swedish parents in St. Paul. Mr. Willard who was a scholarly
+gentleman and not accustomed to manual labor, had found it rather hard
+to work with shovel and pick on the hilly streets of St. Paul, and made
+up his mind that he would better do that kind of work on a farm.
+Messers. Roos and Kempe having furnished all the money for the outfit, I
+really had no share in it, and as we could not expect Mr. Willard and
+his family to pass the winter in that cabin, I immediately made up my
+mind to return with him to Red Wing. In an hour we were ready and
+without waiting for dinner we took the trail back to that place. I
+remember distinctly how, near the head of the Spring Creek Valley, we
+sat down in a little grove to rest and meditate on the future. We were
+both very hungry, especially Mr. Willard, who had now walked over twenty
+miles since breakfast. Then espying a tempting squirrel in a tree close
+by, we tried to kill it with sticks and rocks; but we were poor
+marksmen, and thus missed a fine squirrel roast.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">- 37 -</a></span>
+
+<p>Tired and very hungry we reached Red Wing late in the afternoon, and
+soon found my sister, Mrs. Willard, comfortably housed with one of the
+families there. Her cheerful and hopeful nature and the beautiful baby
+on her arm gave us fresh joy and strength to battle with the hardships
+that were in store for us. Mr. Willard and his wife had taken along what
+furniture they owned, a few eatables and five dollars and fifty cents in
+cash, which was all that we possessed of the goods of this world. But
+who cares for money at that age? Mr. Willard was twenty-five years old,
+my sister twenty-three, and I twenty, all hale and hearty, and never for
+a moment doubting our success, no matter what we should undertake.</p>
+
+<p>Our first work was wood chopping, for which we were less fit than almost
+anything else. We had to go to a place about three miles above Red Wing,
+where a man had made a contract to bank up fifteen hundred cords of wood
+for the Mississippi steamers. There was an old wood chopper&rsquo;s cabin
+which we repaired by thatching it with hay and earth, putting in a door,
+a small window, and a few rough planks for a floor. In a few days we
+were duly installed, baby and all, in the little hut which was only
+twelve by sixteen feet, but to us as dear as a palace to a king.</p>
+
+<p>We began to chop wood at once. The trees were tall, soft maples and ash,
+and our pay was fifty-five cents a cord for soft and sixty-five cents
+for hard wood. At first both of us could not chop over a cord a day
+together; but within a week we could chop a cord apiece, and before the
+winter was over we often chopped three cords together in a day. After a
+few days we were joined by four Norwegian wood choppers for whom we put
+up a new cabin to sleep in; but my sister cooked for us all, and the
+others paid for their board to Mr. Willard and myself, who had all
+things in common. Those four men were better workmen than we, and one of
+them, Albert<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">- 38 -</a></span> Olson, often chopped three cords a day. They were
+quiet, industrious, and generous fellows, so that we soon became
+attached to each other, and we were all very fond of the little Zelma.
+My sister managed our household affairs so well and kept the little
+house so neat and tidy that when spring came we were all loth to leave.</p>
+
+<p>The weather being fine and the sleighing good in the <span title=" begining " class="hoverbox">beginning</span> of
+January, we hired John Day to take us with his team to our claims while
+there was yet snow, so that we might chop and haul out logs for the
+house which Mr. Willard and I intended to put up in the spring. My
+sister remained in the cabin, but Albert went with us for the sake of
+company. We put some lumber on the sled, and provided ourselves with hay
+and food enough to last a few days, and plenty of quilts and blankets
+for our bedding. John Day, who was an old frontiersman with an instinct
+almost like that of an Indian, guided us safely to Willard Spring. A few
+hundred yards below this, in a deep ravine, we stopped near some
+sheltering trees, built a roaring camp-fire, and made ourselves as
+comfortable as possible. Having supped and smoked our evening pipe, we
+made our beds by putting a few boards on the snow, and the hay and
+blankets on top of those. Then all four of us nestled down under the
+blankets and went to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>During the night the thermometer fell down to forty degrees below zero,
+as we learned afterwards. If we had suspected this and kept our fire
+burning there would, of course, have been no danger. But being very
+comfortable early in the night and soon asleep, we were unconscious of
+danger until aroused by an intense pain caused by the cold, and then we
+were already so benumbed and chilled that we lacked energy to get up or
+even move. We found, on comparing notes afterwards, that each one of us
+had experienced the same sensations, namely, first an acute pain as if
+pricked with needles in every fibre, then a deep mental tranquillity
+which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">- 39 -</a></span> was only slightly disturbed by a faint conception of
+something wrong, and by a desire to get up, but without sufficient
+energy to do so. This feeling gradually subsided into one of quiet rest
+and satisfaction, until consciousness ceased altogether, and, as far as
+pain was concerned, all was over with us.</p>
+
+<p>At this stage an accident occurred which saved our lives. Mr. Day, who
+lay on the outside to the right, had evidently held his arm up against
+his breast to keep the blankets close to his body. His will-force being
+gone, his arm relaxed and fell into the snow. As the bare hand came in
+contact with the snow the circulation of the blood was accelerated, and
+this was accompanied by such intense pain that he was aroused and jumped
+to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>Thus we were saved. It took a good while before we could use our limbs
+sufficiently to build a fire again, and during this time we suffered
+much more than before. From that experience I am satisfied that those
+who freeze to death do not suffer much, because they gradually sink into
+a stupor which blunts the sensibilities long before life is extinct.</p>
+
+<p>It was about four o&rsquo;clock when we got up. Of course we did not lie down
+again that morning, nor did we attempt to haul any timber, but started
+in a bee line across the prairie for the ravine where Mr. Willard and I
+had seen the tempting squirrel a few months before. We soon found that
+going over the wild, trackless prairie against the wind, with the
+thermometer forty degrees below zero was a struggle for life, and in
+order to keep warm we took turns to walk or run behind the sleigh. In
+taking his turn Mr. Willard suddenly sat down in the snow and would not
+stir. We returned to him, and it required all our power of persuasion to
+make him take his seat in the sleigh again. He felt very comfortable he
+said, and would soon catch up with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">- 40 -</a></span> us again if we only would let
+him alone. If we had followed his advice, he would never have left his
+cold seat again. After a drive of eight miles we arrived at a house on
+Spring Creek, near Red Wing, where we found a warm room and a good shed
+for the horses. After an hour&rsquo;s rest we continued the journey, and
+safely reached our little home in the woods before dark. I do not know
+that I ever appreciated a home more than I did that rude cabin when
+again comfortably seated by its warm and cheerful fire-place.</p>
+
+<p>A few weeks later I had an opportunity to visit St. Paul, and while
+there attended the wedding of a young Norwegian farmer from Carver
+County and a girl just arrived from Sweden. The ceremony was performed
+by the Rev. Nilsson, a Baptist minister, who had been banished from
+Sweden on account of proselyting. Among the guests was Mr. John
+Swainsson, who since became well known among the Swedes of Minnesota,
+and who died in St. Paul a short time ago. I also made the acquaintance
+of one Jacob Falstrom, who had lived forty years among the Indians and
+devoted most of that time to missionary work among them. He was a
+remarkable man, and was well known among the Hudson Bay employees and
+other early settlers of the Northwest. As a boy he had deserted from a
+Swedish vessel in Quebec and made his way through the wilderness,
+seeking shelter among the Indians; and, by marrying an Indian girl, he
+had become almost identified with them. I think he told me that he had
+not heard a word spoken in his native tongue in thirty-five years, and
+that he had almost forgotten it when he met the first Swedish settlers
+in the St. Croix valley. His children are now living there, while he has
+passed away to the unknown land beyond, honored and respected by all who
+knew him, Indians as well as white men.</p>
+
+<p>On my return from St. Paul I stopped at the cabin of Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_41" id="Page_41">- 41 -</a></span> Peter Green, at Spring Creek, near
+Red Wing. The only domestic animals he had was a litter of pigs, and as
+Mr. Willard and I intended to settle on our land in the spring I thought
+it might be well to start in with a couple of pigs. Accordingly, I got
+two pigs from Mr. Green, put them in a bag which I shouldered, and left
+for our cabin in the woods. According to my calculations, the distance I
+had to walk ought not to be over three miles, and in order to be sure of
+not getting lost I followed the Cannon river at the mouth of which our
+cabin stood. I walked on the ice where the snow was about a foot deep,
+and, if I had known of the meandering course of the river, I would never
+have undertaken to carry that burden such a distance. From nine in the
+morning until it was almost dark I trudged along with my burden on my
+back, prompted to the greatest exertion by the grunting of the pigs, and
+feeling my back uncomfortably warm. These were the first domestic
+animals I ever owned, and I think I well earned my title to them by
+carrying them along the windings of the river at least ten miles. Both I
+and the pigs were well received when we reached the cabin. We made a pig
+pen by digging a hole in the ground and covering it with poles and
+brush, and fed them on the refuse from the table. Before we were ready
+to move one of them died, while the other, after being brought to our
+new farm, ungratefully ran away, and was most likely eaten up by the
+wolves, which perhaps was just as agreeable to him as to be eaten by us.</p>
+
+<p>While living in this camp we saw more Indians than white men. A band of
+Sioux Indians camped near us for several weeks. They were very friendly,
+and never molested us. The men brought us venison and fresh fish, which
+they caught in great quantities by spearing them through the ice. We
+gave them bread and coffee, and sometimes invited one or two to dinner
+after we were through. Their women would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">- 42 -</a></span> stay for hours with my
+sister and help her take care of the baby. Indeed they were so fond of
+the white-haired child that they would sometimes run a race in vying
+with each other to get the first chance to fondle her. Sometimes we
+visited them in their tents in the evening and smoked Kinikinick with
+them. Several of their dead reposed in the young trees near our cabin.
+When somebody died it was their custom to stretch the dead body on poles
+which were tied to young trees high enough to be out of the reach of
+wild beasts, then cover it with blankets, and finally leave some corn
+and venison and a jar of water close by. At some subsequent visit to the
+neighborhood they would gather the bones and bury them at some regular
+burial-ground, usually on a high hill or bluff.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 360px;">
+<img src="images/image003.jpg" width="360" height="432" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MOUNTAIN CHIEF.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Once we saw a regular war dance in Red Wing. A few Sioux had killed two
+Chippewas and brought back their scalps stretched on a frame of young
+saplings. At a given<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">- 43 -</a></span> hour the whole band assembled, and, amid
+the most fantastic gestures, jumping, singing, yelling, beating of
+tom-toms and jingling of bells, gave a performance which in lurid
+savageness excelled anything I ever saw. The same Indians again became
+our neighbors for a short time on Belle Creek the following winter, and
+we rather liked them, and they us. But eight years later they took part
+in the terrible massacre of the white settlers in Western Minnesota, and
+thirty-nine of their men were hanged on one gallows at Mankato in the
+fall of 1862 and the rest transported beyond our borders.</p>
+
+<p>Thus our first winter in Minnesota passed without further incidents,
+until the beginning of March, when the weather turned so mild that we
+were afraid the ice on the Mississippi might break up, and we therefore
+hurried back to Red Wing. By our wood chopping and Mrs. Willard&rsquo;s
+cooking enough money had been earned to buy the most necessary articles
+for our new home. When we had procured everything and taken a few days&rsquo;
+rest, we again hired Mr. John Day to take us out to our land with his
+team. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants have had the same experience,
+and can realize how we felt on that fine March morning, starting from
+Red Wing with a wagon loaded with some boards on the bottom, a cook
+stove and utensils, doors, windows, a keg of nails, saws, spades, a
+small supply of provisions, a bedstead or two with bedding, a few
+trunks, and a little box containing our spotted pig, Mrs. Willard in the
+seat with the driver, her baby in her arms, her husband and myself
+taking turns as guides, John Day shouting to his horses, laughing and
+joking; all of us full of hope, strength and determination to overcome
+all obstacles and conquer the wildness. The snow was now nearly gone,
+and the air was spring-like.</p>
+
+<p>After a twelve miles&rsquo; heavy pull we arrived at our destination, and made
+a temporary tent of sticks and blankets, very much after the Indian
+fashion. Two of the Norwegians had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">- 44 -</a></span> accompanied us to help build
+our cabin. Mr. Day stopped a couple of days hauling building material,
+and before night the second day the rear part of our cabin was under
+roof. After a few days the Norwegians left us, and Mr. Willard and
+myself had to finish the main part of the building which was also made
+of round logs. For many a year this rude log cabin was the centre of
+attraction, and a hospitable stopping place for nearly all the settlers
+of Vasa.</p>
+
+<p>In the month of April cold weather set in again, and it was very late in
+the season when steamboat navigation was opened on the Mississippi. At
+that time all provisions had to be shipped from Galena or Dubuque, and
+it happened that the winter&rsquo;s supplies in Red Wing were so nearly gone
+that not a particle of flour or meat could be bought after the first of
+April. Our supplies were soon exhausted, and for about two weeks our
+little family had only a peck of potatoes, a small panful of flour, and
+a gallon of beans to live on, part of which was a present from Messrs.
+Roos and Kempe, who had remained all winter on their claims, three miles
+south of us. They had been struggling against great odds, and had been
+compelled to live on half rations for a considerable length of time.
+Even their oxen had been reduced almost to the point of starvation,
+their only feed being over-ripe hay in small quantities.</p>
+
+<p>We would certainly have starved if it had not been for my shot-gun, with
+which I went down into the woods of Belle Creek every morning at
+day-break, generally returning with pheasants, squirrels or other small
+game. One Sunday the weather was so disagreeable and rough that I did
+not succeed in my hunting, but in feeding the team back of the kitchen
+some oats had been spilt, and a flock of blackbirds came and fed on
+them. Through an opening between the logs of the kitchen I shot several
+dozen of these birds, which, by the way, are not ordinarily very
+toothsome. But, being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">- 45 -</a></span> a splendid cook, my sister made them into
+a stew, thickened with a few mashed beans and a handful of
+flour&mdash;in our estimation the mess turned out to be a dinner fit for
+kings.</p>
+
+<p>Our supplies being nearly exhausted, I started for Red Wing the next
+morning, partly to save the remaining handful of provisions for my
+sister and her husband, partly in hopes of obtaining fresh supplies from
+a steamboat which was expected about that time. Three days afterwards
+the steamer arrived. As soon as practicable the boxes were brought to
+the store of H. L. Bevans. I secured a smoked ham, thirty pounds of
+flour, a gallon of molasses, some coffee, salt and sugar, strapped it
+all (weighing almost seventy pounds) on my back, and started toward
+evening for our cabin in the wilderness. I had to walk about fourteen
+miles along the Indian trail, but in spite of the heavy burden I made
+that distance in a short time, knowing that the dear ones at home were
+threatened by hunger; perhaps the howling of the prairie wolves near my
+path also had something to do with the speed. There are events in the
+life of every person which stand out like mile-stones along the road,
+and so attract the attention of the traveler on life&rsquo;s journey that they
+always remain vivid pictures in his memory. My arrival at our cabin that
+evening was one of those events in our humble life. I will not attempt
+to describe the joy which my burden brought to all of us, especially to
+the young mother with the little babe at her breast.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">- 46 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a><a href="#TOC_4">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER IV.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Future Hopes&mdash;Farm Life&mdash;Norwegian Pioneers&mdash;The
+Condition of the Immigrant at the Beginning of the
+Fifties&mdash;Religious Meetings&mdash;The Growth of the
+Settlement&mdash;Vasa Township Organized&mdash;A Lutheran Church
+Established&mdash;My Wedding&mdash;Speculation&mdash;The Crisis of
+1857&mdash;Study of Law in Red Wing&mdash;I am admitted to the Bar and
+elected County Auditor&mdash;Politics in 1860&mdash;War is Imminent.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>We had now commenced a new career, located on our farm claims in the
+boundless West, with no end to the prospects and possibilities before
+us. We felt that independence and freedom which are only attained and
+appreciated in the western wilds of America.</p>
+
+<p>From the Mississippi river and almost to the Pacific Ocean, was a
+verdant field for the industry, energy and enterprise of the settler. To
+be sure, our means and resources were small, but somehow we felt that by
+hard work and good conduct we would some day attain the comfort,
+independence and position for which our souls thirsted. We did not sit
+down and wait for gold mines to open up before us, or for roasted pigs
+to come running by our cabin, but with axe and spade went quietly to
+work, to do our little part in the building up of new empires.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 434px;">
+<img src="images/image004.jpg" width="434" height="188" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OUR WAGON.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="nowrap">In the beginning</span> of May, my father came from Illinois and brought us a
+pair of steers and a milch cow; this made us<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">- 47 -</a></span> rich. We made a
+wagon with wheels of blocks sawed off an oak log; we also bought a plow,
+and, joining with our neighbors of Belle Creek, had a breaking team of
+two pair of oxen. That breaking team and that truck wagon, with myself
+always as the chief ox driver, did all the breaking, and all the hauling
+and carting of lumber, provisions, building-material and other goods,
+for all the settlers in that <span title=" neigh-hood " class="hoverbox">neighborhood</span> during the first season.</p>
+
+<p>Soon others of our party from last year joined us. Some letters which I
+wrote in <i>Hemlandet</i> describing the country around us, attracted much
+attention and brought settlers from different parts of the west, and
+while the Swedes were pouring into our place, then known as
+&ldquo;Mattson&rsquo;s Settlement,&rdquo; (now well known under the name of
+Vasa), our friends, the Norwegians, had started a prosperous settlement
+a few miles to the south, many of them coming overland from Wisconsin,
+bringing cattle, implements and other valuables of which the Swedes,
+being mostly poor new-comers, were destitute. Many immigrants of both
+nationalities came as deck passengers on the Mississippi steamers to Red
+Wing.</p>
+
+<p>There was cholera at St. Louis that summer, and I remember how a steamer
+landed a large party of Norwegian immigrants, nearly all down with
+cholera. Mr. Willard and myself happened to be in Red Wing at the time,
+and the American families, considering these Norwegian cholera patients
+our countrymen, hastily turned them over to our care. We nursed them as
+best we could, but many died in spite of all our efforts, and as we
+closed their eyes, and laid them in the silent grave under the bluffs,
+it never occurred to us that they were anything but our countrymen and
+brothers.</p>
+
+<p>From these small beginnings of the Swedish and Norwegian settlers in
+Goodhue county, in the years of 1853 and 1854, have sprung results which
+are not only grand but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">- 48 -</a></span> glorious to contemplate. Looking back to
+those days I see the little cabin, often with a sod roof, single room
+used for domestic purposes, sometimes crowded almost to suffocation by
+hospitable entertainments to new-comers; or the poor immigrant on the
+levee at Red Wing, just landed from a steamer, in his short jacket and
+other outlandish costume, perhaps seated on a wooden box, with his wife
+and a large group of children around him, and wondering how he shall be
+able to raise enough means to get himself ten or twenty miles into the
+country, or to redeem the bedding and other household goods which he has
+perchance left in Milwaukee as a pledge for his railroad and steam-boat
+ticket. And I see him trudging along over the trackless prairie,
+searching for a piece of land containing if possible prairie, water and
+a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">- 49 -</a></span> 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 rest and shelter until he could build
+one of his own.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 605px;">
+<img src="images/image005.jpg" width="605" height="440" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OUR FIRST HOME.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>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 necessities 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 gunny-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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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,&mdash;haul his logs, build his house, and do other little
+services, for him.</p>
+
+<p>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<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">- 50 -</a></span> along that we could afford some pie or cake for dessert, the
+good house-wives were in a perfect ecstacy. The joys and sorrows of one,
+were shared by the others, and nowhere in the wide world, except in a
+military camp, have I witnessed so much genuine cordial friendship and
+brotherhood as among the frontier settlers in the West.</p>
+
+<p>One fine Sunday morning that summer, all the settlers met under two oak
+trees on the prairie, near where the present church stands, for the
+first religious service in the settlement. It had been agreed that some
+of the men should take turns to read one of Luther&rsquo;s sermons at each of
+these gatherings, and I was selected as reader the first day. Some
+prayers were said and Swedish hymns sung, and seldom did a temple
+contain more devout worshipers than did that little congregation on the
+prairie.</p>
+
+<p>Before the winter of 1854-55 set in, we had quite a large community in
+Vasa, and had raised considerable grain, potatoes and other provisions.
+During that winter the Sioux Indians again became our neighbors, and
+frequently supplied us with venison in exchange for bread and coffee.
+The following spring and summer the settlers increased still faster,
+several more oxen and other cattle, with a horse or two, were brought
+in, and I had no longer the exclusive privilege of hauling goods on the
+little truck wagon.</p>
+
+<p>That summer I again went to Illinois to meet a large party of
+newly-arrived emigrants from Sweden, who formed a settlement in Vasa,
+known as Sk&aring;ne. The people from different provinces would group
+themselves together in little neighborhoods, each assuming in common
+parlance the name of their own province; thus we have Vasa, Sk&aring;ne,
+Sm&aring;land and Jemtland.</p>
+
+<p>About this time a township was formally organized, and, at my
+suggestion, given the name of Vasa, in commemoration of the great
+Swedish king. Roads were also<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">- 51 -</a></span> laid out legally, and a township
+organization perfected. A school district was formed and soon after an
+election precinct, and as I was the only person who was master of the
+English language the duty of attending to all these things devolved upon
+me. We were particularly fortunate in having many men, not only of good
+education from the old country, but of excellent character, pluck and
+energy, men who would have been leaders in their communities if they had
+remained at home, and who became prominent as soon as they had mastered
+the English language. This fact, perhaps, gave a higher tone and
+character to our little community than is common in such cases, and Vasa
+has since that time furnished many able men in the county offices, in
+the legislative halls, and in business and educational circles. There
+can be much refinement and grace even in a log cabin on the wild
+prairie.</p>
+
+<p>In the beginning of the month of September, 1855, Rev. E. Norelius
+visited the settlement and organized a Lutheran church.</p>
+
+<p>Thirty-five years have elapsed since that time, and many of those who
+belonged to the first church at Vasa now rest in mother earth close by
+the present stately church edifice, which still belongs to the same
+congregation, and is situated only a short distance from the place where
+the latter was organized. Rev. Norelius himself lives only a few hundred
+yards from the church building. Thirty-five years have changed the then
+cheerful, hopeful young man into a veteran, crowned with honor, and full
+of wisdom and experience. His beneficent influence on the Swedes of
+Goodhue county and of the whole Northwest will make his name dear to
+coming generations of our people.</p>
+
+<p>On November 23d, in the same fall, the first wedding took place in our
+settlement. The author of these memoirs was joined in matrimony to Miss
+Cherstin Peterson, from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">- 52 -</a></span> Balingsl&ouml;f, near Kristianstad,
+whose family had just come to Vasa from Sweden. By this union I found
+the best and most precious treasure a man can find&mdash;a good and dear
+wife, who has, faithfully shared my fate to this day. Rev. J. W.
+Hancock, of Red Wing, performed the marriage ceremony. Horses being very
+scarce among us in those days, the minister had to borrow an Indian pony
+and ride on horseback twelve miles&mdash;from Red Wing to Vasa. On the
+evening of our wedding day there happened to be a severe snow-storm,
+through which my young bride was taken from her parents&rsquo; home to our log
+house, on a home-made wooden sled, drawn by a pair of oxen and escorted
+by a number of our young friends, which made this trip of about a
+quarter of a mile very pleasant, in spite of the oxen and the
+snow-storm.</p>
+
+<p>The next winter was very severe, and many of our neighbors suffered
+greatly from colds and even frozen limbs. But there was an abundance of
+provisions, and, as far as I can remember, no one was in actual need
+after the first winter.</p>
+
+<p>In the spring of 1856 several new-comers arrived in our colony. That
+year marked the climax of the mad land speculation in the Northwest.
+Cities and towns were staked out and named, advertised and sold
+everywhere in the state, and people seemed to be perfectly wild,
+everybody expecting to get rich in a short time without working. The
+value of real estate rose enormously, and money was loaned at three,
+four, and even five per cent. a month. Fortunately, very few of the
+settlers in our neighborhood were seized by this mad fury of
+speculation. I, however, became a victim. I bought several pieces of
+land, and sold some of them very profitably, and mortgaged others at an
+impossible rate of interest. And, the world becoming too narrow for me
+on the farm, I availed myself of the first opportunity to trade away my
+land for some property in Red Wing, which was a booming little town at
+that time. We moved from the plain log cabin on the old<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_53" id="Page_53">- 53 -</a></span> farm into a house in town, where I
+engaged in a successful mercantile business. But speculation was in the
+air, and before the spring of 1857 my entire stock of merchandize was
+exchanged for town lots in Wasioja and Geneva, two paper cities further
+west. Meanwhile my friend Mr. Eustrom, with his young wife and baby, had
+arrived from Boston, and both of us, with our families and a few
+friends, moved out to Geneva early in the summer, with the intention of
+building up a city and acquiring riches in a hurry. But at that time the
+waves of speculation began to subside, and nine-tenths of the cities and
+towns which were mapped out, and the great enterprises which were
+inaugurated by enthusiasts like myself suddenly collapsed into a mere
+nothing. Among these was also Geneva, which is not larger to-day than
+when we left it, and it was about all I could do to raise enough money
+to get back to Vasa with my wife. My friend Eustrom pre-empted a claim
+near Geneva and remained there.</p>
+
+<p>Making an inventory of my property after the return to Vasa in 1857, I
+found that the principal thing I had was a debt of $2,000, bearing an
+interest of five per cent. a month. In order to pay this debt we sold
+everything we had, even our furniture and my wife&rsquo;s gold watch. This was
+the great crisis of 1857. It stirred up everybody and everything in the
+country, and it was no wonder that I, being an inexperienced and
+enthusiastic young man, had to suffer with so many others. But now the
+question was, what should I do? I could not return to the farm, for I
+had none; that is, it was encumbered for about twice its value.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of these difficulties I went to Red Wing one day to consult
+a prominent lawyer in regard to some business matters. During my
+conversation with him he said: &ldquo;You have nothing to do now, you
+have had enough of speculation, you know the English language, you are
+tolerably<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">- 54 -</a></span> well acquainted with our laws, well educated, young
+and ambitious, why not study law, then? This state and this county is
+just the place for you to make a splendid beginning in that profession.
+Come to me, and within a year you can be admitted to the bar, after
+which you will find it easy to get along.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>I returned to Vasa in the evening, and, having consulted my wife, who
+was visiting her parents, I soon made up my mind. The next day both of
+us were on the way to Red Wing supplied with clothes, bedding, a few
+dishes and some provisions, which had been given us by my wife&rsquo;s
+parents, who also conveyed us to town. In Red Wing we rented a room
+about sixteen feet square, got a cook stove and a few articles of
+furniture on credit, and everything was in order for housekeeping and
+the study of law. I immediately commenced my course of study with that
+excellent lawyer, Mr. Warren Bristol, who afterwards for many years
+served as United States Judge in New Mexico, where he recently died.</p>
+
+<p>This life was something new for my young wife, who had grown up in a
+house of plenty. Now she had to try her hand at managing our household
+affairs, with the greatest economy, and she accomplished her task so
+well that no minister of finance could have done better. In fact we were
+so poor that winter that we could not afford to buy the tallow candles
+which were necessary for my night studies (kerosene was unknown at that
+time). But every evening during this trying but happy winter my wife
+made a lamp by pouring melted lard, which her parents sent us, into a
+saucer, and putting in a cotton wick, and in my eyes this light was more
+brilliant than the rays from the golden chandeliers in the palaces of
+the rich. By this light I studied Blackstone, Kent, and other works on
+law.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the spring of 1858 a place became vacant in the<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_55" id="Page_55">- 55 -</a></span> justice of the peace, and I
+succeeded in getting the appointment to this position, which brought me
+a couple of dollars now and then, thus improving our financial condition
+considerably. Early in the summer I was appointed city clerk, with a
+salary of $12.50 a month, which was quite a fortune for us at that time.
+After one year&rsquo;s hard study I was admitted to the bar, and my honored
+teacher accepted me as his partner on good conditions. My profession
+seemed to be well chosen; I had plenty to do, and met with all the
+success I could expect.</p>
+
+<p>My first case in the district court was before Judge McMillan, who
+afterwards became chief justice of our supreme court, and then United
+States senator. In opening the case I became nervous and excited and
+would have broken down entirely had it not been for the kindly manner in
+which the judge overlooked my diffidence, and helped me out of the
+embarrassment by leading me on and putting the very words in my mouth;
+this was only natural to his kind heart, and he probably never
+remembered it, but to me it was an act of great kindness, never to be
+forgotten, especially not when more than twenty years after the little
+incident he needed all his friends to rally for his return to the United
+States senate, his most formidable opponent being the venerable and
+beloved statesman, Alexander Ramsey.</p>
+
+<p>My law practice lasted only a few months, as I was appointed county
+auditor to fill a vacancy, and soon afterwards elected to fill the
+regular term of office, and again re-elected two years later. Before
+that time no Swedish-American had occupied such responsible civil office
+in the United States. But I probably made a mistake in accepting this
+office and thereby turning my back on a profession at which I would
+undoubtedly have made more easy and rapid progress than by anything
+else. But for the time being it produced great economical improvements
+in our private life. Our little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">- 56 -</a></span> home, the narrow room which
+served as bedroom, study, kitchen and parlor, was soon exchanged for a
+neat little house, and a year later we moved into a larger and more
+comfortable building, which was our own property.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the settlement at Vasa had prospered, and the population had
+materially increased. The Scandinavian settlers had scattered over the
+neighboring towns and counties with marvelous rapidity. The crisis of
+1857 had been an excellent lesson to us all, for, although the price of
+real estate had fallen to about one-fourth of its former value, the
+people were better off now than formerly, owing to better management and
+more prudent economy.</p>
+
+<p>The Scandinavians had now commenced to take a lively interest in the
+political discussions which were agitating the entire country at that
+time. The all absorbing political question of the day was
+&ldquo;slavery&rdquo; or &ldquo;no slavery&rdquo; in the new
+territories. It is unnecessary to say that the Scandinavians were almost
+to a man in favor of liberty to all men, and that they consequently
+joined the Republican party, which had just been organized for the
+purpose of restricting slavery.</p>
+
+<p>In the winter of 1861, while I was holding the office of auditor the
+second term, the legislature of Minnesota appointed a committee to
+revise the tax laws. This committee invited five county auditors, of
+which number I had the honor to be one, to assist in its work. The tax
+laws which were formulated by this general committee were in force over
+twenty years.</p>
+
+<p>It was about this time the great American statesman, W. H. Seward,
+visited Minnesota. I heard him make his famous speech in St. Paul, in
+which, with the gift of prophecy, he depicted the future grandeur of the
+twin cities. I also heard Owen Lovejoy, a member of congress from
+Illinois, and one of the leading anti-slavery agitators of the
+times.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">- 57 -</a></span>
+
+<p>During the presidential election of 1860 the political excitement ran
+very high in the whole country. The Southern states had assumed a
+threatening position, and expressed their intention to secede from the
+Union if Lincoln was elected president. Throughout the whole country
+political clubs were organized. The Democrats formed companies which
+they called &ldquo;Little Giants,&rdquo; which was the nickname given to
+Stephen A. Douglas, their candidate for president.</p>
+
+<p>The Republicans also organized companies which they called &ldquo;Wide
+Awakes.&rdquo; I was chosen leader of the Republican company in Red
+Wing. Political meetings were very frequent during the last few weeks
+before election, and among the most prominent features of those meetings
+were processions and parades of the companies, which were uniformed, and
+carried banners and torches. During the campaign C. C. Andrews and the
+late Stephen Miller, respective candidates for presidential electors on
+the Democratic and Republican tickets, held meetings together and
+jointly debated the important questions of the day, taking of course
+opposite sides, but within a year both were found as officers in the
+Union army, gallantly fighting for the same cause.</p>
+
+<p>About this time a company of militia organized in Red Wing, and I was
+one of the lieutenants, and took active part in its drill and maneuvers.
+Although none of the men who took part in these movements could foresee
+or suspect the approach of the awful struggle which was to plunge the
+country into a deluge of fire and blood, still they all seemed to have a
+presentiment that critical times were near at hand, and that it was the
+duty of all true citizens to make ready for them. It is a significant
+fact that fifty-four men out of our little company of only sixty, within
+two years became officers or soldiers in the volunteer army of the
+United States. Although the Scandinavian emigrants had been in the state
+only a few years, they still seemed to take<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">- 58 -</a></span> as great an interest
+in the threatening political difficulties of the times, and were found
+to be just as willing as their native fellow-citizens to sacrifice their
+blood and lives for the Union.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image007.jpg" width="200" height="56" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">- 59 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a><a href="#TOC_5">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER V.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>The Beginning of the Civil War&mdash;The Scandinavians taking part in
+it&mdash;Appeal in <i>Hemlandet</i> to the Scandinavians of
+Minnesota&mdash;Company D. Organized&mdash;The Expressions of the
+Press&mdash;The Departure&mdash;The March over the Cumberland
+Mountains&mdash;The Fate of the Third Regiment.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>Going from the court house on the afternoon of April 12th, 1861, a
+friend overtook me with the news that the rebels of the South had fired
+on Fort Sumpter. The news spread rapidly, and caused surprise and
+intense indignation. In a few days the governor issued a proclamation
+that one thousand men should be ready to leave our young state for the
+seat of war; more than a sufficient number of companies were already
+organized to fill this regiment, and the only question was, who were to
+have the first chance? This first excitement was so sudden that the
+Scandinavians, who are more deliberate in such matters, scarcely knew
+what was going on before the first enlistment was made.</p>
+
+<p>A few months passed, and the battle of Bull Run was fought. It was no
+longer a mere momentary excitement; it was no longer expected that the
+Rebellion could be subdued in a single battle or within a few months,
+but it was generally understood that the war would be long and bitter.
+Then the Scandinavians of Minnesota began to stir. We had heard that a
+few Swedes in Illinois, especially Major&mdash;afterward
+General&mdash;Stohlbrand and a few others, had entered the army. A few
+Scandinavians had also enlisted in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">- 60 -</a></span> the First and Second
+regiments; but there was no general rising among them in our state until
+I published an appeal in the Swedish newspaper <i>Hemlandet</i> in Chicago.
+The following is an extract from that paper:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><br /><p class="center">&ldquo;<span class="smcap">To The Scandinavians of Minnesota</span>!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;It is high time for us, as a people, to arise with sword in hand,
+and fight for our adopted country and for liberty.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;This country is in danger. A gigantic power has arisen against it
+and at the same time against liberty and democracy, in order to crush
+them.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Our state has already furnished two thousand men, and will soon
+be called upon for as many more to engage in the war. Among the
+population of the state the Scandinavians number about one-twelfth, a
+part of its most hardy and enduring people, and ought to furnish at
+least three or four hundred men for this army. This land which we, as
+strangers, have made our home, has received us with friendship and
+hospitality. We enjoy equal privileges with the native born. The path to
+honor and fortune is alike open to us and them. The law protects and
+befriends us all alike. We have also sworn allegiance to the same.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Countrymen, &lsquo;Arise to arms; our adopted country
+calls!&rsquo; Let us prove ourselves worthy of that land, and of those
+heroes from whom we descend.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I hereby offer myself as one of that number, and I am confident
+that many of you are ready and willing to do likewise. Let each
+settlement send forth its little squad. Many in this neighborhood are
+now ready to go. A third regiment will soon be called by the governor of
+this state. Let us, then, have ready a number of men of the right kind,
+and offer our services as a part of the same. Let us place ourselves on
+the side of liberty and truth, not only with words but with strong
+arms,&mdash;with our lives. Then shall our friends in the home of our
+childhood rejoice over us. Our children and children&rsquo;s children shall
+hereafter pronounce our names with reverence. We shall ourselves be
+happy in the consciousness of having performed our duty, and should
+death on the field of battle be our lot, then shall our parents, wives,
+children and friends find some consolation in their sorrow in the
+conviction that they, also, by their noble sacrifices, have contributed
+to the defense and victory of right, justice, and liberty. And a
+grateful people shall not withhold from them its sympathy and
+friendship.&rdquo;</p><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>A few days later I left a dear wife, home, and two children, and started
+for Fort Snelling, but not alone; about seventy Swedes and thirty
+Norwegians from Red Wing, Vasa, Chisago Lake, Holden, Wanamingo,
+Stillwater, Albert Lea and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">- 61 -</a></span> other places, went there with me, or
+joined us in the course of a few days.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image006.jpg" width="620" height="407" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MUSTERING VOLUNTEERS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the third regiment had been called, and one hundred of my
+companions were mustered in as Company D of that regiment, with myself
+as their captain, a Norwegian friend, L. K. Aaker, formerly a member of
+our legislature, as first lieutenant, and my old friend H. Eustrom as
+second lieutenant. Although Company D was the only military organization
+in our state consisting exclusively of Scandinavians, there were quite a
+number of those nationalities in every regiment and company organized
+afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>I may be excused for saying a few words concerning my old military
+company. It consisted of the very flower of our young men. It was
+regarded from the start as a model company, and maintained its rank as
+such during the whole term of four years&rsquo; service. Always orderly,
+sober, obedient and faithful to every duty, the men of Company D, though
+foreigners by birth, won and always kept the affectionate regard<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_62" id="Page_62">- 62 -</a></span> and fullest confidence of their
+native-born comrades. A large majority of them are resting in the last
+grand bivouac, many under the genial Southern sun, but no word of
+reproach or doubt of soldierly honor has ever been heard against any of
+those living or dead.</p>
+
+<p>About this time a whole regiment of Scandinavians, mostly Norwegians,
+was organized in Wisconsin,&mdash;the Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry
+regiment,&mdash;which rose to great distinction during its long service.
+Its brave colonel, Hans Hegg, fell mortally wounded while commanding a
+brigade on the bloody field at Chickamauga. There were many partially or
+wholly Swedish companies from Illinois, one of which belonged to the
+Forty-third Illinois regiment, under the lamented Capt. Arosenius, and
+came under my command a few years later in Arkansas. There were also
+many prominent Swedish officers in other regiments, such as Gen. C. J.
+Stohlbrand, Cols. Vegesack, Malmborg, Steelhammar, Broddy, Elfving, and
+Brydolf, Capts. Stenbeck, Silversparre, Sparrstrom, Lempke, Chas.
+Johnson, Erik Johnson, Vanstrum, Lindberg, etc., and Lieuts. Osborne,
+Edgren, Liljengren, Johnson, Lindall, Olson, Gustafson, Lundberg, and
+many others whose names I do not now recall.</p>
+
+<p>In the Goodhue county records for October 15, 1861, is a paragraph which
+states that, as the county auditor, H. Mattson, has voluntarily gone to
+the war with a company of soldiers to defend our country, it is resolved
+that leave of absence shall be extended to him, and that the office of
+county auditor shall not be declared vacant so long as the deputy
+performs his duties properly.</p>
+
+<p>The St. Paul <i>Press</i> of the same date, has the following: &ldquo;We
+congratulate Capt. Mattson and his countrymen for the splendid company
+of Swedes and Norwegians which he commands. Never was a better company
+mustered in for service.&rdquo;</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">- 63 -</a></span>
+
+<p>In the beginning of November two steamers arrived at Fort Snelling and
+took the Third regiment on board. We were ordered to join Buell&rsquo;s army
+in Kentucky. Company E, of our regiment, was also mainly from Goodhue
+county, and when the steamers arrived at Red Wing, they stopped half an
+hour to let Companies D and E partake of a bountiful supper, to which
+they had been invited by their city friends, and to say a last farewell
+to their families and acquaintances. My wife, with the little children,
+my sister, father, brother, and other relatives, were gathered in a
+large room in the hotel opposite the landing. The half hour was soon
+past, and the bugle sounded &ldquo;fall in.&rdquo; I pass over the
+parting scene, leaving it to the imagination of the reader, for I cannot
+find words to describe it myself. I will only relate one little episode.
+When the bugle sounded for departure I held my little two-year-old
+daughter in my arms; her arms were clasped around my neck, and, when I
+endeavored to set her down, she closed her little fingers so hard
+together that her uncle had to open them by force before he could take
+her away from me. When a little child was capable of such feelings, it
+may be surmised what those felt who were able to comprehend the
+significance of that moment.</p>
+
+<p>In a few days we were camped on a muddy field in Kentucky, quickly
+learning the duties of soldier-life, and familiarizing ourselves with
+the daily routine of an army in the field.</p>
+
+<p>My military career of four years&rsquo; duration passed without any event of
+particular interest or importance; it was like that of two million other
+soldiers&mdash;to do their duty faithfully, whatever that duty might
+be&mdash;that was all.</p>
+
+<p>After eight months&rsquo; service I was promoted to the rank of major in the
+regiment. At that time we were serving in middle Tennessee. Shortly
+afterward our regiment, with some three thousand men of the troops, made
+a forced march across the Cumberland mountains. In order to give
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">- 64 -</a></span> reader an idea of the hardships which the soldiers
+occasionally had to endure on a march, I shall give a short sketch of
+this. The detachment broke camp in Murfreesboro in the forenoon of a
+very hot day toward the close of May, and marched twenty miles before
+night, which was considered a good distance for the first day. Most of
+the men suffered from blistered feet, and they were all very tired. We
+prepared our supper, and had just gone to rest in a large open field and
+were beginning to fall asleep, when, at ten o&rsquo;clock in the evening, the
+signal was given to fall in. In a few minutes the whole force was in
+line, and silently resumed the march forward. We marched the whole
+night, the whole of the next day, the following night, and till noon the
+day after, moving altogether a distance of over eighty miles, over a
+difficult and partly mountainous country, and stopping only one hour
+three times a day to cook our coffee and eat, while those who sank down
+by the roadside entirely exhausted were left until the rear-guard came
+and picked them up. When we finally arrived at our destination the enemy
+that we were pursuing had already decamped, and we had to return by the
+same route over which we had come, though more leisurely. Among the many
+victims of this march was a bright Norwegian lieutenant of my old
+company, Hans Johnson, who died shortly after our return to
+Murfreesboro.</p>
+
+<p>A few days afterward the regiment started on an expedition to the South.
+During this march I got sick with the fever, and would probably have
+died at Columbia, Tenn., if my friend Eustrom, who at that time was
+captain of Company D, had not succeeded in getting me into a rebel
+family, where I was treated with the greatest care, so that in a few
+days I was able to go by rail to Minnesota on a twenty days&rsquo; leave of
+absence. This took place in the beginning of the month of July,
+1862.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">- 65 -</a></span>
+
+<p>Having spent a fortnight in the bosom of my family I returned, with
+improved health, to resume my command. I arrived at Chicago on a Sunday
+morning, and, as I had to wait all day for my train, I went to the
+Swedish church on Superior street. Leaving the church, I heard a
+news-boy crying, &ldquo;Extra number of the <i>Tribune</i>; great battle at
+Murfreesboro; Third Minnesota regiment in hot fire!&rdquo; I bought the
+paper and hurried to the hotel, where another extra edition was handed
+me. The Union troops had won a decisive victory at Murfreesboro, and
+totally routed the forces of Forrest, consisting of eight thousand
+cavalry. Later in the evening a third extra edition announced that
+&ldquo;The Third regiment has been captured by the enemy, and is on the
+march to the prisons of the South.&rdquo; Only a soldier can imagine my
+feelings when I received this news. I arrived in Tennessee two days
+later, only to meet the soldiers returning from the mountains where they
+had been released on written parole by the enemy. They were sore-footed,
+exhausted, hungry and wild with anger, and looked more like a lot of
+ragged beggars than the well-disciplined soldiers they had been a few
+days before. All the captured officers had been taken to the South,
+where they were kept in prison several months. Only two of them
+succeeded in making their escape. One of those was Capt. Eustrom, who,
+in company with Lieut. Taylor, made his escape from a hospital building,
+some negroes giving them clothes, and, through almost incredible
+hardships and dangers, they succeeded in reaching our lines, and I met
+them two days after my arrival at Nashville.</p>
+
+<p>The capitulation of our splendid regiment was one of the most deplorable
+events of its kind during the whole war. It was regarded one of the best
+regiments of volunteers of the Western army. It had defended itself with
+great valor, and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">- 66 -</a></span> in fact, defeated the enemy, when for some
+unaccountable reason, Col. H. C. Lester decided to surrender, and he
+exerted such a great influence over our officers that seven company
+commanders went over to his side in the council of war, which he called,
+while the remaining officers and the soldiers were strongly opposed to
+the capitulation. When the men finally were ordered to stack arms they
+did so with tears in their eyes, complaining bitterly because they were
+not allowed to fight any longer. All the officers who had been in favor
+of capitulation were afterward dismissed from service in disgrace.</p>
+
+<p>Arriving at Nashville I was immediately ordered to assume command of my
+own scattered regiment, of the Ninth Michigan Infantry regiment, and of
+a battery of artillery, which had also capitulated on that fatal Sunday.
+Having supplied the men with clothing and other necessaries, I took them
+by steamboats to a camp for prisoners in St. Louis, and returned to
+Nashville to report the matter in person. On my return to Nashville I
+was appointed member of a general court martial, and shortly afterwards
+its president, which position I occupied from July till December, 1862.
+The sufferings which my friend Captain Eustrom had endured during his
+flight from the rebels shattered his health so that he was soon forced
+to retire from service.</p>
+
+<p>About this time the well-known Indian massacre in the western
+settlements of Minnesota took place. About eight hundred peaceable
+citizens, mostly women and children, and among those many
+Scandinavians&mdash;were cruelly butchered, and their houses and
+property burnt and destroyed. The soldiers of the Third regiment had
+given their parole not to take up arms against the enemy until they were
+properly exchanged, but, as this did not have anything to do with the
+Indian war, they were ordered from St. Louis to Minnesota<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_67" id="Page_67">- 67 -</a></span> and put under the command of Major
+Welch, of the Fourth regiment, and soon distinguished themselves by
+their fine maneuvers and valor in the struggle with the Indians.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image007.jpg" width="200" height="56" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">- 68 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a><a href="#TOC_6">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER VI.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Events of 1863&mdash;The Siege of Vicksburg&mdash;Anecdotes about Gens.
+Logan, Stevenson and Grant&mdash;Little Rock Captured&mdash;Recruiting
+at Fort Snelling&mdash;The engagement at Fitzhugh&rsquo;s Woods&mdash;Pine
+Bluff&mdash;Winter Quarters at Duvall&rsquo;s Bluff&mdash;Death of
+Lincoln&mdash;Close of the War&mdash;The Third Regiment Disbanded.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>In the month of December the officers were exchanged and ordered back to
+Fort Snelling, to where the enlisted men had also returned from the
+Indian war. In January, 1863, we again left Minnesota for the South. The
+whole of this winter and the beginning of spring were devoted to
+expeditions against guerillas and Confederate recruiting camps in
+southern Tennessee. Most of this time I commanded the regiment, four
+companies of which were mounted. We had to procure horses as best we
+could, here and there through the country. We had many skirmishes with
+the enemy, and captured a number of prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>In the beginning of June we joined the forces that were besieging
+Vicksburg under the command of Gen. Grant, and remained there until that
+city had capitulated. The siege of Vicksburg is so well known from
+history that I shall make no attempt to describe it here. For five
+consecutive weeks the cannonading was so incessant that the soldiers
+became as accustomed to it as the passengers on a steamer to the noise
+of the propeller, and, when the capitulation finally put an end to all
+this noise, we found it very difficult to sleep for several nights on
+account of the unusual silence.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">- 69 -</a></span>
+
+<p>The July number of <i>Hemlandet</i>, contained a letter from me, dated
+Vicksburg, June 24th, from which I make the following extract:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&ldquo;The army of Gen. Grant is divided into two Grand Divisions, one
+of which is arranged in a semi-circle toward Vicksburg, only a few
+hundred yards from the intrenchments of the rebels, the other in a
+semi-circle turned away from Vicksburg, and fronting the army of Gen.
+Johnston. We are all protected by strong intrenchments, and always keep
+over two thousand men as picket guards, and the same number are digging
+rifle pits and building intrenchments.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Gen. Logan&rsquo;s Division is close up to the intrenchments of the
+rebels. The Swedish Maj. Stohlbrand is chief of artillery in Logan&rsquo;s
+Division, and, has, as such, under his special charge one of the most
+important positions in the beleaguering army.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I visited Gen. Logan yesterday, and will relate a little episode
+concerning this brave commander: When Gen. Logan heard that I was a
+Swede, and wished to see Maj. Stohlbrand, who had just ridden out to
+look after his batteries, the general, being always full of fun, assumed
+a very solemn air, and said: &lsquo;Too bad you did not come an hour
+sooner, for then you could have seen Stohlbrand. There&rsquo;&mdash;and he
+went to the door of his tent and pointed across the camp
+ground&mdash;&lsquo;there is the tent of Maj. Stohlbrand. Half an hour ago a
+bomb exploded from the main fort yonder. Poor Stohlbrand! Only a few
+remnants were left of the contents of his tent. Poor Stohlbrand! Perhaps
+you would like to see the remains?&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Accompanied by Gens. Stevenson, Ransom, and several other
+officers, I followed Gen. Logan to the tent of Stohlbrand. Then Logan
+said: &lsquo;Out of respect for poor Stohlbrand we have put everything
+in order again. Here you see his camp stool, there his uniform, and
+there is his little field cot.&rsquo; The bed looked as if a dead body
+was lying on it, covered by a blanket. Logan walked solemnly up to the
+head of the bed, lifted the blanket, and behold, there was only a bundle
+of rags! The rest of us, of course, supposed that Stohlbrand was dead,
+and that his corpse was lying on the bed. This little joke made the
+humorous Logan laugh so that his whole body shook.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As to the Swedes in the army, I may mention that, besides our
+Company D, there are in the same division the company of Capt. Arosenius
+of the Forty-third Illinois regiment, and that of Capt. Corneliuson of
+the Twenty-third Wisconsin regiment, and a number of Swedes of the other
+regiments from Illinois and Wisconsin, and of the Fourth and Fifth
+Minnesota regiments. Old Company D is a model, as usual,&mdash;the best
+one I have seen yet. Both officers and men are quiet, orderly, cheerful
+and obedient, always faithful at their post, and ready to go wherever
+duty calls them. They are loved and respected by all who come in contact
+with them. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">- 70 -</a></span> I feel sad or despondent, all I need do is to
+walk along the camp street and take a look at some of my old
+Scandinavians. Their calm and earnest demeanor always makes me glad and
+proud. I ask for no greater honor than to point them out to some
+stranger, saying: &lsquo;This is my old company.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Not these alone, however, but all of my countrymen whom I met in
+the army have a good name, and are considered most reliable and able
+soldiers.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I shall now relate a couple of anecdotes from the siege of Vicksburg,
+which I did not mention in the letter to <i>Hemlandet</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 580px;">
+<img src="images/image008.jpg" width="580" height="413" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GRANT&rsquo;S HEADQUARTERS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Outside Gen. Logan&rsquo;s tent stood a big magnolia tree. While laughing at
+Logan&rsquo;s joke Gen. Stevenson picked up a little stick of wood and
+whittled on it with his penknife, in genuine Yankee fashion. Accidently
+he dropped his knife, and, while stooping down to pick it up, a fragment
+of a shell from the rebel batteries came and went two inches deep into
+the tree right where his head had been when he was whittling. He coolly
+remarked, &ldquo;That piece of iron was not made for me.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>One day as I, in company with Lieut. Col. (afterward<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">- 71 -</a></span> Gen.) C. C.
+Andrews, was visiting Gen. Grant outside of Vicksburg, a wagon drawn by
+six mules passed close by his headquarters. The driver, an old,
+rough-looking soldier, stopped, and asked the way to a certain regiment.
+Gen. Grant&rsquo;s tent stood on a little elevation, at the foot of which were
+several fresh wagon tracks. A number of officers, including myself, were
+standing and sitting around the general outside the tent. Gen. Grant,
+who was dressed in a fatigue suit and slouched hat, without other marks
+of distinction than three small silver stars, which could scarcely be
+distinguished on his dusty blouse, went toward the driver and, with the
+most minute particulars, gave him directions how to drive. While he was
+talking, we observed that the driver showed signs of deep emotion, and
+finally he alighted from the mule, which he was riding, stretched out
+his arms, and, with tears in his eyes, exclaimed: &ldquo;My God! I
+believe it is Gen. Grant! General, do you remember Tommy Donald? I was a
+soldier in your company during the Mexican war!&rdquo; With touching
+kindness the great commander-in-chief now took both hands of the ragged
+soldier in his, and, like old friends who had not met for a long time,
+they rejoiced in remembering the companionship of fifteen years before.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image009.jpg" width="620" height="220" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ARMY WAGON.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>When Gen. Grant returned to the tent the conversation turned to the
+newspaper clamor and general discontent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">- 72 -</a></span> because Vicksburg was
+not yet taken, upon which the general expressed himself in the following
+words: &ldquo;I could make another assault and hasten the capture a few
+days, but will not do it because I <i>know</i> positively that within ten
+days the garrison must surrender anyhow, for I have got them, and will
+take them all. Let them howl. I don&rsquo;t care. I have got Pemberton tight
+as wax.&rdquo; Saying which, he closed his right hand and laid it on the
+little camp table with such force that I noticed the veins filling and
+turning blue on the back of his hand. These two little incidents give a
+key to Gen. Grant&rsquo;s whole character, and the secret of his unparalleled
+success, not only in winning battles, but in bagging the entire opposing
+force.</p>
+
+<p>A week later Vicksburg fell into our hands. We took thirty-two thousand
+prisoners, fifteen generals, two thousand other officers, and nearly two
+hundred cannon.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image010.jpg" width="620" height="395" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GENERALS GRANT AND PEMBERTON.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>About a week after the surrender of Vicksburg the Third<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_73" id="Page_73">- 73 -</a></span> regiment was transferred to the
+Seventh army corps, under the command of Gen. Fred. Steele, and took
+part in the campaign against Little Rock. In the beginning of September,
+when we were only ten miles from Little Rock, our regiment enjoyed the
+distinction of marching at the head of the infantry column. We came upon
+the Confederate batteries on the west bank of the Arkansas river, where
+a brisk cannonade was opened. This combat afforded the most beautiful
+sight imaginable, if carnage and slaughter may be called beautiful. We
+stood on the east side of the river, the Confederates on the west. The
+water being very low, a steamer had been grounded about an eighth of a
+mile above us, and near the steamer the water was so shallow that the
+cavalry could ford the river; but just in front of the Third regiment
+the water was so deep that we had to throw a pontoon bridge for the
+infantry.</p>
+
+<p>Our regiment was stationed in a cornfield near the river bank to cover
+the march across the bridge, and the soldiers were ordered to lie down
+on the ground. But we found it very difficult to make them obey, for, in
+their eagerness to cross the river, they felt more like rushing ahead
+and shouting for joy. Many shots from the Confederate batteries passed
+over our heads, so low that the soldiers, in a sporting mood, jumped up
+and grabbed with their hands in the air, as if trying to catch them. In
+less than an hour the bridge across the deep channel was ready. A
+cavalry brigade had meanwhile moved up to the ford above, and now the
+signal for crossing was given. The Confederates set fire to the steamer,
+which they were unable to save.</p>
+
+<p>It was about noon on one of those glorious autumn days peculiar to this
+country, which greatly enhanced the impression of the sublime spectacle
+then to be seen on the Arkansas river. The burning steamer reddening the
+atmosphere with brilliant flames of fire, a long line of cavalry fording
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">- 74 -</a></span> shallow river in three files, the infantry marching by the
+flank over the pontoon from which they jumped into the water, forming on
+double-quick, first companies, then battalion, whereupon they marched
+cheerily, in knee-deep water, under flying banners and to the beat of
+regimental music, while the air was filled with shells and balls. Before
+the infantry had reached the woods where the batteries of the enemy were
+hidden, the latter was already in retreat, and Little Rock soon fell
+into our hands.</p>
+
+<p>On our march into the captured city the next morning, the Third regiment
+was again accorded the place of honor at the head of the army. It was
+designated to act as provost-guard for the purpose of maintaining order,
+and the whole regiment was soon quartered in the state capitol. Gen. C.
+C. Andrews, who held the position of colonel at that time, was appointed
+post commander at Little Rock, and I, who had been promoted to the rank
+of lieutenant-colonel soon after the surrender of Vicksburg, took
+command of the regiment, whereby it became my duty to maintain law and
+order in the captured city. This was an onerous and difficult task, for
+it must be remembered that the only executive authority in the southern
+states during the war was vested in the army, and especially delegated
+to the provost officers and guards. The third regiment was occupied with
+this task until the following spring, and performed its duty so well
+that the governor of Arkansas, in a message, expressed himself regarding
+it, in the following language:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;During the time of their service in our capital good order has
+prevailed, and they have commanded the respect of our citizens. When
+called upon to meet the enemy they have proven themselves equal to any
+task, and reliable in the hour of imminent danger. Such men are an honor
+to our government and the cause which they serve. Their state may
+justly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">- 75 -</a></span> feel proud of them, and they will prove themselves to be
+worthy sons of the same wherever duty calls them.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Toward Christmas I was ordered to Fort Snelling, with a detachment of
+officers and non-commissioned officers, for the purpose of recruiting
+our decimated ranks. I remained on this duty till the month of March,
+and then returned with four hundred recruits. Shortly afterwards the
+battle of Fitzhugh&rsquo;s Woods, near Augusta, Arkansas, was fought, and the
+regiment distinguished itself by very gallant conduct. During the stay
+in Little Rock most of the soldiers had re-enlisted for three years, or
+until the close of the war, whereby we acquired the title of
+&ldquo;Veteran Regiment.&rdquo; But that was not the only distinction
+which was conferred on our men. A large number of young soldiers had
+been promoted from the ranks to be officers in several negro regiments,
+which were organized in Tennessee and Arkansas, and some as officers of
+new regiments of our own state. Col. Andrews had meanwhile been promoted
+to the rank of brigadier-general, and, in April, 1864, I was promoted to
+colonel of the regiment in his place, and was shortly afterward ordered
+to march with its eight hundred men to Pine Bluff, on the Arkansas
+river.</p>
+
+<p>From this time until the beginning of August the regiment experienced
+such hardships and sufferings from diseases and hard service, that it
+sustained far greater losses from these causes than any other regiment
+from our state had met with in open battle. Pine Bluff was a veritable
+pest-hole; the water was of a greenish color, the air full of germs of
+disease and poisonous vapors. Continually surrounded and threatened by a
+vigilant enemy, the exhausted and sickly soldiers had to get up at three
+o&rsquo;clock every morning for the purpose of working at the entrenchments
+and strengthening and protecting our position in different ways.
+Meanwhile the number of those fit for duty was daily decreasing at
+an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">- 76 -</a></span> appalling rate. The hospitals were overcrowded with patients,
+and the few men left for duty were continually occupied in caring for
+the sick and burying the dead, until there were not men enough left to
+bury their dead comrades, and I was obliged to ask a regiment, which had
+recently arrived, to help us perform that sad duty.</p>
+
+<p>At this critical moment I received orders from Washington to take six
+companies to Minnesota, on a six weeks&rsquo; veteran furlough, to which the
+regiment was entitled. Those went who were able to. Many died on the
+way, but those of us who survived until we reached Minnesota were soon
+restored to usual health and strength, so that we could return in due
+time and again take part in the campaign in Arkansas. The remaining four
+companies, which had been furloughed the previous winter, were ordered
+from Pine Bluff to Duvall&rsquo;s Bluff, on White river, where the whole
+regiment was reunited under my command in the beginning of October, and
+remained in winter quarters until the spring of 1865.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after our return to Arkansas I assumed command of the First
+Brigade, First Division, Seventh army corps. This brigade consisted of
+my own regiment, the Twelfth Michigan, the Sixty-first Illinois, and a
+United States colored regiment. Our prospects for remaining in winter
+quarters for several months being favorable, many of the higher officers
+sent for their wives. I did the same, having first erected a comfortable
+log house for us. My wife and two little children arrived a few days
+before Christmas, and stayed in the camp the whole winter. No important
+event took place during the winter, excepting that we were once ordered
+to make an expedition up White river, with a considerable force of
+cavalry and infantry, and, after a fatiguing march, succeeded in
+breaking up a camp of irregular Confederate troops, and taking many
+prisoners.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">- 77 -</a></span>
+
+<p>I will relate two incidents which took place near Duvall&rsquo;s Bluff, one of
+a serious, the other of a comic nature.</p>
+
+<p>The first was the shooting of a young soldier of the Twenty-second Ohio
+regiment, who time and again had deserted his post, and finally joined a
+band of rebel marauders. It became my sad duty to execute the sentence
+of death. My brigade formed a hollow square, facing inward, and the
+doomed man, a strong, handsome youth of twenty years, sat on a coffin in
+an open ambulance, which was driven slowly along the inside of the
+square, while a band marched in front of the wagon playing a funeral
+march. After the completion of this sad march the deserter was placed in
+the middle of the square, in front of the coffin, with his eyes
+blind-folded. A detachment of twelve men under a sergeant now fired
+simultaneously, upon the signal of the provost marshal. Eight rifles
+were loaded with balls, and the unfortunate young man fell backwards
+into his coffin and died without a struggle.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image011.jpg" width="620" height="372" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SHOOTING A DESERTER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One day while taking a ride on horseback in company with<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_78" id="Page_78">- 78 -</a></span> my wife, who had a fine saddle
+horse, and had become an expert rider during her long stay in the camp,
+we galloped mile after mile along the fine plain, outside of the
+picket-lines where men of my own brigade were on guard, till at last we
+found ourselves several miles from the place where we had passed through
+our lines. Returning toward camp, we struck the picket line at a point
+where a recently arrived regiment was stationed, and where the ground
+was soft and marshy. Being challenged by the guard I answered who I was,
+but as he could not plainly distinguish my uniform in the twilight and
+did not know me personally, he ordered us, with leveled gun, to stand
+still until he could call the officer of the guard. It was no easy
+matter to obey his orders, for the horses continually sank down in the
+soft ground, but finally the officer arrived, and we succeeded in
+getting to the camp without further trouble. I was not the first officer
+who thus got into trouble by neglecting to write out a pass for himself.</p>
+
+<p>On a fine April day, which can never be forgotten, the news came that
+our president, Abraham Lincoln, had been murdered. Stricken with
+consternation I hurried down to the Third regiment in person to tell the
+sad news. Never, either before or since, have I witnessed such a scene
+as the one that followed. Some of the men went completely wild with
+sorrow, weather-beaten veterans, embracing each other, wept aloud,
+others swore and cursed. In the prison yard, which was guarded by men
+belonging to my regiment, a rebel prisoner took off his cap, waived it
+in the air and cried, &ldquo;Hurrah for Booth!&rdquo; A man by the name
+of Stark immediately loaded his gun and shot the rebel dead on the spot.
+Many others, both inside and outside the camp, were shot because they
+expressed joy at the death of Lincoln. Passions were strong, and all
+tolerance and patience exhausted among the Union soldiers on that
+occasion. The main army of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">- 79 -</a></span> Confederates had already
+surrendered when this calamity occurred, and the war was in fact over. A
+few days afterward we sent our families home.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image041.jpg" width="200" height="43" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">- 80 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a><a href="#TOC_7">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER VII.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Reconstruction in the South&mdash;Third Regiment Mustered Out&mdash;The
+Farewell Order&mdash;Sacrifices and Costs of the War.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>A very important work still remained to be accomplished by the union
+army, namely, the restoration of law and order in the southern states. I
+had the honor to be entrusted with a portion of that work, an account of
+which was given in a paper prepared and read by me before the commandery
+of the military order Loyal Legion, at one of its meetings in St. Paul,
+in March, 1889, from which I quote as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;After listening to the many interesting addresses on battles and
+campaigns that have been read before the commandery at our monthly
+meetings, I fear that you will be disappointed, not only with the
+subject of this paper, but also with the commonplace incidents which I
+have to relate, and yet I think that the part taken by the Union army in
+the so-called reconstruction of civil government in the rebellious
+states immediately after the war deserves a place in the history of that
+army and of the war. All the world knows how bravely our soldiers
+fought, how willingly they endured hardships of the camp and of the
+wearisome march, how patiently they bore sickness, wounds, and
+sufferings of every kind, and how faithfully they obeyed the orders of
+advance to danger and to death. But there is still another trait of
+their character, perhaps the greatest of them all, that of the good
+citizen, who was able, as soon as the last smoke of battle had cleared
+away, to restrain all feelings of enmity<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">- 81 -</a></span> and revenge, to take
+the enemy by the hand, to guide, help, and protect him and his in all
+the rights of citizenship, and it is of that I would relate some facts
+that came under my own observation and experience.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Having been stationed at Duvall&rsquo;s Bluff, Arkansas, in command of
+a brigade, of which my own regiment, the Third Minnesota infantry,
+formed a part, I received orders from Maj. Gen. J. J. Reynolds,
+commanding the Department of Arkansas, on the 15th of May, 1865, to
+establish a military post at Batesville, Arkansas, on the upper White
+river, and to take command of a district comprising the north-eastern
+portion of that state. The field organization of the Seventh army corps,
+to which we belonged, was being broken up. Some of the regiments were
+sent home to be mustered out of service; others were sent to different
+points for purposes of occupation. My own regiment and two squadrons of
+the Ninth Kansas Cavalry were detailed for the work given in my charge.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On the 18th of May we embarked on steam transports, and reached
+Batesville on the 20th. A few days later my post headquarters was
+established at Jacksonport, and the troops were distributed at different
+points with one or two companies for each, at Batesville, Searcy,
+Augusta, Powhatan; and the main force at Jacksonport, from which point
+frequent cavalry patrols were sent to the outlying stations.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The topography of that country is very irregular and unique. The
+eastern portion, bordering upon the Mississippi, is flat and marshy,
+with many lakes and bayous, and has a rich, alluvial soil. The other
+portion is very broken, with hills and mountain ridges, rocks, caves and
+beautiful streams, but poor soil. The lowlands had been occupied by
+wealthy slave owners, whose sympathies were strong for the Southern
+cause. The highlands were occupied by the poorer class, only a few of
+whom had owned slaves. Many of this class<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">- 82 -</a></span> were strong Union men,
+and soldiers in the Union army. During the great struggle of four years
+many bloody tragedies had been enacted between the loyal and the rebel
+residents, and bitter feelings of revenge still rankled in the breasts
+of the survivors. During the whole period of the war the country had
+been swept clean, at rapid intervals, by both armies alternately, and
+each time new atrocities had been perpetrated, and all the worst
+passions of the people rekindled. It had also been a place of refuge for
+the worst rebel elements in southern Missouri, when too hardly pressed
+by our friend Gen. Sanborn<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> and other Union commanders. At the time of
+our arrival the surviving soldiers from both armies were returning to
+their homes, also many refugees,&mdash;rebels from Texas and Union men
+from the North,&mdash;most of them to find their families destitute and
+their property destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The irregular Confederate troops under Gen. Jeff. Thompson,
+numbering some eight thousand men, had not yet surrendered, but were
+scattered over the district in a thoroughly demoralized condition, so
+that the whole situation was rather peculiar and very bad, and it was a
+difficult task to prevent fresh outbreaks, and to restore order and get
+the people started anew in the peaceful avocations of life.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My instructions were to preserve law and order, to organize and
+arm companies of home colonists for self-protection, to encourage
+agriculture and commerce, and to assist the citizens in restoring civil
+government. The men under my command during the early reconstruction
+period had certainly no reason to love Arkansas, because they had not
+only buried their best friends and comrades within its borders, but had
+themselves for months and months experienced there that dreadful
+suffering most feared by all soldiers, and for which few receive any
+credit,&mdash;namely, the inglorious privation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">- 83 -</a></span> of the silent
+watch,&mdash;in the swamp, in the trenches, in the hospital, on the
+camp-stretcher, and in the ambulance,&mdash;when tired, sore, sick,
+thirsty, lonely, and seemingly forsaken by God and man, unknown and with
+praise unsung, with no cheering sound of drum or bugle, no battle flag
+or cheer in sight or hearing, no voice of comrades or of guns, and no
+magic touch of elbows or shouts of victory. These men had experienced
+all that, and had no special reason to sympathize with the inhabitants
+who had done their full share to bring them into so much misery. And now
+observe how they treated those inhabitants. Immediately on arriving at
+Batesville the following order was promulgated, and, by the aid of an
+old printing press and swift couriers, scattered all over the district:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="right">
+&lsquo;<span class="smcap">Headquarters U. S. Forces</span>,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+&lsquo;<span class="smcap">Batesville, Ark.</span>, May 22, 1865.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;General Order No. 1.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;I. It is hereby announced to the people of Batesville and
+surrounding country that the chief object of the federal occupation of
+this place is their protection against armed forces, of whatever kind,
+to give encouragement to agriculture and other peaceful pursuits, and to
+restore commercial intercourse.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;II. The public safety and mutual interests demand that all
+persons living within our lines and enjoying the protection of the
+nation&rsquo;s forces shall declare their obedience to the government.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;III. It is ordered, therefore, that all persons now living or
+hereafter coming within our picket-lines who have not taken but desire
+to take the oath of allegiance, with the purpose of restoring and
+establishing the national authority, shall register their names without
+delay in the provost marshal&rsquo;s office, where the oath will be
+administered.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lsquo;By order of</p>
+<p class="right">&lsquo;<span class="smcap">Col. H. Mattson</span>, Commanding.</p>
+<p>&lsquo;<span class="smcap">P. E. Folsom</span>, Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.&rsquo;<br /></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>&ldquo;On the same day a beginning was made to organize companies of
+home colonists among the great number of Union refugees who had followed
+the troops to Batesville. Arms and ammunition were placed in their
+hands, and the following instruction given:</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">- 84 -</a></span>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="right">
+&lsquo;<span class="smcap">Headquarters U. S. Forces</span>,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+&lsquo;<span class="smcap">Batesville, Ark.</span>, May 22, 1865.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;<i>To the members of Companies of Home Colonists:</i></p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;You will, as soon as practicable, depart with your families to
+your several homes, and there proceed to cultivate the land and secure a
+crop for the coming year.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;The arms and ammunition with which you have now been furnished by
+the government of the United States are for the protection of yourselves
+and families, and for no other purpose.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;The laws of your state guarantee you full redress for private
+injuries; you will therefore leave all disputes and wrongs to be settled
+by them and by the military authority of the United States, and it is
+only against the armed force of marauders that you will resort to the
+use of these arms; remember, always, that you are not soldiers, but
+citizens.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;You will promptly report to your own officers and to the military
+commander of this post any information you may obtain of armed forces of
+marauders; and in case of emergency you are authorized to act as a
+military body in pursuing them. The commanding officer will always
+extend to you aid, both in men and subsistence, so far as lies in his
+power, but you must, like free and independent citizens, place
+yourselves, by industrious labor, as soon as possible, beyond the
+necessity of federal support.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;Let your conduct among your late enemies be such as will elicit
+their friendship.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;By assisting me to carry out the magnanimous policy of our
+government you will soon have peace and security restored to your
+community, and happiness and plenty to yourselves and your families.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lsquo;By order of<br /></p>
+<p class="right">&lsquo;<span class="smcap">Col. H. Mattson</span>, Commanding.<br /></p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;<span class="smcap">P. E. Folsom</span>, Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.&rsquo;<br /></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In a remarkably short time the news of the policy thus announced
+spread to the most remote parts of the district, and had a very
+beneficial effect. It inspired hope and confidence everywhere. The
+disloyal people came out of their hiding places, and, with apparent
+sincerity and gratitude, took the oath of allegiance, and went to work
+as good citizens to perform their part in the work of reconstruction.
+Union men and rebels shook hands over the bloody chasm, and agreed to
+bury the past and work together for a better future.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">- 85 -</a></span>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Soon another class of people came in large numbers to seek help
+and protection from the Union forces. It was the poverty-stricken old
+men, and the women and children who had lost their natural protectors.
+It was a sight sad enough to move the stoutest hearts to look at their
+helplessness and misery, and I never had a more pleasant duty to perform
+than that of relieving their wants at the expense of our generous
+government. The department commander had placed a steamboat at my
+disposal, and given me unlimited power to draw on the commissary stores
+at Duvall&rsquo;s Bluff. That steamer made regular trips with supplies for all
+who were actually in need, and most of the applicants returned to their
+homes with plenty of flour, bacon, salt, seed, corn and other
+necessaries, with a government mule sometimes thrown in to carry the
+load home, and there was no distinction made between rebels and
+Unionists, except that the former were placed on their good behavior as
+to their future conduct. It was in this work that our
+soldiers,&mdash;officers and men,&mdash;showed without exception, that
+trait of character which entitles them to the name of exemplary citizens
+as well as exemplary soldiers, which they had previously earned in a
+service of four years. They never forgot that the conquered inhabitants
+were our own people, and members of the same great republic.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;After a while our picket lines were withdrawn, and only enough
+guards posted to take care of the public property. Citizens and soldiers
+mingled freely in social intercourse, not as conquerors and conquered,
+but as friends and equals, our men interesting themselves in everything
+that tended to the welfare of the citizens, often helping them in their
+work and business, and always treating the helpless with gallantry and
+tenderness. On the Fourth of July citizens and soldiers, ex-rebels and
+Union men, to the number of many hundreds, met under the stars and
+stripes, in a lovely grove, to celebrate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">- 86 -</a></span> the day around an
+old-fashioned barbecue, and, for nearly two days and a night, enjoyed a
+feast of brotherly love and good will, all proud of the old banner, and
+happy to be again united as one people.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;During the summer elections were held for town and county
+officers, and as soon as such officers had qualified, the soldiers, even
+more readily than the citizens themselves, did all in their power to
+uphold their authority. In many instances good penmen and accountants
+among the soldiers gave their services gratuitously to help the
+newly-elected civil officers start their books and accounts. To the
+honor of the rebels, especially the returned soldiers, I must say that
+they behaved in a most exemplary manner, and accepted the situation with
+good grace and acted most cordially and loyally toward us. The
+Freedmen&rsquo;s Bureau was not established in that district during my time of
+command, but I was informed by a friend, Maj. J. M. Bowler, who had
+command the following winter, that the planters generally yielded to the
+requirements of that department as soon as it was established; that they
+made fair contracts with the liberated slaves and strictly and carefully
+observed them, and were in all respects considerate toward the freedmen
+generally. Of course, I do not mean to say that all the citizens behaved
+so well. There were exceptions, even in the first days of
+reconstruction, and those exceptions were nearly all by the men who had
+never faced the Union soldiers in open battle, but had either skulked or
+resorted to guerilla warfare. But I do mean to say that in those early
+days, before President Johnson had began to show his final hand, the
+rebels were disposed to accept the situation in a manly and loyal way,
+and that, if the policy inaugurated by the Union army had been adhered
+to, the country would probably have been saved from the Ku-Klux and
+other horrors of a later period.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">- 87 -</a></span>
+
+<p>&ldquo;One strange fact was deeply impressed upon my mind during the
+time of my command in Northeastern Arkansas, namely, the genuine regret
+and sorrow among the returning rebel soldiers over President Lincoln&rsquo;s
+death. They not only respected him, but actually regarded him as a
+friend, because they believed him to be kind and just; so that, whatever
+measures he might have adopted, had he lived, they believed that they
+could have submitted to them with full confidence that it would be for
+the best. I can not better illustrate that feeling, as it was daily
+manifested to me, than by comparing it to the faith and confidence of
+erring children to an offended but loving father.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The most noted and influential rebel in the district at that time
+was, undoubtedly, Gen. Jeff. Thompson. On the 3d of June this noted
+general arrived at my headquarters at Jacksonport, pursuant to previous
+arrangements, to surrender his command, consisting of eight thousand
+officers and men, who began to crowd in on that and the following day in
+great numbers. They were the hardest looking soldiers I have ever seen.
+Jeff. Thompson himself was a man of commanding appearance, and a perfect
+gentleman. In my journal of that day I have described him as follows:
+&lsquo;He is a tall, sinewy, weather-beaten man, a queer looking genius,
+dressed in a suit of snowy white, from the plume in his hat to the heel
+of his boot, and with a white sword-belt and white gloves. He is a
+clever chap, full of fun, telling great yarns, and an incessant
+talker.&rsquo; I should judge he was about forty-five years old. On the
+third day after his arrival the troops had all assembled, and the
+surrender took place in due form. A staff officer from the Department of
+Missouri and another from the Department of Arkansas witnessed the
+proceedings and received the documents. When all was finished, Jeff.
+Thompson had his men assemble on the levee in front of a steamboat, from
+the cabin-deck of which he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">- 88 -</a></span> delivered his farewell address. I
+stood by his side while he spoke, and expected every moment to see him
+pierced by some well-directed bullet from the crowd on shore, but he was
+allowed to finish his address without interruption, after which the men
+slunk out of sight, and before evening the whole motley crowd had left
+the town with the determination, as I verily believe, to follow the good
+advice of their general. The address deserves a place among our papers,
+and I will read it, as it appeared a few weeks later in Harper&rsquo;s
+Magazine, from a <i>verbatim</i> report made by one of my officers. He said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&lsquo;Many of the eight thousand men I now see around me, very many of
+you, have been skulking for the last three years in the swamps within a
+few miles of your own homes,&mdash;skulking duty,&mdash;and during that
+time have not seen your own children. I see many faces about me that
+have not been seen by mortal man for the last three years; and what have
+you been doing all that time? Why, you have been lying in the swamps
+until the moss has grown six inches long on your backs, and such men
+call themselves &ldquo;chivalrous soldiers.&rdquo; A few weeks ago Gen.
+Reynolds sent a flag of truce to my headquarters, and I sent out to
+gather a respectable force to meet those officers, and not one of you
+responded. A few days later, when Col. Davis and Capt. Bennett, of Gen.
+Dodge&rsquo;s staff, bore dispatches to me from that general, I attempted
+again to call about me enough of you to make a respectable show, and how
+many of these brave men reported at the call? One sore-eyed man with
+green goggles. But you rally like brave and gallant men around Uncle
+Sam&rsquo;s commissary stores, and I have now come to surrender you, and hope
+that you will make better citizens than you have soldiers.</p>
+
+<p class="starrow">&nbsp;&#x273b;&#x273b;&#x273b;&#x273b;&#x273b;</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;Those of you who had arms, with a few exceptions, have left them
+at home, and those who had government horses have failed to report them
+here. Now let me say to you, one and all, those of you who have retained
+your arms, as soon as you get home take them to the nearest military
+post and deliver them up, or burn them, or get rid of them in some
+manner, for as sure as there is a God in heaven, if they are found in
+your houses, just so sure will your houses be burned to the ground; and
+I hope to God every one of you who keep good arms or military property
+of any kind in your houses will be hanged; and you will, too.</p>
+
+<p class="starrow">&nbsp;&#x273b;&#x273b;&#x273b;&#x273b;&#x273b;</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;But I want you to go home and work hard and take care of your
+families.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">- 89 -</a></span> Work early and late, and get up at night and see if
+your crops are growing. Above all things avoid political discussions. If
+any man says &ldquo;nigger&rdquo; to you, swear that you never knew or
+saw one in your life. We have talked about the niggers for forty years,
+and have been out-talked. We have fought four years for the niggers, and
+have been d&mdash;&mdash;d badly whipped, and now it is not &ldquo;your
+put.&rdquo; The Yankees have won the nigger and will do what they please
+with him, and you have no say in the matter. If they want him they will
+take him; and if they say that you must keep him, you have to do it, and
+no mistake. I tell you that you have no say in the matter, and you
+oughtn&rsquo;t to have any. Go home and stay there. Don&rsquo;t go anywhere but to
+mill. Don&rsquo;t go to church, for the minister will put knots and mischief
+in your heads, and get you into trouble. Be good citizens, and then
+those of you who have been good, honest and brave soldiers need have
+nothing to fear; but I warn those of you who have been nothing but
+sneaking, cowardly jayhawkers, cutthroats and thieves, that a just
+retribution awaits you, and I hope to God that the federal authorities
+will hang you, wherever and whenever they find you, and they will do it,
+sure.</p>
+
+<p class="starrow">&nbsp;&#x273b;&#x273b;&#x273b;&#x273b;&#x273b;</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;Do not complain if you are not permitted to have a voice in
+elections and civil affairs. You have forfeited all such rights, and it
+now becomes you to submit to such laws and regulations as the federal
+authorities may deem proper to enact. I believe and know that they will
+do the best they can for you, especially if you show henceforth that you
+now desire to merit their confidence by strict obedience to the laws
+where you may reside.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;We are conquered and subjected; we have no rights, but must
+accept such privileges and favors as the government may see proper to
+bestow upon us. Again I say, go home; attend to your business, and try
+to raise a new generation of boys that shall become better men than you
+have been.&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Jeff. Thompson lived many years after that day, a good and loyal
+citizen. He was a brave and generous man, and had always treated our
+prisoners with humanity whenever they had fallen into his hands. His
+advice to his soldiers echoed the sentiments of the better class of the
+rebels in the district at that time.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;We remained there the whole summer, always impatient to be
+mustered out and return to our own homes, but never deviating from the
+orderly and friendly position first taken. Many of the men formed
+friendships and other connections that have lasted ever since. Some of
+them returned after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">- 90 -</a></span> their muster out, and are still counted
+among the best citizens of that state; some formed engagements with the
+country girls, and went back to marry them. One of my young captains, a
+fine St. Paul boy, brought with the regiment to Minneapolis, as his
+bride, the most beautiful woman, as well as the most bitter rebel, of
+that portion of Arkansas, and I am glad to say that, although she soon
+returned with her gallant husband to her native state, where they still
+reside, she is now, and has been ever since, as true and loyal to our
+banner and our cause as any of our Northern wives and mothers.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I would not have it understood that all our work was so pleasant
+and peaceful. Sometimes we had to deal with tough cases of both sexes,
+and then the iron hand of power was freely used to restrain, but seldom
+to punish. As a relic of old slave times I will relate one incident of
+many that came under my observation.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;One day a very tidy negro woman came and reported that her late
+master had recently killed her husband. I sent for the former master. He
+was a leading physician, a man of fine address and culture, who lived in
+an elegant mansion near the city. He sat down and told me the story,
+nearly word for word as the woman did. It was substantially as follows:
+Tom, the negro, had been his body-servant since both were children, and,
+since his freedom, still remained in the same service. Tom had a boy
+about eight years old. This boy had done some mischief, and I (said the
+doctor) called him in and gave him a good flogging. Tom was outside and
+heard the boy scream, and after a while he pushed open the door and took
+the boy from me, telling me that I had whipped him enough. He brought
+the boy into his own cabin, and then started for town. I took my gun and
+ran after him. When he saw me coming he started on a run and I shot him,
+of course. &lsquo;Wouldn&rsquo;t you have done the same?&rsquo;<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_91" id="Page_91">- 91 -</a></span> he asked me with an injured look.
+The killing of his negro for such an offence seemed so right and natural
+to him that he was perfectly astonished when I informed him that he
+would have to answer to the charge of murder before a military
+commission at Little Rock, where he was at once sent for trial. What a
+great change in sentiment a quarter of a century has produced! Our
+children will never learn to realize what a curse slavery was, even
+while some of them were in their cradles.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;It has been said that the old soldiers occasionally did a little
+foraging on their own hook, while in the enemy&rsquo;s country, and I rather
+think they did; but I wish to state most solemnly, that whatever bad
+habits the boys might have had in that respect before the surrender of
+the Confederate army, they reformed at once after that event, most
+thoroughly and sincerely, and during the whole summer of 1865, although
+scattered over a wide country, and almost free from military duty and
+restraint, there was never a complaint made against a man in my command,
+for depredation of any kind, and I verily believe that the rights of
+property, even down to the beloved shoat and chicken, were held as
+sacred by the Union soldiers in our district during that time as those
+rights are ordinarily held in any well-governed country during times of
+peace. All things considered I am fully convinced that the excellent
+conduct of our soldiers in the South during the early days of
+reconstruction, when the army took a prominent part in that work, did
+more to establish law and order and to foster friendly and loyal
+sentiments towards the Union, than all the laws and constitutional
+amendments enacted for that purpose. Had the great and noble Lincoln
+lived, or even if President Johnson had remained true to the principles
+of his early life, and left the Union soldiers at liberty to carry out
+the firm but humane policy of reconstruction which they inaugurated
+under the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">- 92 -</a></span> inspiration of Grant and Sherman, we would have had
+not only a united country, but a loyal and law abiding people in the
+South a quarter of a century ago, because the Union soldier was the best
+citizen and the best teacher of good citizenship. Armies of other
+nations have achieved victories as great as ours, other soldiers than
+ours have been patient, obedient, enduring and brave, but none in the
+world&rsquo;s history have shown such greatness in civic virtues as the Union
+soldiers of the war of the Rebellion.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In the beginning of September, 1865, the regiment was ordered
+home, and on September 16th it was mustered out at Fort Snelling,
+Minnesota, on which occasion the following general order was read:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&lsquo;General Order No. 16.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;<i>Officers and Men of the Third Minnesota Regiment:</i></p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;After four years of active service this regiment is about to be
+disbanded. Before another day you will all have received your honorable
+discharges and be on your way to your quiet, happy homes. The familiar
+sound of the bugle and drum will no longer be heard among us. The
+&ldquo;Stars and Stripes,&rdquo; which we have all learned to love, will
+no longer wave over our ranks.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;You have toiled, struggled and suffered much during the last four
+years, yet to those who are now here to enjoy the triumph over our
+enemies and the peace and prosperity of our country, the reward is
+ample. I know that we will all regard the acts of those years as the
+noblest and proudest of our lives. For those, our noble comrades, who
+have fallen victims in the struggle, let us always, with the most tender
+affection, cherish their memory.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;You have served your country nobly and faithfully in every field
+where duty called you, and I am proud to assert that on every occasion
+and in every locality, from the northwestern frontier, against the
+savage Indian foes, to the deathly swamps of the Yazoo and Arkansas
+valleys, against the haughty Southern rebels,&mdash;wherever this
+regiment has been, its rank and file, its bone and sinew, the true
+representatives of our noble young state, have ever reflected honor and
+credit on that state.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;As your commanding officer I am greatly indebted to you all,
+officers and men, for your admirable conduct on all occasions, for your
+ready obedience of orders, and for your fidelity, patriotism and
+perseverance in the discharge of all your toilsome duties.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">- 93 -</a></span>
+
+<p>&lsquo;In bidding you farewell, I give you all my most hearty thanks.
+May peace, prosperity and happiness ever be your reward.</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;For me, the greatest honor,&mdash;greater far than I ever
+expected to achieve,&mdash;is the fact of having so long commanded, and
+at last led home in triumph and peace, the always dear and noble Third
+Minnesota Regiment.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+&lsquo;<span class="smcap">H. Mattson</span>,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+&lsquo;Colonel Commanding Regiment.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&lsquo;<span class="smcap">P. E. Folsom</span>, Lieutenant and Adjutant.&rsquo;&rdquo;<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>During this war the Union army had mustered in 2,883,000 men, 400,000 of
+whom had lost their lives. To this army Minnesota contributed 25,052, or
+about one-seventh of her entire population. Of this number 2,500 were
+killed or died of sickness during the war, and it is calculated that
+5,000 died since the war on account of wounds and diseases contracted
+during service. The Third regiment had, during four years&rsquo; service, a
+total enrollment of 1,417, of which number there were left only 432 men
+when we returned in September, 1865. The war cost the Union about two
+billion, seven hundred million dollars. The sacrifice of gold and blood
+was not too great. Not only America, but the whole human race has gained
+more through the victories of our army than can be estimated in gold and
+blood. And the Scandinavians of the West may justly feel proud of the
+part they took in this struggle for liberty and human rights.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">- 94 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a><a href="#TOC_8">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER VIII.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>My Reason for Taking Part in the Civil War&mdash;The Dignity of
+Labor&mdash;The Firm Mattson &amp; Webster&mdash;<i>Svenska Amerikanaren</i>,
+its Program and Reception&mdash;The State Emigration Bureau of
+Minnesota&mdash;Its Aim, Plan and Work.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>The war which closed with the events narrated in the last chapter was
+one of the most important of modern times, and proved the greatness and
+the resources of the American people never properly appreciated before.
+But it revealed a still greater nobility of character when our immense
+army, after four years&rsquo; service, suddenly disbanded, its soldiers
+quietly and peacefully returning to their common daily toil without the
+least disorder or disturbance of any kind. The swords were turned into
+plowshares as quietly and naturally as if they never had been steeped in
+blood.</p>
+
+<p>For my own part&mdash;and that was undoubtedly the case with most of our
+volunteers&mdash;I entered the service because I considered it to be my
+duty to do my little part in defending the country which had adopted me
+as a citizen, and not, as many have supposed, on account of ambition or
+for the sake of gain; in fact, as has been shown already, I resigned a
+more important and remunerative position in the civil service than the
+one I first accepted in the army; hence it was quite easy for me to
+exchange the uniform for the plain garb of the citizen and hang my sword
+among the reminiscences of the past.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">- 95 -</a></span>
+
+<p>One day shortly after my arrival home, while walking along a street in
+Red Wing, I noticed a former professor of a university, who had been a
+captain in the Sixth regiment working in his shirt sleeves with a plane
+and helping to build a house. After saluting him I asked how he liked
+this kind of work, to which he answered that another professor had been
+appointed in his place while he was in the war, and being through with
+the service, he neither liked nor could afford to be idle. Having
+acquired some skill in handling carpenter&rsquo;s tools in his youth, he said
+he found it easy to get work at two dollars a day, and meanwhile he
+could be on the look-out for a position as professor of mathematics at
+some college or university.</p>
+
+<p>Here is the key to the greatness of this country: Labor is respected,
+while in most other countries it is looked down upon with slight. The
+former professor and Capt. Wilson was soon thereafter appointed state
+superintendent of schools, while, if he had remained idle and dependent
+upon his relatives and friends for assistance, too proud to work, he
+would most likely have been looking around for something to turn up to
+this day.</p>
+
+<p>Another little incident, which occurred about this time may interest the
+Swedish reader. The great Gen. Sherman visited St. Paul, and a banquet
+was given to him at which I was present. During the conversation I asked
+about the Swedish Gen. Stohlbrand. &ldquo;Do you know him?&rdquo; Gen.
+Sherman inquired. &ldquo;Yes, sir; he is my countryman, and we served in
+the same regiment in Sweden,&rdquo; I said. &ldquo;Then,&rdquo; said he,
+&ldquo;you may be proud of your old comrade, for a braver man and a
+better artillery officer than Gen. Stohlbrand could not be found in our
+entire army.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>At the same time the general told the following: Stohlbrand had served
+in his corps for some time with the rank of major, and performed such
+services as properly belong to a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">- 96 -</a></span> colonel or brigadier-general
+without being promoted according to his merits, because there had been
+no vacancy in the regiment to which he belonged. Displeased with this,
+Stohlbrand sent in his resignation, which was accepted, but Sherman had
+made up his mind not to let him leave the army, and asked him to go by
+way of Washington on his return home, pretending that he wished to send
+some important dispatches to President Lincoln. In due time Stohlbrand
+arrived in Washington and handed a sealed package to President Lincoln
+in person. Having looked the papers through the president extended his
+hand exclaiming: &ldquo;How do you do, General!&rdquo; Stohlbrand,
+correcting him, said; &ldquo;I am no general, I am only a major.&rdquo;
+&ldquo;You are mistaken,&rdquo; said Lincoln, &ldquo;you are a
+general,&rdquo;&mdash;and he was from that moment. In a few hours he
+received his commission and returned to the army with a rank three
+degrees higher than that he held a few days before.</p>
+
+<p>The subject of the conversation thus being Swedish officers, several
+honorable deeds were told of some of them, among others, how Col.
+Vegesack, his regiment making a charge with leveled bayonets, and his
+color-bearer receiving a mortal wound, himself seized the colors and led
+his regiment to victory.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the close of the war a well-known lawyer and myself opened a
+law office in Red Wing, the name of the new firm being Mattson &amp;
+Webster. I had successfully practiced law but a few months when it was
+announced that a new Swedish newspaper, to be called <i>Svenska
+Amerikanaren</i>, was to be established in Chicago. This enterprise was
+backed by a number of prominent Swedes of Illinois, who appointed me
+editor in chief without my knowledge or solicitation. At that time there
+was only one Swedish newspaper in this country, viz., <i>Hemlandet</i>, which
+was more of a church than a political paper, hence this was an open
+and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">- 97 -</a></span> large field for me. I accepted the appointment on condition
+that I should not move to Chicago, but simply help to start the paper
+and put it on a firm footing, and that I should be allowed to resign in
+case I found this kind of work unfavorable to my health, which had been
+very seriously affected by the hardships and sufferings of the war.</p>
+
+<p>On September 18, 1866, the first number of the <i>Svenska Amerikanaren</i>
+was published. I quote from the article announcing my having assumed
+editorial charge of the paper as follows: &ldquo;It shall be my ambition
+to so write as to advance the interest of the laboring people of our
+nationality, and to guide them in becoming good American citizens. I am
+one of that class myself, and during my residence in the settlements of
+the West I have learned to know their wants.&rdquo; The paper was very
+favorably received both in this country and in Sweden, and, under the
+name of <i>Svenska Tribunen</i>, is still exercising a great and good
+influence among the Swedish Americans.</p>
+
+<p>The following winter (1867) the legislature of Minnesota established a
+state bureau with the purpose of inducing immigrants to settle in the
+state, and I was appointed by Gov. W. R. Marshall to be secretary of the
+board of emigration, with the governor and secretary of state as
+<i>ex-officio</i> members; the Rev. John Ireland, now Catholic Archbishop of
+Minnesota, was also for a time a member of that board.</p>
+
+<p>The St. Paul <i>Press</i> for March 14, 1867, contained the following
+concerning the new board:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The state board of emigration, composed of Gov. Marshall, Col.
+Rogers and Col. Mattson, was organized yesterday, and a general plan of
+operation agreed upon. We learn that the board concluded that, with the
+limited means at their disposal, it was not advisable to employ agents
+to work in Europe, but to use every practicable effort to turn<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_98" id="Page_98">- 98 -</a></span> immigrants to Minnesota, after their
+arrival in this country. Efforts will be made to procure the publication
+of facts in regard to the state, in eastern and European journals; to
+make arrangements with railroads, more advantageous to emigrants than,
+heretofore and to afford them through interpreters and otherwise
+reliable information in regard to the best routes to the state from
+eastern parts. To give the emigrant a general idea of the
+characteristics of every locality in Minnesota, it is proposed to
+procure a map or chart of the state, showing its boundaries, streams,
+lakes, navigable rivers, timber and prairie sections, etc.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>One of my first and most pleasant duties as secretary of the board was
+to secure aid for the settlers along the Minnesota river. This locality
+had suffered from drought the previous year, and the settlers, most of
+whom were Swedes, Norwegians and Finlanders, were almost entirely
+destitute, and had no grain left for seed. Having secured an order from
+the government in Washington for provisions from the commissary
+department at Fort Ridgely, and being furnished with a letter of credit
+from our own state, I left for the stricken territory in the beginning
+of April, passing through the counties of Redwood, Renville, Yellow
+Medicine and Chippewa. At New Ulm several hundred sacks of flour were
+purchased, and at Fort Ridgely large quantities of provisions were taken
+out of the United States military stores. Agents were appointed to
+distribute these among the people, seed wheat and corn were shipped
+there from the South, and the settlers were thus relieved.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after my return to St. Paul the board of emigration was again
+called together, and I was authorized to appoint Swedish, Norwegian and
+German agents and interpreters to meet our emigrants in New York and
+Quebec, and be their guides and protectors on the journey through the
+country to our state. Temporary homes were also secured until the<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_99" id="Page_99">- 99 -</a></span> commissioners in the service of the
+board could get work for those who wanted to work out, and direct the
+rest to the interior of the state, where they could settle on government
+land or buy cheap land from private parties.</p>
+
+<p>Arrangements were made with newspapers in different languages for
+publishing articles written by myself and others, which contained
+descriptions of Minnesota and its resources. Pamphlets and maps with
+more detailed accounts, were printed in Swedish, Norwegian and German,
+and distributed in the respective countries, on board the ocean
+steamers, at the railroad stations and at other convenient places. I was
+the author of nearly all of this literature, in which great pains were
+taken to describe everything in detail; how the chests or boxes ought to
+be made and marked before leaving the old country; what articles ought
+to be taken along; what kind of provisions were most suitable; what
+measures ought to be taken with reference to cleanliness and behavior
+during the long and tedious journey, etc. On my visits among our western
+farmers years afterwards I have often seen pamphlets in Swedish and
+Norwegian with my name as author standing in the little bookshelf side
+by side with the Bible, the prayer-book, the catechism, and a few other
+reminiscences from the old country. I also spent some time attending to
+the needs of the emigrants in the sea-ports and in Chicago, made
+arrangements with railroad companies for securing better accommodations
+and even free tickets for hundreds of emigrants, who would otherwise
+have been compelled to part with their companions before reaching their
+place of destination.</p>
+
+<p>While performing my duty as secretary of the board of emigration I also
+acted as land agent for one of our greatest railroad companies, whose
+line went through Wright, Meeker, Kandiyohi, Swift and Stevens counties,
+and near Lake Ripley, in Meeker county. I purchased some eight<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_100" id="Page_100">- 100 -</a></span> hundred acres of land for myself,
+on which I made extensive improvements and spent some time as a farmer.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 508px;">
+<img src="images/image012.jpg" width="508" height="400" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LAKE RIPLEY.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the above-named localities there were only a few widely scattered
+families when I went there in 1867, while it is now one continuous
+Scandinavian settlement, extending over a territory more than a hundred
+miles long and dotted over with cities and towns, largely the result of
+the work of the board of emigration during the years 1867, 1868 and
+1869.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">- 101 -</a></span> The board of emigration did not show partiality toward
+any portion of the state, but did all its work with a view to the
+interest of the whole community. Our efforts, however, in behalf of
+Minnesota brought on a great deal of envy and ill-will from people in
+other states who were interested in seeing the Scandinavian emigration
+turned towards Kansas and other states, and this feeling went so far
+that a prominent newspaper writer in Kansas accused me of selling my
+countrymen to a life not much better than slavery in a land of ice, snow
+and perpetual winter, where, if the poor emigrant did not soon starve to
+death, he would surely perish with cold. Such was at that time the
+opinion of many concerning Minnesota. I would be more than human if I
+did not, in recalling these incidents, point with pride and satisfaction
+to the condition of the Scandinavians in Minnesota to-day, but will
+return to this further on.</p>
+
+<p>The position which I held enabled me to be of service to countrymen in
+more ways than one. Thus the interests of the church were by no means
+neglected, and I think my readers will excuse me for inserting the
+following lines from the minutes of the eighth annual council of the
+Swedish Augustana Synod, held in Berlin, Ill., June 13, 1867:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Whereas, The same conference reports that Col. Mattson has
+offered to procure sites for churches, parsonages and burial grounds for
+Lutheran churches in the new Scandinavian settlements in Western
+Minnesota,</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Therefore Resolved, That the synod express its thanks to Col.
+Mattson, and request him to get deeds on said property to be given to
+the different churches of the Augustana Synod, as soon as they are
+organized at the different places.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>It has always been admitted that during those years the emigrants
+destined for Minnesota received better care, guidance and protection
+than was ever accorded to a like class before or after that time. It is
+also acknowledged that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">- 102 -</a></span> state received great benefits in
+return by being settled by a superior class of emigrants from the
+northern countries. As for my own share in that work, although my
+efforts were sometimes misunderstood and I myself blamed, as any one
+will be who has to deal with newly-arrived emigrants, I felt much pride
+and satisfaction in the work, knowing that not only the state, but the
+emigrants themselves, and even the serving and laboring classes
+remaining in the old countries, were very greatly benefited thereby.
+While laboring hard for immigration to Minnesota my chief object was to
+get the emigrants away from the large cities and make them settle on the
+unoccupied lands in the northwest, where the climate was suitable to
+them, and where it was morally certain that every industrious man or
+family would acquire independence sooner and better than in the crowded
+cities of the east. I never attempted to induce anyone to immigrate, but
+tried to reach those only who had already made up their minds to do so,
+and the only people that I ever induced to leave their mother country
+were a number of poor servants and tenants among my own or my parents&rsquo;
+acquaintances for whom I myself paid partly or wholly the cost of the
+journey.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">- 103 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a><a href="#TOC_9">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER IX.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Visit to Sweden in 1868-1869&mdash;The Object of my
+Journey&mdash;Experiences and Observations During the
+Same&mdash;Difference Between American and Swedish Customs&mdash;My
+Birth-place&mdash;Arrival and Visit There&mdash;Visit to
+Christianstad&mdash;Visit to Stockholm&mdash;The Swedish
+Parliament&mdash;My Return to America&mdash;Reflections on and
+Impressions of the Condition of the Bureaucracy of Sweden.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>For many years I had desired to revisit the home of my childhood, and in
+December, 1868, saying good-bye to family and friends, I set out alone
+on my first visit to Sweden, after an absence of nearly eighteen years.
+The chief object of the journey was recreation and pleasure; the second
+object to make the resources of Minnesota better known among the farming
+and laboring classes, who had made up their minds to emigrate. This
+visit to the fatherland marked an important era in my life. Being only
+eighteen years old when I first left it, my impressions were vague and
+imperfect. Nor had I seen much of that beautiful country until my return
+in 1868. I shall now endeavor to relate some of those impressions and
+experiences as faithfully as memory permits, and should I have to record
+some things that will offend certain classes of my countrymen, I do it
+with no unfriendliness or lack of kindly feeling, but simply in the
+interest of truth; for after having been a true and loyal American
+citizen for nearly forty years I still cling to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">- 104 -</a></span> Sweden, its
+people and institutions, with the affection of a child toward its
+mother.</p>
+
+<p>When I left Sweden in 1851 there were no railroads. On my return the 23d
+day of December, 1868, via England, Germany and Copenhagen, I landed at
+Malm&ouml; just in time to walk to the railroad station and take the
+train to Christianstad. The beautiful station with its surroundings, the
+uniformed and courteous officials in attendance, the well-dressed and
+comfortable-looking people in the first and second-class waiting room,
+all made a pleasant impression upon me, which soon was to be disturbed,
+however, by the following little incident: As I stepped up to the ticket
+window to buy my ticket I observed a poor working woman at the
+third-class window with a silver coin in her hand and with tears in her
+eyes begging the clerk to give her the change and a ticket. I heard her
+pleading that she had left three little children alone at home, that
+this was the last train, and if she did not get home with it she would
+have to walk in the mud after dark. The clerk insultingly refused her,
+stating that he had no time to bother with her trifles unless she paid
+the even change; she asked several gentlemen near by to change her money
+for her, but they all turned away as if fearing contamination by coming
+in contact with one so poor and lowly.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> I had only a few large bills,
+and as the woman was crowded away, the same clerk at the first-class
+window took one of my bills, and, with a most polite bow, gave me a
+handful of large and small change. Of course I got the woman her ticket
+also. This was possibly an exceptional case, but to me it was a striking
+example of the difference between Swedish and American ways and
+courtesy. I venture to say that in no railway station or other public
+place in the whole United States, north or south, east or west, would a
+poor woman in her circumstances be left<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">- 105 -</a></span> one minute without a
+friend and protector. Men of all classes,&mdash;from the millionaire to
+the day-laborer, or even street loafer,&mdash;would have vied with each
+other in trying to be the first to render her assistance.</p>
+
+<p>I passed my old home at &Ouml;nnestad station after dark, and soon
+arrived in Christianstad, where four years of my youth had been spent.
+It was my purpose this time only to pass through the city without
+looking up any old acquaintances. This was my thirty-sixth birthday,
+and, thinking of family and friends in my western home, I felt lonely,
+and repaired to my room at the hotel. I was not left alone very long,
+however, for the news of my arrival had preceded me by a telegram from
+Copenhagen, and soon an old schoolmate called, and a few minutes later
+the editor of the leading newspaper, Karl M&ouml;llersv&auml;rd, who was
+exactly of my own age and had been on a short visit to America, and with
+whom a warm and lasting friendship was soon formed. The stroll through
+the little city the following morning brought many tender recollections,
+and I should have enjoyed it more had I not been such an object of
+attention and curiosity to everybody there.</p>
+
+<p>The advent of the railroad and the leveling of the old fortifications
+had brought many improvements on the outskirts, but the interior of the
+town with its little, narrow, but rectangular squares, streets and
+alleys, and its little one and two-story houses had undergone no change.
+And yet I could hardly realize that it was the same, because those
+objects which, to my boyish fancy, had seemed grand and imposing now
+appeared so diminutive that it was more like a dream than a living
+reality. This was particularly the case when, at noon, I watched the
+guard-mount of the artillery at the great square, and saw a large number
+of finely-uniformed officers, many of them grey with age and service,
+their breasts covered with decorations and crosses. With their<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_106" id="Page_106">- 106 -</a></span> sabres dragging and clashing
+against the pavement, and their spurs rattling, they walked up to the
+parade line from which they reviewed a couple of dozen soldiers with an
+air of solemn dignity, which might have done honor to a Grant, a
+Sherman, or a Sheridan, while reviewing our hundreds of thousands of
+veterans of a hundred battlefields. Truly, if the army of Sweden is
+defective in anything it is not in the dignity and style of the officers
+of the Vendes artillery; but, joking aside, the splendid bearing and
+discipline of the regiment made a good impression. This regiment has in
+fact become noted as a training school for young men, who are afterwards
+employed in the railroad service, and in large establishments where
+ability, punctuality and practical knowledge are necessary.</p>
+
+<p>Christmas eve found me in Fjelkinge, at the old homestead where my
+father was born, and where his people had lived for generations. The
+place was now owned by a cousin of mine, an excellent and very prominent
+man in his locality. The telegram had not reached this quiet, and, to
+me, sacred, spot. The astonishment and surprise of my honored cousin and
+my two aged uncles, who were still living, can more easily <span title=" {inserted} " class="hoverbox">be</span> imagined than
+described, and I was received with cordiality and joy. That night, spent
+under the roof of my forefathers, surrounded by the old people and the
+many dear recollections, and by a new generation that had come into
+being since my last visit there, stands vividly in my memory as one of
+the most delightful of my life.</p>
+
+<p>Another cousin of mine, a younger brother of Hans Larson, of Fjelkinge,
+was rector at Trolle-Ljungby, not far from the old homestead. In his
+church there was to be an early service Christmas morning. We
+consequently left Fjelkinge very early, and arrived at Ljungby just as
+the candles were lighted and the service commenced. We entered and sat
+down in the sacristy just as my cousin had left it to enter the<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_107" id="Page_107">- 107 -</a></span> pulpit in the church. He did not
+know that we were there, but we could see him, and hear his words during
+the solemn &ldquo;Otte song.&rdquo; On his return with his family to the
+sacristy after the services, there was another surprise, and such joy as
+we then experienced does not often fall to the lot of mortal man. He
+told us that he had just had a dream about me that very night, and his
+mind was full of anxiety about my safety; but he had not expected to
+meet me so soon. Between him and me there had been a bond of friendship
+and brotherhood, even from childhood, which was now renewed, never to be
+broken again.</p>
+
+<p>I had a third uncle, my father&rsquo;s youngest brother, who lived in
+Visl&ouml;f, three Swedish miles from Fjelkinge. The second day after my
+arrival he sent his son asking me to come to him immediately, as he had
+been waiting for me a long time, and I went to his house the same
+evening. This uncle had been stricken with paralysis two or three years
+before, and been a bed-ridden invalid ever since, unable to use his
+limbs, and at times even to speak. His eldest son had gone to Minnesota
+the previous summer. The evening which I spent at his bedside was a
+remarkable one. As soon as I approached his bed he partly raised himself
+to sitting posture and began to speak, which he had not been able to do
+for a long time. His wife was sick abed in another room, but his
+youngest son and two daughters were at his bedside with myself. He said
+he had been wanting to die for a long time, but when he had heard that I
+was to visit Sweden he wished to live until he could see me again. He
+asked me to tell all about my father, our family and friends, and his
+eldest son. Then he asked me to take his family with me to America when
+he was dead. When he had no more questions to ask or anything to
+communicate he sent his son for two of the neighbors, said good-bye to
+all of us with the exclamation: &ldquo;Thanks for all you have related
+and promised!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">- 108 -</a></span> Now I am ready to die! Farewell! God bless you
+all!&rdquo; after which he breathed his last. The following spring his
+family accompanied me to Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>I decided to spend New Year&rsquo;s eve with one of my most intimate boyhood
+friends, Mr. Nils Bengtson, in the little village of Skogl&ouml;sa,
+where I was born. Some of the dearest friends of my parents and a number
+of my childhood acquaintances were present there, and on New Year&rsquo;s day
+we attended services together in the old church at &Ouml;nnestad. My
+presence was expected, and the church was crowded with people who had
+been friends and neighbors of my parents, or school and playmates of
+myself. Even the pastor had chosen a text applicable to me: &ldquo;I
+think of the bygone days, and of the time that is past.&rdquo; The
+solemn services made a deep impression on all of us. A day or two later,
+in company with some friends I visited the little cottage where I was
+born, and where a number of the neighbors had now gathered to see me.
+One of my earliest recollections from childhood was the spruce tree,
+which, as I mentioned in the first chapter, was planted in the little
+garden by my parents. It was the only tree of its kind for a great
+distance around. It had grown to be a foot in diameter, was very
+beautiful, and was the pride not only of the present owner of the little
+farm, but of the whole neighborhood. After breaking off a sprig or two
+of the tree to carry back to my parents, we left the place early in the
+evening for Nils Bengtson&rsquo;s home, which was about half a mile distant,
+and where I was still a guest.</p>
+
+<p>Early the next morning my host awoke me with the news that the owner of
+the cottage had arrived before daylight, anxious to communicate a
+strange accident. Upon being admitted he stated that shortly after I
+left his house in the evening, a single gust of wind swept by in great
+force and broke the spruce tree off with a clean cut a few feet from
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">- 109 -</a></span> ground. It seemed very strange to us all, and he regarded
+it as an ill-omen, sold the place shortly afterward, and went with me to
+America the following spring.</p>
+
+<p>At that time only a few Swedish emigrants had returned from America, and
+to see a man who had been eighteen years in America, and had been a
+colonel in the American army must have been a great curiosity,
+especially to the country people; for wherever it was known that I would
+pass, people flocked from their houses to the roads and streets in order
+to catch a glimpse of the returned traveler. So great was their
+curiosity that on New Year&rsquo;s eve the servant girls of Nils Bengtson at
+Skogl&ouml;sa, drew lots as to who should carry in our coffee, and
+thereby get a chance to take the first look at the American colonel. One
+of the ladies of the house told me afterwards that when the girl
+returned to the kitchen she put the tray down with great emphasis and
+disappointment, exclaiming indignantly: &ldquo;Oh, pshaw! He looks just
+like any other man!&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Now followed a season of visits and entertainments in Christianstad and
+the neighboring country, which I shall ever hold in grateful
+remembrance. I was received with cordiality everywhere among the common
+people and the middle classes, while the aristocratic classes looked on
+with distant coldness, as they always do when a man of the people has
+succeeded in getting beyond what they would call his legitimate station,
+and is what we would call, in other words, a self-made man. My plain
+name and humble ancestry were in their eyes a fault that never could be
+forgiven. This did not trouble me, however, for I sought no favors, or
+even recognition from the great, but found plenty of delight in the
+cordial welcome of the middle classes.</p>
+
+<p>In the month of February I visited Stockholm, in company with my friend
+Nils Bengtson. It was the first time I had been there, and, like all
+other travelers, I was charmed with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">- 110 -</a></span> the beautiful city, and its
+gay and festive life. The parliament (Riksdag) was in session, and as a
+liberal from America I was received with great cordiality by the liberal
+party. One grand dinner and two evening parties were given by some of
+its members in my honor, at which some of the most distinguished liberal
+members of parliament were present. Of course numerous toasts were
+proposed and speeches made, in one of which I was called upon for my
+views on the Swedish militia as corresponding largely to the lately
+disbanded volunteer army of the United States.</p>
+
+<p>There was quite a famine in some of the Swedish provinces that winter,
+and when the government asked the parliament for an appropriation of
+several millions for carrying on field maneuvers of the army the coming
+season, the liberals made a strong opposition, preferring to use the
+money on some public improvement in the famished provinces. Of course I
+expressed my sympathy strongly in favor of the volunteer organizations
+and against the proposed maneuvers of the regulars. A few days afterward
+my words were quoted in the parliament, and gave rise to a spirited
+correspondence in one of the Stockholm conservative newspapers.</p>
+
+<p>Returning to Sk&aring;ne I found myself besieged by people who wished to
+accompany me back to America in the spring. Having visited my wife&rsquo;s
+relatives at Ballingsl&ouml;f, and enjoyed their hospitality, and made
+some trips to Wermland, Gothenburg, Lund and Copenhagen, I spent the
+rest of my time with friends in Christianstad, Ljungby and
+&Ouml;nnestad.</p>
+
+<p>Having been for many years a Free Mason in America, and advanced to the
+highest degrees in that order, I was received in great state and full
+ceremony into the provincial lodge at Christianstad, and on Good Friday,
+if I remember right, I had the honor of marching in the Masonic
+procession between the two highest Masons of the province, the aged
+brothers, Barons Rolamb, wearing their gorgeous uniforms,<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_111" id="Page_111">- 111 -</a></span> while I was dressed only in a
+plain black dress suit. The procession marched from the lodge to the
+chapel, only half a block distant on the same street, but a great crowd
+had gathered to see the mystic order, and I noticed many manifestations
+of satisfaction among the masses at the honor bestowed upon me, while I
+have reason to believe that some of the uniformed brethren silently
+choked down a grudge over the plain citizen whom the strict rules of the
+order, for that day at least, had placed in a higher position than most
+of them could ever hope to attain.</p>
+
+<p>Time passed swiftly, and, as the crowds of intending emigrants were
+increasing daily, it was found that it would be impossible for one
+steamer to carry them all, so I went early in April to Helsingborg,
+where one shipload was started for Minnesota under the leadership of
+Capt. Lindberg, a veteran from the Anglo-Russian and the American war. A
+few weeks later I followed across the Atlantic with a party which
+numbered eight hundred people, and in due time returned to my home in my
+adopted country.</p>
+
+<p>On the whole that first visit to Sweden was exceedingly pleasant,
+although there would occasionally come up disagreeable incidents
+whenever America was the subject of discussion. The laboring and middle
+classes already at that time had a pretty correct idea of America, and
+the fate that awaited emigrants there; but the ignorance, prejudice and
+hatred toward America and everything pertaining to it among the
+aristocracy, and especially the office holders, was as unpardonable as
+it was ridiculous. It was claimed by them that all was humbug in
+America, that it was the paradise of scoundrels, cheats and rascals, and
+that nothing good could possibly come out of it. They looked upon
+emigrants almost as criminals, and to contradict them was a sure means
+of incurring their personal enmity and even insult.</p>
+
+<p>I remember a conversation at an evening party in N&auml;sby<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_112" id="Page_112">- 112 -</a></span> between a learned doctor and
+myself. He started with a proposition that it was wrong to leave one&rsquo;s
+native country, because God has placed us there, and, although the lot
+of the majority might be very hard, it was still their duty to remain to
+toil and pray, and even starve, if necessary, because we owed it to the
+country which had given us birth. In reply I referred to one of the
+first commandments of the Bible, that men should multiply, go out and
+fill up the earth; that if it were wrong for Swedes to emigrate, it was
+equally wrong for the English, the Germans, the Spaniards and even our
+progenitors, the ancient Arians, and if so, what would the result be?
+Portions of this bountiful earth would be overcrowded, privation, crime,
+bloodshed and misery would follow, while other continents would lie
+idle. If it had been wrong to emigrate, America, which to-day is the
+larder and granary of the world, would have remained in the possession
+of a few savages. My argument was of no avail; the doctor, otherwise a
+kind and humane man, would rather see his poor countrymen subsist on
+bread made partly out of bark, which hundreds of them actually did at
+that very time in one of the Swedish provinces, than have them go to
+America, where millions upon millions of acres of fertile lands only
+awaited the labor of their strong arms to yield an abundance, not only
+for themselves, but also for the poor millions of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Hard as it is for the individual to change habits of long standing, it
+is still harder for nations and races to free themselves from prejudices
+centuries old, especially in a small country like Sweden, isolated from
+the great nations and thoroughfares of the world. The importance of a
+military officer in Sweden dates from an age when the common soldier was
+simply an ignorant machine, and the difference between &ldquo;a faithful
+servant of the king&rdquo; and a common mortal was immense. The common
+mortal of to-day, however, is climbing bravely up towards the<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_113" id="Page_113">- 113 -</a></span> military demi-god. To command a
+company, or even a regiment, in modern warfare, especially in times of
+peace, requires but little tact and skill compared with former times,
+when such commander often had to act independently and at his own risk,
+whereas now there is scarcely any branch of business which does not
+require more talent for its proper management than the command of a
+company or a regiment. It is therefore not on account of superior
+merits, but on account of old fogy notions and prejudices that the
+bureaucracy, military and civil, consider themselves to be of such
+immeasurable importance. My experience in life has taught me that
+individually men do not count for much in the world; that no man amounts
+to a great deal by himself; and that the highest as well as the lowest
+is dependent largely upon his fellows.</p>
+
+<p>What has been said about the military officers applies, in many cases,
+equally well to the civil officers, or rather, to a class of men holding
+life tenure offices in the civil service. Just now civil service reform
+is the question in American politics, and it means that officers in the
+civil service shall be appointed for life. I have always, for my part,
+doubted the wisdom of this reform, because I have seen so much evil
+growing out of that system in Sweden, England and India. To be sure,
+there would be much good springing from it, but it is very questionable
+whether the evil results would not be still greater.</p>
+
+<p>We Americans hold that all power of government emanates from the people
+(as it certainly does with us), and that the officers of the government,
+from the president down to the village constable, are merely the
+servants of the people, whose duty it is to enforce the laws and
+preserve good order. In the other countries named it is still, to a
+certain extent, supposed that God in his wisdom appoints the ruler, that
+all power lies in him, and that whatever privileges<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">- 114 -</a></span> the people
+receive come as favors from the ruler. The influence and effect of these
+two ideas are as different in all the ramifications of the system as the
+ideas themselves are irreconcilable.</p>
+
+<p>In America the humblest citizen goes to a local, state, or United States
+official with head erect and demands that such and such things be done,
+according to the law. In the other countries the lowly and even the
+average individual comes before the magistrate cringing and supplicating
+for his rights as for a favor. Of course such a false and absurd system,
+practiced for hundreds of years, can not fail to leave a strong
+impression both upon the seekers and the granters of such favors.</p>
+
+<p>To me, brought up, ever since my boyhood, under the American system, the
+importance of the civil officers in Sweden seemed to be greatly at
+variance with the progress made in the elevation of the people in
+general. I will only take one example: The provincial governor
+(Landsh&ouml;fding) and his immediate subordinates of a little province
+of the size of half a dozen of our counties, appears with much more pomp
+and style than any of the governors of our great states; and I have no
+doubt that such a governor considers his office to be more important
+than that of the governors of some of our states, each of which has a
+population larger than that of the smaller kingdoms of Europe.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">- 115 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a><a href="#TOC_10">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER X.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>The Importance of the Scandinavian Element&mdash;A Swede Elected
+Secretary of State in Minnesota&mdash;False Rumors of Indian
+Depredations&mdash;The Northern Pacific Railroad is Built&mdash;Trip to
+Philadelphia&mdash;The National Convention at
+Indianapolis&mdash;Delegation to Washington&mdash;A Swedish Colony in
+Mississippi Moved to Minnesota&mdash;The Second Voyage to Europe.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>Politically the Scandinavians in America had exerted no particular
+influence beyond that they had generally been counted upon as loyal to
+the Republican party, and a few of them had held county offices and been
+members of the state legislatures in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The honor
+of first bringing out a Scandinavian for a state office belongs to F. S.
+Christensen, a young Dane, who, in the summer of 1869, was editor of
+<i>Nordisk Folkeblad</i> in Rochester, Minn. One day he called on me and
+asked if I would be candidate for secretary of state, providing the
+Scandinavians of Minnesota should nominate me, to which I readily
+assented. A few weeks later a Scandinavian convention was held in
+Minneapolis and resulted in designating me as their choice for secretary
+of state. At the Republican state convention held in St. Paul in
+September that year, I was nominated almost unanimously by the whole
+Republican party. Being called to the platform after the nomination, I
+accepted the same in a brief speech, which at the time attracted much
+attention as echoing the sentiments of our people in the west.<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_116" id="Page_116">- 116 -</a></span> I therefore regard it of
+sufficient importance to quote it here:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>&ldquo;<i>Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention:</i></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Allow me to tender you my hearty thanks for the honor you have
+conferred upon me by this nomination. I feel doubly gratified for the
+very large majority you gave me. The time does not admit of any
+extensive remarks upon my part, yet so much has been said lately
+regarding the Scandinavian element, that the subject, perhaps, requires
+an explanation from me; and, as the chosen representative of the
+Scandinavian people of this state in the present campaign, I am
+authorized to express their views, and I do so from a thorough knowledge
+of them. It is true that we have left our beloved land; we have strewn
+the last flowers upon the graves of our forefathers, and have come here
+to stay, come here to live, and come here to die. We are not a clannish
+people, nor do we desire to build up a Scandinavian nationality in your
+midst. You have known us here for many years; you have seen us come
+among you unacquainted with your language and your customs, and yet I
+know that you will bear me witness how readily and fraternally we have
+mingled with you, learned your language and adopted your ways, and how
+naturally our children grow up as Americans, side by side with yours. We
+have been cordially received in this great west by your own pioneers,
+and have become prosperous and happy. Yes, we love this great country of
+freedom, and we wish to be and remain Americans.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Being elected a few weeks later by a large majority, I assumed the
+duties of secretary of state on the 1st of January, 1870. As secretary
+of state I was still a member <i>ex-officio</i> of the board of emigration,
+and had charge of all its work and correspondence, which amounted often
+to a hundred letters a day.</p>
+
+<p>In the month of June following, rumor came to the capitol of a new
+Indian outbreak on our western frontier. It was said that Indians had
+come in the night and committed depredations, and quite an alarm was
+caused all along the frontier; the bloody massacre of 1862 was still
+fresh in the memories of our people, and while the state authorities did
+not believe this rumor, we deemed it necessary to take measures at once
+for pacifying the people by protecting the frontier. Therefore I started
+out at once with several hundred stand of arms, with ammunition and
+authority to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">- 117 -</a></span> organize the settlers into militia companies and
+commission officers for the same. Selecting a few friends for company
+and aids, we went by rail as far as Benson, Swift county, thence by ox
+teams northward, following the frontier settlements to the northern
+portion of Otter Tail county. Four companies of militia were organized
+and officers duly appointed, the last being in Otter Tail county, with a
+Swedish count, Ragnar Kalling, as captain. This prompt action stopped
+the panic, and all has been quiet since that time. The rumor of the
+Indian depredation proved to have originated with some settlers who, in
+the disguise of Indians, had tried to scare away a Norwegian from a
+claim which he had taken from another man.</p>
+
+<p>During this year one of the greatest railroad enterprises in the world
+was commenced, namely, the building of the Northern Pacific, extending
+from Lake Superior to the Pacific coast, a distance of over two thousand
+miles. The celebrated financier Jay Cooke, of Philadelphia, who had
+acquired a great reputation as the financial agent of President
+Lincoln&rsquo;s administration during the war, was at the head of the
+enterprise. The Northern Pacific Company had received a government grant
+of many millions of acres of land along the proposed railroad, and it
+required millions upon millions of dollars to build the road. One of the
+important financial questions with Jay Cooke was how to derive a revenue
+from the sale of lands, and how to get settlers and communities started
+along the line of the road. So ignorant were the people of this country
+about the region lying within the limits of the Northern Pacific
+railroad that it was generally supposed to be either barren or too far
+north for successful agriculture; yet that very region has since proved
+to be the greatest wheat producing country in the world. Mr. Cooke
+himself had been all over it with a small party, under the escort of
+United States cavalry, on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">- 118 -</a></span> an exploring tour, and he was perhaps
+the only man of that day who foresaw the future greatness of the
+Northern Pacific region.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the fall of 1870 I received a letter from Mr. Cooke, in
+Philadelphia, inviting me to come and spend a week with him and talk
+over the new Northwest. Upon the advice of ex-Gov. Marshall, who had
+spoken of me to Mr. Cooke, the then Gov. Austin and other prominent men,
+I repaired to Philadelphia, and spent some days at Mr. Cooke&rsquo;s palatial
+residence near that city. He had also for guests a delegation of French
+and German bankers, who had just arrived from Europe. Mr. Cooke
+impressed me as one of the greatest and noblest men I had ever met. His
+enthusiasm and eloquent arguments carried everything before him. The
+millions were raised, largely in Europe, and the road was built, as we
+all know. The result of my conference with him was my permanent
+engagement, at a salary more than twice as large as that I had from the
+state, to repair to Europe in the spring as agent of his enterprise,
+with headquarters in Sweden, my special duties being to make known in
+the northern countries of continental Europe the resources of the
+Northern Pacific, particularly the park region in Minnesota. I was also
+requested by Mr. Cooke to draw up a general plan on my return home for
+the disposal of the company&rsquo;s lands, which I did, and that plan was
+adopted for the guidance of its land and emigration officers and agents.</p>
+
+<p>In the month of December a national convention was held in the city of
+Indianapolis, Ind., for the purpose of devising measures for the better
+protection of emigrants on ocean steamers, and while in transit through
+this country. All the states interested in emigration sent delegates to
+that convention, and I was one of those representing our state; my
+knowledge and experience of the subject at issue enabled me<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_119" id="Page_119">- 119 -</a></span> to take such a part in the
+proceedings that at the close of the convention, I was appointed one of
+a committee of five (Gov. McCook, of Colorado, State Treasurer Smith, of
+Wisconsin, Banker Greenbaum, of Illinois, and a leading newspaper man of
+Philadelphia, were the other members) to draft a law for the protection
+of emigrants, and to proceed to Washington and lay the same before the
+president and congress. There I had an opportunity for the second time
+to meet Gen. Grant, who was then president. I spent much time with him,
+and he took a lively interest in the emigration question. The result of
+our work was the passage by the United States congress of the excellent
+laws in relation to emigration which still remain in force.</p>
+
+<p>In January, 1871, the state legislature of Minnesota again assembled.
+The senate then consisted of twenty-two members, and was opened and
+organized by Lieut. Gov. Yale, and the house of representatives, with
+forty-seven members by myself as secretary of state.</p>
+
+<p>During that winter I received several touching letters from Swedes
+located in the state of Mississippi. They were part of a little colony
+which had gone there the previous year, direct from Sweden. The climate
+was unsuitable; one-fifth of the people had already died, nearly all the
+rest were sick, and there was great distress and misery among them. They
+asked me to get them away into the healthy climate of Minnesota. They
+were entirely destitute of means, and had to be placed where the men
+could obtain employment when they should have regained sufficient health
+and strength.</p>
+
+<p>The Duluth &amp; St. Paul Railroad Company, which was then a part of Jay
+Cooke&rsquo;s system, upon my request, furnished the necessary means, and sent
+Mr. F. S. Christensen, heretofore mentioned, to Mississippi to bring the
+party to St. Paul, which he did under many difficulties, in such
+satisfactory manner that upon his return he received an
+appointment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">- 120 -</a></span> by the company as local land agent at Rush City, in
+which position he remained many years. He is now president of the bank
+at that place, being married as before stated, to my niece, the little
+Zelma, whom the Indian squaws were so fond of playing with in the old
+log cabin. The little colony from Mississippi has certainly demonstrated
+that the northern climate is by far the best for the northern people.
+They had left Sweden strong, robust and hopeful men and women; after
+having stayed one year in the South they arrived in Minnesota pale, poor
+and broken down, lacking strength and energy, and almost without hope.</p>
+
+<p>The railroad company acted most generously towards them. It built them
+comfortable houses, furnished an abundance of provisions, cooking
+utensils and other necessaries; they gave the men employment at liberal
+wages as soon as they were able to work, and yet many of those very
+people growled and complained because we did not do more for them. I
+remember distinctly how one of the women, when her share of groceries
+and provisions arrived, was perfectly indignant because there was only
+granulated sugar, and she had always been &ldquo;used to drink coffee
+with lump sugar in Sweden.&rdquo; This bad trait among newly arrived
+emigrants from any country is very common, gratitude and contentment
+being exceptional the first year or two, as all will testify who have
+had anything to do with them. It really seems that the more that is done
+for them the less satisfied they are. I am glad to say, however, that
+after a few years they get over this bad fault, and so did the little
+party from Mississippi, most of whom have all of late years repented and
+even apologized for their former folly and ingratitude. They formed the
+nucleus of the large Swedish settlement west of Rush City, now one of
+the most prosperous in the state.</p>
+
+<p>After the close of the legislature in the spring of 1871<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_121" id="Page_121">- 121 -</a></span> preparations were made for
+carrying out my agreement with Jay Cooke to go to Europe for an
+indefinite time. Having been criticised by some of my countrymen, for
+resigning the office of secretary of state at that time, I owe them the
+following explanation: First: Personally, I was comparatively poor, and
+the salary which I received from the government, with the great
+draw-backs for all sorts of charities and public enterprises, which an
+official in that position has to meet, was insufficient to support me
+and my family, and I considered that I had the same rights as any other
+citizen to better my pecuniary condition, which I did by accepting the
+offer of Jay Cooke. Secondly: It was of greater importance to the
+public, and I could render better service to the state at this period of
+its early development, as agent for a great railroad company, which fact
+was fully recognized by our leading public men, and it was with their
+advice and at their earnest request that I took the step. I accordingly
+tendered my resignation to the governor of our state, but he, out of
+polite consideration, preferred that I should take a leave of absence
+until fall, when the people would have an opportunity at the political
+convention, to designate my successor, and wrote me the following
+letter:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="right">
+&ldquo;<span class="smcap">State of Minnesota</span>,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Executive Department</span>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+&ldquo;St. Paul, May 25, 1871.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;<i>Col. H. Mattson, Secretary of State:</i></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Dear Sir: Learning that it is your intention, on taking your
+departure for Europe, to resign your office of secretary of state, allow
+me to ask you to reconsider that resolution. You will leave a very
+competent deputy, perfectly acquainted with all the duties of the
+office, and in whose integrity, as well as in his honesty, the public
+have unlimited confidence. Within a few months your successor will be
+indicated by the delegates chosen by the people, comprising the dominant
+party of the state, and then he may be appointed, if you are to resign
+at all, with no uncertainty as to the popular choice of the individual
+who should fill that important post. For these reasons I hope you will
+conclude to withhold your resignation, at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">- 122 -</a></span> least for the
+present. I most cordially wish you a pleasant journey to the field of
+your new labors, great success there, and a safe return to the land you
+have served and loved so well.</p>
+
+<p class="center">&ldquo;Very truly yours,<br /></p>
+
+<p class="right">&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Horace Austin</span>, Governor.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is true that even after the state convention the governor did not
+appoint my successor, but preferred to leave the office nominally in my
+hands in charge of my very able assistant, the Hon. Pennock Pusey, until
+the end of the term, so that in fact I did not resign, but kept my
+office during the whole term for which I had been elected.</p>
+
+<p>In the last week of May I left for Sweden the second time, taking my
+family with me. The journey passed very pleasantly over England, Germany
+and Denmark. We arrived in Hamburg in the morning of the day when the
+Hamburgian troops returned under Prince Carl from the Franco-Prussian
+war, and made a triumphant entry into the city, being received with the
+greatest enthusiasm by the whole populace. It was indeed a grand sight,
+as all these troops marched by our hotel, men and horses literally
+covered with wreaths, flowers and bouquets, thrown over them by the
+grateful people. On this journey I carried important business letters
+from leading railroad men in Minnesota to some capitalists in Holland,
+who had advanced several million dollars for the construction of
+railroads in our state. I mention this, because it paved my way to very
+important business connections with prominent Hollanders a few years
+afterward.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly before entering upon this journey, a private banking and foreign
+exchange business was established in St. Paul under the firm name of H.
+Mattson &amp; Co. My partners were Consul H. Sahlgaard and A. T.
+Lindholm, who successfully managed the business during my absence. A few
+years later this affair was merged into the St. Paul Savings Bank, of
+which Mr. Sahlgaard became the cashier, while Mr. Lindholm and myself
+both withdrew. The banking firm H. Mattson<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">- 123 -</a></span> &amp; Co. was one of
+the first firms that, as agent for the Cunard Line, introduced the
+system of prepaid steamship tickets from Europe to America, which has
+gradually gained the confidence of the people, and developed into a very
+extensive and important business.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image041.jpg" width="200" height="43" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">- 124 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a><a href="#TOC_11">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XI.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>In Sweden Again&mdash;Reception at My Old Home&mdash;Visit to Northern
+Sweden&mdash;Field Maneuvers in Sweden&mdash;The Opening of
+Parliament&mdash;In Norway&mdash;Visit in Stockholm&mdash;Royal
+Palaces&mdash;The G&ouml;ta Canal&mdash;A Trip to Finland and
+Russia&mdash;King Oscar II.&mdash;A Trip to Dalarne in the Winter.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>On June 21, 1871, I landed a second time in my native country at
+Malm&ouml;. As already stated, I was this time accompanied by my wife
+and children, and intended to remain in Europe several years, which we
+also did.</p>
+
+<p>At Hessleholm we were met by relatives and friends who conducted us to
+the old city of Christianstad, where we were to make our home. The early
+part of the beautiful northern summer we spent in visiting friends and
+kinsmen. Entertainments, excursions and festivities of all kinds
+alternated continually. The kindness and hospitality of the people knew
+no bounds, and no matter how defective some of the old institutions of
+Sweden may be they are in my opinion more than counterbalanced by the
+many beautiful and noble traits of character of the people, which we
+observed everywhere, and which are faithfully stored up in our hearts
+and minds, so that we always find a great delight in looking back to
+those days.</p>
+
+<p>Having spent a large portion of the summer in this manner, I started in
+the month of August on a tour to the northern part of the country,
+visiting Stockholm, Upsala, Gefle, Hudiksvall, and several other places.
+This was my first opportunity<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">- 125 -</a></span> to see the beautiful scenery of
+northern Sweden, the fine, quiet bays, the magnificent lakes, the
+pleasant valleys, the green hills, the mountains dark with pine forests,
+all of which contribute to make the scenery of Norrland so varied and
+attractive.</p>
+
+<p>In the fall I returned to southern Sweden, and had an opportunity to
+witness the field maneuvers of the largest portion of the Swedish army,
+and also to meet the popular king Charles XV. The maneuvers were very
+fine, but, in my opinion, the troops could not have endured a long
+campaign, with its exhaustive marches and hardships. The soldiers
+complained loudly of fatigue, and quite a number of them were taken sick
+after the march of only fourteen to eighteen miles, although the weather
+was fine, cool, and bracing. Compared with our American army during the
+late war, when marches of twice that distance were quite frequent, the
+Swedish army was inferior; but these weak points would probably soon be
+remedied by practice in actual warfare.</p>
+
+<p>After having seen King Charles I was no longer astonished at his great
+popularity among the people. There was something about him which seemed
+to electrify and charm everyone who came within the circle of his
+personal influence. I saw him again the following winter at the opening
+of parliament in Stockholm. With all due respect for old Swedish customs
+and manners, I cannot but compare this pageant to a great American
+circus&mdash;minus the menagerie, of course. I would like to describe
+this serio-comical demonstration for the benefit of my American readers;
+but I am sorry to say that I can no longer remember the titles of the
+different officers, heralds, guards, lackeys, pages, etc.,&mdash;all of
+them dressed in the most gorgeous costumes, some of them preceding,
+others following the king and the royal princes, who were adorned with
+all the medi&aelig;val clap-trap insignia of royalty, and wrapped in
+huge mantles of gay colors, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">- 126 -</a></span> with long trains borne by
+courtiers or pages. We can comprehend the importance of a display of
+this kind a couple of centuries ago, but it seems to me that the common
+sense of our times demands its abolishment, and unless I am very much
+mistaken King Charles himself, who was a practical and sensible man, was
+of the same opinion.</p>
+
+<p>The same winter I made a visit to Norway, which was repeated the
+following summer. The social and political conditions of the country
+reminded me somewhat of America, Norway being ahead of Sweden in that
+respect, and I am not surprised that the Norwegians are proud of their
+beautiful country.</p>
+
+<p>One of my most pleasant journeys in Europe was a trip which I took in
+company with wife and children in the early part of the summer of 1872.
+On this trip we went through the lovely province of S&ouml;dermanland,
+and thence by rail to Stockholm, where we met many old friends and
+acquaintances. Midsummerday was celebrated in the circle of a number of
+happy friends at Hasselbakken, and on the following days we made
+repeated visits to the enchanting surroundings of the capital. On one of
+these outings to Drotningholm, a summer palace, we met other American
+tourists, and I remember distinctly how we all agreed that this was just
+the locality for some charitable institution, where the unfortunate poor
+and suffering members of society could be taken care of, as, for
+instance, a home for old widows, or orphans, or old men who have served
+their country faithfully in peace or war, but have been reduced to
+poverty in their old age. As a contrast to Drotningholm we pictured in
+our minds the Soldiers&rsquo; Home near Washington, where Abraham Lincoln had
+a few rooms, and found rest and recreation among trees and flowers, and
+it seemed to us that some of the country palaces of Sweden might just as
+well be used for a similar purpose.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">- 127 -</a></span>
+
+<p>Having remained in Stockholm for some time, we directed our course
+southward, by way of the G&ouml;ta canal, past Motala, Trollh&auml;ttan,
+and Gothenburg. How great, how delightful, how glorious! Dull and coarse
+must that man or woman be who can make this trip without being proud of
+the sons of Sweden and their peaceful avocations. In school I had read
+the history of Sweden, but it treated chiefly of warfare and of the
+exploits of the kings, only incidentally touching the achievements of
+peaceful work and the development of social and moral culture, which, in
+my opinion, are of supreme importance, and deserve the greatest honor.
+But then, it must be remembered that Swedish history was at that time
+written with the assumption that royalty and a few warriors are the sun
+and the stars around which the whole people and the country revolve, and
+from which they received their light and value. A better time has now
+dawned on Sweden, and even common people are acknowledged to have a
+certain inherent worth. Still I am afraid it will take some time before
+old prejudices can be dispelled.</p>
+
+<p>In the fall of the same year I took a trip through Finland and Russia,
+having secured a passport issued by Gen. C. C. Andrews, who was then
+United States minister in Stockholm. I went with the steamer Aura from
+Stockholm to &Aring;bo, Helsingfors, and Cronstadt. The pine-clad
+islands and shores of the Bay of Finland afforded a beautiful panorama
+from the steamer. The sight of Sveaborg made me feel that I was still a
+Swede in soul and heart, for I was overpowered by a deep sadness when I
+thought of the heinous treason by which this impregnable fortress was
+forced to surrender.</p>
+
+<p>I spent several days in St. Petersburg, during which I took in the chief
+sights of this grand city, such as St. Isaac&rsquo;s church, the monument to
+Peter the Great, the winter palaces, etc. It happened to be the
+anniversary of the coronation of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">- 128 -</a></span> Czar, and I had the
+pleasure of seeing the magnificent military parade arrayed for the
+occasion. My American passport opened all doors to me wherever I tried
+to enter, and I was treated with the greatest politeness by military as
+well as civil authorities. To an uninitiated eye my personal liberty and
+independence seemed just as great here as in Washington; but that was
+not the case, for I knew that my every step was being closely watched.</p>
+
+<p>One day my guide conducted me to a place in one of the suburbs, where
+some hundred prisoners were starting on their long journey to Siberia.
+He also conducted me to the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, where the
+Russian Czars are crowned and buried; and through the fortress and
+prison, in whose moist, murky dungeons the political prisoners hear the
+great bell in the steeple striking the hour, and the watchman crying his
+monotonous, &ldquo;God save the Czar,&rdquo; while from year to year the
+victims of despotism suffer and languish, often on a mere suspicion, and
+without a fair trial, until death finally puts an end to their
+sufferings. What is the reason that politically Russia has always been
+on the most friendly terms with the United States? How can liberty and
+the rankest tyranny have anything to do with each other? This has always
+been a riddle to me. I despise the friendship of a despotism like that
+of Russia, where the government orders innocent men and women to be
+seized in the silence of the night, torn away from their homes and
+families, incarcerated in dungeons, and subjected to bodily torture and
+social disgrace simply because they are suspected of having expressed or
+cherished liberal ideas.</p>
+
+<p>Returning to Sweden by way of Finland I remained a few days at
+Helsingfors. Having presented my passport to the authorities of the
+city, the commander of the garrison sent an officer inviting me to visit
+the barracks and other places of interest. I accepted the invitation and
+spent two days<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">- 129 -</a></span> under the guidance of my cicerone. This was of
+course a rare treat, and it brought me in contact with many prominent
+citizens and officers. We also took a ride out in the country to see the
+condition of the peasants. In common with all other Swedes I have always
+sympathized with unfortunate Finland, in the belief that its people must
+be very unhappy and yearn for a reunion with Sweden. This proved to be a
+great misconception. What a peculiar contradiction! The Russian despots
+treat the Fins with generosity and justice, and as far as I could
+understand, the people were highly pleased with Russian supremacy, and
+would not become subjects of Sweden again, even if they could.<a
+name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+<p>The following winter I had the honor of meeting King Oscar, of Sweden,
+at the funeral solemnities arranged by the grand lodge of Free Masons on
+the occasion of the death of King Charles XV. I have attended quite a
+number of official gatherings of different kinds in different countries,
+and seen persons vested with the highest authority conducting the same,
+but as to true dignity and lofty majesty, King Oscar excelled them all.
+When I compare him with the czar of all the Russias, or compare the
+condition of the Swedes with that of their Russian neighbors, I thank
+God for my old native land and its noble king.</p>
+
+<p>Of my numerous trips in Sweden I must mention one in particular,&mdash;a
+journey by sleigh,&mdash;in company with my old friend Karl
+M&ouml;llersv&auml;rd, from Upsala to Gefle, and from Falun south,
+through Dalarne, past Smedjebacken, and the lakes below this to
+Vester&aring;s. The beauty of the country of a northern clime does not
+show itself in its entire splendor until dressed in the garb of winter.
+The branches of the mighty pines loaded down by the dazzling snow;
+millions of snow crystals, more beautiful than diamonds, glittering
+from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">- 130 -</a></span> every twig as the sun sends its first morning rays through
+the forests; the picturesque costumes of the peasantry; the comfortable
+inns with their fine dishes of northern game; the neat sleighs drawn by
+small, swift, sure-footed horses; here and there a smelting furnace or a
+country church,&mdash;all these things combined left on my mind a
+picture of rural life more quiet, happy and beautiful than I had ever
+seen before.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image013.jpg" width="200" height="33" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">- 131 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a><a href="#TOC_12">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XII.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Visit in Minnesota and Philadelphia&mdash;Conversation with Jay
+Cooke&mdash;The Crisis of 1873&mdash;Negotiations in
+Holland&mdash;Draining of a Lake in Sk&aring;ne&mdash;Icelandic Colony
+in Manitoba&mdash;Return to America.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>In the spring of 1873 I returned to Minnesota in company with a large
+number of immigrants. Being anxious to have my children learn the
+Swedish language, I left my family in Sweden where the children attended
+school. They spent this summer at Ronneby watering place, where the
+surroundings are characteristic of the mild and pleasant scenery of
+southern Sweden.</p>
+
+<p>In traveling from the Atlantic to Minnesota we came by way of the Great
+Lakes and the Sault St. Marie canal. Having spent a couple of months in
+Minnesota I returned to Europe again via Philadelphia, New York and
+Quebec. The reader may remember that the Northern Pacific railroad was
+building at that time, and that Jay Cooke, by means of his enthusiasm
+and great popularity, had succeeded in raising large sums of money for
+this stupendous enterprise. The Union Pacific railroad, south of us, was
+already in operation, and its owners, fearing the competition of the new
+road, had resorted to all conceivable schemes to undermine the
+confidence of the public in the Northern Pacific road and its promoters.
+Many of those who had furnished money began to feel uneasy, but Jay
+Cooke went ahead, full of hope and confidence in its final success. Just
+as I called at his private<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">- 132 -</a></span> office in Philadelphia in August,
+one of his bookkeepers handed him a card from a prominent moneyed man in
+Philadelphia who wished to see him, and the following conversation took
+place between the two:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;What can I do for you, my friend?&rdquo; Jay Cooke said.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;We begin,&rdquo; said the capitalist, &ldquo;to lose confidence
+in your railroad schemes. I have bought $20,000 worth of bonds, but I am
+getting a little afraid, and came to ask your advice.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;My dear sir, the Northern Pacific Railroad bonds are just as safe
+as United States bonds.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;If this is your conviction, will you please exchange them for my
+bonds?&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Certainly. Here; give this&rdquo;&mdash;he handed him a slip of
+paper with a few lines on it&mdash;&ldquo;to my cashier, and he will
+give you United States bonds in exchange.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman withdrew perfectly satisfied, and Jay Cooke turned to me
+with the following explanation: &ldquo;I have seen the Northern Pacific
+country; that&rsquo;s the reason I am so confident in the success of this
+railroad enterprise. If we only succeed in accomplishing the work, I
+shall certainly prove that I was right; but if we fail, our antagonists
+will get a grist to their mill. But, whatever the result may be, no one
+shall have a right to say that I did not stake my fortune on my
+conviction.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The same day I left Philadelphia for Europe, but I had scarcely reached
+Sweden when the great crisis came. Jay Cooke, whose fortune was
+estimated at twenty million dollars, was a ruined man. The work on the
+Northern Pacific railroad was suddenly stopped, and the obligations of
+the company depreciated to almost nothing. We all remember the terrible
+crisis that followed. Thousands of people were ruined, and the whole
+country suffered one of the most disastrous financial crises of modern
+times. My own loss was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">- 133 -</a></span> a very hard blow to me, not merely
+because I lost my position, but because my property in Minnesota, which
+consisted exclusively of real estate, stock and farm products, lost its
+value. This catastrophe was chiefly due to business jealousy, and there
+was no real cause for the panic, which was also clearly proven
+afterward. The Northern Pacific railroad has now been completed, and has
+proven to possess all the merits which Jay Cooke claimed for it. Its
+obligations are again above par. Jay Cooke has paid every dollar of his
+debt, with interest, and again lives in affluence and luxury, respected
+and honored by the whole country.</p>
+
+<p>Returning to Sweden I passed through Holland, which country I had
+visited a couple of times before, as already mentioned. I carried
+important business letters from the leading men of the St. Paul &amp;
+Pacific Railroad Company, now known as the Great Northern Railroad
+Company. Dutch capitalists had advanced the money&mdash;about twenty
+million dollars&mdash;for building this road. The company had received
+very extensive land grants from the United States government; but during
+the first few years after the construction of the road to Breckenridge
+the country through which it passed was so sparsely settled that the
+traffic of the road was insufficient to pay its running expenses, hence
+their stocks and obligations depreciated very much in value. But the
+American railroad officials with whom I had been connected in the
+capacity of land agent were firmly convinced that if this road could be
+extended about thirty miles to the Northern Pacific railroad, and a
+little more time allowed for the settlement of the country along the
+line, the enterprise would pay a handsome dividend. It was my task to
+explain this to the Dutch capitalists, and persuade them to advance
+another $150,000&mdash;a mere trifle compared with what they had
+invested already&mdash;to build said extension, which was to pass
+through a perfectly level country. The president of the<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_134" id="Page_134">- 134 -</a></span> company, George L. Becker, and
+its land commissioner, Herman E. Trott, had previously visited Holland
+on the same business. But all our representations were in vain. The
+Dutch were stubborn, and would not give out another dollar. &ldquo;It is
+of no use,&rdquo; they said, &ldquo;to throw away a small sum of good
+money after a large sum of bad money, for it is all lost, anyway.&rdquo;
+The crisis of 1873 aggravated the situation still more, for this
+company, and its bonds were continually depreciating. The St. Paul &amp;
+Pacific railroad had pledged itself to accept its own bonds at par in
+payment for its land, and as I and others had sold hundreds of thousands
+of acres of this land to new settlers on credit, I tried, and also
+succeeded, in perfecting an arrangement with the Hollanders, by which
+the new settlers who had purchased land on credit, were allowed to buy
+on time the bonds of the company, at about twenty-five per cent. of
+their face value, and apply the same, without discount, on their debts
+for the land, a method of liquidation that was highly advantageous to
+the settlers. As soon as this was found out in Minnesota, bankers and
+other capitalists sent agents to Holland to make similar arrangements,
+and, in the course of the next three years, a brisk business was done in
+exchanging those bonds for land, by which thousands of settlers saved
+large sums of money, and a number of bankers and agents made small
+fortunes. If I had returned to Minnesota immediately I could have
+realized a very handsome profit by this arrangement; but I had made
+agreements which compelled me to stay in Sweden some length of time, and
+I left this business in the hands of my former partner, Consul
+Sahlgaard, and the St. Paul Savings Bank. But they did not grasp the
+importance of this matter until it was too late, and the lion&rsquo;s share of
+the profits went to new parties; who thus reaped the benefit of my
+plans, as is often the case under such circumstances.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">- 135 -</a></span>
+
+<p>As in the case of the Northern Pacific Railroad, the subsequent success
+of the St. Paul &amp; Pacific Railroad proved that Messrs. Becker,
+Trott, and myself were right, and if the Dutch bondholders had followed
+our advice they would not only have saved their twenty million dollars,
+but also made as much more. The bonds continued to depreciate to almost
+nothing until the company was declared insolvent, a receiver appointed,
+and very expensive legal measures were resorted to, until finally the
+Dutch became disgusted with the whole matter and transferred all their
+interests to an American syndicate headed by J. J. Hill, of St. Paul, at
+present the well-known Minnesota railroad king. The sum paid was a mere
+trifle. Hill&rsquo;s syndicate procured money for building the connecting link
+and completing the system. The syndicate made twenty million dollars by
+this transaction, and, within five years after the Dutch had sold their
+bonds for a mere bagatelle and the company had changed its name to the
+St. Paul, Minneapolis &amp; Manitoba, practically the same bonds were
+sold on the exchange in Amsterdam for one hundred and fifty cents on the
+dollar.</p>
+
+<p>The only profit I derived from my connection with this business was that
+I gained the respect and confidence of the Dutch capitalists, who very
+soon understood that they would have been all right if they had followed
+my advice. Therefore, when another Dutch company, known as the Minnesota
+Land Company, shortly afterward was brought to the verge of ruin by
+mismanagement, the affairs of this company were intrusted to my hands,
+and when the Maxwell Land Grant Company of New Mexico, which also
+consisted of Dutch capitalists, got into similar trouble they appointed
+me American manager of the affairs of that company, to which I shall
+refer further on.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after my return to Sweden in the fall of 1873 I became interested
+in an important business enterprise near<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">- 136 -</a></span> my old home. A few
+years before this a number of Englishmen had organized a stock company
+for the purpose of draining a big swamp, and a lake called
+Hammarsj&ouml;, in the vicinity of Christianstad. After expending a
+large sum of money the company failed to accomplish the undertaking. An
+officer in the Danish army, Captain M. Rovsing, who had had experience
+in that kind of work, in company with myself bought all the privileges
+and rights as well as the plant and material of the English company, and
+the work was completed under the supervision of Captain Rovsing in the
+latter part of 1875. This Captain Rovsing was not only a firstclass
+engineer, but also an able and good man in other respects. I cannot tell
+whether it is luck or something else, but it is certain that I have
+always had the good fortune to enter into close business connections,
+and to form ties of intimate friendship, with persons distinguished by
+the highest sense of honor and integrity, and of those acquaintances
+Captain Rovsing occupies one of the foremost places.</p>
+
+<p>During a part of this time I also contributed some time and work toward
+colonizing the province of Manitoba, and thereby gave an impetus to the
+establishment of the first Icelandic colony in the Northwest.</p>
+
+<p>In the spring of 1874 we moved to Gothenburg, where we stayed until the
+work at Hammersj&ouml; was completed, and in January, 1876, we said
+good-bye to Sweden, and arrived in America after a stormy voyage of
+nineteen days across the Atlantic. For sixteen days the storm was so
+violent that the life-boats and everything which was loose on the deck
+was swept away by the waves, and the officers serving during the night
+had to lash themselves to the rigging by ropes, not daring to rely on
+their hands and feet.</p>
+
+<p>It is strange how easily people in the course of time get used even to
+the most unpleasant circumstances. This was illustrated in a striking
+manner by the few cabin passengers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">- 137 -</a></span> who sat packed together in
+the cabin during this storm. After a couple of weeks we got so used to
+it that we finally found our voyage quite endurable. Still we were very
+glad when the beautiful steamer Circassian of the Allan Line brought us
+safely to shore in Portland, Me. A few days more on rail, and we were
+again safe and sound in our dear Minnesota.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image014.jpg" width="200" height="24" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">- 138 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a><a href="#TOC_13">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XIII.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Grasshopper Ravages in Minnesota&mdash;The Presidential
+Election&mdash;Chosen Presidential Elector&mdash;Minnesota <i>Stats
+Tidning</i>&mdash;<i>Svenska Tribunen</i> in Chicago&mdash;Farm in Northwestern
+Minnesota&mdash;Journalistic Work.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The world do move&rdquo; nowadays, and most emphatically so in
+the great American Northwest. An absence of four years is almost enough
+to bury one out of sight, at least that is what I found on returning to
+Minnesota. The crisis of 1873 had left my finances in anything but a
+flourishing condition, to which was added the ravages of the
+grasshoppers, which caused considerable losses to me on my farm at
+Litchfield, that being about the only property I then owned.</p>
+
+<p>My attention was soon drawn from these private reverses to public
+affairs. The first steps toward re-entering the field of politics was my
+nomination for presidential elector by the Republican state convention,
+held at St. Paul in the summer of 1876. At the request of the Republican
+state central committee, I took an active part in the campaign that
+followed, as in fact I had done at every previous election since my
+residence in this state, but this time I spent the whole autumn in
+making a thorough political canvass through most of the Scandinavian
+settlements in the state. During that canvass it was my good fortune for
+a long time to be associated with the late William Windom, then a United
+States senator, and afterward twice secretary of the treasury.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Windom was at that time in the very prime of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">- 139 -</a></span> noble
+manhood; his fine mental and physical endowments made him an object of
+love and veneration among the people. Though a man of the purest
+character and exemplary life, he was a pleasant, boon companion, fond of
+a joke and a good story, liberal and charitable in his judgment of
+others, easy and polite in his manners, open-hearted and kind toward
+all. He was a large, broad-shouldered man, weighing over two hundred
+pounds, with a high forehead, dark eyes, and smoothly shaved face. As a
+speaker he was earnest, though quiet, fluent and humorous. He never used
+tobacco or spirits in any form. We traveled together in all sorts of
+conveyances, and held meetings in country stores and school houses; ate
+and slept in the lowly cabins of the farmers, but everywhere Mr. Windom
+felt at home, and made every body else feel at ease also. I was
+afterward with him often and in many places,&mdash;from the executive
+mansion in Washington to the frontier cabin in the west,&mdash;and for
+the last time in New York city, when he went there in August, 1890, to
+save the nation from a financial crisis, but never did I notice any
+difference in his conduct toward the humblest laborer or the highest in
+power. In sorrow and adversity he was a tender friend; in manners he was
+a Chesterfield; in the senate a Roman, and in the treasury department a
+Hamilton. By his death the nation, the state of Minnesota, and his
+numerous friends, among whom for many years I had the honor to be
+counted, sustained a heavy loss.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the close of the campaign I commenced to publish a Swedish
+weekly newspaper called <i>Minnesota Stats Tidning</i>, in Minneapolis, to
+which place I had just removed with my family, and continued as its
+chief editor until the summer of 1881.</p>
+
+<p>In 1877 friends in Chicago and myself started another Swedish weekly,
+called <i>Svenska Tribunen</i>, in that city, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">- 140 -</a></span> for some time I
+had the actual management of both papers, dividing my time between
+Minneapolis and Chicago. My aim in this journalistic work was mainly to
+instruct and educate my countrymen in such matters as might promote
+their well-being and make them good <span title=" Amerian " class="hoverbox">American</span> citizens. The <i>Stats
+Tidning</i>, or at least a part of it, gradually became a kind of catechism
+on law and political economy, containing information under the heading
+&ldquo;Questions and Answers.&rdquo; This was intended especially for
+the Swedish farmers in the state. If a farmer was in doubt as to his
+legal rights in the case of a road, a fence, the draining of a marsh, or
+wished to know how to cure a sick horse or other animal, or how he could
+get money sent from Sweden, or if he wished advice or information on any
+other question relating to everyday life, especially if he got into
+trouble of some kind, he would write to the <i>Stats Tidning</i> for the
+desired information. Such letters were then printed in condensed form
+and followed by short, clear, pointed answers, and, so far, I have not
+heard of a single person being misled by those answers. On the other
+hand, I know that the public, and more especially the newcomers, reaped
+very great benefits from them. Few persons have any idea of how irksome
+and laborious this kind of journalism is, and at times I was on the
+point of giving it up in despair. As an example I will relate one little
+incident connected with this work. A farmer in a neighboring county had,
+through ignorance of the homestead law, met with difficulties in
+securing title to his claim. As usual he wrote to the <i>Stats Tidning</i>,
+and received the desired information just in time to save his property,
+which was worth over $1,000. On a visit to Minneapolis a short time
+afterward his feeling of gratitude directed him to the office of the
+paper to express his thanks. In a conversation with him I found that he
+had never subscribed for the paper himself, but was in the habit of
+going to his neighbor every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">- 141 -</a></span> Saturday afternoon to read it. I
+asked if it would not be well for <i>him</i> to subscribe for it also; it
+might happen to contain useful information in the future, and he could
+afford to pay for it. To this he answered: &ldquo;No, I cannot do that,
+for I have not much time to read, and if I want to read I have some back
+numbers of a church paper, from Sweden, and should I want to read
+answers to any questions I can borrow a copy of your paper from my
+neighbor.&rdquo; So highly did this good and pious farmer, from a
+financial point of view, appreciate information which had saved him his
+home. In my opinion such people do not deserve reproach, but sympathy on
+account of their gross ignorance. It is also a fact, that, during all
+this time, the income received from the paper did not cover its
+expenses, and if it had not been for other resources the enterprise
+would have failed even at the very climax of its popularity.</p>
+
+<p>After five years of untiring journalistic work I was only too glad of an
+opportunity to sell the paper in the spring of 1881 to a publishing
+company, which soon moved the plant to St. Paul. My former associates,
+Messrs. Lunnow and Soderstrom, soon after commenced the publication of a
+new Swedish weekly, called <i>Svenska Folkets Tidning</i>, which has now a
+larger circulation than any other Swedish paper in our state. Having
+sold my share in the <i>Svenska Tribunen</i> in Chicago a few years before,
+and thus being no longer connected with any newspapers, I found more
+time to devote to my wheat farm in the Red River valley.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">- 142 -</a></span>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image015.jpg" width="620" height="389" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">FARM IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY.</span>
+</div>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">- 143 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a><a href="#TOC_14">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XIV.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>I am Appointed Consul-General to India&mdash;Assassination of
+Garfield&mdash;Departure for India&mdash;My Stay in Chicago and
+Washington&mdash;Paris and
+Versailles&mdash;Rome&mdash;Naples&mdash;Pompeii&mdash;From Naples to
+Alexandria&mdash;Interesting Acquaintances on the Voyage&mdash;The First
+Impressions in Egypt.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>In the morning papers of July 2, 1881, a telegram from Washington
+announced that President Garfield had appointed me consul-general to
+India, in the cabinet meeting of the previous evening. The same telegram
+also announced that the president had left Washington for New England,
+where he intended to spend his summer vacation in the country. It was
+with mingled feelings of satisfaction and misgiving that I faced the
+opportunity to satisfy my longing to see the wonderful Orient,
+especially India, in which country the missionary Dr. Fjellstedt had
+aroused my childish interest, as stated in the beginning of these
+reminiscences. After consulting wife and children concerning this, to
+us, important news, I walked down town, receiving congratulations from
+friends and acquaintances on the way, and, arriving at one of the
+newspaper offices, I found a large crowd of people eagerly reading on a
+bulletin-board a dispatch to the effect that President Garfield had been
+shot by Guiteau. The news caused an excitement and consternation almost
+as intense as that produced by the assassination of Lincoln. Telegrams
+were received from Washington continually, and outside the newspaper
+offices were placed bulletins<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">- 144 -</a></span> describing the condition of the
+wounded president, who was very popular with the American people. The
+last telegram of that day announced that he was very low, and would
+probably die before morning. The next morning the dispatches announced
+that the president was still living, and that on the previous evening,
+believing that he had only a few more hours to live, he had caused to be
+made out my own and four other commissions and had signed them with his
+dying hand. I feel justified in narrating this in detail, inasmuch as I
+am in possession of the document which contains the last official
+signature of our second martyred president, and which is a very dear
+treasure to me. Believing that it will interest the reader to see the
+last signature of President Garfield, I submit a photographic fac-simile
+of the same.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/image016.png" width="500" height="128" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GARFIELD&rsquo;S SIGNATURE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I had only one month to prepare for the journey, and on account of the
+long and expensive voyage, it was decided, in family council, that I
+should go alone, leaving wife and children in Minneapolis. It was also
+understood that I would only be absent about one year, for it was hardly
+to be expected that a person of my age could stand the dangerous climate
+of India much longer.</p>
+
+<p>The 17th of August, 1881, was an important day for our little family,
+for on that day I left my home for a journey of thirteen thousand
+miles,&mdash;to distant Calcutta, the capital of India. Passing through
+Chicago on the following day, a number of my Swedish friends at that
+place had arranged a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">- 145 -</a></span> splendid banquet in my honor. About sixty
+of us spent a most delightful evening around the bountiful table; but
+what I prized more highly than anything else were the friendly and
+cordial feelings which were expressed in speech and song.</p>
+
+<p>In Washington I spent a few days in order to receive the last
+instructions from the state department. Hon. W. Windom, who was
+secretary of the treasury under the administration of Garfield,
+accompanied me to the White house, where the president was yet hovering
+between life and death. We were not admitted to the inner room, which
+was separated from the front room only by draperies. I can vividly
+recall the picture of the president&rsquo;s noble wife as she stepped out to
+us, and, with an expression of the deepest suffering, affection and hope
+in her face, told us that the patient had taken a few spoonfuls of
+broth, and that he now felt much better, and would soon recover. Thus
+life and hope often build air-castles which are destined to be torn down
+again by the cruel hand of fate.</p>
+
+<p>When the steamer touched the coast of Ireland the first news which the
+eager passengers received was that the president was still living and
+had been taken to a place on the coast. The voyage across the Atlantic
+from New York to Liverpool was a pleasure trip in every respect, and was
+favored by the most delightful weather. On board the White Star Line
+steamer Celtic,&mdash;a veritable palace of its kind,&mdash;the
+passenger had all he could wish, as far as solidity, speed, reliability,
+order, comfort, and good treatment are concerned. On September 9th I
+arrived in Paris. It seemed to me as if it had been only a couple of
+days since I was sitting in the midst of that happy company of friends
+in Chicago, whose tender and cordial farewell still sounded as an echo
+in my ears&mdash;or maybe in my heart. Nevertheless I was<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_146" id="Page_146">- 146 -</a></span> already in the grand and happy
+capital of the third French republic.</p>
+
+<p>I had time and opportunity to stay a few days in the large cities
+through which I passed, each one of which left a particular impression
+on my mind, and, although they are similar in most respects, each of
+them has its peculiarities, especially with regard to the character,
+temperament and customs of the people. I cannot refrain from describing
+a few of them. Washington did not seem to be itself when I passed
+through it, a cloud of sadness and mourning brooding over it on account
+of the critical condition of the president. Boston is prim and stiff,
+and seems like a place of learning. New York is a turmoil of pleasure
+and business. &ldquo;Hurry up&rdquo; seems to be written in every face;
+&ldquo;tumble harum-scarum in the ever-changing panorama of the
+world!&rdquo; Liverpool is a good deal like New York, but on a smaller
+scale. London is the stiff colossus of Europe. Amsterdam and Rotterdam
+bear the stamp of thrift, cleanliness, earnestness, and comfort. Antwerp
+and Brussels that of joyous abandonment. Paris includes everything which
+is worth seeing in the others, and shows everything in gayer colors and
+to greater perfection.</p>
+
+<p>I remained only four days in the city on the Seine, and the impressions
+of such a short stay are naturally fleeting and probably even
+unreliable. Paris has its imposing monuments from the days of Louis XIV.
+and the two Napoleons, which glorify the exploits of war; it has its
+beautiful churches, palaces and museums like other great cities; but in
+my eyes the greatness of Paris is to be found in her boulevards and
+public promenades. I also made a visit to Versailles, the wonderful city
+of palaces, and spent a day among the great monuments of grandeur and
+royalty, misery and tyranny. As works of art they are grand and
+beautiful, but their historical significance produce varied feelings. In
+the French capital<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">- 147 -</a></span>
+everything seemed to indicate comfort and
+satisfaction. The workman of Paris is a gentleman in the best sense of
+the word. He feels free, independent, and proud in the consciousness
+that he is a part of the state. Soldiers were no longer to be seen in
+the city; they being garrisoned at Versailles and other neighboring
+cities; still there has never before been such a feeling of profound
+peace and security in France. Liberty is a great educator. The style,
+name, and other indications of the empire are passing away, and the
+republic has put its stamp on Paris. The commune is no longer feared,
+for the state is no longer an enemy of the people, but a protector of
+its rights and liberty. Fortunate Paris! Happy France!</p>
+
+<p>But I must hurry on, in order to reach the end of my long journey. On
+the 13th of September I saw the majestic Alps with their snow-clad
+summits, which seemed to touch the very vault of heaven. The same day I
+passed through the tunnel at Mont Cenis, and arrived the following day
+at Rome, via Turin and Florence. And is this great and glorious Rome?
+Yes! These walls, ruins, palaces, and Sabine hills,&mdash;aye, the very
+air I breathe,&mdash;all this belongs to the eternal city. From the
+window of my room in Hotel Malori I can read the signs,&mdash;&ldquo;Via
+di Capo le Care,&rdquo; &ldquo;Via Gregoriana,&rdquo; etc., and among
+these an index pointing to the Rome and Tivoli street-car line. Indeed,
+I have seen the great city of Rome, with its churches, statues,
+paintings, and ancient ruins and catacombs; the little monument to the
+Swedish Queen Christina in the St. Peter&rsquo;s church; the triumphal arch
+which commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem, and the temple of Vesta
+where the ancient vestal virgins guarded the sacred fire. Two thousand
+years thus passed in review before my eyes in a few days.</p>
+
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">- 148 -</a></span>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image017.jpg" width="620" height="386" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ROME.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>From Rome I proceeded to Naples. This city is built on the most
+beautiful bay in the world, and has a population of six hundred thousand
+inhabitants. It is built in the form<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">- 149 -</a></span> of an
+amphitheatre, with a steep decline toward the water. In the south we see
+the island of Capri, fifteen miles distant, and on the east coast the
+volcano Vesuvius, which, by its threatening clouds of smoke, seems to
+obscure the eastern part of beautiful Naples, although it lies fourteen
+miles distant from the city. Long before the time of Christ the bay
+looked about the same as it does now. The chief cities around it at that
+time were Naples, Herculaneum and Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius, however, did
+not look as it does now, but rose as a green hill, called &ldquo;La
+Somma,&rdquo; and served as a summer resort for many wealthy Roman
+patricians. The city of Pompeii had about forty thousand inhabitants. On
+August 23, A.D. 79, terrific rumblings were heard from the interior of
+La Somma, the summit of which suddenly burst open, and a pillar of
+ashes, steam, and red-hot rocks shot up through the opening to a great
+height, and fell, scattering itself over the surrounding country, while
+streams of melted lava rolled down the hill-sides and buried Herculaneum
+and everything in it under a layer of ashes and lava to the depth of
+eighty feet. Toward night the eruptions increased in force, and before
+morning Pompeii and some smaller towns were also buried under the
+glowing rivers of volcanic rocks, ashes and mud.</p>
+
+<p>The remarkable history of this place absorbed my mind as I passed
+through the two thousand years-old streets of Pompeii, which, in the
+course of this century have again been brought to light by the removal
+of the petrified ashes and other volcanic matter. The ancient city now
+looks a good deal as it did eighteen hundred years ago. It is situated
+on a round knoll, and measures three miles in circumference. The houses
+are built of stone, and only one story high, with roofs of brick and
+floors of cut stone, just as the modern houses in that vicinity are
+built to-day. Every house has an open court in the center, and all
+aisles and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">- 150 -</a></span> doors lead to this. Glass windows were not used, but
+the rooms received light from the open court, which could be covered by
+canvass as a protection against the sun and rain. I measured the
+streets. They proved to be twelve feet wide, with a four-foot-wide
+sidewalk on either side. The paving consisted of boulders, with a flat
+surface about twenty inches in diameter, and contained deep grooves made
+by the chariot wheels. The houses were standing in their original
+condition, with fresco paintings on the walls and statues in their
+proper niches. The temples with their sacrificial altars, the theatres,
+the court, the council-house, and all other public buildings were
+adorned with marble pillars and choice works of sculpture. I saw a
+barber-shop with chairs, niches for the soap and mugs, and the waiting
+sofa. In a baker&rsquo;s house I saw the oven, the dough-trough, scales, and
+petrified loaves of bread. In a butcher shop were a saw, a knife, and
+other tools. There were also furniture, vessels for cooking, bowls,
+grain, pieces of rope, and plaster of Paris casts of the human bodies
+which had been found, generally prostrate, with the face pressed against
+the ground. There lies a cast of a man with a pleasant smile on his
+lips; he must have passed unconsciously from sleep to death. But it is
+fruitless to try and describe this remarkable place which has no
+parallel on the face of the earth. I heard the Swedish language spoken
+in this city of the dead, and had the pleasure of making the
+acquaintance of Alderman T&ouml;rnquist and wife, from Wimmerby, and a
+Doctor Viden and his daughter, from Hern&ouml;sand. Thus the living meet
+among the dead, representatives of the new times stand face to face with
+the dead of antiquity, children of the cool North in the sunny South.
+What a wonderful world this is, to be sure!</p>
+
+<p>The 17th of September I embarked on board the steamer La Seyne, destined
+for Alexandria in Egypt. The warm,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">- 151 -</a></span> Italian noonday sun poured
+down its dazzling rays; we were surrounded on all sides by ships and
+steamers carrying the flags of all nations; hundreds of fishing crafts
+were sailing out of the harbor, and in the distance the mighty volcano
+Vesuvius towered in imposing majesty above the vine-clad hills. There
+was a life and a traffic which it is difficult to describe. While La
+Seyne was lying at anchor for several hours out in the bay, Italian
+singers in their boats swarmed around the ship and entertained the
+passengers with music. Other boats contained three or four men each, who
+begged the passengers to throw coins into the water. As soon as a coin
+was thrown, down dived one of the men to the bottom, and invariably
+returned with the coin in his mouth although the water was very deep,
+perhaps from seventy-five to one hundred feet. The voyage across the
+Mediterranean was very pleasant, especially in the vicinity of the
+island of Sicily. The deep blue sky, the orange groves and vineyards on
+the island, and the neat, white cottages,&mdash;all gave an impression
+of indescribable tranquility and happiness.</p>
+
+<p>On this voyage, which lasted three days, I became acquainted with
+several interesting persons, among others with a Professor Santamaria,
+professor in an university in Egypt, and his family, and with a Jesuit
+priest, Miechen by name. By birth a French nobleman of a very old and
+rich family, he had been educated for a military life, and had served in
+the army with distinction, and in the late Franco-German war he had been
+advanced to the rank of major, although he was only thirty years of age.
+But suddenly he had been seized with religious enthusiasm, and had given
+up his illustrious family name, renounced his fortune, his honors, and
+the brilliant military career which lay open to him, in order to become
+a priest. After two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">- 152 -</a></span> years of theological studies he was
+ordained a priest, and admitted into the Jesuit order.</p>
+
+<p>He had now been ordered to supply himself with a full set of certain
+scientific instruments, and with them to repair to Cairo, Egypt, where
+he would receive further orders. I talked a great deal with this man. He
+spoke English fluently, and was equally familiar with nearly all the
+other European languages. He was no fanatic or religious crank, but a
+polished, cultured gentleman, who had seen and learned to know the
+world, reaped its honors and tasted its allurements, and he was
+evidently as liberal and tolerant as myself. And this man went to a
+field of action of which he had no knowledge whatsoever. Probably an
+honorable position as professor in a university was awaiting him, or
+perhaps he would have to go to some isolated mountain to observe a
+phenomenon of nature in the interest of science, or penetrate a
+malarious wilderness as missionary among savages, where he would be
+debarred from all intercourse with civilized people, and deprived of all
+the comforts and conveniences to which he had been used during his
+previous life. Still he went willingly and joyfully to his work,
+completely indifferent as to his fate, thoroughly convinced that he was
+on the path of duty&mdash;to accomplish what God intended he should do.
+I was on my way to a great country and a court as the representative of
+one of the greatest nations on earth, but when I walked the deck arm in
+arm with this humble priest, I felt my inferiority compared with him,
+and I actually considered his position enviable. On the same voyage I
+became acquainted with a Danish traveler,&mdash;A.
+d&rsquo;Irgens-Bergh,&mdash;who afterward met me in India, where we visited
+many places of interest together, and established a friendship which
+afforded both of us much pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of September 21st the coast of Egypt appeared in sight.
+There is Alexandria, founded by Alexander<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">- 153 -</a></span> the Great, and
+formerly renowned for its commerce, and as the centre of learning and
+culture of the then known world. Even now this city is grand and
+beautiful, although its beauty and style are different from anything
+else that I have seen. We often form conceptions of things which we have
+not seen, but which are interesting to us, and when we afterward find
+that those conceptions are wrong we feel disappointed. Thus I had always
+thought of Egypt as a country of a dark tone of color, probably on
+account of the fertility of the soil of the valley of the Nile, since we
+Northerners find that fertile soil is dark and poor soil of a lighter
+color. Therefore I could hardly believe my own eyes when everything I
+saw on the shore looked white. Not only the houses, palaces, and huts,
+but even the roads and the fields, all had a white color.</p>
+
+<p>As we neared the harbor, and even before the pilot came on board, we
+noticed that all the flags were at half-mast. As soon as I landed and
+had shown my passport to the customs officer an elegant equipage was
+placed at my disposal under the charge of a dragoman, and we drove to
+the office of the American consulate, where also the flag was at
+half-mast. The sad occasion for this soon became apparent. President
+Garfield had died during my voyage across the Mediterranean, and the
+whole civilized world was in mourning.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">- 154 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a><a href="#TOC_15">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XV.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Alexandria and its Monuments&mdash;The Egyptian
+&ldquo;Fellahs&rdquo;&mdash;The Mohammedans and Their Religion&mdash;The
+Voyage Through the Suez Canal&mdash;The Red Sea&mdash;The Indian
+Ocean&mdash;The Arrival at Calcutta.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>I was now in Africa and Egypt, among the remnants of ancient glory of
+which I had read so much, and which I so often had longed to see, in the
+wonder-land of Egypt, with which every Christian child is made
+acquainted through the first lessons in Bible history, the country to
+which Joseph was carried as a slave, and whose actual ruler he finally
+became by dint of his wisdom and virtue. I was in the Nile valley where
+<span title=" Pharoah " class="hoverbox">Pharaoh</span> built his magazines and stored up grain for the seven years of
+famine, and whence Moses conducted the children of Israel by means of
+&ldquo;a pillar of a cloud and a pillar of fire.&rdquo; In the land of
+the pyramids everything seemed strange and wonderful, and different from
+anything I had seen before. The streets crowded with people, the
+bazaars, the oriental costumes, the Babylonian confusion of all the
+tongues of the earth,&mdash;all this combined made on me an overwhelming
+impression. Cleopatra&rsquo;s needle; Pompey&rsquo;s pillar; the caravans of camels
+on their way into the desert; the old graves and catacombs; the palm
+groves, the oxen turning the old-fashioned water-wheels which carry the
+water from the Nile for irrigating the fields, just as in the days of
+Moses,&mdash;all this was reproduced in actual, living pictures before
+my wondering eyes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">- 155 -</a></span> Side by side with these remains of the past
+we meet with the great European improvements of our days,&mdash;the
+large ships in the harbor, the churches, the schools, the universities,
+the modern markets for trade and commerce, the splendid hotels and
+exchanges.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image018.jpg" width="620" height="408" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ALEXANDRIA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I stopped two days in Alexandria. The second day I visited the summer
+palace of the khedive, or vice-king, on which occasion a funny incident
+took place. Like every other foreigner coming to Egypt I had bought a
+sample of the head-gear generally used in that country, consisting of a
+red cap called &ldquo;fez,&rdquo; which is made of very thick, soft
+felt, and fits very closely to the head. With this cap on and wearing a
+tightly buttoned black coat I rode in the equipage already mentioned to
+the palace. Ishmael Pasha, the former khedive, who had just abdicated
+and left the country, had been very popular among his servants and
+adherents. I was of the same size and build as he, my beard was cut like
+his, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">- 156 -</a></span> in my red fez I looked so much like him that when our
+carriage passed through the gateway to the palace some of the servants
+whispered to each other that Khedive Ishmael had returned, and when the
+coachman stopped at the entrance I was surrounded by a number of
+servants who greeted me and evinced the greatest joy. The poor creatures
+soon discovered their mistake. Their good friend the khedive will never
+return to Egypt, for England and France will not allow it. He was too
+sincere a friend of his own people, and too independent in dealing with
+the shareholders of the Suez canal built during his reign.</p>
+
+<p>Alexandria has a population of two-hundred-fifty thousand. It was
+founded by Alexander the Great three hundred years before Christ, on
+account of the great natural advantages of this place as a seaport. At
+the time of Christ it had about half a million inhabitants. It was
+repeatedly ravaged by destructive wars, and finally completely pillaged
+by Caliph Omar, who is also said to have burnt its library, the largest
+and most valuable collection of books of antiquity, an act by which
+civilization suffered an irreparable loss, the library containing the
+only copies of a number of ancient literary works. It is claimed that
+the caliph gave his generals the following characteristic answer, when
+asked what was to be done with the library: &ldquo;If it contains
+anything contrary to the Koran it is <i>wrong</i>; if it contains anything
+that agrees with the Koran it is <i>superfluous</i>; therefore, at all
+events, it ought to be burnt.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image019.jpg" width="620" height="432" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">PILLAR OF POMPEII.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The most remarkable of the ancient monuments still remaining in
+Alexandria is Pompey&rsquo;s pillar, which is a monolithic shaft of polished
+red granite, seventy-three feet high and twenty-nine feet eight inches
+in circumference. One of the most interesting objects of a more recent
+origin was the Caf&eacute; El Paradiso. It consists of an immense
+restaurant and concert hall, or rather halls, for there are many of
+them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">- 157 -</a></span> One of these extends over the water, so that when one
+sits there drinking genuine Mocha coffee and smoking a Turkish
+nargileh one can hear the beating of the waves and feel the
+undulations of the azure Mediterranean. I drove out into the country
+a few miles to see the Egyptian fellahs, or peasants. No&mdash;I
+shall not disgrace the name &ldquo;peasant&rdquo; by using it here;
+for the Egyptian fellah is an ignorant, superstitious, absolutely
+destitute, and, in every respect, miserable wretch, and is worse off
+than a slave. Four walls of stones or earth make one or two rooms,
+with a floor of clay and a roof of straw or sod. A wooden box, a
+couple of kettles, and some mats made of grass or palm canes, are the
+only pieces of furniture. A couple of goats, an ass, or, at the very
+best, a yoke of oxen, are all he possesses in this world. He works
+hard, and his fare is exceedingly plain. He neither desires nor
+expects anything better, nothing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">- 158 -</a></span> stimulates him to acquire
+wealth; for that would only give the tax-gatherer a pretext for extra
+extortions. Miserable Egypt! I have seen much poverty and much misery
+among men; but of everything I have seen in that line nothing can be
+compared with the wretched condition of the Egyptian fellah.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image020.jpg" width="620" height="432" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">FELLAH HUT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Still these unfortunate people seem to find happiness in their religion.
+Here some one might object that this is a wretched happiness, because
+their religion is Mohammedanism or Islamism. Man feels himself drawn to
+a higher power. No matter what his condition, he longs for a life after
+this, and searches after an object for his worship, and when he has
+found this object he will give up his life rather than give up his
+faith. And still that object for which a person or a nation is willing
+to sacrifice even life itself is ridiculed and despised by another
+person and another nation. If the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">- 159 -</a></span> ignorant were the only ones
+who disagree in matters of faith, this condition might be easily
+explained; but even the highest civilization has failed in its attempts
+to harmonize the different religions, and, in my opinion, this fact
+ought to make all thinking men tolerant and liberal toward those who
+hold different religious views. The Mohammedan faith has made a deep and
+lasting impression on a population scattered over a large part of the
+surface of our earth, and no one dares deny that its adherents are much
+more devoted to their religion and much more conscientious in observing
+its rites than we as Christians are with reference to our religion.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 194px;">
+<img src="images/image021.jpg" width="194" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">FELLAH WOMAN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="nowrap">The adherents of</span> Mohammed now number one hundred and thirty millions,
+and the number is constantly growing. Many believe that this religion
+gains so many adherents because it is sensual, and allows all kinds of
+debauchery. But this supposition runs counter to the facts. It is true,
+that Mohammed allowed a man to have four wives; but it must be
+remembered that he limited the number to four, and that the number had
+been unlimited before. The life of an orthodox Musselman is an unbroken
+chain of self-denial and self-sacrifice, and, in this respect, we must
+<span title=" acknowlege " class="hoverbox">acknowledge</span> that he is superior to us Christians. His chief article of
+faith is expressed in this dogma: &ldquo;There is no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">- 160 -</a></span> god but
+Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet.&rdquo; The leading commandments
+bearing on the practice of their religion are prayer, ablutions,
+alms-giving, fasting, and a pilgrimage to Mecca. The use of intoxicating
+drinks is strictly prohibited, hospitality is recommended, gambling and
+usury are not allowed. Friday is the Mohammedan&rsquo;s day of rest. Since my
+first visit in Egypt I have been very closely connected with many
+Mohammedans, several of whom have been members of my own household, and
+it affords me great pleasure to testify that, as far as my observations
+go, they have lived faithfully according to the precepts of their
+religion. Nay, I am convinced that in most cases they would renounce
+property, liberty, and even life itself, rather than violate any of the
+cardinal precepts of the Koran. But as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">- 161 -</a></span> to the Egyptian fellah,
+he has no comfort to renounce, his whole life being made up of continual
+fasting and abstinence from sheer necessity, so that it is comparatively
+easy for him to be a good Mohammedan.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 590px;">
+<img src="images/image022.jpg" width="590" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">IRRIGATION MILL.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Having engaged a berth for the voyage from London to India on the
+steamer City of Canterbury, which I was to take about this time at the
+west end of the Suez canal, I could not remain any longer in Egypt, but
+took the Austrian steamer Apollo to Port Said, at the entrance to the
+Suez canal. On September 25th, in the evening, I embarked on the City of
+Canterbury where I made myself comfortable in a fine state-room which
+had been reserved for me. It takes two days to pass through the Suez
+canal, which runs through a great sandy plain that was formerly covered
+by the waters of the Red Sea. Among the many memorable places which were
+pointed out to us during this passage was also the spot where Moses is
+said to have conducted the Israelites across the Red Sea. The work on
+the Suez canal was commenced in 1859 and completed in 1869, and it cost
+about $95,000,000. The length of the canal is one hundred miles, its
+width at the surface of the water is three hundred and twenty-eight
+feet, at the bottom seventy-two feet, and its depth twenty-six feet. To
+a ship sailing from Sweden or England to Bombay in India, the distance
+by way of the Suez canal is five thousand miles shorter than by the
+passage around the Cape of Good Hope.</p>
+
+<p>I recollect an anecdote which dates from the opening of the canal in
+1869. On that occasion an irreverent speaker is claimed to have said in
+toasting De Lesseps, the French engineer who planned and executed the
+work, that the latter was the only man who had improved upon the work of
+the creator: He had connected the waters of the Red Sea and those of the
+Mediterranean. Thus the significance of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">- 162 -</a></span> a great work may also
+find an expression in the garb of a bold joke.</p>
+
+<p>Having remained in Suez a short while, the steamer glided out on the Red
+Sea, keeping close up to the naked coast of Africa. On the second day of
+our Red Sea voyage we saw Mount Sinai looming up some distance from the
+coast of Arabia. September is the hottest month of the year in that
+region, and as we had the wind with us, the customary breeze caused by
+the motion of the steamer was neutralized, and the heat was terrific. We
+slept on the deck, and we hailed the morning hour with joy on account of
+the shower-bath which was afforded when the sailors washed the deck. It
+is a conundrum to me why this body of water is called the Red Sea, for
+there is nothing whatever to suggest this color. One day we had a
+miniature illustration of a sand storm. A strong wind carried the sand
+from the coast of Africa several miles into the sea and covered the
+steamer with a layer of fine, white sand, which looked like fresh snow.
+We also had a chance to see flying fish which flew over the ship, and
+occasionally fell down on the deck. These fish were small and
+silver-colored, their fins looking a good deal like the wings of the
+bat. They can not turn in their course, nor can they fly up and down at
+pleasure, but only upward and forward in a straight line; and when they
+fall down on the deck they are just as helpless as any other fish out of
+water.</p>
+
+<p>Having reached the Indian ocean, the temperature became more pleasant,
+so that we no longer suffered so much from the heat. At last our
+splendid steamer plowed its course up the majestic Ganges, the sacred
+river with its one hundred mouths, on whose peaceful bosom millions and
+millions of human bodies have been carried to the ocean. For a distance
+of eighty miles we sailed up this wonderful river,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">- 163 -</a></span> and on
+either side we could see cities, temples, palm groves, and large crowds
+of people. On October 15th we arrived at Calcutta, where I was received
+by the American vice-consul, and comfortably quartered in the Great
+Eastern hotel.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image041.jpg" width="200" height="43" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">- 164 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a><a href="#TOC_16">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XVI.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>India&mdash;Its People, Religion, Etc.&mdash;The Fertility of the
+Country&mdash;The Climate&mdash;The
+Dwellings&mdash;Punkah&mdash;Costumes&mdash;Calcutta&mdash;Dalhousie
+Square&mdash;Life in the Streets.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>This is India, the wonderful land of the Hindoos. Africa had appeared
+strange to us compared with Europe and America; Asia seemed still more
+so. The Hindoos have a high and very old civilization, but entirely
+different from that of Europe and America. The country is named after
+the river Indus. It is hardly equal in area to one-half of the United
+States, but contains a population of more than two hundred and
+sixty-nine millions, eighty-one millions of whom are Mohammedans, one
+hundred and ninety millions Brahmins, two millions Christians, three and
+a half millions, Buddhists, Parsees or fire-worshipers, two millions
+Sikhs, and the rest are Jews or adherents of unknown religions. Queen
+Victoria of England is Empress of India, and the country is ruled in her
+name by a viceroy. It is divided into three great presidencies, viz.,
+Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, and these are again divided into a number of
+districts and native principalities. In order to maintain her supremacy
+in India, England keeps an army of about two hundred thousand regulars,
+of whom a little over one-third are English and the rest natives; and
+beside these there is a large militia and police force. Most of the
+native soldiers hail from the mountain districts. The most prominent
+of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">- 165 -</a></span> them belong to the Sikhs and Gourkas, two Indian nations.
+The Sikhs are tall, stately fellows, in my opinion ideal soldiers for a
+standing army. The Gourkas are smaller in stature, but very energetic
+and hardy; and both are renowned for their courage and endurance. It is
+said that a Gourka soldier would rather fight than eat, while a Sikh
+takes the matter more philosophically, and eats first and then fights.
+All native regiments are commanded by British officers, and<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_166" id="Page_166">- 166 -</a></span> a native seldom attains the rank
+of a commanding officer,&mdash;not because he is incapable of performing
+this duty, but rather because the English do not trust him implicitly.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 405px;">
+<img src="images/image023.jpg" width="405" height="498" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SIKH CAVALRY MAN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The bulk of the people belong to the Arian race, as we do; with the
+exception of the complexion, which is a little darker, their features
+are the same as ours. Occasionally a Hindoo may have red hair, but never
+blonde hair and blue eyes. Comparing the higher and the lower classes,
+the complexion of the former is lighter, and their bodies are better
+built and statelier than those of the lower or laboring classes, who
+also have a darker skin. The English language is used at the court and
+in all official circles, and the men of the higher classes among the
+natives speak and read English.</p>
+
+<p>The plain of Bengal, in which Calcutta is situated, is triangular in
+form, each side being about one thousand miles in length. It is bounded
+by the Bay of Bengal, the Indian ocean, the Bay of Persia, and the
+Himalaya mountains. The soil is very rich, and, having been cultivated
+for thousands of years, it still produces two or three fair crops a year
+without fertilization or proper cultivation. As the Nile in Egypt
+deposits a rich sediment over its valley, so does the river Ganges carry
+from the mountains a whitish, slimy silt, which it deposits during its
+annual overflow in the plains of Bengal. This silt is a great
+fertilizer, and thus nature supplies what poor husbandry fails to
+provide.</p>
+
+<p>It is not my intention to give a description of India and its wonderful
+people, but simply to give some pen pictures of scenes and incidents
+which came within the range of my observation and experience during the
+year and a half which I stayed there. I shall therefore ask the reader
+to follow me on my daily walks of life as well as to some of the
+<span title=" fetes " class="hoverbox">f&ecirc;tes</span> and entertainments where I was a guest, and on my travels
+through the wonderful country. I had a chance to come in contact with
+all classes, as the rank to which my official
+<!--[image024]<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">- 167 -</a></span>-->
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">- 168 -</a></span>
+position entitled me not only
+opened the doors of the palaces and temples to me, but also paved my way
+to the humblest houses.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image024.jpg" width="620" height="391" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">STREET IN CALCUTTA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>India has over five hundred cities. Of these Calcutta is the largest,
+and has a population of about eight hundred thousand. It is called
+&ldquo;the city of palaces,&rdquo; but only certain portions of the city
+deserve that name. Owing to the warm climate, the buildings in India, as
+in all other warm countries, are low, seldom more than two stories high,
+and the walls and roofs are very thick. The building material generally
+consists of brick and cement, the roofs being mostly made of the latter.
+There are verandas on the sides of the houses, and these, as well as the
+windows, are protected by heavy Venetian blinds. In the evening the
+doors and windows are thrown open so as to let in the cool night air,
+but in the morning they are closely shut, so as to keep as much of it as
+possible. Inside there are many contrivances for protecting the people
+against the excessive heat. The most important of these is the punkah,
+consisting of a wooden framework which is stretched with heavy canvass
+and is about two and a half feet wide, and from ten to twenty feet long,
+according to the size of the room. It is suspended from the ceiling, and
+reaches down to the heads of people sitting on chairs. By means of
+pulleys this punkah is kept in an oscillating motion by coolies
+stationed in the back of the house or on the back porch, and it creates
+such a pleasant breeze that one forgets all about the heat. Every room
+or office in the houses of Europeans and Americans has its punkah, and
+even the churches have a great number of them during the hot season.
+From March till October the punkahs are kept in motion all night over
+the beds of those who can afford the luxury of four &ldquo;<span title=" punka " class="hoverbox">punkah</span>
+walla&rdquo; (pullers); for it always takes two pullers for each punkah
+in the day-time, and two others at night to relieve each other every
+hour or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">- 169 -</a></span> two. Servants&rsquo; wages are very low in India, and as the
+punkah walla belongs to the lowest grade of servants his wages are only
+five rupees ($2.50) a month, and he must board himself as do all other
+servants.</p>
+
+<p>The clothing which people wear also adds largely to their comfort. The
+cooley, or common laborer, wears a long piece of cloth wrapped around
+his waist and tucked up so as to resemble a short pair of drawers, and a
+head gear somewhat resembling a turban; the breast, back, and upper
+limbs being entirely naked. Both men and women of the better class of
+natives have loose falling robes of jute, silk or cotton. Europeans
+generally dress in white linen trousers and jackets, and it is only
+toward evening when taking a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">- 170 -</a></span> drive near the public parks, or at
+night while attending parties and receptions, that etiquette compells
+them to put on the black dress suit. What strikes the newcomer most on
+his first arrival in India is perhaps the great number of people that he
+meets and sees. The cities are veritable bee-hives of moving crowds of
+people, and the bazaars, shops, and dwellings resemble honey-combs, with
+their many subdivisions, giving each man or group of men the smallest
+possible space.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image025.jpg" width="620" height="435" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">TYPES OF THE LOWEST CASTE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Sitting in my comfortable easy chair with my eyes closed, thinking of
+the past, I now see a picture of a spot in Calcutta called
+&ldquo;Dalhousie Square,&rdquo; where I loved to walk in the cool
+evening shades. I wish I were an artist and could paint the picture on
+canvas for my readers; but since I am not I will try to describe it with
+the pen. Dalhousie square is about twice the size of our ordinary city
+parks; it is laid out in walks, flower beds and grass plots, and planted
+with flowers, shrubs and trees of almost every imaginable kind; it is a
+perfect gem of a little park. It is surrounded by a high iron railing,
+with gates at the four corners, which are open in the day time. On one
+side of the park are the new government office buildings, while the
+other sides are lined with ordinary business houses, separated from the
+park by wide streets. The principal one of these streets leads from the
+viceroy&rsquo;s palace up to the native part of the city, and is generally
+frequented by a great number of fine carriages, hacks, palanquin
+bearers, horsemen, and thousands of pedestrians.</p>
+
+<p>At one corner is a hack stand, with hacks just like our own; but instead
+of our American hackdriver we find the native Jehu, or coachman, who,
+while waiting for a customer, sits perched on the seat with his feet
+drawn up under his body, engaged with needle and thread in sewing a
+garment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">- 171 -</a></span> for himself or his wife, perhaps, or occupying himself
+with a piece of embroidery or fine crochet work.</p>
+
+<p>In front of yonder fine office building is seated a Durwan (doorkeeper),
+who is a Brahmin or priest. He sits at that door or gate all day long,
+and sleeps in front of it at night on his little bed, which resembles a
+camp cot. Early in the morning he takes up his bed and walks with it to
+the rear, where stands a little cookhouse in which he prepares his food
+for the day, consisting chiefly of boiled rice and vegetables. Just now
+he is reading aloud, and with a singing voice, from the Shastras (the
+Hindoo Bible) to a crowd of listeners, who eagerly and reverently seize
+on every word from the holy writings. Just behind me on a green spot in
+the park a dozen or more Mohammedans lie prostrate, their foreheads
+touching the ground, repeating their prayers; and if it happens to be at
+the setting of the sun hundreds of people are seen in the streets,
+shops, hotel corridors, or wherever they happen to be, turning their
+faces toward the holy city Mecca, reverently kneeling and saying their
+evening prayers.</p>
+
+<p>Here on the side-walk, close by me, sits a money-changer and broker. He
+has a box filled with coins of almost every kind and description; he
+buys and sells gold and silver of other countries, such as are not
+current in Calcutta, loans money on jewelry and other valuables, and
+does a general banking business on a very small scale. There comes a
+peddler,&mdash;more of them. Now they are crowding in by the hundred,
+selling canes, parasols, embroideries, watches, jewelry, and trinkets of
+every description, following the foot passengers, running beside the
+carriages going at full speed, sticking their goods through the windows
+and imploring the occupants to buy.</p>
+
+<p>Going around to the more quiet side of the square, I find a professional
+writer squatted on the side-walk. He has a bundle of dry palm leaves,
+and a customer of the lowest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">- 172 -</a></span> Hindoo classes stands before him
+stating what message he wishes to send to his wife and relatives in the
+country. With a sharp steel instrument the writer inscribes some strange
+Bengal letters on the palm leaf, folds it up into a little package which
+is sent by a traveling neighbor, or, perhaps, by a swift messenger, to
+the dear one in the humble cottage which stands somewhere out on the
+plain among the rice fields.</p>
+
+<p>A little further on sits a native barber, also on the side-walk.<a
+name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> Instead of a barber&rsquo;s chair he
+has a common-sized brick. The man who is to be shaved squats down
+opposite the barber; if the customer is the shorter of the two the brick
+is put under his feet, but if he is taller the barber puts the brick
+under his own feet, in order that they may be on a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">- 173 -</a></span> perfect
+level before the operation begins. A Hindoo barber not only shaves and
+cuts the hair, but also cleans the nails and ears and does other toilet
+work.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image026.jpg" width="620" height="439" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">HINDOO BARBER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>There I see two stately men walking arm in arm; they have fine cut, very
+regular features, and beautiful black hair and beard; their intelligent
+looks and easy carriage command attention; they wear japanned shoes,
+snow white trousers, long white linen coats buttoned close to the chin,
+and high black hats without brim. They are Parsees, descendants of the
+ancient Persians and fire-worshipers, and probably merchants and men of
+wealth. And there again I see a group of Asiatic Jews in skull caps and
+long gowns,&mdash;keen, thoughtful and intelligent, without the
+slightest change in manners, costumes, or features since the days of the
+Jews of nineteen hundred years ago.</p>
+
+<p>In the crowded street I suddenly hear a shout, and see two men running
+with staffs in their hands, hallooing: &ldquo;Stand aside, get out of
+the way, you fellows! The Prince of Travancore is coming! Clear the
+road, get out of the way!&rdquo; Close on the heels of the runners is a
+magnificent carriage drawn by four Arabian steeds. By the side of the
+driver sits a trumpeter, who occasionally blows in a long horn to make
+known that the great personage is coming. Inside is the prince, and
+behind the carriage are four mounted soldiers, his body guard.</p>
+
+<p>Just coming in sight around a street corner, turning up one of the
+native streets, is a long line of ox-carts. They are loaded with cotton,
+jute, hides, indigo, or other native products. They are very light, and
+are drawn by a pair of Hindoo oxen no larger than a two-year-old heifer
+of our cattle, but with fine limbs and a high hump over the shoulders.
+They are yoked far apart, about the same way as in Sweden; but the
+coolie driver sits close behind them and guides them by a twist of the
+tail with his hand. Several<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">- 174 -</a></span> palanquin-bearers are passing the
+square. The palanquin is a long covered box attached to a long pole and
+carried by four men, two at each end of the pole, which rests on their
+shoulders. Inside the palanquin is perhaps a Hindoo merchant going to a
+bazaar, or a couple of students going to the university, or maybe the
+wife of some well-to-do native merchant on the way to the home of her
+parents.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image027.jpg" width="620" height="420" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">INDIGO CART.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The trees in the park are all full of flowers, like the tulip tree and
+the chestnut in bloom. Innumerable birds of gay colors flutter among the
+branches of the trees, and on the roofs of the highest houses we
+discover a couple of the so-called adjutant birds, a species of stork,
+which stand like sentinels on guard watching the thousands of ravens
+that hover over the city ready to dive for any garbage that may be
+thrown out into the street or alley. Formerly, these were the only
+scavengers in the cities of India. A<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">- 175 -</a></span> dozen coolies who are
+almost naked are seen running among the carriages sprinkling water on
+the streets from goat skins, to keep the dust down.</p>
+
+<p>There comes a family procession of the lower class with a basket of
+bananas and wreaths of flowers going to the river Ganges to offer
+sacrifices and enjoy an evening bath in the open river. Early every
+morning thousands upon thousands may be seen in the streets bent on a
+similar errand. Men from Cashmere, Afghanistan, China, Arabia, Thibet,
+etc., are seen in the throng, dressed in their native costumes. It is a
+strange and beautiful picture to look at for a little while. I have
+described only a small portion of it, for fear of tiring the reader.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 524px;">
+<img src="images/image028.jpg" width="524" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">HINDOO MERCHANTS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">- 176 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a><a href="#TOC_17">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XVII.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>The Promenades of the Fashionable World&mdash;Maidan&mdash;The
+Viceroy&mdash;British Dominions in India.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>No European or American walks out doors in India, excepting a promenade
+early in the morning or late in the evening. They are either carried in
+palanquins, or, which is more common, they keep a horse and carriage.
+Observing the good old rule of adopting the custom of the country, I
+also procured a phaeton and a gray Arab as well as the indispensable
+Hindoo driver and runner, and I now invite the reader to take a ride
+with me late in the afternoon, when hundreds of equipages fill the
+fashionable driveways.</p>
+
+<p>It is five o&rsquo;clock in the afternoon, and the dim rays of the setting sun
+allow us to lower the top of the carriage so that we may have an open
+view all around. But before doing this, we must exchange the white
+business suit and broad-brimmed Indian hat (which are made of the light
+pith of an Indian shrub somewhat similar to our elder bush, and covered
+with a thin layer of cotton) for the conventional black hat and coat,
+for these people are dreadfully ceremonious. The <i>chandra</i> takes his
+place in the driver&rsquo;s seat, and the <i>badon</i> on the steps behind the
+carriage. They are both dressed in snow-white outer garments, which look
+a good deal like a common nightgown, and a head dress consisting of ten
+yards of white muslin, wound several times around the head in the shape
+of a round turban. The Mohammedan<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">- 177 -</a></span> coachmen and runners
+generally wear the colors of their masters in the same manner as other
+native servants do. In my case, of course, it was the red, white and
+blue sashes, belts and turbans. The runner has his place on a step
+behind the carriage, and it is his duty to jump off and run in front to
+clear the way whenever it may be necessary.</p>
+
+<p>We start from the Great Eastern hotel, where I first resided, down a
+long street called Chowringhee road, which is two miles long and very
+broad, and lined on the east side by English residences built of stone.
+Every mansion stands in a large garden full of tropical trees and
+plants, and surrounded by a stone wall five feet high. There are wide
+double gates for carriage drives, and at these gates the durwan (gate or
+doorkeeper) sits the whole day long. On the west side of the street runs
+a double street-car track, and beyond this is an immense common parade
+or pleasure ground, the Maidan, which extends to the Hoogley, a branch
+of the Ganges. On the west side it is bounded by the Strand, and on all
+other sides by a macadamized road about one hundred and fifty feet wide
+and planted with large, shady trees on either side. The east side of
+this road is already described. On the north side, from the river to
+Chowringhee road, between Eden Garden and the palace, it is called the
+Esplanade. Another hundred-foot-wide road runs south from the palace,
+and divides the ground into halves. This is called the Red road because
+it is macadamized with crushed red brick. From the Red road opposite
+Fort William another great road runs to Chowringhee road. A great number
+of foot-paths cross each other in all directions, and in the evening
+these are crowded with people in oriental costumes going to their homes
+in the suburbs.</p>
+
+<p>Here and there are statues erected to the honor of prominent English
+generals and statesmen, and certain parts of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">- 178 -</a></span> grounds are
+also dotted with small groups of palms and other tropical trees. All
+these trees and plants are different from those growing in the North.
+Most of them have very broad and thick leaves, nearly all of them bear
+beautiful flowers, and many of them fruits. They are green the whole
+year round. In the north-east corner of the grounds is a garden of about
+forty acres which is called Eden. It is exceedingly beautiful and
+contains a great variety of trees and flowers, an Indian pagoda, lakes,
+canals and bridges, and thousands of birds enjoying an almost
+undisturbed existence, and singing and twittering among the trees and
+flowers. Eden Garden is surrounded by a low brick wall with several
+gates, the widest of which is the one next to the Strand. Inside this
+gate is a high orchestra stand, and below a square promenade on the fine
+grass plat. From six to seven o&rsquo;clock in the evening a military band
+plays to the fashionable world which gathers here to take an evening
+walk.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image029.jpg" width="620" height="361" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GOVERNMENT HOUSE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>A quarter of a mile below the Eden garden is the historical Fort
+William, around which Lord Clive and other heroes struggled to found the
+British Empire of India. Below the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">- 179 -</a></span> fort and next to the Strand
+is the drill-ground, and below this again a large race course. South of
+Maidan are several suburbs, and beyond these a zoological garden.</p>
+
+<p>Driving past the imposing orange-colored palace of the viceroy, called
+the government house, which very much resembles our capitol at
+Washington, but is neither so large nor so elegant, we finally strike
+the Esplanade, where the Chowringhee road meets the Red road. We stop a
+few minutes at the Esplanade to take a look at the gay picture. The
+Esplanade is crowded with a surging mass of humanity, all going from the
+river bank to their homes in the Eastern part of the city. It is the
+sixth day of the new moon, and thousands of men, women and children have
+been down to the river, washed themselves in its waters, and offered
+sacrifices consisting of fruits and flowers. The women are dressed in
+white, red, yellow, green, blue or violet garments. The smallest
+children sit astride on the left hip of their mothers, the men carry
+large baskets of fruit, mostly bananas, on their heads for the river-god
+received only a small portion, and the rest is to be eaten at home. Here
+and there among the pedestrians is a well-to-do Hindoo who takes his
+family, consisting of two or three wives and a crowd of children, to the
+river in an ox-cart. There are hundreds of musicians and peddlers in the
+throng, and all are joyful and rejoicing. It must be observed that only
+people of the lower classes take part in such public demonstrations in
+company with women and children. Fashionable women would never walk
+beyond the gardens around their own houses and do not appear in company.</p>
+
+<p>Soon carriages are seen passing by in long rows, either down the Red
+road or to the right along the Esplanade toward the Strand. We follow
+the latter and arrive at the river bank where thousands of people are
+yet busy with their sacrifices or trading with peddlers for fancy goods
+and dainties, while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">- 180 -</a></span> others listen to the music from peculiarly
+constructed flutes and drums, which vie with each other in producing the
+most ear-rending discord. Elegantly covered carriages swarm in four
+lines up and down the road. Most of the occupants are Englishmen with
+their ladies; but you may also see quite a number of Hindoo princes or
+noblemen with their ladies in oriental costumes, or Parsee merchants in
+black silk coats and high caps. To the right there is a veritable forest
+of ship&rsquo;s masts extending along the beach for miles, and to the left
+some native soldiers are being drilled. We drive down and have a chat
+with the English officers and stop to see a game of polo played, the
+native cavalry contesting with their English officers, all displaying a
+wonderful skill. Every now and then a couple of young Englishmen or
+officers on horseback meet each other, and yonder are two half-naked
+Hindoos on a jog-trot carrying a load which looks like a big coffin, but
+which turns out to be a palanquin occupied by a passenger who, in an
+inclined position, smokes his cigar and takes as much comfort as he can
+get in that primitive mode of traveling. But see there! At a given sign
+hundreds of men arrange themselves in long rows with their faces turned
+to the west, just as the sun sinks below the horizon; they prostrate
+themselves with their faces turned toward Mecca, and say their evening
+prayers. They are Mohammedans.</p>
+
+<p>Returning we stop at the gate to the Eden garden where a large number of
+equipages have already arrived before us, compelling us to wait for our
+turn to drive up and get out of the carriage. The garden is now
+illuminated by thousands of gas and electric lights; men, women and
+children walk forth and back on the soft grass plats; the military band
+plays well-known tunes; Chinese, Parsees, Jews, Hindoos and Arabs, in
+the most varied costumes, mingle with each other and with the Europeans.
+There are plenty of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">- 181 -</a></span> seats for such as wish to sit down and
+rest; but it is now time for exercise, and they walk in rows of ten or
+more until the band winds up its program for the evening by playing
+&ldquo;God save the Queen.&rdquo; In the midst of a general hurry and
+confusion we hunt up our carriage which was to stop at a certain spot,
+and return to the crossroad from which the roads of Maidan as well as
+the streets in the city may be seen glimmering in the gaslight as far as
+the eye can reach. When we reach home it is just time to dress for
+dinner, which generally begins at eight o&rsquo;clock, lasting two or three
+hours. As to fashionable life, social pleasure, display of dress and
+finery, etc., Calcutta excels every other place in the world.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 591px;">
+<img src="images/image030.jpg" width="591" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">PARSEE FAMILY.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">- 182 -</a></span>
+My exequatur not having arrived from London, I had to obtain a special
+recognition from the viceroy as American consul-general, after which my
+formal presentation took place. The Marquis of Ripon was viceroy during
+my stay in India. On presenting my credentials I had a lengthy
+conversation with him, and learned to admire him from that moment. From
+my memorandum book written on that day I quote the following:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&ldquo;Lord Ripon is a plain, manly man, whose character, head, and
+heart would have made him a great man even if he had been born in
+obscurity, but now he ranks as one of the highest, and is one of the
+wealthiest of the English nobles. He said, among other things, to me:
+&lsquo;I like America and her people very much. I was there on a
+commission which tended to make America and England better friends, and
+all such efforts are well worthy all men (he referred to the Alabama
+treaty, in which as Earl de Gray he was one of the commissioners). With
+American and English ideas of liberty it is hard to understand how to
+rule India. I would educate the natives,&rsquo; said he, &lsquo;even if I
+believed that it would be dangerous to English power, because it would
+be right to do so; but I don&rsquo;t think it is dangerous. India has always
+had a few very able and highly-educated men, while the millions have
+been in utter ignorance and superstition, and such a condition is more
+dangerous to English rule than if all are raised in the scale of
+knowledge. My only object, and I think England&rsquo;s, in India, is to
+benefit India. Our schools and railroads are doing away with ignorance,
+and are fast destroying the <i>caste</i> system. Considering the natives as
+enemies, we must put on a bold front and fear no danger, but be always
+on the guard.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Afterward I became intimately acquainted with this truly noble man, and
+was proud and happy to be counted by him as one of his very few friends
+in India who stood by him when the powerful Anglo-Indian bureaucracy
+turned against him on account of his humane efforts to raise the natives
+socially and politically. Unfortunately for India, she has not had many
+British rulers like Lord Ripon, but most of them, in conjunction with
+the office-holding class, rule India, not for the good of India, but for
+their own interests.</p>
+
+<p>Our British friends are certainly entitled to credit for the<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_183" id="Page_183">- 183 -</a></span> audacious pluck which they showed
+when a handful of their soldiers and citizens conquered that great
+country with its innumerable inhabitants. The only thing, however, that
+made it possible to do so, and which makes it possible to hold India
+to-day, is the internal strifes, the jealousies and the religious
+intolerance among the natives themselves. If they were united they could
+free the country from the foreigners in a month. But why should they?
+The country is better governed than ever before, and it is gaining fast
+in progress and prosperity. Still there is a deep hidden feeling of
+ill-will toward the English, and the time will yet come when a terrible
+struggle will be fought in India. Perhaps Russia will have a hand in the
+fight. It will be a bloody, savage war, and will cause Great Britain
+serious trouble. I said that India is better ruled now than ever before;
+but that is not saying much, for it ought to be ruled still better and
+more in the interest of the natives. India has civil service with a
+vengeance, the office-holding class being even more arrogant, proud and
+independent than the titled nobility. They rule the country with an iron
+hand, regard it simply as a field for gathering in enormous salaries,
+and after twenty-five years&rsquo; service they return to England with a grand
+India pension. The English look down upon the lower classes with haughty
+contempt, chiefly because the latter try to insinuate themselves into
+favor with the former by means of all kinds of flattery. Nobody is of
+any account in India unless he is an officer, either civil or military;
+hence all the best talent is circumscribed within narrow office routine
+limits, and nothing is left for the peaceful industrial pursuits except
+what the government may undertake to do, and that is usually confined to
+railroad and canal improvements. England wants India for a market,
+therefore nothing is done to encourage manufactures, but rather to
+cripple them. With the cheapest and most skilled labor in the world,
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">- 184 -</a></span> natives of India are compelled to buy even the cotton
+garments they wear from England though they raise the cotton themselves,
+and England is very careful not to establish a protective tariff in
+India.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image041.jpg" width="200" height="43" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">- 185 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a><a href="#TOC_18">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XVIII.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>An Indian F&ecirc;te&mdash;The Prince of Burdwan&mdash;Indian
+Luxury&mdash;The Riches and Romantic Life of an Indian
+Prince&mdash;Poverty and Riches.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>I shall now invite my reader to accompany me to the city of Burdwan,
+which is situated about seventy miles north of Calcutta, for the purpose
+of attending an Indian f&ecirc;te to which I was invited shortly after
+my arrival at Calcutta. Burdwan is the name of an old principality (as
+well as of its capital) situated on the great Indian railway. The
+principality of Burdwan is now under the English government, but it has
+its own maharajah, or prince, to whom the English government grants
+certain rights over the people and property of this principality. The
+ruling prince during my stay in India was a young man of about
+twenty-two years. He had a good European education, spoke English well,
+and had, to a great extent, adopted European manners and customs. His
+name was Aftab Chand Muhtab Bahadur. In the beginning of December, 1881,
+he was installed as maharajah of Burdwan by Sir Ashley Eden, at which
+time he came into actual possession of his inherited rights; and this
+event was celebrated by great festivities in the palace and city of
+Burdwan.</p>
+
+<p>The f&ecirc;te which commenced December fifth and closed December tenth
+was celebrated according to a well-chosen program for each day. About
+fifty English civil and military officers with their families were
+invited as guests to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">- 186 -</a></span> palace. Some of them occupied rooms in
+the palace, others lived in tents pitched in military order in the
+palace garden, and about three hundred Indian guests were lodged in
+private houses in the city. I was the only foreign guest, and was
+assigned a neat pavilion, built partly over an artificial lake in the
+garden, and the second place of honor at all ceremonies&mdash;an honor
+which was, of course, due to the republic which I represented.</p>
+
+<p>The palace consisted of several large buildings two or three stories
+high, and several small pavilions, all in Italian style, situated in a
+park or garden of some forty acres, and surrounded by a stone wall
+twelve feet high, with two beautiful porticos. The largest building
+contained the private apartments of the prince, two large parlors, two
+dining halls, a ball room, a billiard room, a library, several picture
+galleries and a large armory,&mdash;all of them furnished in the most
+expensive and magnificent style. The floors and stairways were of
+Italian marble, and the walls of the large parlors adorned by huge
+mirrors set in frames inlaid with emeralds, rubies, and other precious
+stones. Sculptures of marble from Italy, of porphyry and alabaster from
+Egypt, and porcelain vases from China, etc., adorned the corridors and
+niches of the halls of the main building.</p>
+
+<p>Another large building was inhabited by the women, among whom the mother
+of the prince is the mistress; but they themselves, as well as the
+interior of their palace, remain concealed from the gaze of the guests.
+Elegant carriages with drivers, servants and grooms in oriental livery,
+caparisoned horses, saddles and bridles shining with gold and silver
+trimmings, were day and night at the disposition of the guests, and at
+his arrival every guest received a small blank book with fifty leaves on
+which to write his name and the kind of refreshment he wished, and
+hundreds of servants dressed in white were always ready to fetch it to
+him in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">- 187 -</a></span> the palace garden, at the race courses, or in the summer
+houses.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 238px;">
+<img src="images/image031.jpg" width="238" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">NAUTCH DANCER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="nowrap">The festivities</span> and merriments were arranged so that every guest had
+perfect liberty and sufficient time to follow his own taste. The
+following may serve as an illustration:</p>
+
+<p>On <span title=" Wesdnesday " class="hoverbox">Wednesday</span>, December 7th, at half-past seven o&rsquo;clock, a high school
+was inspected, and the governor of Bengal distributed prizes among the
+scholars; at ten breakfast in the large dining hall; at twelve the
+instalment of the young prince; at two luncheon; at three the opening of
+the races; at half-past seven illumination and pyrotechnics; at eight
+grand dinner; at ten a ball in the palace for the Europeans; and nautch
+dancing and music by native women in a pavilion in the garden.</p>
+
+<p>One day a canal was opened and dedicated. It was twenty miles long, and
+built for the purpose of supplying several cities and country districts
+with an abundance of water. All the streets and roads in and around
+Burdwan were in a splendid condition, wide and macadamized with crushed
+brick. From the railroad station to the palace and two<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_188" id="Page_188">- 188 -</a></span> miles beyond to two villas, as
+well as along the principal streets in the city, and along all paths and
+roads in the palace garden, bamboo poles forty feet long were erected on
+both sides, and about forty feet apart. These poles were all wrapped in
+red and white glazed paper, and had flags at the top. The poles were
+connected by lines along which colored glass lamps were suspended six
+inches apart, and these were all lighted at six o&rsquo;clock. I was told that
+there were over forty thousand such lamps, and that it took five hundred
+men to fill, light, and attend to them. From nine to twelve o&rsquo;clock
+every night an electric light was beaming from one of the palace towers,
+and Wednesday evening there was a magnificent, display of pyrotechnics
+around an artificial lake about a mile from the palace. The latter cost
+about twenty-five thousand dollars. Its effect on men, animals, and
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">- 189 -</a></span> tropical plants was such that a man from the North found it
+difficult to realize that he was still on this earth of ours, and not
+far away in the fairy world of fiction.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image032.jpg" width="620" height="454" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">COLLEGE BUILDING.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Reality is so wonderful in India that I have hardly dared to tell the
+following without gradually preparing my reader for it. This young
+prince, whose guest I was and with whom I talked a good deal, is a poor
+foundling, having been adopted by the old prince, who died childless,
+and by the consent of the English government he was made his sole heir.
+His landed estates were so large that he paid two million two hundred
+thousand dollars to the English government in annual taxes on the income
+from his lands! How large his total income is, nobody knows. Inside the
+palace walls, which were protected by a strong body-guard night and day,
+were deep subterranean vaults with secret entrances, where gold and
+jewels were concealed in such quantities as may be imagined only when it
+is remembered that during a period of three hundred years the family has
+been accustomed to accumulate these treasures by at least three
+&ldquo;lacs rupees,&rdquo; or one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, a
+year. But during the same time millions upon millions of people have
+starved to death in the principality of Burdwan, and even now it is safe
+to say that nine-tenths of the people who cultivate the soil and live on
+the estates of the maharajah and pay him tribute are so poor that they
+could scarcely sustain their life a single month in case of drought or
+inundations.</p>
+
+<p>To describe the whole f&ecirc;te would require a whole book, and I
+therefore select the installation ceremony, which, by the way, was the
+most important of the festivities. It took place in a small mango
+forest, about a mile from the palace. A pleasant country road, decorated
+with banners and spanned by triumphal arches covered with flowers, led
+to the place. A tent pavilion sixty feet long and forty feet wide<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_190" id="Page_190">- 190 -</a></span> was erected about a hundred yards
+from the road. The tent was supported by forty pillars covered with
+silver tinsel paper, and the canvas consisted of heavy linen woven in
+many-colored squares, which were about three feet each way. The sides of
+the tent were open, and between each of the outer pillars was stationed
+a Hindoo soldier dressed in shoes, gray stockings, black knee breeches,
+and a red coat, one half of which was embroidered with gold and silver,
+while the head was covered by a red turban richly adorned with gold
+ornaments. These soldiers were gigantic, dark figures, armed with curved
+sabres and long lances. They stood immovable as statues, and only the
+rolling of their flashing eye-balls showed that they were living men. At
+the upper end of the tent was an elevated platform with a gilt chair for
+the governor, and behind this, chairs for the European ladies. From the
+platform to the entrance at the opposite end was an aisle, on each side
+of which were four rows of chairs for the guests, all numbered and
+placed according to their rank. The aisle and the walk to the country
+road were covered with expensive Persian rugs, and chamberlains in
+dazzling costumes conducted the guests from the carriages to the seats
+assigned to them in the tent. The European officers were seated on the
+first row to the right, and the Hindoo princes and noblemen on the first
+row to the left, with the young maharajah next to the platform. The
+other chairs were occupied by Hindoo and Mohammedan zemindars
+(proprietors of landed estates), scholars, and dignitaries.</p>
+
+<p>A most splendid display of costumes in satin and velvet in all possible
+colors and fashions, all of them richly adorned with gold and silver
+trimming and embroideries, besides glittering necklaces and diamond
+rings, added brilliantly to the scene. All the natives kept their
+headdresses on,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">- 191 -</a></span> most of them wearing low turbans of colored or
+white silk, ornamented with gold, pearls and gems.</p>
+
+<p>Only the prince of Burdwan and the young prince of Kutch Behar were
+armed, and these only with Damascus cimeters. The prince of Burdwan wore
+a purple satin garment, red silk shoes and a high cap in the shape of a
+crown. His breast, neck, headdress and hands glittered with diamonds and
+rubies. Over this garment he wore a mantle of dark yellow cloth, which
+was very artistically woven, and cost about ten thousand dollars. Most
+of the native nobles distinguished themselves by a stately, military
+bearing, looking both handsome and intelligent. Some of them were very
+dark, but most had about the same complexion as the Spaniards. Jet black
+hair and black, flashing eyes were universal, only a single one having
+dark red hair and beard.</p>
+
+<p>When all had been seated the governor, accompanied by two adjutants and
+several servants, arrived. A guard of honor, consisting of one hundred
+Sepoys, was stationed in front of the tent, and saluted the governor by
+presenting arms, during which the military band played an English
+national tune. Eight huge elephants were arranged in a row between the
+road and the tent; these were covered by rich caparisons adorned with
+heavy gold and silver embroideries, and carrying on their backs small
+pavilions in which richly dressed drivers walked a few steps back and
+forth. At the door of the tent the governor was received by eight
+artistically uniformed aids-de-camp carrying marshal&rsquo;s staffs, silver
+horns, lances and perfumes.</p>
+
+<p>The act of installation was now in order, and was performed in the
+following manner: The maharajah stepped up before the governor and
+received from his hand a parchment roll, by which the queen conferred
+authority. Having read this in a loud and solemn voice, the governor
+hung a chain of diamonds and rubies around the neck of the<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_192" id="Page_192">- 192 -</a></span> prince, and made a short
+congratulatory address to him. The minister of finance brought a silver
+basin filled with Indian gold coins, which he handed to the governor as
+an emblem of tribute to the English government. The prince now resumed
+his seat, and two chamberlains brought gold vessels on silver trays
+containing attar of roses, and two others brought spices in similar
+receptacles. The attar of roses was sprinkled over the audience, and
+each one of the native guests received a small quantity of spices
+wrapped in a palm leaf. Finally the band struck up a march, and the
+whole retinue returned to the carriages by the road side and drove back
+to the palace. One of the carriages of the procession was loaded with
+silver coins, which were thrown right and left to the thousands of poor
+and beggars, who crowded the road on both sides. In the evening, again,
+provisions and clothing were distributed to about fifteen thousand poor,
+who had flocked in from all parts of Burdwan, but who had not been
+allowed to enter the city.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">- 193 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a><a href="#TOC_19">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XIX.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Allahabad&mdash;Sacred Places&mdash;Kumbh
+Mela&mdash;Pilgrimages&mdash;Bathing in the Ganges&mdash;Fakirs and
+Penitents&mdash;Sacred Rites&mdash;Superstitions.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>Allahabad means the dwelling of God, and the Hindoos regard it as one of
+the most sacred places of India. It is a city of one hundred and fifty
+thousand inhabitants, and has a strong fortress with an English
+garrison. It is the seat of the government of the north-western
+provinces, and is situated on a point of land between the rivers Ganges
+and Jumna, on the great Indian railroad, about five hundred and
+sixty-five miles from Calcutta, and about the same distance from the Bay
+of Persia.</p>
+
+<p>In a tropical climate where rain seldom falls during nine months of the
+year, it is quite natural that the people regard streams and rivers as
+their greatest benefactors, and by means of the vivid imagination of the
+South this sentiment has occasionally been developed into religious
+worship and idolatry. In this manner the great Ganges, which flows
+nearly through the entire length of India, has, since time immemorial,
+been regarded as sacred, as have also all places where three rivers
+meet. At Allahabad the Jumna meets the sacred Ganges, thus affording two
+of the necessary conditions to make the place sacred, and it was easy
+for the fertile imagination of the Brahmins to create the third, which
+is said to consist in a spiritual current from above, pouring down
+continually at the point where the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">- 194 -</a></span> Jumna and the Ganges meet
+and mingle. It is claimed that this invisible river is very abundant,
+especially in the month of Magh, from the middle of January to the
+middle of February, but the most favorable period in this respect is
+under the <span title=" astromical " class="hoverbox">astronomical</span> cycle Yuga, which occurs every twelfth year in
+the month of Magh, and is called &ldquo;Kumbh.&rdquo; This occurred in
+1882, which was therefore a very important year for the Hindoos.</p>
+
+<p>To bathe in the Ganges always means a spiritual purification, and to
+bathe there where the three rivers meet at Allahabad in the month of
+Magh is a very sacred rite. Every good Hindoo endeavors, if possible, to
+bathe at this place at least once during his lifetime; but to bathe
+there during the Kumbh Mela, or the twelfth year&rsquo;s cycle, is the most
+sacred act a Hindoo can perform, and such a bath is said to atone for
+the greatest sins both of the bather and his nearest relatives, be they
+living or dead. Out of the immense population of India, one hundred and
+ninety millions profess the above faith. Being a very religious people
+in their way, and testifying to their faith by their works, it is no
+great wonder that Allahabad in the course of four weeks was visited by
+nearly two million pilgrims, who came there only for the purpose of
+bathing in the sacred river. Partly from curiosity and partly in order
+to obtain reliable information, I also made a short pilgrimage to this
+place.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image033.jpg" width="620" height="393" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">INDIAN CART.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>I said that nearly two million people visited Allahabad during the Kumbh
+Mela, which I attended. They came from all parts of India, men and
+women, young and old, but especially the old, of all classes from the
+beggar to the prince, of all castes from the despised coolie to the
+haughty Brahmin. They came on crowded railroad trains, or on elephants,
+camels, horses, asses, in ox-carts and in boats on the rivers, but most
+of them on foot along roads and pathways, across fields and meadows, the
+living ones carrying the ashes of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">- 195 -</a></span> the cremated bodies of their
+dead relatives to throw them in the holy river. Many of them had
+traveled great distances and been on the journey for months. Old men who
+did not expect to return to their homes, but were in hopes of finding a
+grave in the sacred waters, and had said good-bye to everything which
+bound them to life; cripples and invalids expecting to be cured on the
+banks of the Ganges, congregated in large numbers at this sacred place.
+Fanatical penitents came crawling on hands and feet; holy Fakirs had
+measured the way by the length of their own bodies for scores of miles.
+The penitent Fakir who travels in this manner lies down on the ground
+with his head toward the place of destination, makes a mark in the
+ground in front of his head, and crawls forward the length of his body
+and lies down again with the feet where he had his head before; a new
+mark, another movement ahead, etc., and so he keeps on, one length of
+his body at a time, until he reaches the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">- 196 -</a></span> holy river. During
+this journey the Fakir is surrounded and followed by a large
+concourse of people who furnish him with food and drink, and regard
+him as a saint. There are instances of men having traveled over five
+hundred miles in this manner. Every day and hour the crowd was
+increased by new arrivals, until the river banks, the fields and
+roads swarmed with countless masses,&mdash;a most wonderful
+gathering. Thousands of Brahmins offered their services to guide and
+bless the pilgrims, most always for a valuable consideration;
+thousands of peddlers sold small idols, flower wreaths, rosaries, and
+other sacred objects at high prices; others peddled rice, fruit, thin
+bread and other provisions, and thousands of barbers cut the hair and
+shaved the temples of the pilgrims. There, in the shade of some mango
+trees a Hindoo prince had gone into camp with his elephants, horses,
+soldiers and servants, the retinue consisting of about two hundred
+people; and yonder in the shadeless valley is a camp of a thousand or
+more Fakirs huddled together. Many are entirely naked, others are
+protected by a few<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">- 197 -</a></span> yards of dirty cotton cloth, most of them
+sprinkled with ashes or dry clay, their faces streaked in gray, red
+or yellow colors, and the hair done up in the shape of a chignon and
+held together with wet clay; but although presenting a picture of
+dire want in their persons they have in the camp a large herd of
+costly elephants richly adorned with covers of satin and velvet <span
+title=" embroideried " class="hoverbox">embroidered</span> in gold, silver,
+precious stones and gems, proving that their begging has not been in
+vain.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image034.jpg" width="620" height="356" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">FAKIRS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>On the river bank is the headquarters of the pilgrims from one of the
+Southern provinces, and over yonder that of those from the North or
+East. Everywhere is heard the noise of trading and bargaining, of
+greeting and ecstacy, of laughter and astonishment, and of the moaning
+and cries of the sick and suffering&mdash;indeed a regular pandemonium.</p>
+
+<p>The February sun already shone scorchingly hot upon the low, shadeless
+valley, the thermometer rising to 90&deg;. In the night, however, it was
+unusually cold for that country, and most of the pilgrims being poor and
+their clothing and food wretched, dangerous diseases began to break out
+among the weak and exhausted. The terrible cholera claimed numerous
+victims every day, many died from weakness and negligence, others again
+perished through accidents on land and water, for nobody seemed to be
+very particular about human life, since death just there was considered
+so very desirable. Along the shores of the river flickered hundreds of
+fires, at which the remains of the dead are burned to ashes and
+scattered into the river by the officiating Brahmins, to the infinite
+edification of the relatives of the dead.</p>
+
+<p>The Hindoos are a very peaceful and loyal people, and willingly submit
+to order and discipline. Thus designated groups were conducted to the
+water at certain times and places, which was highly necessary, as
+otherwise the strong would have trampled down and crushed the weak.</p>
+
+<p>The first ceremony consists in shaving the head, or at<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_198" id="Page_198">- 198 -</a></span> least the front part of it; the
+hair which is cut off ought to be offered to the Ganges, but the barber
+smuggles most of it out of the way, to be sold in more civilized
+countries. From the barber the pilgrim is turned over to the care of the
+Brahmin, who leads him down into the river, under the following
+ceremonies: The Brahmin repeats a Sanscrit formula which is called
+&ldquo;Sankalpa,&rdquo; and which states that &ldquo;the pilgrim N. N.
+on the day X. of the month Y., and in the year Z., takes his bath in the
+sacred water for the purpose and intention of cleansing himself from all
+sins and frailties,&rdquo; after which the pilgrim immerses himself
+several times under the water and rinses his mouth with a handful of it,
+after a few minutes returning to the shore where he is at once
+surrounded by peddlers who offer him flowers, milk and lean cows or
+goats for sale at an exorbitant price. He always buys the flowers and
+the milk and offers them to the river, and, if he has sufficient money,
+he buys a cow or a goat and offers it to the Brahmin; but if his means
+are too limited the latter must be content with the few coins the
+pilgrim can spare. Most of them, however, have brought a handsome
+offering to the Brahmin, because they regard the duty toward him just as
+important as the duty toward the river god.</p>
+
+<p>Then follows the &ldquo;Shiadda&rdquo; ceremony, consisting of an
+offering of cake, sugar, plums and dainties to the ghosts of their
+deceased relatives; next a banquet is spread before the Brahmins, the
+sacred places of the vicinity are visited, offerings are made at most of
+these, and a present called &ldquo;vidagi&rdquo; is made to the Brahmin
+who has attended to the spiritual wants of the giver.</p>
+
+<p>And now the object of the long and arduous journey is accomplished, the
+pilgrimage, &ldquo;tisthayatra,&rdquo; is successfully performed, and
+the cleansed sinner stands ready to begin a new record of sin. He has
+been plundered of his last penny,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">- 199 -</a></span> and, if he succeeds in
+reaching his distant home, his neighbors and friends will look up to him
+as an exceptionally happy being, and his own soul is filled with the
+hope of temporal and eternal bliss.</p>
+
+<p>Those who have reaped the pecuniary benefits of the pilgrimage are the
+Brahmins and Fakirs, the former through offerings and the latter through
+begging. They have filled their coffers and collected large herds of
+cattle, and now they can lead a gay and happy life until the next Mela,
+when they will again try to fan the dying embers of enthusiasm into a
+flame by sending emissaries all over India for the purpose of convincing
+the credulous populace that it is greatly to be feared that the Ganges
+will soon lose its power of salvation, and that therefore as many as
+possible ought to come next time, which may be the last chance.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">- 200 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a><a href="#TOC_20">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XX.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Benares, the Holy City of the Hindoos&mdash;Its Temples and
+Worshipers&mdash;The Sacred Monkeys.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>Returning from Allahabad I visited Benares, the holy city of India and
+the centre of Hindooism or Brahminism, its religion, art and literature.
+It is situated on an elevation on the east bank of the Ganges about four
+hundred and seventy-six miles from Calcutta. Benares is to the Hindoos
+what Jerusalem was to the Jews, Rome to the medi&aelig;val Christians,
+and what Mecca is to the Mohammedans, and it is visited by thousands of
+pilgrims and penitents every year. The learned men or Pundits of India
+have their academies and gatherings there, and many of its princes and
+nobles have their costly palaces in which they usually spend a few weeks
+every year.</p>
+
+<p>The whole city seems abandoned to sacrificing priests and idolatry in
+its most disgusting forms. There are one thousand four hundred temples
+for idols, and nearly three hundred mosques, besides <span title=" hundred " class="hoverbox">hundreds</span> of
+shrines, holy graves, wells, trees and other objects of Hindoo worship.
+Benares is a very old city; great and renowned when Babylon and Nineveh
+were competing with each other; when Tyre sent out her colonists; when
+Athens was in her infancy; before Rome existed, and long before
+Nebuchadnezzar had carried the Israelites into captivity.</p>
+
+<p>We are accustomed to look at hoary ruins with reverent<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_201" id="Page_201">- 201 -</a></span> interest, and it is no wonder
+that the first sight of the historical monuments of Benares made a
+profound impression on my mind. I felt almost as if transported to a
+time far back in the misty past, and found it difficult to realize that
+I walked the same streets, lanes and market places where the Babylonian
+heralds of war and the ambassadors of Alexander the Great were received
+by the same people whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">- 202 -</a></span> descendants still inhabit the same
+city, and have retained the same civilization and the same institutions
+through all the intervening centuries.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 388px;">
+<img src="images/image035.jpg" width="388" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">HINDOO TEMPLES.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The sun cast its last rays over the memorable city when I had the
+pleasure of seeing it for the first time. At a distance of two miles I
+could see the palaces and temples with their domes, cupolas, and
+minarets merged into a confused mass, and on the summit of the hill
+towered the renowned mosque of Emperor Arungzebes with two minarets, the
+spires of which rise two hundred and fifty feet above the level of the
+Ganges. It was a beautiful oriental picture, the most beautiful I had
+yet seen.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning at sunrise a Mohammedan dragoman or interpreter took me
+down the river in a boat, and in the course of an hour we passed,
+according to the estimate of the interpreter, over twenty thousand
+bathing Hindoos. Every two miles are built ghats, or broad flights of
+steps down to river, some of these being eighty feet high. Along the
+edge of the water Brahmins are squatting about twenty feet apart under
+large sun shades made of palm leaves in the form of an umbrella. These
+Brahmins have a certain inherited right to these little spots where they
+have thus raised their sun shades for the purpose of collecting an
+offering from every bather. Men and women bathe side by side. They all
+go into the water in their thin cotton suits, and everything is
+conducted with order and decorum.</p>
+
+<p>After the bath flowers are offered to the river, and oils and fruits to
+the Brahmin.</p>
+
+<p>A short distance above the edge of the water is an open place for the
+cremation of the bodies of the dead, and on the river close by are
+scores of boats and barges loaded with wood which is cut into small
+sticks and is used for the funeral-pyres. We stopped a few minutes here
+while three corpses were brought on biers. They were covered by a<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_203" id="Page_203">- 203 -</a></span> white cloth with a red dye-stuff
+scattered over the chest. The body was first immersed in the river and
+then placed on its pyre, which was kindled by the nearest relative of
+the deceased. After the cremation the ashes were scattered on the river
+by the Brahmin, who, of course, charged a round sum for these highly
+important services.</p>
+
+<p>We next went up the high steps and visited several temples and other
+objects of interest of which I shall give a brief description.</p>
+
+<p>The Hindoo temples are not so large as our churches, but only from
+fifteen to forty feet square, and their style of architecture is
+frequently very pleasing to the eye. They contain no seats or pulpits,
+and the ceremonies consist exclusively of offerings, prayers, and signs.
+People come and go incessantly, there is no silence or devotion, but all
+is noise and turmoil. The Brahmins glide quietly around everywhere and
+watch closely so that no one escapes until he or she has parted with as
+much loose change as possible, and it frequently happens that the
+Brahmin and the worshiper get into a loud quarrel about the fee which
+the latter is to pay for the benediction.</p>
+
+<p>We ascended an eight-foot-wide street paved with large flag stones,
+which were crowded with endless rows of people coming out or going into
+the temples on either side. To some of these a few steps led downward,
+to others upward.</p>
+
+<p>In some of the nooks and niches formed by the outer walls of the temple
+sat peddlers selling ornaments, flowers, fruit, boiled rice, popcorn,
+confectioneries, and small idols, of stone, porcelain, or metal.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 265px;">
+<img src="images/image036.jpg" width="265" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">DYING BRAHMIN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="nowrap">We stepped into</span> the so-called golden temple, dedicated to Bishashar, or
+Shiva, the most prominent deity of Benares. Like most of the temples it
+is built of brick, and has a gray coat of plastering on the outside. It
+has three domes which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">- 204 -</a></span> are covered with colored metal, and the
+interior is divided into three rooms, in each of which is a stone image
+representing the creative principle. The worshipers throw rice and
+flowers at these images, and officiating Brahmins continually pour over
+them water from the Ganges. Within a separate inclosure is a sacred well
+called &ldquo;Gyan-Bapi,&rdquo; or the well of knowledge, into which the
+rice and the flowers from the images are washed by a continual stream of
+water. Out of this well rises an intolerable stench from the putrefying
+mass which poisons the air in and around the temple, for it is not
+permitted to take these offerings out of the well. Around the well is a
+colonnade of small beautiful pillars, back of which, on the east side,
+is a seven-foot-high stone statue of a bull consecrated to the god of
+Mahadeva.</p>
+
+<p>Another temple is divided into stalls which contain well-fed sacred
+animals, such as bulls, cows, goats and birds, all of which are objects
+of worship of the faithful. This temple was kept more clean than the
+former, but the bellowing of the animals and the jostling and crowding
+of the worshipers made the visit to those deities intolerable.</p>
+
+<p>One of the finest temples in Benares is called &ldquo;Durga Kund,&rdquo;
+and is devoted to the goddess Durga. It is a large<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">- 205 -</a></span> and
+beautiful pyramidal structure with a number of towers and steeples of
+different sizes, and the whole building is adorned with fine works of
+sculpture, representing the sacred animals of Hindoo mythology. Inside
+the temple, facing a wide entrance, stands a large stone statue of Durga
+with the face of an ape, and in front of this is a well into which the
+faithful throw flowers. But the most interesting feature about this
+temple is the great number of monkeys which are kept there. A large,
+square court surrounds the temple, and in this as well as on the steps,
+floors, pillars, roof and walls, inside and outside of the temple itself
+and in the neighboring houses, in the trees, on the streets, in the
+gardens, in short, wherever they can find a footing, there are thousands
+of gray, yellow, black, white and brown monkeys, with all possible
+monkey physiognomies and monkey natures, sitting, lying, jumping,
+hanging and climbing. They are considered sacred and must not be killed,
+consequently they are increasing so fast that if no interdicts are
+fulminated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">- 206 -</a></span> against them they will soon become the ruling
+element in Benares. And so assiduously is this temple visited by
+well-to-do and generous worshipers that both the Brahmins and the
+monkeys live in affluence and luxury. Incredible as it may seem, I have
+myself seen one crowd of people after another enter this temple and
+prostrate themselves in worshiping the living monkeys as well as the
+ape-faced stone image, and then return home rejoicing because the
+Brahmins have assured them that their worship and offerings have opened
+for them the gates of heaven.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;"><br />
+<img src="images/image037.jpg" width="620" height="381" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MONKEY TEMPLE IN BENARES.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In some temples domestic animals are sacrificed by the servants of the
+priests, the blood and the meat being distributed among the priests, the
+intestines and other offal among the poor. In others, butter, oils,
+sweetmeats and rice are offered by first giving the idols a taste in the
+same manner as our children feed their dolls, whereupon the rest is
+consumed by the priests and the people. In several temples are Fakirs or
+saints sitting in unnatural positions with lean limbs and vacant looks,
+and these are also objects of the worship and offerings of the people.
+In other temples are even lewd women, who, by their dancing and singing,
+act as mediators between the people and their angry gods.</p>
+
+<p>As far as these descriptions go, they may be applied to all temples and
+ceremonies, and the chief and absolute universal feature is the question
+of money and other offerings to the Brahmins. All the temples are
+surrounded with beggars who are as importunate as the Brahmins
+themselves, and the whole of it makes the European wish to get away from
+the sacred places of the Orient as soon as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Man Modir, is the name of a remarkable astronomical observatory which
+towers above the temples on the Ganges, close to the place where the
+dead bodies are cremated. It was built two hundred years ago by the
+emperor, Jai Sing, and still remains in well-preserved condition as an
+evidence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">- 207 -</a></span> of the deep astronomical knowledge of the Hindoos at
+that period. It is a large stone building with a flat roof, on which are
+constructed astronomical instruments and figures of brick and mortar of
+gigantic proportions. As examples I shall mention a quadrant which is
+eleven feet high and nine feet wide in the direction of the meridian,
+and is made for calculating the altitude of the sun, and another
+instrument, thirty-six feet long and four and one-half feet high which
+is used in calculating the altitude and distance of a planet or a star
+from the meridian.</p>
+
+<p>Descending from the observatory my attention was called to a large crowd
+of people on a knoll near the river bank. Going over there I found what
+might be called a religious circus attended by thousands of people, in
+the midst of which was a group of Fakirs. Most of them were squatting
+with crossed legs, one arm extended toward the river, and the eyes fixed
+on a certain spot in the water or on the sky. One was squatting on a
+plank through which long sharp nails were driven with their points
+projecting upward over an inch. I counted eight such nails about an inch
+long under each foot. The nails had not caused bleeding wounds, but
+simply made deep indentures in the flesh which must have been very
+painful, at least in the beginning. One Fakir had suspended himself on
+an eight-foot-tall cross, with the head downward, by tieing one of his
+feet to the top of the cross by a cord. Formerly they used to suspend
+themselves by a big iron hook penetrating their muscles, thus swinging
+their bodies back and forth for hours; but this practice is now
+prohibited by the English government. An acrobatic Fakir was turning
+sommersets on a grass mat, and was considered very holy because he could
+twist his limbs as if they had been without bones. Another carried an
+iron cage which was forged around his neck, and which he had carried
+thus for years in order to mortify his flesh. A loathsome dwarf,<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_208" id="Page_208">- 208 -</a></span> kept in an iron cage, was
+blessing the admiring crowd, several dancing girls gave animation to the
+scene by singing and dancing, some Brahmins were exhibiting a sacred
+bull, others sacred monkeys, and liberal offerings were made everywhere
+by the enraptured pilgrims. Such are the religious ceremonies in the
+sacred city of India.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 377px;">
+<img src="images/image038.jpg" width="377" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">FAKIR WITH IRON CAGE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>During my stay in Benares I visited one of the most remarkable<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_209" id="Page_209">- 209 -</a></span> ruins in the world, situated six
+miles from the sacred city. It is the remnants of two large and tall
+towers built of brick and cut stone, about three thousand years ago.
+These towers were closely connected with the history of Buddha, one of
+them, according to tradition, being his dwelling and the other his place
+of worship. This was formerly the site of a great city, called Sarnath.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 349px;">
+<img src="images/image039.jpg" width="349" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">TOWER OF SARNATH.</span>
+</div>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">- 210 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a><a href="#TOC_21">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XXI.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div><p class="center smfont">Nimtoolaghat&mdash;Cremation in India&mdash;Parsee Funeral Rites.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>India is the only country in the world where the civilization of the
+East and that of the West are found side by side with equal rights and
+equal chances of a free and full development. For, although the English
+have conquered, and at present rule the country, they have respected the
+peculiar customs and manners of the Hindoos, and guaranteed them liberty
+to practice the same and to develop their social and religious
+institutions in so far as they do not conflict with the generally
+<span title=" acknoweldged " class="hoverbox">acknowledged</span> principles of humanity.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly in Calcutta and other cities in India we frequently find a
+stately Christian church side by side with a Hindoo temple with its
+officiating priests. On one side of the street we may see a fine
+European residence filled with guests around the dinner-table, eating,
+chatting, and toasting just as at home, and on the other a Hindoo villa,
+where turbaned Brahmins, in a squatting posture, eat their rice or smoke
+their hokah, while extolling the merits of their juggernaut. At popular
+meetings and f&ecirc;tes European lords, bishops, officials, and ladies
+are often seen engaged in a friendly conversation with Hindoo princes,
+or learned pundits, Mohammedan warriors, Persian, Armenian or Jewish
+merchants. On the streets and promenades the European carriage and the
+Hindoo palanquin are seen side by side; in Calcutta there are scores of
+high schools and academies on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">- 211 -</a></span> the European plan, and close to
+these again others where young students in oriental costumes and
+turbaned heads, squat before a half-naked Brahmin, seeking wisdom and
+knowledge from the works of the Vedas or Shastras.</p>
+
+<p>It is therefore not surprising that in the very harbor where American
+and European flags are waving from hundreds of mast-heads lies
+Nimtoolaghat, a Hindoo place of cremation, from which the whole day long
+dense clouds of smoke arise, scattering the vapors of burning human
+bodies. It is a large brick building which is divided into two
+apartments by a brick wall. The apartment which is next to the street is
+covered by a roof, but the one next to the harbor is open at the top.
+The floor is made of clay, excepting the spots under the funeral pyres,
+where it consists of large flagstones. I have often stood at this place,
+and it always seemed to me that our cemeteries with their
+monuments,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">- 212 -</a></span> grass plots, trees, and flowers are dear places
+which, to some extent, reconcile man to stern death, while here
+everything seemed dead and hopeless. I will describe for the reader what
+I saw at one of my visits to this place of desolation. On the flagstones
+in the roofless apartment were six separate pyres, two of which were
+already reduced to ashes when I entered, two others were about half
+consumed by the fire, only a few bones being visible among the
+fire-brands; but on each of the other two was a naked corpse, the
+outside of which was scorched by the flames, while blood and water were
+slowly oozing out of mouth and nostrils, while the burning flesh hissed
+and sputtered where the heat was most intense, so that the whole
+presented a shocking sight. A score of half-naked Brahmins were busy
+around the pyres muttering prayers and making signs over the dead, while
+the nearest relatives walked around the corpses uttering cries of
+lamentation. Particularly violent was the grief of a young woman whose
+mother had just been laid upon the pyre, deep sorrow and heart-rending
+lamentations testifying to the love she had borne the deceased.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image040.jpg" width="620" height="401" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">NIMTOOLAGHAT&mdash;PLACE OF CREMATION.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Now the fine-split wood is piled up into a new pyre about six feet long,
+two feet wide, and two and one-half feet high, and four men bring the
+corpse of a man on a bier. It is covered with a white sheet, which is
+taken away, so as to leave only a small piece of cloth covering the
+corpse. This is the body of a Fakir, a stately man with fine features,
+and past the prime of life. As soon as the body is placed on the pyre,
+two Brahmins pile fine-split wood around and over it so that only the
+face is visible. Then comes the eldest son of the deceased and rubbing
+the face with fresh butter lays several lumps of it on the pyre. He then
+walks three times around the corpse and lights with a fire-brand a whisk
+of straw in his father&rsquo;s pyre. The fire spreads rapidly through<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_213" id="Page_213">- 213 -</a></span> the dry wood. The melting butter
+flows through it, the flames roar and crackle, and the dead body makes
+writhing muscular motions under the influence of the fire, the skin
+bursting open in several places, and a thin fluid trickling out which
+adds fuel to the flames. The face shrinks and vanishes under our eyes,
+an unpleasant smell of burnt flesh permeates the air, and in a little
+while all is over, and the Brahmins gather the ashes and scatter them on
+the waters of the sacred Ganges.</p>
+
+<p>Who can wonder that a stranger, witnessing such a ceremony, experiences
+in his own breast questions and surmises such as these: Is this, then,
+all? Where is the Fakir who mortified his body by all kinds of torture,
+who struggled and suffered in order to become acceptable to the gods?
+Was there nothing more than that shell, consumed before our eyes? Is the
+man who spent half of his life-time gazing into the boundless realm of
+space and yearning and longing for the unknown, the infinite, no longer
+in existence? Was his longing only a mockery, or was it a foreshadowing
+of that which is to come? What would life be if all terminated in the
+pyre or in the grave? To what purpose, then, all noble endeavors, whose
+aim and object only relate to the uncertain future? The deepest
+premonitions of the human soul, and the most beautiful hopes of the
+heart, how far are these from the thought that all our feelings, our
+loftiest ambitions,&mdash;in one word the best part of our
+being,&mdash;can be annihilated in a crematory! The Fakir whose body was
+now reduced to ashes had lived in the faith of his immortality, had
+worshiped the deities of his people, because he knew no better, but was
+he on that account less welcome in the everlasting mansions?</p>
+
+<p>Formerly the wife was burned alive on the pyre of her husband, but this
+practice has been abolished by the English<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">- 214 -</a></span> government, although
+it is still said to be adhered to secretly in the interior of the
+country. That woman is considered very fortunate who can enjoy the
+privilege of &ldquo;sati,&rdquo; that is, be burned alive on the funeral
+pyre of her husband, for thereby she secures unquestionable happiness in
+the next world. So strongly can religious enthusiasm, even in our days,
+influence a sensible and civilized people. We generally suppose
+cremation in India to be an imposing ceremony, such as a great pyre,
+intense heat, which keeps a devout congregation at a proper distance,
+etc. Such is not the case, however; for, leaving out the mourning
+relatives, it may better be compared with the hilarious soldiers around
+the camp-fire roasting the booty of a nightly raid,&mdash;a shote or a
+quarter of beef.</p>
+
+<p>An entirely different mode of burial is used among the Parsees, who are
+descendants of the ancient Persians, and live in the western part of
+India where they were driven from Iran by the Mohammedans. They profess
+the religion of Zoroaster and are fire-worshipers. They regard the
+earth, air, water and fire as sacred objects, but a corpse, on the
+contrary, as something unclean, and therefore they would not pollute the
+fire by burning the dead, nor soil the earth or the sea by burying them.
+In place of this they expose the dead bodies in the open air to be
+devoured by birds of prey. For this purpose are erected towers of stone,
+on the top of which are iron grates to put the bodies on. In one of the
+<span title=" surburbs " class="hoverbox">suburbs</span> of Bombay are three such towers on Malabar hill. They are called
+&ldquo;The Towers of Silence.&rdquo; Each of them has only one entrance,
+and they are about twenty feet high. Large flocks of ravens and vultures
+surround them sitting on branches of the palm trees in the vicinity. As
+soon as a corpse is exposed there is a fierce rush for it, and within an
+hour the birds have consumed everything except, of course,<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_215" id="Page_215">- 215 -</a></span> the bones, which drop down into a
+vault under the tower, or are thrown there by means of tongs held by
+gloved servants, who afterward clean themselves by bathing and change of
+clothing.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image041.jpg" width="200" height="43" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">- 216 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a><a href="#TOC_22">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XXII.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Heathenism and Christianity&mdash;The Religion of the
+Hindoos&mdash;Caste&mdash;The Brahmins&mdash;Their
+Tyranny&mdash;Superstition&mdash;The Influence of
+Christianity&mdash;Keshub-Chunder-Sen, the Indian Reformer&mdash;His
+faith and Influence.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>Having given a sketch of the divine worship, religious rites and
+sacrificial feasts of the Hindoos, I shall now call the attention of the
+reader to a brief description of their religion and spiritual culture in
+general.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;In the hoary past India had mighty religious leaders and authors
+who laid claim to divine authority. Religious systems were announced,
+and voluminous, erudite verses were published for the guidance of the
+people, or rather the Brahmins or priests, which writings are still the
+Bibles of the Hindoos. The most important of these books are called
+&lsquo;Vedas,&rsquo; &lsquo;Shastras,&rsquo; and &lsquo;Puranas.&rsquo;
+The lively imagination of the authors and the religious enthusiasm of
+the people were not content with a few deities, therefore their number
+has been increased from time to time, until they now amount to
+thirty-three million gods and goddesses. The most important of the
+former are Brahma, Visnu and Shiva, and of the latter Durga, Lakshmi and
+Saraswati. The former are worshiped as the creating, preserving and
+destroying powers, and from these three all the others have originated;
+at first considered as representatives of certain attributes and
+principals of the three chief deities, but later<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">- 217 -</a></span> as
+independent, individual deities. Many of these gods are represented by
+images and pictures, which originally the whole people, but at present
+only the learned, regard merely as representations of certain divine
+principals and attributes. Later on these were put in the place of the
+things which they represented, so that the stone image, the river, the
+tree, or the animal is regarded as the god himself by the ignorant
+multitude.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;According to the Hindoo doctrine of creation the earth rests on
+the back of a tortoise, and the human race was originally created
+members of four different classes or castes. Thus the class or caste
+distinction of India is closely incorporated with its religion, and
+shows that the priests have been very shrewd in founding a religious
+system which secured for themselves not only salvation after death, but,
+above all, an abundance of the good things of this world. Brahma was
+from the beginning, and from him emanated Vishnu and Shiva. Thereafter
+Brahma created first water, then the earth, then from out of his head a
+man who was the <i>Brahmin</i>, and became the chief of the caste of priests,
+or the highest class. After this he let a <i>Kshatriya</i> issue from out of
+his arms, a <i>Vaisya</i> from his loins and a <i>Sudra</i> from his feet, and
+which became respectively the progenitors of the three other castes, the
+warriors, the craftsmen and merchants, and the common laborers. These
+castes have gradually been divided into many subdivisions, but the four
+principal ones still remain with all their rigid distinctions. Through
+certain misdemeanors, which may be very insignificant, a person
+belonging to a higher may be <span title=" degraged " class="hoverbox">degraded</span> to a lower caste, but one of a
+lower caste can never rise to a higher, not even by the most meritorious
+achievements.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Of all the cruel chains by which tyrants have fettered men, none has
+been a more formidable enemy of liberty or a greater impediment to human
+progress than this dreadful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">- 218 -</a></span> system of caste. It has stifled all
+noble efforts, all brotherly love and humane feelings; it has plunged
+the people into superstition, indifference and ignorance; it has doomed
+ninety-nine hundredths of the myriads of India to the most cruel
+slavery, in body and in soul; it has placed locks and fetters on the
+human mind and branded the infant in its mother&rsquo;s womb to infamy and
+execration; and, the worst of all, it has stifled all incentive to
+progress and development. It has smothered many noble feelings, and
+taught men to hate and despise each other; and so strong is the class
+distinction of this system that a good Hindoo of our day would a
+thousand times rather die of thirst or hunger than take a glass of water
+or a piece of bread from a person of a lower caste. Like other evils it
+has also been a curse to its authors, the Brahmins themselves, by
+lulling the great majority of them into ignorance and indifference. For
+why should they take the trouble to study or work when the whole world
+with its joys, pleasures and honors is open to them anyway? Space does
+not allow discussing this matter more fully, hence I will simply cite
+some of the doctrines which the Brahmins claim to have found in the
+divine books, and which the people still regard as sacred:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Whoever disturbs a Brahmin during his religious contemplations
+shall lose his life; if a person of a lower caste sits down on the mat
+of a Brahmin, his back shall be burned with red-hot irons; if he touches
+the hair, beard or neck of a Brahmin, the judge shall order both his
+hands to be cut off; if he listens to evil reports about the Brahmins,
+molten lead shall be poured into his ears; if he does not arise when a
+Brahmin approaches, he will be changed into a tree after death; if he
+casts an angry look at a Brahmin the god Yama shall pluck out his eyes.
+The Shastras teach that a gift to a Brahmin is of incalculable value to
+the giver. Whoever gives a Brahmin a cow shall gain a million years of
+bliss in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">- 219 -</a></span> heaven, and whoever wishes success in anything must
+f&ecirc;te the Brahmins and wash their feet. Whoever bequeathes land or
+other valuable property to the Brahmins on his death-bed immediately
+receives forgiveness of sins and the greatest bliss in heaven. To drink
+the water in which a Brahmin has washed his feet and to lick the dust
+from under a Brahmin&rsquo;s feet are works of great merit for the life which
+is to come. No one but a Brahmin is allowed to give religious
+instruction, and all offerings to the gods must be brought to the
+Brahmin, because no ceremony will avail anything unless it is
+accompanied by an offering to them. Therefore a multitude of
+ceremonies have been introduced by the Brahmins in order that their
+coffers may be well filled. I will name a few of those ceremonies which
+relate to everybody&rsquo;s life and death, and which cannot, therefore, be
+neglected.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As soon as a mother knows she has conceived, a Brahmin must be sent for
+to read certain formulas; when the child is born a Brahmin must be
+called for the same purpose, also when it is a week, six months, two
+years and eight years old, and again when the young people are to be
+married; in all cases of sickness, at the death-bed, at the cremation of
+the body, and every month the first year after a person&rsquo;s death; and at
+each one of these visits the Brahmin is entitled to money or other
+gifts. Also if a family is subject to any misfortune the Brahmin must be
+called to conjure the evil powers; if a bird of prey alights on the
+roof, the owner of the house must call a Brahmin to purify the house by
+his blessing; when he moves into a new house the Brahmin must bless it
+beforehand; when a man dies on an <i>unlucky day</i> his son must pay the
+Brahmin money to ward off a similar calamity from him; when a well is
+dug a Brahmin must bless it before its water can be used; during
+eclipses of the sun and the moon everybody sends gifts to the Brahmins;
+at every change of the moon the Brahmin is entitled to gifts as<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_220" id="Page_220">- 220 -</a></span> well as on forty regular holidays
+every year; during small-pox or cholera ravages he is called to ward off
+the plague; the farmer cannot reap his grain, the fisherman cannot go to
+sea, the merchant cannot make a bargain unless he has bought the
+blessing of the Brahmin and paid for the same.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>And still the Hindoos possess a high culture, and their civilization is
+one of the oldest in the world. They are endowed with a strong religious
+feeling. They are profound, peaceful, diligent, economical and law
+abiding; many of them have become distinguished in learning, art and
+science; they have been the teachers of the philosophers and scholars of
+other nations, and for thousands of years they have pondered deeply on
+questions pertaining to the human soul, immortality and the life to
+come, and endeavored to satisfy their craving and yearning for a closer
+union with the infinite by a devotion and self sacrifices which can well
+be compared with the sufferings of the Christian martyrs. Accordingly if
+any people could attain a higher development and a happy condition by
+other means than the influence of the Christian religion, that people
+ought to be the Hindoos. Yet, after all their struggles, we now find
+them on a lower level than they were thousands of years ago. What a
+picture! All these millions of civilized, peaceful, diligent, sensible
+people bend their knees before thirty-three millions of disgusting
+images and pictures, and among all this people, in all their thirty
+thousand cities there was not a hospital for the sick, not an asylum for
+the blind or deaf, not a home for lepers or insane, not one voice saying
+to the lowly and the poor: &ldquo;Thou art my brother.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Then came Buddha, the great reformer, preaching the religion of self
+denial and human love. The old petrified social fabric and religion were
+shaken to their foundation, and the system of caste was on the verge of
+dissolution. Under the first wave of enthusiasm caused by the teachings
+of Buddha,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">- 221 -</a></span> hospitals for the sick and asylums for the poor were
+established. Every fifth year the Buddhistic kings gave away their
+riches, not only to the monks but also to the poor, to the orphans and
+outcasts, and even asylums for sick animals were established. But
+Brahminism soon avenged itself by bloody wars, Buddhism was to a large
+extent driven out of India, and gradually its noble principles were
+forgotten. Nearly the same condition as that which prevailed before the
+Buddhistic reformation again prevailed, until the Christian civilization
+quite recently began to make itself felt through the practical measures
+introduced by the English government. Woman without liberty, without
+human worth, and almost without virtue; the countless many oppressed and
+despised by the privileged few, and not even allowed to read a religious
+book at the risk of eternal damnation; one of the greatest and mightiest
+nations on earth, discordant within itself, divided into different
+hostile classes; the one suspicious, envious, and full of hate toward
+the other, all of them humiliated, conquered, and ruled by a few
+strangers,&mdash;the English,&mdash;whose forefathers were savages a
+thousand years after the period when the Hindoos possessed the highest
+civilization of antiquity.</p>
+
+<p>The cause of this deplorable condition is clear enough to those who have
+grown up under the influence of Christian civilization. With all its
+studies, all its wisdom, all its genius, and all its religious
+contemplation, this people have neglected or spurned the simple truths
+on which the Christian civilization is founded,&mdash;love and charity:
+&ldquo;Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
+thyself.&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the
+least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me,&rdquo;&mdash;these
+beautiful principles are not found in the Hindoo Bibles, and,
+consequently, not in their acts and lives.</p>
+
+<p>But a happier day has dawned on India. The star of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">- 222 -</a></span> Bethlehem is
+seen at the horizon. A new light is kindled which shall soon lead the
+people out of the ancient darkness to a true and happy condition. And,
+strange enough, the youngest of the nations,&mdash;America,&mdash;is
+foremost in missionary work among the oldest, and next to the Americans
+are the Scotch, the English, the French, the Germans, the Belgians; and
+even good old Sweden has one or two mission fields there where the
+results are as yet rather meager; but in the course of time this work,
+too, will undoubtedly bear golden fruits, for just as surely as people
+and races are to continue, just as surely shall the simple doctrine
+which the great Master taught be spread and accepted among them all,
+because it is the only one by which the nations can reach their true
+destiny.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 245px;">
+<img src="images/image042.jpg" width="245" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">KESHUB-CHUNDER-SEN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="nowrap">A remarkable</span> attempt at reformation in the spirit of Christianity has
+been made in our day by a native Hindoo, the late Keshub-Chunder-Sen,
+the founder of the society, Brahmo Somaj in Calcutta, whose object was
+to introduce the Christian civilization in all its better forms. One day
+I went to hear a lecture by this renowned Hindoo prophet and teacher,
+which afforded me one of the most pleasant and instructive hours in my
+life. The great hall contained an audience of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">- 223 -</a></span> nearly three
+thousand people, consisting chiefly of persons of influence and high
+rank, among the cultured Hindoos of the capital. The speaker was
+listened to with the greatest attention and respect, and the impression
+he made could not but be beneficial and lasting. I sat very close to the
+speaker, and took pains to notice his ways and manners while speaking to
+the large audience. His bearing in the pulpit made a remarkable
+impression, especially when, under the influence of some absorbing and
+transporting thought, his body was stretched out to its full height, and
+seemed to grow by the glow of inspiration. He was at that time a man of
+about forty-five years of age, of robust health, of symmetrical
+proportions, and with a face which beamed with intelligence and
+enthusiasm. The fame of this man is not limited to his native land, for
+even in Great Britain, where he spent several months a few years ago, he
+is very highly respected by thinking men and women of all classes who
+are devoted to the progress and improvement of mankind, and in his own
+country he is almost idolized. His faith, as far as formulated in
+definite language, coincides with that of the Unitarians of America,
+although he called it unitrinitarian, <i>i.e.</i>, he believed in one God,
+the Creator of the world and the father of all men; and also in Christ
+and the Holy Spirit as revelations of the divine, which is one but not
+as three different persons in the deity. He believed that the
+propagation of true religion in the world has been greatly impeded by
+what he called the idolatry which in Christian countries has grown up
+around the human person of Jesus Christ, manifested as in the flesh, and
+he begged the missionaries who came to India not to confuse the minds of
+the Hindoos by any such idea as a deity consisting of three different
+persons; polytheism had been the curse of India from time immemorial.</p>
+
+<p>Such are the main features of the teaching of this reformer<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_224" id="Page_224">- 224 -</a></span> which seem to promise a better
+time for the oppressed people of India. Later I became more intimately
+acquainted with him, and he had intended to visit America in my company,
+but was taken sick shortly before I left India, and died a couple of
+months thereafter.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image043.jpg" width="200" height="58" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">- 225 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a><a href="#TOC_23">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XXIII.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Steamboating On the Ganges&mdash;Life on the River&mdash;The Greatest
+Business Firm in the
+World&mdash;Sceneries&mdash;Temples&mdash;Serampoor&mdash;Boat
+Races&mdash;An Excursion to the Himalayas&mdash;Darjieling and Himalaya
+Railroad&mdash;Tea Plantations&mdash;Darjieling&mdash;Llamas&mdash;View
+from the Mountains.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>Having received all its tributaries on its course from the Himalaya
+Mountains through Central Hindustan, the Ganges has now swelled to such
+vast proportions that it cannot keep its volume of water within one
+regular channel through the level, soft soil of the Hindoo Peninsula,
+but flows into the ocean by several independent channels. One of these
+which is called the Hoogley, and has been mentioned already, is at
+Calcutta, about eighty miles from the sea, as broad as the united
+Missouri and Mississippi at St. Louis, and still the eastern half of it,
+close to the city, is so crowded with ships, barges and boats for a
+distance of six miles that it requires great care and skill at the helm
+to navigate safely.</p>
+
+<p>On Jan. 2, 1882, the Calcutta rowing club had arranged a race between
+Barrackpoor and Serampoor, to which four hundred guests, including
+myself had been invited. Two large and ten smaller river steamers, all
+adorned with flowers and waving flags, lay around the pier between the
+Hoogley and the Nimtoolaghat waiting for us. Other steamers packed with
+natives, and Indian river boats with their half-naked rowers, crowded
+around the little flotilla, partly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">- 226 -</a></span> from curiosity, partly in
+order to sell flowers, garlands and fruits to the guests. On the river
+bank were thousands of Hindoos and Mohammedans sitting or standing, in
+white clothes. Here and there was a penitent Fakir, bareheaded, his
+half-naked body partly covered with ashes, his eyes riveted on a point
+at the horizon or on the water, without being in the least disturbed by
+the noise and the festivity. From Nimtoolaghat a dozen small clouds of
+smoke were seen ascending uniting into one column of smoke, above the
+roofless building. A number of unkempt, half-naked Brahmins were
+carrying ashes and bones of cremated bodies from the crematory down to
+the river. Stately carriages with murky coachmen and fore-runners in
+white garments arrived in long lines at the pier with the guests of the
+day. When all were on board, the steamers whistled, the band struck up
+&ldquo;God save the Queen,&rdquo; and the little flotilla steamed up the
+river amid merry chatting and deafening hurrahs.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><br />
+<img src="images/image044.jpg" width="600" height="235" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">STEAMER ON THE GANGES.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We first passed hundreds of Indian river boats from twenty-five to
+seventy-five feet long, with roofs supported by bamboo poles and loaded
+with grain, cotton, fruit, jute, goats, etc. The crews consisted of men,
+women and children who live on these river boats for years. They take
+advantage<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">- 227 -</a></span> of the tides in going up or down the river, and also
+use a broad oar in the prow of the boat.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 453px;">
+<img src="images/image045.jpg" width="453" height="325" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RIVER BOAT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>On the west side of the river lies the manufacturing city Howrah, with
+the largest railroad depot in India, and dock-yards extending about two
+miles. On the east bank, a short distance above Calcutta are immense
+warehouses and hydraulic presses for preparing jute, a kind of hemp. The
+largest of these employs three thousand workmen day and night, and
+belongs to a Greek firm, Rally Brothers, who are said to have the
+greatest mercantile establishment existing. They own branch houses in
+thirty-six of the largest commercial cities of the world.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;"><br />
+<img src="images/image046.jpg" width="620" height="403" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">TEMPLE ON THE RIVER BANK.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 220px;">
+<img src="images/image047.jpg" width="220" height="400" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WATER CARRIER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="nowrap">Amid the happy</span> strains of music we passed up the river. Stately palm
+trees in small groups rose above the surrounding groves, villages,
+temples and houses, while the dense foliage of other kinds of trees hung
+down the river banks wherever they were allowed to grow. Many of these
+bore flowers resembling tulips, acacias, jasmines, etc. Birds of the
+most gorgeous colors, but poor songsters, were flitting<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_228" id="Page_228">- 228 -</a></span> and hopping about among the
+branches; vast numbers of small, white cows and oxen were being herded
+by children on the meadows between the rice fields along the river, and
+at intervals of about two miles were temples consecrated to Hindoo gods.
+These temples were of a beautiful style and of perfect symmetry. Toward
+the river was an open portico. From this a flight of steps led down to
+the water. This was a Hindoo bathing place, where the holy water was
+taken. Just then a number of women were seen on the steps fetching water
+in clay jars, somewhat similar to the one Rebecca used at the well.
+These jars are carried either on the head or on the left hip. On either
+side of the portico, but from fifty to a hundred feet to the rear, stood
+the temples proper, in rows, facing the river, generally six on either
+side, with an eight to twelve-foot-wide path between each temple. The
+temples are about sixteen feet square, with a pointed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">- 229 -</a></span> roof
+surmounted by a round cupola. They are made of brick, with a coating of
+white plaster on the outside; there are no windows, and only one door,
+opening on the river side. Inside this door is a niche in which the idol
+is placed. Only the Brahmins are allowed to enter these temples;
+wherefore the common heathen has to content himself with simply looking
+at the god from the outside; the Christians also are generally kept at a
+respectful distance.</p>
+
+<p>Here and there along the banks of the river nestle rustic villages, the
+houses of which are generally square, and from sixteen to twenty feet on
+the sides, with pointed thatched roofs. The walls are of bamboo poles,
+interwoven with grass mats or plastered with mortar. There are no
+wooden<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">- 230 -</a></span> floors, no furniture, and the only utensils are a few
+bowls of clay for cooking, baking vessels of brass, some straw mats
+spread on the clay floor to sleep on during the night. The country is
+low and flat, and during the wet season, which lasts from July to
+October, destructive inundations are quite frequent.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image048.jpg" width="620" height="420" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">NATIVE HOUSES.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Our steamers soon approached Barrackpoor, a garrisoned city on the east
+bank of the river. This place, which is one of the summer residences of
+the viceroy, has a very beautiful park, where there are several samples
+of the remarkable banyan or sacred fig-tree. From the branches of the
+tree certain shoots grow downward, and when they reach the ground they
+strike root and grow into new trunks, so that one and the same tree
+finally covers a vast space of ground, and looks like a pillared hall.
+In the park at Barrackpoor may be seen one of these trees, large enough
+to cover one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">- 231 -</a></span> thousand men. On the west side of the river,
+directly opposite, lies the old city of Serampoor, which formerly
+belonged to Denmark, but was taken by the English in the beginning of
+this century, and now has only a few inscriptions and documents which
+remind us of the Danish period.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 607px;">
+<img src="images/image049.jpg" width="607" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BANYAN TREE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the river, midway between these cities, a gigantic government barge
+was anchored. On this occasion it was covered with canvas, and served as
+a dining room where a tiffin, or lunch, for four hundred persons was
+served. Our steamers anchored, and we sat down at the sumptuous tables.
+A band of forty pieces from a Sepoy regiment garrisoned at Barrackpoor
+struck up an English march, the champagne bottles popped, and all was
+life and joy. After lunch we witnessed six different boat races, all
+between Englishmen, and, the prizes having been awarded, the whole
+company walked on foot about a mile through a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">- 232 -</a></span> fine park to the
+railway station, whence a special train carried the excursionists back
+to Calcutta.</p>
+
+<p>After a summer of eight months in the Bengal lowlands with a constant
+temperature of 90&deg; to 100&deg; Fahrenheit in the shade, fresh
+breezes and cool air become luxuries more keenly enjoyed than those who
+live in a more temperate climate can conceive. To benefit by both I made
+a short journey in October, 1882, to the celebrated Himalaya mountains,
+among which the city of Darjieling is situated. The train on the Bengal
+railroad carried us about three hundred miles in a northerly direction
+through a level lowland teeming with gardens, palm groves and rice
+fields, to Siligori, at the foot of the mountains, where we arrived in
+the morning at sunrise. Having enjoyed a good breakfast and a bottle of
+Norwegian export beer at the railway eating house, we were transferred
+to a train on the Darjieling &amp; Himalaya railroad to be carried up
+seven thousand feet high in a distance of forty-two miles.</p>
+
+<p>This mountain railroad is so different from all other railroads that it
+deserves a special description. It is narrow gauged in the fullest sense
+of the word, the distance between the rails being only two feet. The
+cars are very small and low, and the wheels are about twelve inches in
+diameter. The car is ten feet long and six feet wide, and contains four
+seats, each of which accommodates four persons; it is open on the sides
+so that passengers can get on and off easily and have an open view. The
+locomotive is no larger than the cars, but powerful enough to pull ten
+or twelve of them up the mountain at the rate of eight or ten miles an
+hour. Nowhere is the track straight even for a distance of a couple of
+hundred yards, but it winds right and left in the most fantastic manner,
+and reminded me strikingly of the lines described in one of the old
+country dances.</p>
+
+<p>The signal is given, the pigmy locomotive puffs and sputters,<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_233" id="Page_233">- 233 -</a></span> the train with its load of
+humanity rolls away up hills and mountains and across awful chasms, up,
+up, up; hour after hour, with a grade of one to eighteen and
+twenty-eight, or on an average of twenty-three feet. It winds along the
+rugged mountain side, over awful chasms, and with such short curves that
+one&rsquo;s hair stands on end when looking down or up the steep cliffs, the
+summits of which tower above the clouds. A loose stone rolling down, a
+broken rail, or a derailment would immediately hurl the iron horse with
+its cars and human lives thousands of feet down to the bottom of the
+abyss, and reduce the whole to an unrecognizable wreck. Beautiful trees,
+grass, flowers, creeping plants adorn hills and vales except in the
+ravines and cliffs, where foaming creeks and cataracts have torn away
+the vegetation by tumultuously tossing themselves from rock to rock,
+from cliff to cliff, from valley to valley, gradually uniting in the
+rivers that continually feed the mighty Ganges.</p>
+
+<p>The track follows a twenty-five-foot-wide driveway, the most part of
+which is hewn out of the solid rock, and on this highway may be seen the
+mountaineers from Nepaul and Thibet driving large numbers of pack
+animals (ponies and cattle) carrying products of Europe and America into
+and beyond the mountains to the peoples of northern Asia. Here and there
+on the green hills are the best tea plantations of India. These long,
+low, white buildings are the residences and factories of the planters,
+and close by are the dwellings of the native laborers, consisting of
+long rows of thatched huts, and in terraces along the steep hills are
+endless rows of tea bushes, among which laborers dressed in picturesque
+costumes of gay colors are busy picking tea, advancing in irregular
+lines&mdash;resembling the skirmish lines of an army. This picture is at
+first seen against the horizon, so far up that the men can scarcely be
+distinguished from the bushes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">- 234 -</a></span> and a couple of hours later the
+same picture may be viewed far down in a deep valley.</p>
+
+<p>After awhile at the head of a long valley appear lofty, white objects
+whose summits rise far up above the mist and the clouds; it is the
+highest peaks of the Himalaya mountains, from sixty to one hundred miles
+distant. Thus the journey is continued up the mountains until the train
+finally stops at Darjieling, which is one of the most noteworthy places
+in the world. It is a sanitarium, and the summer residence of the
+government of Bengal, and during the hot season makes a favorite resort
+for many of the Hindoo nobles and princes as well as Europeans. The city
+has a few thousand inhabitants, the majority of whom are Thibetan and
+Nepaul mountaineers. There we see the Christian church, the Mohammedan
+mosque and the Hindoo temple in close proximity to each other, and on
+the streets one may often meet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">- 235 -</a></span> Catholic monks carrying the
+crucifix, and Llamas or Thibetan priests in long, brown felt mantles,
+turning their praying-wheel, which consists of an artistically made
+machine of silver, in which are engraved the following words: &ldquo;Rum
+mahnee padme hang,&rdquo; which means, &ldquo;Hail thee, jewel and lotus
+flower,&rdquo; or &ldquo;Glory to God.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image050.jpg" width="620" height="386" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">PALACE AND TEMPLE IN THE HIMALAYAS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Residences, churches, hotels and all public and private buildings lie in
+a semi-circle on the western slope of one of the mountains, offering a
+very fine picture. Excellent roads are built in zigzag form up and down
+over hills and mountains. There are scarcely any carriages but a kind of
+palanquin called dandies, and small ponies which are so sure-footed that
+they can climb up and down the mountains like goats. Both men and women
+ride these or are carried by three strong bearers from Thibet.
+Darjieling is elevated eight thousand feet above the level of the sea,
+and at this place black clouds may often be seen sweeping along the
+western side far below one&rsquo;s feet. The air is so clear, fresh and
+salubrious that it seems to infuse new strength, vitality and almost new
+life. It impels either to activity or to sleep; it is impossible to sit
+still or be mentally inactive. The view of the landscape below is
+claimed to be the most beautiful in the whole world. Beneath the
+terraces on which we walk are seen smiling valleys, one below another,
+away down far into the plains of Bengal, variegated by rivers, forests,
+cities and many-colored fields, and far away to the distant north
+against the blue horizon, one great mountain rises above and beyond
+another, capped with eternal crowns of snow high up among the restless
+clouds&mdash;twenty thousand feet higher than Darjieling, and
+twenty-nine thousand feet above the sea,&mdash;over five miles in
+height.</p>
+
+<p>The loftiest peaks are Kinchinjunga forty-five miles, and Mount Everest,
+sixty miles distant from Darjieling. It is claimed that these peaks can
+be seen for a distance of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">- 236 -</a></span> three hundred miles in clear weather.
+There these mighty giants stand clad in snowy garbs, like sentinels at
+the portals of infinite space, seemingly belonging more to heaven than
+to earth. No wonder that the Hindoos look at them with solemn awe, for
+cold and insensible to beauty and grandeur must he be, who does not, at
+this sight, feel his own littleness and the inconceivable greatness of
+the creator.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image041.jpg" width="200" height="43" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">- 237 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a><a href="#TOC_24">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XXIV.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Cholera and other Diseases&mdash;The Causes of Cholera&mdash;How the
+Soldiers are Protected Against it&mdash;Sudden
+Deaths&mdash;Fevers&mdash;The Teraj&mdash;Contempt for Death&mdash;The
+Cholera Hospital&mdash;The Sisters of Mercy&mdash;The Princes
+Tagore&mdash;Hindoo Family Customs&mdash;Hindoo Gallantry&mdash;A Hindoo
+<span title=" Fete " class="hoverbox">F&ecirc;te</span>.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>The cholera has its home proper in India, and breeds in the Bengal
+lowlands after the rainy season, which closes in the fall. Its ravages
+are most pronounced in the month of December, but cases are quite
+frequent the whole year round. During my second year&rsquo;s sojourn in India
+it was very violent in December, but I would scarcely have known of it
+at all if my official duties had not made it incumbent on me to report
+from the board of health of India to that of the United States at
+Washington. Now and then I was reminded of the existence of the malady
+by the sudden deaths of my acquaintances. On three different occasions I
+enjoyed a pleasant evening entertainment in company with a number of
+friends, one of whom was not only dead, but even buried before the next
+morning.</p>
+
+<p>Although India is ravaged by different deadly diseases, especially a
+kind of fever of which people die after one or two days&rsquo; sickness;
+still, disease and death are scarcely ever mentioned among
+Anglo-Indians. They don&rsquo;t like to talk about such unpleasant things. A
+friend is suddenly and unexpectedly snatched away from social circles,
+but his death<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">- 238 -</a></span> is seldom or never mentioned, just as if a secret
+and united agreement of taciturnity had been entered into by the
+survivors. Once I was invited to dine at the table d&rsquo;hote of the
+officers at the military station Dum-Dum, a few miles from Calcutta. I
+drove out there in the evening, and at eight o&rsquo;clock I had dinner in
+company with about forty officers, the majority of whom belonged to the
+Scotch frontier regiment. Col. Chapman, one of the party, was a jolly
+old Scotch warrior and Lieut.-Col. Hill was my host. After a splendid
+dinner such as India alone can offer, the company grouped themselves
+around several whist-tables according to the custom in the higher
+circles among the English. Col. Chapman was my partner, and we parted
+company at one o&rsquo;clock. I accompanied Lieut.-Col. Hill to his villa, and
+retired for the night. At eight o&rsquo;clock the next morning he entered my
+room with the sad news that he was just returning from the funeral of
+Col. Chapman. The stern old warrior who returned unscathed from twenty
+battle-fields was attacked by the cholera at two o&rsquo;clock, died at four
+o&rsquo;clock, and was buried at six o&rsquo;clock. Such is life in India.</p>
+
+<p>At the foot of the Himalayas is a very extensive territory called Teraj.
+Its soil is very fertile and adapted for tea culture. The whole
+territory is covered with timber, bushes and other plants, which, with
+the exception of certain cultivated portions, form an impenetrable
+jungle, affording a natural resort for tigers, leopards, and other wild
+beasts. The lofty mountains and the dense jungles shut out the sun, and
+the whole region is full of poisonous vapors which are never dispelled.
+It would be almost certain death for an European to live there for any
+length of time, and it is customary even in passing through the country
+on the railway train to take double doses of quinine as a precaution.
+The fever and cholera which are thus generated in the jungles and spread
+through the rice fields cause terrible ravages, not only among<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_239" id="Page_239">- 239 -</a></span> the Europeans, but also among the
+natives. Medical science has done a great deal to mitigate this evil,
+and the cholera, at least, has been carefully studied and controlled by
+the medical department of the Anglo-Indian army, so at present the
+malady is not feared so much as might be expected. The germs of the
+disease consist of microbes, which are carried in swarms by the wind. If
+such a pestiferous current of air strikes a place where soldiers are
+stationed, they are immediately ordered to break camp, and in a few
+hours the whole force is marching at a right angle with the wind, and
+after a day&rsquo;s march and a night&rsquo;s bivouac the physicians are generally
+able to tell whether the troops are out of the cholera district or not.
+If not, the march is continued day after day, always at a right angle
+with that of the preceding day, until the air contains no more cholera
+microbes.</p>
+
+<p>Old officers of the army told me that they had seen the cholera pass
+over one part of the camp attacking every fourth man on one side of the
+camp street without touching a single one on the other. It is claimed
+that the fear and anxiety caused by this dreadful malady are even more
+dangerous than the disease itself.</p>
+
+<p>One day while sitting at my breakfast table I received a message from
+the University hospital that an American sailor was very anxious to see
+me before he died. I immediately drove over there and was met at the
+entrance by the president, Dr. J. M. Coates, but when I arrived in the
+cholera apartment the man had just died. A sister of mercy was present
+at his death-bed, and had promised to carry his last message to me,
+which consisted in a greeting of love and a few trinkets to be sent to
+his mother in the state of Maine. There was a large apartment filled
+with cholera patients. Many of the native patients were visited by their
+friends and relatives; for the Hindoos do not entertain any fear of
+death, but rather court it, believing that a death caused by a
+contagious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">- 240 -</a></span> disease or a poisonous snake is simply a
+dispensation of Providence by which they are called away to a better
+life.</p>
+
+<p>As an illustration of this fact I mention the following incident: One
+day while I was inspecting an American vessel a Hindoo laborer fell
+overboard, and a Norwegian sailor plunged into the water and saved him.
+After being brought safely on the deck the Hindoo became so angry at the
+Norwegian that he could have killed him, simply because he had prevented
+his entering paradise. Such occurrences are quite frequent.</p>
+
+<p>I mentioned that I met a sister of mercy at the death-bed of an American
+cholera patient in the hospital. I cannot neglect this opportunity to
+express my heartfelt gratitude to these noble women, the modern nuns of
+the Catholic church. I have seen them in the dens of degradation and
+wretchedness in the American cities, among the sick, wounded and dying
+soldiers on the battle-fields of the South; I have seen them in an
+Arabian sea-port, searching for poverty-stricken travelers, among the
+cholera patients and among the unfortunate inmates of the prisons of
+India, always performing the same angelic duty, helping the poor,
+tending the sick, and comforting the despondent. Of course I am no
+Catholic, nor is it my intention to defend the Catholic faith; but I
+wish to acknowledge my appreciation of and pay my respect to the noble
+work which the priests and nuns of that church are carrying on among the
+lowly and erring members of our race.</p>
+
+<p>The Hindoos are the most polite and clever people I ever saw. Their
+manners are exquisitely fine; no rudeness, no profanity, no intemperance
+is to be found among them, not even among the lowest classes. As has
+been said already, the higher classes are exceedingly polished and
+cleanly; all treat their parents and old people with marked respect. I
+shall narrate a few incidents to illustrate this: Shortly after<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_241" id="Page_241">- 241 -</a></span> my arrival in Calcutta I became
+acquainted with the two Princes Tagore, especially the younger of them.
+They are titled princes, and enormously rich. They have many palaces,
+hundreds of secretaries, workingmen, servants, and pensioners, and, as
+is the custom among the Hindoos, whose families are governed according
+to the principles of patriarchal life, they all live together and get
+their support from the common property. I visited them several times,
+but mostly the younger prince who was at that time about forty-five
+years old, and a great admirer of America. Although a man of that age
+and rank he never talked in the presence of his elder brother until the
+latter had by a word or a nod signified that he was allowed to speak. A
+son is never allowed to talk in the presence of his father until the
+latter has finished. The eldest member of the family is its highest
+ruler, and even the Princes Tagore would never take any important steps
+before obtaining the consent of their aged mother.</p>
+
+<p>Many prominent Hindoos and Mohammedans, some of whom were native rulers,
+came and visited me, before they invited me to their great f&ecirc;tes.
+One of the frequent visitors was Dr. L. N. Maitra, a Brahmin of the
+highest class, and one of the most intelligent and clever men I met in
+India. He used to sit with me for hours, telling about the life, history
+and religion of the Hindoos. Having become acquainted with each other by
+several months&rsquo; intercourse, one day he sat a long while at my house as
+if absorbed in deep<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">- 242 -</a></span> thought, and when he was ready to leave he
+asked if I would allow him to recite a Hindoo proverb in Sanskrit. In
+doing this he proved himself to be a fine elocutionist, and it seemed to
+me that I had never heard more music in prose, although I could not, of
+course, understand a single word of it.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 194px;">
+<img src="images/image051.jpg" width="194" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">DR. MAITRA READING <br />SANSKRIT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="nowrap">I asked him</span> for a translation, and the next day he sent me one with the
+assurance that he intended to apply the proverb to me. It reads thus:
+&ldquo;Do not enter into a very intimate acquaintance with anybody; but
+if you do, see that your friend is not a stranger; but if he is a
+stranger, see to it that he is not an educated man; but if he is
+educated, never part from him; but if fate compels you to part from him,
+then try to control that which we cannot control, that is, die, for
+death alone can make up for the loss of such a good man.&rdquo; I have
+told this to show not only the Hindoo&rsquo;s conception of the happiness of
+death, but also his exquisite politeness and delicacy of feeling.</p>
+
+<p>When a Hindoo wishes to pay an elderly man or woman
+his respect or in some manner honor them, he calls them father<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">- 243 -</a></span>
+or mother, or, if they are his equals in age, brother or
+sister. Even to-day, when my former clerks write to me
+they call me father, and ask me to remember them to
+their dear mother, that is, my wife.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 264px;">
+<img src="images/image052.jpg" width="264" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MY CHIEF CLERK.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="nowrap">On a few</span> occasions some Hindoo princes and nobles would arrange special
+entertainments and f&ecirc;tes for me, or rather in honor of the country
+represented by me, and on such occasions the invitation was not limited
+to me, but was extended to my friends also, so that I could take with me
+of these as many as I pleased.</p>
+
+<p>The Tagore family had a beautiful country house outside the city, where,
+one day shortly after my arrival, a party was given in honor of myself
+as representing the United States. Among the friends who accompanied me
+on this occasion was the Danish traveler, D&rsquo;Irgens-Bergh, whose
+acquaintance I had made on my journey from Naples to Alexandria. The
+villa might more correctly have been called a palace, for it was on a
+grand scale and a perfect gem of architectural beauty. The floors and
+walls of all apartments were of marble. A beautiful and finely kept park
+surrounded the palace, and here, on the evening of our visit, hundreds
+of Chinese lanterns illuminated the spacious grounds. The most brilliant
+feature of the entertainment was music rendered by a complete orchestra
+of native musicians who used Hindoo instruments entirely different from
+ours; but pianos, guitars and other instruments with which we are
+acquainted, were also used. The younger prince was a great lover of
+music, and maintained, at his own expense, a conservatory of music and a
+large orchestra, giving instruction in music free of charge to any young
+man who was peculiarly gifted in that line. He is also well versed in
+Sanskrit literature, and has written several scientific works in
+Sanskrit. Before I left he presented me with one of these works
+containing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">- 244 -</a></span> his autograph, which is reproduced here as a sample
+of the hand-writing of an educated Hindoo:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 551px;">
+<img src="images/image053.png" width="551" height="450" alt="(dedication note.)" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Our refreshments at the f&ecirc;te consisted of dainties prepared by
+native cooks. Cream, rice, sugar, eggs, fish, flour, and spices were the
+chief ingredients of the different courses. Champagne and other European
+drinks were served with the courses, and after the repast we were
+offered coffee, and the servants brought wash basins and towels. Finally
+the major domo passed an urn-shaped golden goblet, placed on a gold
+tray. In this goblet was a fine sponge soaked with attar of roses, which
+costs about a dollar a drop, and in which the guests dipped the tips of
+their fingers and moistened their foreheads and clothes. The least
+contact with this attar causes a fragrance which lasts for months.</p>
+
+<p>Neither on this occasion nor at any other festivity arranged<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_245" id="Page_245">- 245 -</a></span> by native Hindoos were any of the
+women present or visible to us, although we knew they were close enough
+to see us through windows or gratings. The men themselves assisted in
+waiting on us, but tasted nothing in our presence. When finally the
+carriages drove up and the guests parted each one of them received a
+huge bouquet of beautiful, fragrant flowers.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 397px;">
+<img src="images/image054.jpg" width="397" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RAJAH TAGORE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">- 246 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a><a href="#TOC_25">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XXV.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Agriculture, Manufacture and Architecture&mdash;Wheat Growing&mdash;The
+Farm Laborer&mdash;His Condition, Implements, etc. The
+Taj-Mahal&mdash;Jugglers&mdash;Snake Charmers&mdash;From My Journal.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>A large majority of the Hindoos are agriculturists. The staple crops are
+wheat, rice, and different species of pease. The wheat production of
+India exerts a great influence on the grain market of Europe, and is one
+of the most dangerous competitors to our American wheat. Having been
+ordered by the United States government to report on the wheat growing
+of India, I made this a special object of investigation and study, and
+in December, 1882, sent a report to the government in Washington which
+is our first reliable information on that subject; it elicited a great
+deal of attention, and was a source of genuine surprise in this country.
+I submit a few extracts from this report:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The annual wheat production of India now reaches two hundred and forty
+million bushels, of which two hundred million may be exported, while the
+natives make their bread from other kinds of grain. The total area
+devoted to wheat each year is now a little over twenty million acres,
+and the best average yield is thirteen and one-half bushels per acre.
+Wheat growing is now receiving the special attention of the general and
+local governments, and important works are being made and projected for
+an extensive system of canal irrigation. One of these, the Sirhind canal
+in the Punjab, has just been completed; it was built mainly by prison
+labor, is five hundred and two miles long, and will irrigate seven
+hundred and eighty thousand acres through two thousand five hundred
+miles of minor channels.</p>
+
+<p>The wheat is sown in the autumn and harvested in March or April; it
+is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">- 247 -</a></span> usually sown in drills or rows, weeded like garden stuff,
+and in quantities not much larger than garden patches in the United
+States. The agricultural population numbers nearly two hundred millions;
+it is the aggregate of innumerable little units which, in agriculture,
+as in everything else in India, brings the country into importance; and
+this fact is so closely interwoven with the whole social, industrial and
+legal network of India, that it bears a strong influence even upon the
+future question of Indian <i>versus</i> American wheat.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 463px;">
+<img src="images/image055.jpg" width="463" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">PLOWING IN INDIA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The Indian agriculturist,&mdash;&ldquo;Ryot,&rdquo;&mdash;can in no
+sense be compared to the American farmer, but rather to the late serf of
+Russia. He is a tenant on hard conditions, and is by custom and bigotry
+almost a fixture on the spot of land where he was born; his farming is
+done on a very small scale and according to old methods, to which he
+clings with religious veneration; his wants are very few, and he endures
+poverty and even hunger with patience; he cultivates his patch of five
+to fifteen acres on shares for the landed
+proprietor,&mdash;&ldquo;zemindar,&rdquo;&mdash;who holds under rental
+to the government, and the better half of his gross income generally
+goes to the zemindar, the priest (Brahmin) and the usurer, in the form
+of rent, presents, offerings and interest,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">- 248 -</a></span> and if he can net
+ten cents a day by his hard and hopeless labor, that will suffice for
+the most pressing wants of his household. His home is a mud, or
+bamboo-hut, his property a pair of small bullocks, a few cows, calves
+and goats, a wooden cart, and a few brass and earthen pots, in all worth
+about fifty dollars, and his implements and tools are of the rudest
+kind, such as his ancestors used a thousand years ago; and yet he is
+making some progress under British rule, and finds his wants increasing,
+and at the same time better outlets for his produce and better
+recompense for his labor, and on the whole, is so independent on ten
+cents a day, that he will eat or store his wheat rather than sell it
+below a certain price. Of course he does not employ machinery in
+farming, but plows his land with a crooked piece of iron-pointed wood,
+harrows it with an instrument resembling a common ladder laid flat on
+the ground and dragged by little bullocks crossways over the field; he
+sows by hand, reaps with a rude sickle, carries the sheaves home on his
+back or in the bullock cart, threshes them with a wooden club, or lets
+the cattle tramp out the grain, and cleans it by hand-winnowing.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image056.jpg" width="620" height="485" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LABORERS AT THE INDIGO PRESS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>India of course yields a great number of other kinds of agricultural
+products, especially the indigo plant, from which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">- 249 -</a></span> the renowned
+dye-stuff is made; rape, mustard and other species of seeds from which
+oils are pressed, the opium plant, etc.</p>
+
+<p>In the cities and towns the people devote themselves to trades and
+handicrafts, in some of which they attain greater perfection than any
+other people. Their beautiful carvings in wood and ivory, their
+exquisite embroideries, their textiles and yarns exceed everything in
+that line. But their ability is not due to any genius or ingenuity, but
+to close observation and patient application. According to their
+religious tenets the sons must learn the trade of their father, and they
+begin to work at his side as soon as they can handle a needle, chisel,
+or other tool, and continue the practice day after day, year after year,
+until they also in turn, have taught their children and grandchildren
+the same trade. Certain places are noted for certain industries, as
+Dakka for its fine muslin; Benares for its embroideries, etc. The muslin
+weavers of Dakka can with their hands spin and weave fabrics which are
+almost as fine as cobweb, and a person who is not accustomed to such
+work would not be able to feel the thread between his fingers; but the
+sensitiveness of the Hindoo spinner in Dakka has been developed to such
+an extraordinary degree during a hundred generations that he is able to
+perform works which would be perfectly impossible for others. I have
+seen a garment presented to a Hindoo king which was so fine in texture
+that, although it was a complete suit, it was folded up and safely
+packed into a mango shell, which is only a little larger than an almond
+shell, and thus presented. I have in my possession a little box two
+inches wide and four inches long, made of sandal-wood and adorned with
+fine carvings; all the edges are inlaid with pieces of ivory, in which
+are again inlaid more than two thousand separate pieces of different
+metals so skilfully put<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">- 250 -</a></span> together that the joints can not be
+detected even by using a magnifying glass.</p>
+
+<p>In architecture the Hindoos also distinguished themselves centuries ago
+by the erection of buildings which are still objects of the admiration
+of the world. One of these master works of architecture is regarded as
+the most beautiful ever erected by the hands of men. It is the Taj-Mahal
+at Agra, a mausoleum erected by emperor Shah Jehan over the remains of
+his wife, Bengos Begum, who died in 1630. &ldquo;During a period of
+seventeen years after her death Shah Jehan collected building material
+of marble and precious stones to be used in the construction of the
+mausoleum. All parts of India contributed to this, as did the different
+parts of the Holy Land to the temple of Solomon, and its estimated cost
+is twenty-five million dollars. It is built in Moorish style, with
+slender pillars, and its majesty and beauty profoundly impress the
+beholder. Many buildings in the world excel this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">- 251 -</a></span> temple in
+size, but none can rival it in ideal beauty and finish. It looks more
+like a temple of thanksgiving and praise than an abode of sorrow, and
+the spirit of love seems to fill its silent chambers, quickening and
+warming the cold marble and transforming the whole building into a
+dream, into a psalm in stone. It is rich in mosaics, and precious stones
+of different colors assume the shape of fresh vines and living flowers.
+There it stands in solemn silence on the banks of the Jumna, like an
+enchanted vision. It seemed to grow in magnificent splendor before my
+eyes as I approached it. The airy dome and the white marble pillars
+glittered in fabulous, mystic beauty, and towered far above the gigantic
+cypress trees, which stood in rows like sentinels around it. One enters
+the park in front of the main building through a pillared archway of
+colossal dimensions, built of red sand-stone and surmounted by
+twenty-six white cupolas. The height of the arches is one hundred and
+forty feet.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;"><br />
+<img src="images/image057.jpg" width="620" height="425" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">TAJ-MAHAL.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Taj-Mahal is erected on a base of red sand-stone nine hundred and
+sixty-four feet long and three hundred and twenty-nine feet wide, one
+side of which is washed by the river Jumna, and on each of the four
+corners is a tower of red sand-stone covered by a white marble kiosk.
+Two mosques take up the east and west sides. From this ground rises a
+fine terrace of white marble, three hundred and thirteen feet square, in
+the center of which is the beautiful main building itself. At each angle
+is an airy marble spire of exquisite style, surmounted by a noble cupola
+resting on eight pillars. They are about one hundred and fifty feet
+high, and a spiral stairway leads to the very top. The ground-plan of
+Taj-Mahal forms a regular octangle. The four sides on which the
+entrances are located are each about one hundred and thirty feet long,
+and turn to the four cardinal points of the compass. The roof is seventy
+feet above the base. Over each corner is a gorgeous spire, and over the
+center towers a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">- 252 -</a></span> marble dome measuring seventy feet in diameter,
+and rising to a height of one hundred and twenty feet. It is covered by
+a gilt vault in the shape of a half-moon about two hundred and sixty
+feet above the floor. All this is of the finest Jaypoor marble,
+carefully polished, and still retaining its pure color.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Notwithstanding the colossal size of Taj-Mahal, every part of it,
+from the foundation to the dome, is adorned with artistically executed
+designs, and the whole is as carefully wrought as the finest ebony
+ornament. Thus the entire Koran is inscribed on it. Even to-day the
+burial vault of the beautiful queen is filled with the fragrance of
+roses, jasmines and sandal-wood. The graves of the empress and emperor
+constitute sarcophagi of the purest marble, covered with elegant inlays
+of agate, carnelians, lapis lazuli and other precious stones, and
+surrounded by a six-foot-high gallery in the open net-work of which
+lilies, roses and other flowers of gems are inlaid. The dome in
+Taj-Mahal produces an echo which is more pleasant, pure and lasting than
+any other. A single musical sound produced by the human voice seems to
+flow or soar up there like a prolonged, pleasant modulation, which dies
+away so slowly that one seems to hear it after it is silent, just as one
+seems to see a lark after following it with the eyes after it has
+disappeared. Twenty thousand workmen were engaged for twenty-two years
+in erecting this mausoleum.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>These recollections from India would be incomplete if I should omit to
+describe some of the wonderful tricks which I saw performed by Hindoo
+jugglers. As I was sitting one day in an open place before the hotel in
+Benares, together with some English army officers, an ordinary looking
+Hindoo of the lower classes, accompanied by a small boy, appeared before
+us, and asked permission to show the mango trick. This being granted,
+the boy scraped up some earth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">- 253 -</a></span> on the road before our eyes, and
+made a little mound of it on the floor of the open veranda in front of
+the hotel. The magician, who had no other garment on than a loosely
+wrapped cotton cloth, usually worn by the men, and in his hand a white
+cloth and a little bag containing a few sticks and other small
+implements, stooped down beside the little mound of earth, and, with his
+eyes fixed on us, took a mango kernel about twice the size of a peach
+stone, which he planted in the little mound. Having smoothed the mound
+with his hands he recited several prayers and incantations, and made
+some motions over the mound with a magic wand, carefully assuming an air
+of expectancy. After a minute or two we saw the mound slowly opening at
+the top and the tender shoot of a plant coming up through the crack. The
+Hindoo sat with folded hands, occasionally breathing on the plant, and
+every now and then he would invoke some invisible being. Meanwhile the
+plant grew taller and more solid, until it finally assumed the shape of
+a dwarf tree, which kept growing and sent out branches and leaves. This
+development took place gradually and slowly, until finally a ripe mango
+fruit was seen hanging down from one of the branches. During this
+wonderful performance the magician had only now and then for a moment
+covered the plant with the cloth in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>At another time, when I was on the deck of a large steamer, a Hindoo
+accompanied by a little girl asked the passengers to permit him to
+perform a trick. This being granted, he placed a round wicker basket,
+resembling a paper wastebasket, on the deck, and the little girl sat
+down in it so that her head and feet were flush with the edge of the
+basket, which was thus fairly filled up by the girl. Thereupon the
+Hindoo put the cover on and took a long, straight, double-edged sword
+which he ran through the basket in all directions. It was a shocking
+sight, some of the ladies screamed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">- 254 -</a></span> others fainted. But when he
+removed the cover from the basket the girl came out alive and without
+injury. The sword was handed to us for inspection, and I am perfectly
+sure that it was a straight, solid, honest infantry weapon. During all
+this time the basket stood on the deck of the ship so that no springs,
+machinery or other contrivance could be concealed under it.</p>
+
+<p>Snake charmers are very common in India. &ldquo;When one of these is to
+perform a trick he asks for a piece of paper, which he puts in the
+out-stretched hand of the spectator, and begins to play on his flute,
+and stare with his eyes as if he sees something near the hand. His whole
+body seems to be changed; writhing like a worm, he continually plays on
+the instrument and keeps his eyes riveted on the hand. Suddenly he
+rushes forward and points to the same. But the spectator sees nothing,
+and the charmer again plays and contorts his body still more wildly. His
+arms are bare up to the elbows, and he holds the flute with both hands.
+Suddenly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">- 255 -</a></span> he throws his flute away, continues his motions and
+repeats incantations. Again he points to the paper, and while the
+observer turns his eyes in that direction without seeing anything
+unusual, the charmer presses his folded hands down on it and pulls out
+three large cobras, raising their heads and stretching out their
+poisonous tongues in different directions while he holds them in his
+hand.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;"><br />
+<img src="images/image058.jpg" width="620" height="384" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SNAKE CHARMERS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>These and similar tricks are performed daily, yet no one has been able
+to detect how they are done. The theory of hypnotism has recently been
+advanced, and it does not seem improbable.</p>
+
+<p>The following extract from my journal may be of interest:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Oct. 8, 1882.&mdash;Yesterday I witnessed one of the most important
+expressions of public opinion ever recorded in Asia, in favor of
+religious liberty. Three thousand prominent persons, mostly Hindoos and
+Mohammedans, and a few Christians and Parsees, assembled in the city
+hall of Calcutta, and brilliant speeches were made eliciting most
+animated applause from the native non-Christian inhabitants as a protest
+against the police prosecuting the salvation army, lately arrived in
+Bombay. What do the American and European Christians think of the
+necessity for Brahmins, Mohammedans, and Parsees to protest against
+prosecutions by Christians against Christians?</p>
+
+<p>Darjieling, Oct. 17, 1882.&mdash;Here dwells a tribe of mountaineers who
+are polyandrists, the reverse of polygamists. Each woman has several
+husbands, who are generally brothers or near relatives. This practice
+has locally decreased the population, while in all other Hindoo sects it
+is rapidly increasing.</p>
+
+<p>The English aristocracy is strongly represented here. The summer
+residence of the Bengal government, which is located here, as well as
+the excellent sanitarium, attract thousands of travelers. Excursions,
+dinners, balls and other festivities follow each other in rapid
+succession. This afternoon I was present at one of these gatherings, and
+met the Greek merchant Patochi, and made other interesting
+acquaintances. This evening shall attend a ball given by the governor of
+Bengal. At all these parties &ldquo;simkim,&rdquo; or champagne, flows
+in streams. Life is gay and luxurious among the aristocracy in India.</p>
+
+<p>Nov. 23, 1882.&mdash;Was present at a quiet and select entertainment
+with the king of Kutch Behar, in his palace in Calcutta. His wife is a
+daughter of the great Hindoo reformer Keshub-Chunder-Sen; she is a well
+educated,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">- 256 -</a></span> beautiful woman, who, together with her husband, the
+young and elegant king, defies the Hindoo caste restrictions, and
+appears publicly in company with other ladies and gentlemen.</p>
+
+<p>Dec. 28, 1882.&mdash;Attended the decennial missionary conference; five
+hundred missionaries from all parts of Asia, Africa and Australia were
+present, and made it a most interesting religious convention. It was a
+gathering of highly cultivated, intelligent, courageous men and women,
+from the gray haired veteran to the young novice fresh from college. The
+American missionaries took a most prominent part, notable among whom was
+Dr. Thoburn, since made a bishop in the <span title=" methodist " class="hoverbox">Methodist</span> church. There were
+also three Swedes, with whom I formed an acquaintance,&mdash;Ungert,
+Edman and Erikson.</p>
+
+<p>Jan. 18, 1883.&mdash;Attended the great state ball in the palace of the
+viceroy. Fifteen hundred guests were present, and the throng formed a
+brilliant picture of beauty, fashion and royal splendor. There were many
+native nobles, princes and rulers, the most prominent ones being the
+gawkwar (king) of Baroda, and the Kahn of Khelat. Wherever the gawkwar
+went he was closely followed by half a dozen turbaned attendants and
+four body guards armed with daggers and cimeters, or Damascus blades.
+His garment consisted of blue and green plush and satin, and the
+many-colored turban was almost covered with diamonds. It was claimed
+that the jewels he wore that evening on his breast and turban had a
+value of two million dollars.</p>
+
+<p>Feb. 10, 1883.&mdash;In spite of all efforts to live quietly I am
+incessantly drawn into the whirl of social life; yesterday I attended
+one of the most pleasant festivities of the season. It was a <span title=" magnificient " class="hoverbox">magnificent</span>
+<span title=" fete " class="hoverbox">f&ecirc;te</span> given by the Mohammedan prince Raja Rajendra Naryan Bahadur
+in his gorgeous palace and parks in Shova Bazar in honor of the British
+victory in Egypt. Three thousand guests were present. All kinds of
+amusements were arranged, such as dancing, concerts, a circus with
+uninterrupted performances, nautches or dances performed by native
+dancing girls, etc. In different parts of the palace refreshments were
+served, all in the same grand style as the rest of the entertainment.
+The parks and gardens were illuminated by thousands of Chinese lanterns
+and many electric lights.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The following is also taken from my journal:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>*&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;* Received visits from the Reverend Phillips Brooks and Joseph Cook,
+and from a young Swedish count, Wachtmeister by name, who was on his way
+through Asia, and also from a young prince from Madagascar, a son of the
+queen of that country, who, under the guidance of Ludvig Larson, a
+Norwegian sea captain, made a voyage through the seas of Asia for the
+purpose of learning practical navigation. The young prince spoke English
+fluently, and was a very intelligent man.</p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">- 257 -</a></span>
+
+<p>Attended a great festival at a masonic lodge where about one hundred and
+fifty members of the order were present, among whom were men of nearly
+every nationality and religion. The Master&rsquo;s degree was conferred on
+three brothers who knelt before the same altar. One was a Christian, and
+took his obligation with the hand on the <span title=" bible " class="hoverbox">Bible</span>; one was a Mohammedan,
+who took it with the hand on the Koran; the third, a Hindoo, with his
+hand on the Shastra. The obligation was dictated by an English lord,
+judge of the supreme court, assisted by the secretary of the Grand
+Lodge, my friend Rustomji, a Parsee and fire-worshiper. With the
+religious intolerance in India, where all unite in hating the
+Christians, it is only among the Free Masons, who know of no
+nationality, race or other barrier, that such things are possible.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 273px;">
+<img src="images/image059.jpg" width="273" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GODDESS KALI.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="nowrap">Visited the temple</span> of the goddess Kali in a suburb of Calcutta. Kali is
+the goddess of hate and vengence, and this temple is one of the most
+celebrated in India. One hundred and fifty Brahmin priests officiate in
+the same. The chief priest, Roonish-Chunder-Mokerje, was a young man
+with liberal education. He had spent several years in American mission
+schools. His office is held by inheritance. He was a most agreeable
+companion, well versed in western as well as Sanskrit literature. Once
+upon telling him that I had an intimate friend in Sweden who was a
+Christian priest, he gave me some pictures of the goddess Kali and other
+idols to send him with his compliments. In return, I had the pleasure a
+few months later to present him with a Swedish Bible, with his name in
+golden letters on the cover, from my friend, the Swedish minister, which
+present he cherished very highly. This Bible is now kept in the temple
+of Kali.</p>
+
+<p>At my request Mokerje prepared a brief extract of the religious doctrine
+of the Hindoos, which reads as follows:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">- 258 -</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;We believe in heaven and hell as temporary abodes of reward and
+punishment. When a man dies his good and evil deeds are weighed on the
+scales. First he goes to heaven to receive his reward, then to hell to
+suffer in proportion to his sins. When everything is squared up he again
+returns to the world in the form of another being, the same process is
+repeated again and again, and he can attain perfect bliss only after he
+has reached such a stage of development that he can do neither good nor
+evil deeds, but must lose himself in the contemplation of God until he
+finally ceases to exist as an individual being, and is reunited with God
+of whom he really constitutes a part.&rdquo;</p></div>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 244px;">
+<img src="images/image060.jpg" width="244" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ABDUL, MY MOHAMMEDAN SERVANT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="nowrap">Was invited to</span> the home of Col. Gordon to see some proofs of
+occultation, which is very wide-spread in India, and witnessed
+phenomena, which were so strange, that I hesitate to write them down. I
+saw heavy objects moving in the air through the room above our heads,
+and a man with the chair on which he sat rising several feet from the
+floor without the aid of any visible force whatever. I heard a slate
+pencil, moved by an invisible power, writing on a slate, and read in
+plain English what was written. I also saw in the same manner a pen
+writing on paper with ink, and felt with my hand the moisture of the
+ink. I know not wherein the invisible power consisted which caused these
+phenomena, but that such a power does exist I know for certain, for in
+this case, at least, there was no chance for deception.</p>
+
+<p>At the home of the prince Tagore I met the renowned Madame Blavatsky,
+and many Hindoo theosophists. She is a large, corpulent woman, with
+intelligent, though rather coarse, features. She believes that she is
+attended by Kut-Humis-Lal-Sing, a Buddhistic hermit who is claimed to be
+two thousand years old, and have the power of moving his &ldquo;astral
+body&rdquo; as swiftly as thought to the most distant places. For my
+part I saw nothing remarkable among the theosophists, but it is a common
+belief among the
+<!--[image061]<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">- 259 -</a></span>-->
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">- 260 -</a></span>
+Hindoos that certain pundits, or
+learned men, who for years have lived in the mountains as hermits,
+abstaining from food and all sensual pleasures, thereby attain such a
+power of mind over matter as to be able to separate the former from the
+body and let it, untrammeled by the laws of matter, move from place to
+place, still retaining the same form and ability to speak and act.
+Whether this is so or not I cannot say, but this I know, that
+&ldquo;there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in
+our philosophy.&rdquo;</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image061.jpg" width="620" height="392" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">TYPES OF MOHAMMEDAN SERVANTS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="margin-left: 5em; width: 153px;">
+<img src="images/image062.jpg" width="153" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SOBULLA, AN IDIOT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="nowrap">What luxuries</span> one may enjoy here in the most pleasant company,&mdash;a
+glorious nature, palatial residences, choice fruits, dishes and wines,
+pleasures of all kinds, surrounded by a host of servants, who, in
+snow-white garments and with bare feet, noiselessly and swiftly move
+about in order to gratify one&rsquo;s desires upon the slightest
+sign,&mdash;and still how I long for the home in the North, with the
+cool winds and frost and snow which quicken the blood, give appetite,
+and fill one with a feeling of surging vitality and energy, unknown in
+the enervating climates of the South.</p>
+
+<p>From my veranda I see a crowd of people on the street who seem to pay
+homage to some one. It proves to be an idiotic <span title=" begger " class="hoverbox">beggar</span>, Sobulla. The
+Hindoos believe that when a person has lost his reason he is filled with
+the spirit of God, and hence they always treat the insane with respect
+and tender care.</p>
+
+<p>This April heat makes it easy to realize the Hindoo proverb, which says:
+&ldquo;Never run when you may walk, never walk when you may stand still,
+never stand when you may sit, never sit when you may lie down.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">- 261 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a><a href="#TOC_26">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XXVI.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>The Women of India&mdash;The Widows&mdash;The American
+Zenana&mdash;Prizes Awarded in a Girl&rsquo;s School&mdash;Annandabai
+Joshee&mdash;Her Visit to America&mdash;Reports to the
+Government&mdash;Departure from
+India&mdash;Burmah&mdash;Ceylon&mdash;Arabia&mdash;Cairo.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>From our point of view the social condition of women in India is highly
+deplorable. The women are not regarded as the equals of men, but rather
+as an appendix to them. Their religion teaches that they have no
+acknowledged rights as individuals, and that the only happiness they can
+attain in this world and in the world to come is to become wives and
+mothers of men, and that the more a woman sacrifices herself for man the
+greater will be her reward in the future. If the man to whom she is
+married dies, the remainder of her life is full of sorrow and suffering,
+and it is only in the life hereafter that she can expect any happiness,
+and that by being reunited with him.</p>
+
+<p>This belief gave rise to the so-called &ldquo;sati,&rdquo; or the custom
+to burn the wife on her deceased husband&rsquo;s pyre in order that she might
+<i>at once</i> be reunited with him and enjoy salvation through him.
+&ldquo;Sati&rdquo; is now prohibited by the English government, but
+every widow in India is still doomed to a life of misery and
+degradation.</p>
+
+<p>When we consider that polygamy is practiced to a very large extent among
+the rich so that a man is allowed to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">- 262 -</a></span> have any number of wives,
+and may keep on taking new wives as long as he lives, it may easily be
+understood what a great number of widows there must be. There is an old
+man, for example, who dies and leaves many widows of different ages,
+some of them only ten or twelve years old, none of whom are allowed to
+marry a second time. They are deprived of all ornaments, and compelled
+to wear a very coarse, plain dress, to live on the plainest food, and
+work hard for the man who inherits the property of the deceased husband,
+and who is generally his brother or his son. This is the reason that
+rich families have a large number of women in all ranks and conditions,
+from the mistress of the house, which position is held by the husband&rsquo;s
+mother, to the humblest servant woman. The education of women is
+prohibited; hence they are very much like children, playing with their
+dolls, jewels and other toys, and having no higher idea of life in
+general than what they have been taught in the nursery. It is rather
+fortunate, therefore, that these lamentable victims of prejudice live in
+ignorance, as long as the present<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">- 263 -</a></span> condition exists, for
+otherwise their life would be still more miserable.</p>
+
+<p>In the course of the last few years missionaries from Europe and America
+have opened schools for the education of girls. The most prominent of
+these is located in Calcutta, and has many branches in other parts of
+India. It is called &ldquo;the American Zenana,&rdquo; or ladies&rsquo;
+mission, and during my stay in India it was managed by a Miss Hook, a
+very estimable lady of Danish descent, the fruits of whose noble work
+will be of incalculable value to future millions of Hindoo women.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image063.jpg" width="620" height="369" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MISSION HOME AND SCHOOL.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>At an examination in this school I had the honor of distributing the
+prizes, consisting of five hundred American dolls sent by Cyrus Field of
+New York. The recipients were the most dainty and pretty little girls
+one could see. I wish I could describe this festivity. I sat on the
+platform in the great hall with Miss Hook to the right, a pundit or
+learned Brahmin to the left, and surrounded by the American and native
+teachers and some American tourists. The immense hall might be compared
+with a beautiful flower terrace alive with different colors, every
+little girl shining like a pretty flower in her red, green, white, blue
+or purple dress, her pretty black hair sparkling with gold and silver
+ornaments or jewels. They were all listening with close attention until
+their names were called, when they modestly, their faces beaming with
+joy, stepped up to receive the pretty dolls sent by the generous
+American.</p>
+
+<p>At first these schools met with bitter opposition on the part of the
+better classes of natives, but these prejudices gradually died away, and
+at present the mission schools are not subject to either persecution or
+ill-will.</p>
+
+<p>One day in February, 1883, I received a visit at my home by a Brahmin of
+the highest class, accompanied by his young wife and her little sister.
+Her name was Annandabai Joshee. Her husband was postmaster in the old
+Danish city<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">- 264 -</a></span> Serampoor. He was a highly educated man, about
+forty years of age, with fine, affable manners. His wife was nineteen
+years old, and they had been married nine years. With the exception of
+the queen of Kutch Behar and a few in the Zenana mission, she was the
+first educated Hindoo woman that I had met. Her husband had given her an
+excellent education.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 228px;">
+<img src="images/image064.jpg" width="228" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<p class="caption"><span class="hoverbox" title=" ANNADABAI ">ANNANDABAI</span> JOSHEE.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="nowrap">Their errand was</span> to consult me and, if possible, obtain my assistance in
+a matter of the greatest importance to the women of India. The young
+woman had reflected somewhat in this manner: &ldquo;Since I have
+acquired education, and the same amount of knowledge as a man, why may
+not other women in India do the same? In America many women are renowned
+for their great learning, and many of them are doctors of medicine. The
+women of India are not allowed to be visited by any man except their
+husband, and as all our physicians are men, who cannot see and carefully
+examine their female patients, they cannot, of course, prescribe proper
+treatment for them; hence many women in India must suffer and die
+without a remedy, which often could be avoided if women studied
+medicine. If American women can become physicians, then I can, and I
+have decided to go to America and enter the female medical<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_265" id="Page_265">- 265 -</a></span> college in Philadelphia and study
+for the degree of doctor of medicine, and then return to India and do
+good among my countrywomen, and disprove the false doctrine which keeps
+Hindoo women in ignorance and degradation.&rdquo; Her husband was very
+enthusiastic for her plan, and, being rich, was also able to assist her
+in carrying it out if I would favor it and contribute toward its
+realization by reason of the influence my official position gave.</p>
+
+<p>A few weeks later, the noble minded little Brahmin woman was on her way
+across the great ocean to that country where not only man but also woman
+enjoys a free existence. She carried official letters from me to all
+American authorities with which she might come in contact, also to the
+mayor of Philadelphia, and to the state department at Washington. Before
+leaving Calcutta she delivered an extempore address before a large
+audience at the University of Serampoor, of which address I have made
+the following extracts:</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I am asked hundreds of questions about my going to America. I
+take this opportunity to answer some of them.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I go to America because I wish to study medicine. I now address
+the ladies present here, who will be the better judges of the importance
+of female medical assistance in India. I never consider this subject
+without being impressed that none of those societies so laudably
+established in India for the promotion of science and female education
+have ever thought of sending one of their female members into the more
+civilized parts of the world to procure thorough medical knowledge, in
+order to open here a college for the instruction of women in medicine.
+The want of female physicians in India is keenly felt in every quarter.
+Ladies, both European and native, are naturally averse to expose
+themselves in cases of emergency to treatment by doctors of the other
+sex. There are some female doctors in India<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">- 266 -</a></span> from Europe and
+America, who, being foreigners, and different in manners, customs and
+language, have not been of such use to our women as they might. As it is
+very natural that Hindoo ladies who love their own <span title=" conntry " class="hoverbox">country</span> and people
+should not feel at home with the natives of the other countries, we
+Indian women absolutely derive no benefit from these foreign ladies.
+They indeed have the appearance of supplying our need, but the
+appearance is delusive. In my humble opinion there is a growing need for
+Hindoo lady doctors in India, and I volunteer to qualify myself for one.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Are there no means to study in India? I do not mean to say there
+are <i>no</i> means, but the difficulties are many and great. There is one
+college at Madras, and midwifery classes are open in all the
+presidencies; but the education imparted is defective and insufficient,
+as the instructors are conservative, and to some extent jealous. I do
+not find fault with them. That is the character of the male sex. We must
+put up with this inconvenience until we have a class of educated ladies
+to relieve these men. I am neither a Christian nor a Brahmin. To
+continue to live as a Hindoo, and go to school in any part of India, is
+very difficult. A convert who wears an English dress is not so much
+stared at. Native Christian ladies are free from the opposition or
+public scandal which Hindoo ladies like myself have to meet within and
+without the Zenana. If I go alone by train or in the street some people
+come near to stare and ask impertinent questions to annoy me. Example is
+better than precept. Some few years ago, when I was in Bombay, I used to
+go to school. When people saw me going with my books in my hand they had
+the goodness to put their heads out of the window just to have a look at
+me. Some stopped their carriages for the purpose. Others walking in the
+streets stood laughing, and crying out so that I could hear: &lsquo;What is
+this? Who is this lady who is going to school<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">- 267 -</a></span> with boots and
+stockings on?&rsquo; Does not this show that the Kali Ugla has stamped its
+character on the minds of the people? Ladies and gentlemen, you can
+easily imagine what effect questions like this would have on your minds
+if you had been in my place!</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Once it happened that I was obliged to stay in school for some
+time, and go twice a day for my meals to the house of a relative.
+Passers-by, whenever they saw me going, gathered round me. Some of them
+made fun and were convulsed with laughter. Others, sitting respectably
+on their verandas, made ridiculous remarks, and did not feel ashamed to
+throw pebbles at me. The shop-keepers and venders spit at the sight of
+me, and made gestures too indecent to describe. I leave it to you to
+imagine what was my condition at such time, and how I could gladly have
+burst through the crowd to make my home nearer.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Yet the boldness of my Bengali brethren cannot be exceded, and is
+still more serious to contemplate than the instances I have given from
+Bombay. Surely it deserves pity. If I go to take a walk on the strand,
+Englishmen are not so bold as to look at me. Even the soldiers are never
+troublesome, but the Baboo boys<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> have their levity by making fun of
+everything. &lsquo;Who are you?&rsquo; &lsquo;What caste do you belong
+to?&rsquo; &lsquo;Whence do you come?&rsquo; &lsquo;Where do you go?&rsquo;&mdash;are in my
+opinion, questions that should not be asked by strangers. There are some
+educated native Christians here in Serampoor who are suspicious; they
+are still wondering whether I am married or a widow; a woman of bad
+character or excommunicated. Dear audience, does it become my native and
+Christian brethren to be so uncharitable? Certainly not. I place these
+unpleasant things before you that those whom they concern most may
+rectify them, and that those who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">- 268 -</a></span> have never thought of the
+difficulties may see that I am not going to America through any whim or
+caprice.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Shall I not be excommunicated when I return to India? Do you
+think I should be filled with consternation at this threat? I do not
+fear it in the least. Why should I be cast out, when I have determined
+to live there exactly as I do here? I propose to myself to make no
+change in my customs and manners, food or dress. I will go as a Hindoo
+and come back here to live as a Hindoo. I will not increase my wants,
+but be as plain and simple as my forefathers, and as I am now. If my
+countrymen wish to excommunicate me, why do they not do it now? They are
+at liberty to do so.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>After my return to America I visited her twice at the medical college in
+Philadelphia, where she became everybody&rsquo;s favorite, being one of the
+best students that ever crossed the threshhold of the institution. She
+did not renounce her religion or her habits of life, but observed all of
+these strictly. After three years of hard study she passed her
+examination with high standing, and practiced a few months in American
+hospitals, but she gradually succumbed to the dread disease, pulmonary
+consumption, and returned to India after an absence of four years, only
+to die in Poonah, the city where her ancestors had lived as highly
+respectable people for two thousand years past. She left India with the
+curse of the Brahmins on her head, but returned as the idol of her
+people. Thousands upon thousands crowded around her home, almost
+worshiping the frail, noble being whose youthful life was slowly ebbing
+away.</p>
+
+<p>Strange are the ways of Providence. When Rev. Dr. Fjellstedt kindled a
+desire to see India in the bosom of the young country boy, who could
+then have guessed that this boy was to become a medium to assist that
+Brahmin woman who was destined to be the first one of the millions of
+India to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">- 269 -</a></span> clear the way to education and liberty for her
+unfortunate sisters!</p>
+
+<p>Besides my report on wheat culture I sent numerous official reports to
+our government on different industries, and other matters in India, such
+as tea culture, the decline of American shipping in Asia, the railroads,
+the population of India, our commercial relations with India, etc. These
+reports attracted such attention in Washington that during the month of
+February, 1883, I received orders from the state department to make a
+tour of inspection to those provinces and cities which belonged to my
+district and report to the government anything of national interest.
+Shortly after receiving this order, which was accompanied by a leave of
+absence for six months, I also received a cablegram from Holland
+offering me the position of managing American director of the Maxwell
+Land Grant Company in New Mexico, whereof more hereafter.</p>
+
+<p>On the 12th of April I turned over all my official affairs to the
+vice-consul, Mr. C. C. Bancroft, and took the steamer Raipatoonah for
+Burmah, where I visited the most important seaports, Rangoon, Mulmain,
+and Akjab. Buddhism is there the prevailing religion, and the caste
+system, such as is found among the Hindoos, is unknown. The people are
+more prosperous. The city of Rangoon has, among other notable objects, a
+celebrated Buddhist pagoda, the great dome of which is covered with
+solid gold plate. The pagoda is situated on a high elevation above the
+city, and the dome is one of the most notable and costly works of
+architecture in the world. It is visible at a great distance out on the
+ocean, and when the tropical sun throws its rays on it, it looks like a
+flame of fire, whose splendor is too dazzling for the eyes to endure.</p>
+
+<p>At a dinner party arranged for me by the American consul at Rangoon, I
+met many of the prominent men in this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">- 270 -</a></span> city. Among these a judge
+of the supreme court, one Mr. Allen, who, late in the evening, at a game
+of whist, informed me that he had on that day been engaged in the trial
+of a Birmese prince accused of murder, and that he should pronounce
+sentence the following day. I could see that he had already made up his
+mind; still he politely asked me a few questions on international law
+with reference to the trial. The next day the prince was sentenced to
+death because he had violated the law of the land, which seems to prove
+that the English administration of justice in Asia is no respecter of
+persons.</p>
+
+<p>In Birmah elephants are used for loading and unloading goods in the
+harbors. In the city of Mulmain I saw some of these wise animals piling
+up heavy timber in a lumber yard. The elephant put his tusks under the
+beam and his trunk over it and handled it with great ease. Having lifted
+the beam on the pile, he looked at it carefully to see if it lay in
+right shape, and if not, he would move it with his trunk. It was
+wonderful to see how well these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">- 271 -</a></span> animals seemed to understand
+what their drivers said. If a very big log could not be moved in the
+usual manner he would roll it with his feet or shove it with his head,
+or even put a chain around it and pull it along, and all this at the
+command of the driver who remained sitting on the head of the animal.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image065.jpg" width="620" height="347" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ELEPHANTS PILING TIMBER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>On April 25 I again embarked, this time on the steamer Asia, sailing
+across the Bay of Bengal, and arrived on the first day of May at the
+seaport, Bimlipatam, on the Madras coast. It was a pleasant city of
+white houses and situated at the foot of a high volcano. Here I saw for
+the first time the notorious car of Juggernaut, in which the image of
+the god is dragged through the streets. The car is of stupendous size,
+and rests on sixteen wheels. Thousands of pilgrims followed the car, and
+formerly many of the worshipers used to throw themselves under the
+wheels in order to be crushed to death; but this barbaric custom has
+been prohibited by the English government. The idol of Juggernaut is
+regarded as very sacred, for according to tradition it contains a bone
+of Krishna, the Hindoo Apollo, one of the ten incarnations or
+manifestations of the god Vishnu. This relic worship, which is otherwise
+unknown to the orthodox Hindoo faith, is a remnant of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">- 272 -</a></span> Buddhism,
+which formerly prevailed throughout the whole province of Orisa.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 252px;">
+<img src="images/image066.jpg" width="252" height="375" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE CAR OF JUGGERNAUT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="nowrap">On the second</span> day we arrived at Kokonada, where a flotilla of nearly one
+hundred short-masted sailing vessels of native construction after having
+received their cargoes lay waiting for us. Again we steamed away along
+the coast, stopping at the seaports Kalingapatam, Vizagapatam,
+Masulipatam, and finally arrived at Madras, on the fifth of May. This is
+one of the handsomest cities in Asia. It is situated near the equator,
+so that it is very hot there; but the fresh ocean breezes cool the air
+in the afternoon, and make the temperature particularly delightful.</p>
+
+<p>On the 10th of May I left with the steamer Assam for Ceylon, and arrived
+at Colombo, the principal city and harbor on this island, on the 13th.
+Ceylon is called the pearl <span title=" of of " class="hoverbox">of</span> Asia, and justly so. I remained there
+two days, in the company of the American consul, and visited the
+cinnamon groves, the Buddhistic temples, and other objects of
+interest.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">- 273 -</a></span> Along the coast south of Colombo is a drive-way for
+several miles, passing through groves of cinnamon and other spice trees
+which fill the air with fragrance. There are also artificial lakes,
+canals, parks and flower gardens in endless profusion; in a word, this
+place is one of the most delightful spots I have ever seen.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image067.jpg" width="620" height="394" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BUDDHA TEMPLE AT CEYLON.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Egyptian patriot Arabi Pasha was recently banished to this island on
+account of his taking such a prominent part in the late rebellion in
+Egypt. I drove out to his fine residence located near the sea, and found
+him to be a very pleasant and highly educated man, who spoke English
+fluently, and with whom I soon became on friendly terms on account of my
+sympathy for the Egyptian people.</p>
+
+<p>Ceylon is the centre of modern Buddhism in India. The temples of the
+Buddhists are very interesting to see. Many of their priests are men of
+learning and culture. I spent a few hours with them, and received much
+attention on their part on account of my being a representative of
+America. There is an old tradition among the Hindoos that the garden of
+Eden was situated on the island of Ceylon. The Hindoo narrative of the
+fall of man has many features in common with the biblical narrative, but
+with this difference: that Adam, being reproached for his sins, did not,
+according to the Hindoo legend, put the blame on Eve, but took it all on
+himself, and said that he alone was to blame, and that the woman should
+not be cursed. It is further told that when they were expelled from
+paradise they turned their course northward, and when they came to the
+shallow water which separates Ceylon from the main land of Asia, Adam
+took Eve in his arms and carried her across.</p>
+
+<p>Having remained two days at this delightful place we embarked again, and
+on the 20th of May we were steaming along the coast of Arabia, being
+within sight of land the whole morning. In my note-book I find the
+following lines<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">- 274 -</a></span> for this day: &ldquo;Under thick canvass there
+is a strangely mixed crowd of people on the half-deck, gathered for
+divine worship, and when they closed the same by singing:</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<p><span class="line1">&lsquo;O, hear us as we cry to Thee</span><br />
+<span class="line2">For those in peril on the sea,&rsquo;</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>the voices of Mohammedans, Jews, Buddhists and Brahmins from a dozen
+different countries were blended with those of the Christians.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>We spent the 22d of May in the city of Aden, in South Arabia. This place
+is hot and dreary. Accompanied by one of my fellow-passengers I took a
+ride on camel-back through the desert to the celebrated water
+reservoirs. It seldom rains more than once in every three years at this
+place. To preserve the water that falls on these occasions the Arabians
+have built a series of cisterns, or large reservoirs, for the water
+along the foot of a mountain. These cisterns are made with great
+architectural skill; they are built of stone and cement, and are much
+more compact and durable than similar works of modern times. Water is a
+great luxury in Southern Arabia, and it is customary to offer the driver
+a drink of water for his camel or horse as an encouragement to drive a
+little faster or to show him a favor. At the same time the driver does
+not object to a tip, which in oriental countries is called, as in Egypt,
+&ldquo;backshish,&rdquo; an expression with which every traveler soon
+becomes familiar.</p>
+
+<p>From Aden we had a pleasant voyage up the Red sea to Suez. The cholera
+was, so to speak, in the air, and our steamer was the last one which
+escaped quarantine. From Suez I traveled in company with some other
+passengers by rail to Cairo. We stopped an hour at the little city
+Ismailia, which is situated on the canal, and is a fine place, noted
+especially for the great f&ecirc;te given by Count F. de Lesseps at the
+opening of the Suez canal, for which occasion a fine palace was built
+for the accommodation of Empress Eugenie of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">- 275 -</a></span> France. On the way
+to Cairo we passed through the valley which in the <span title=" bible " class="hoverbox">Bible</span> is called
+Goshen, and which Pharaoh gave to the brothers of Joseph to live in, and
+where the brick yards are located in which the Israelites were compelled
+to make brick without straw and oppressed in different ways by their
+task-masters.</p>
+
+<p>During the day I had occasion to see a portion of the canal &ldquo;Bahr
+Jussuf,&rdquo; or Joseph&rsquo;s canal, a masterwork some four thousand years
+old, which the legend ascribes to Joseph, and which still proves what a
+blessing this man conferred upon the people of Egypt, not only by
+warding off the dread famine, but also by executing many great and
+useful works. The canal began at Siut, on the Nile, and meandered
+through the valley on the west side of the river for a distance of
+nearly two hundred and fifty miles, until its level was so far above
+that of the river that its waters could be carried westward into the
+province of Fajuin, and change its formerly sterile soil into the
+richest and most fertile fields.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">- 276 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a><a href="#TOC_27">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XXVII.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Cairo&mdash;Cheop&rsquo;s Pyramid&mdash;Venice&mdash;The St. Gotthard
+Tunnel&mdash;On the Rhine&mdash;Visit in Holland and
+England&mdash;Father Nugent&mdash;Arrival at New York.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>The train has stopped, and we are in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The
+beautiful, the joyous, the memorable Cairo, with its gorgeous mosques,
+its half mystic, half historical monuments, its narrow streets, and a
+life, a commotion and an oriental splendor strongly reminding one of the
+legends &ldquo;One Thousand and One Nights.&rdquo; In company with a
+friend from America I visited the principal mosques, bazars, parks and
+other places of interest, and the next day we drove out to the great
+Cheop&rsquo;s pyramid, which is located about eight miles from the city. Here
+I again met with a monument of antiquity which filled me with wonder and
+admiration. The pyramid of Cheops was built before the birth of
+Moses,&mdash;yes, before Jacob came down with his sons to
+Egypt,&mdash;and it is possible that Joseph pointed out the same to his
+aged father as a proof of the greatness of the country and its
+resources.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image068.jpg" width="620" height="363" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MOHAMMEDAN MOSQUE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>According to Herodotus one hundred and twenty thousand men were occupied
+twenty years in building it. Its base covers about eleven acres, and its
+height is about four hundred and eighty feet. One can get an approximate
+idea of the enormous mass of material in it, when it is calculated that
+it contains stone enough to build a wall one and a-half feet thick and
+ten feet high around all England,&mdash;a distance of nearly nine
+hundred miles.</p>
+<!--[image068]<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">- 277 -</a></span>-->
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">- 278 -</a></span>
+
+<p>The renowned Sphinx is hewn out of the solid rock. It is in a reclining
+position, and, although partly buried by sand, I could easily trace its
+back for a distance of thirty paces.</p>
+
+<p>At the foot of the pyramid I met an Arabian chief, a gesture from whom
+showed me that he belonged to the mystic brotherhood of Free Masons,
+which gave rise to warm handshaking, and an interesting conversation
+through the aid of my interpreter. In pressing the hand of this son of
+the desert sighing under despotism, and reading the feelings of his
+heart through the wrinkles of his face, while he talked of the great
+country in the West, whence I came, and whose free institutions,
+granting equal rights to all, were to him a heavenly light pointing
+forward and upward, I felt more deeply than ever before what a blessing
+it is to be a citizen of a commonwealth where a man is measured, not by
+his birth or his wealth, but by his own personal merits.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image069.jpg" width="620" height="365" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE PYRAMIDS AND THE SPHINX.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Returning to Cairo the remainder of the day was spent in the Boulak
+museum, among the most wonderful antiquities<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">- 279 -</a></span> of the world.
+Shortly before there had been discovered in the Nubian hills, beneath
+the temple Dayr-el-Baheree, a burial place containing the bodies of the
+old Egyptian kings. These had been brought to Cairo, where a separate
+wing <span title=" of of " class="hoverbox">of</span> the museum had been opened for their keeping, and there they
+lay in their coffins in a fine state of preservation, owing to the
+Egyptian method of embalming. There were the very men who built the
+pyramids; there was Amases I., the founder of the new empire, Thotmes
+III., the great Sethi I., and his famous son Ramses II., and that
+Pharaoh who is supposed to have brought up Moses; there was also
+his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">- 280 -</a></span> daughter Mirrhis, who afterward became his queen, the same
+who found Moses as an infant floating in the Nile.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 329px;">
+<img src="images/image070.jpg" width="329" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RAMSES II., WHEN YOUNG.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Their bodies&mdash;yes, even their features&mdash;were well preserved.
+They lie in coffins of wood, which show skilled workmanship, the corners
+being carefully dovetailed together. Even their shrouds and ornaments of
+flowers and herbs show plainly that the style of dressing the dead among
+the Egyptians four thousand years ago was very much the same as it is
+now with us.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 328px;">
+<img src="images/image071.jpg" width="328" height="400" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RAMSES II.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>When I stood among the ruins of Pompeii or of the tower<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_281" id="Page_281">- 281 -</a></span> Sarnath, the home of Buddha, I
+thought nothing could be more wonderful and awe-inspiring than those
+hoary monuments; but here lay before my eyes the very man who for many
+years was a friend and protector of Moses, with his wonderful,
+commanding features and eagle nose, his long dark hair, which lay in
+thick folds under his neck. The arms, rings, jewels and other ornaments
+worn by those kings and their queens, formed part of this wonderful
+collection, and, by their skillful workmanship, showed the high degree
+of civilization of the ancient Egyptians.</p>
+
+<p>The following day I took the train for Alexandria. The railroad follows
+the river Nile in its general course. The valley is densely populated,
+and wretched mud houses and villages appear in every direction. The
+cholera had now broken out in its most deadly form, and we saw many dead
+and dying at the stations. The steamer Tanjore lay ready to sail for
+Europe, and I was soon comfortably quartered in one of its spacious
+cabins.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image072.jpg" width="620" height="355" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">NILE BOAT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">- 282 -</a></span>
+
+<p>On Sunday, June 3d, a beautiful Italian day, as we were rapidly steaming
+north through the Adriatic sea, we could see the coast of Greece to the
+right and that of Italy to the left. We arrived at Brindisi the same
+afternoon, and at Venice two days later. Surely the beauties of nature
+and of art that meet the eve in this lovely city seem to be the climax
+of everything beautiful on earth, and, quietly gliding forward during
+many hours through numerous canals in a half-dreamy, half-waking
+condition, with two silent gondoliers at the oars, I could scarcely
+realize whether this was a beautiful dream, an illusion, or reality.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image073.jpg" width="620" height="483" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">RIALTO BRIDGE IN VENICE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The next morning, accompanied by an interpreter, I walked through St.
+Mark&rsquo;s square, carefully studying its many wonderful attractions, its
+splendid shops, the clock, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">- 283 -</a></span> thousands of tame doves, the
+belfry of St. Mark&rsquo;s, the palace of the Doges, the marble pillars of the
+winged lions, and finally, the most remarkable of all, the wonderful
+church with its irregular, yet harmonious, unique and impressive
+architecture. In the church were seen ordinary visitors roaming about
+under the domes, humble worshipers counting their beads and rosaries,
+closely-shaved monks and royal officers with clanging sabres, and
+artists busy with their studies.</p>
+
+<p>With a shudder I crossed the Bridge of Sighs, with its horrid
+associations, and spent a quarter of an hour in the dark dungeons to
+which it leads, and in which so many poor mortals, prisoners often
+without accusers and guiltless of crime, had sighed and suffered through
+the cruelties of man to man, well knowing that when they crossed that
+bridge into the dungeon, they had left all earthly hope behind.</p>
+
+<p>In Venice I parted with my American companion, Mr. Robins, in whose
+company I had traveled all the way from Madras.</p>
+
+<p>Having promised to be in Holland at an early day, I was compelled to
+hurry, and left Venice on the evening of the second day. This time I
+took the route through the St. Gotthard tunnel, which is nine and a half
+miles long, and through which it takes nearly half an hour to pass. The
+beautiful lake Como and the grand Alpine scenery have been so often
+described, that I consider it superfluous to dwell on them in these
+pages.</p>
+
+<p>In Mayennes I left the railroad and took the steamer down the beautiful
+Rhine to Cologne, passing the vine-clad hills and the medi&aelig;val
+castles, in delightful conversation with some American and Swedish
+tourists just returning from the German watering places.</p>
+
+<p>From Cologne I traveled by rail to Rotterdam, where I arrived June 9th,
+and met my old friend, G. P. Ittman, one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">- 284 -</a></span> of the men with whom I
+formerly had business connections concerning railroad matters in
+Minnesota. The following day he accompanied me to the Hague to see Baron
+de Constant Rebeque, one of those European noblemen who would have been
+a nobleman even if he had been born in a hut. He was then chamberlain of
+the king, and one of the directors of the Maxwell Land Grant Company,
+the management of which had been offered to me as already stated.</p>
+
+<p>The next day we all met at the office of the vice-president of the
+company, the banker Mr. W. F. Ziegelar. The board of directors held a
+meeting, at which I was elected business manager for America, and it was
+decided that Messrs. Ziegelar and Rebeque should meet me in America a
+month later, and that all of us should then proceed to New Mexico to
+inspect the property and investigate the economical standing of the
+company, after which I could decide whether I would accept the position
+or not.</p>
+
+<p>A few days later Mr. Ziegelar accompanied me to London, where one of the
+directors and many of the creditors of the Maxwell Company resided. Here
+I also found some friends from India, and in their company spent a
+couple of days at the beautiful country residence of an English
+nobleman, Sir Balfour. Among the prominent and excellent men with whom I
+formed an acquaintance at that place was Maj. Horace Durrant, formerly
+of the queen&rsquo;s hussars, who was also largely interested in the Maxwell
+Company, and one of the men from different countries, nationalities and
+creeds who will always live in my memory like beaming stars on life&rsquo;s
+varied journey.</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterward I renewed my acquaintance with John Ennis in Liverpool,
+an Irishman, and a friend of mine for more than twenty years. He is a
+man who is never happier than when he can do someone a favor, and he has
+had occasion to do me many. In the evening he took me out to<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_285" id="Page_285">- 285 -</a></span> see a sight, as he called it, and
+truly a wonderful sight it was. In a vacant space among the back streets
+and alleys of Liverpool, near the shipping, stood erected an enormous
+tent, containing seats for three thousand people. My friend Ennis led me
+through the back entrance onto the platform, where a few ladies and
+gentlemen were already seated. The tent was lighted with gas; the people
+were crowding into it through half a dozen different entrances. I have
+never seen such a crowd before or since. There were thieves,
+pickpockets, beggars, prostitutes, drunkards and ragamuffins of both
+sexes and of all ages, the very slums and filth of that great seaport,
+laughing, shouting, cursing, weeping, and noisy in every way.</p>
+
+<p>Soon the great tent was filled, and could contain no more.</p>
+
+<p>Then a little man appeared on the platform, whom Mr. Ennis introduced to
+me as the Rev. Father Nugent, an Irish Catholic priest, very small in
+stature, but with a countenance beaming with intelligence and
+benevolence. He stepped to the front, and the moment he was seen by the
+vast audience order and perfect silence reigned.</p>
+
+<p>Here was another Keshub-Chunder-Sen, but with no new religion or
+doctrine to advance, only re-echoing what the man of Nazareth had said
+to the same class of people eighteen centuries ago. This priest has done
+much noble work, rescued many from a life of degradation, brought up and
+secured places in America for thousands of street gamins and orphans,
+and his name is better known, especially among the English-speaking
+Catholics, than that of any king or emperor. And who would not rather be
+a Father Nugent than a king?</p>
+
+<p>In the morning of the fourth of July I arrived in New York city, and
+soon found President Chester Arthur, Gen. Garfield&rsquo;s successor,
+occupying rooms near my own in the Fifth Avenue hotel. After breakfast I
+was given an interview with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">- 286 -</a></span> him, and, of course, was pleased to
+learn that he had followed my little work in India with interest, and
+expressed much regret when I informed him of my intention to resign at
+the expiration of my leave of absence.</p>
+
+<div class="figtb">
+<img src="images/image043.jpg" width="200" height="58" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">- 287 -</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a><a href="#TOC_28">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XXVIII.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>Home from India&mdash;A Friendly Reception&mdash;Journey to New
+Mexico&mdash;The Maxwell Land Grant Company&mdash;Renewed Visits to
+England and Holland&mdash;Re-elected Secretary of State&mdash;Visit of
+the Swedish Officers in Minneapolis and St. Paul&mdash;Two Hundred and
+Fiftieth Anniversary of the Landing of the First Swedes in Delaware.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>On the 8th of July I was again home with family and friends in
+Minneapolis, and found everything pretty much as I had left it nearly
+two years previously; except that my good old father had gone to his
+final rest. A couple of days later I visited my farm, in the Red River
+valley, and my old and faithful friend Capt. H. Eustrom, who lived close
+by and was then holding an important office, and who had faithfully
+attended to my interests at that place during my absence.</p>
+
+<p>My Scandinavian friends had meanwhile arranged a reception for me, and
+on the 11th some eighty of them joined in a banquet at Lyndale Hotel,
+then situated in the suburbs of Minneapolis at Lake Calhoun. The
+afternoon was devoted to a steamboat tour around the beautiful lake, and
+in the evening the party all sat down to a sumptuous banquet, where many
+addresses of welcome and tokens of friendship were spoken, read and
+sung. I had been absent nearly two years, seen and experienced much of
+the world and enjoyed many pleasures, but I found the old saying true;
+&ldquo;There is no place like home.&rdquo; These two years had been of
+particular<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">- 288 -</a></span> importance in the history of the cities of
+Minneapolis and St. Paul. The population had nearly trebled during that
+time, and such improvements had been made that I could hardly recognize
+them.</p>
+
+<p>A week after my return my friends from Holland arrived, and we proceeded
+to New Mexico, where we found the great Maxwell estate, valued at ten
+million dollars, and containing one and a half million acres of land,
+consisting of coal fields, gold mines, timber and grazing lands, in a
+deplorable condition caused by extravagance and mismanagement. We found
+that there was nearly a million dollars of current debts, while the
+income was not sufficient to buy postage stamps to carry on the
+necessary business correspondence.</p>
+
+<p>An agreement was finally effected whereby the former president and
+American manager relinquished his interest and resigned his position;
+the Holland directors determined to raise the necessary funds in Europe,
+and I agreed to undertake the liquidation of the affairs of the company.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after I repaired to Washington to report my inspection tour in
+India, and tender my resignation, which was accepted, an unusual
+courtesy being shown me by extending my leave of absence to January the
+next year. The following two years were devoted principally to business
+journeys to New Mexico, England and Holland. I visited the latter
+countries four times during that period. With the powerful aid of Baron
+Rebeque, who had spent several months with me in this country in the
+summer and fall of 1883, a syndicate, backed by several million dollars,
+was at last formed in Holland, and the whole estate was turned over to
+it. Having accomplished this, I voluntarily withdrew from the concern,
+and returned to my own farm and home in Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>The Maxwell estate is situated within the Rocky mountain region, on an
+elevation of from six thousand to twelve<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">- 289 -</a></span> thousand feet above
+the sea. The climate is delightful and the scenery beautiful, but the
+country is not fit for cultivation, except such parts as can be
+irrigated. Hence most of it is devoted to stock raising, and herds of
+countless cattle were roaming over the prairies, the Maxwell Company
+alone owning at the time I left its service nearly twenty thousand head.</p>
+
+<p>In the fall of 1886 I was for the second time elected secretary of state
+by the citizens of Minnesota, re-elected in 1888, and thus made for the
+third time the head of the state department.</p>
+
+<p>In the fall of 1887 the citizens of Minneapolis were honored by a visit
+from a large number of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish military officers,
+non-commissioned officers and soldiers. They arrived by an express train
+from Chicago, and were met at the union depot by thousands of people.
+The Swedish Guard, Normanna Infantry, and the society Dania were paraded
+outside the depot building. The guests were received by a committee, and
+conducted in procession through the illuminated and crowded streets to
+Dania hall, where a splendid banquet was enjoyed, while music was
+discoursed by the Svea and Normanna bands. The city mayor, Dr. Ames,
+made an address of welcome, after which several Scandinavians made
+speeches. I had been elected as the spokesman for the Swedes, and
+expressed myself as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&ldquo;<i>Honored Guests from Sweden, Norway and Denmark:</i></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;From the place where we now stand the roar of the St. Anthony falls
+may be heard through the still night. You are, therefore, far back in the
+depths of the American West; and yet this is only the modern gate of entrance
+to the great North-west.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;A couple of hours ago a half dozen railway trains left our depot
+over different roads and are now speeding on toward the setting sun, and
+some of them do not cease their journey until they have passed distances
+greater than that between London and Rome, through fertile, but, as yet,
+mostly unsettled regions. Thirty-four years ago I, with a few other of
+your countrymen, some of the earliest in Minnesota, gazed for the first
+time at
+<!--[image074]<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">- 290 -</a></span>-->
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">- 291 -</a></span>the St. Anthony falls. There was no city,
+not even a sign of a city, on this side of the river; the red man chased
+his game in the woods where our churches and school-houses now stand;
+the country west of us was an unknown wilderness, Minnesota did not
+exist as a state, and many of our western states, which now contain
+millions of happy inhabitants, were not even projected.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Now, on the contrary, our state alone is a mighty empire, with a
+population of nearly a million and a half, and with an assessed
+valuation of six hundred million dollars. Minnesota now produces a
+hundred million bushels of grain annually on her fertile fields, six
+hundred and fifty million feet of lumber from her forests, and her
+infant iron mines already show an annual production of half a million
+tons of rich ore. The Scandinavians constitute more than one-fourth of
+the population of the state, and produce at least one-third of our
+agricultural products on their own lands, as most of them are farmers.
+The amount of grain which in Minnesota alone is annually produced, would
+be more than sufficient to furnish the whole population of Sweden with
+bread from the beginning to the end of each year.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image074.jpg" width="620" height="390" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">CAPITOL OF MINNESOTA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&ldquo;Our beautiful city of Minneapolis has already a population of one
+hundred and sixty thousand, of which at least one-fourth, or forty
+thousand, are Scandinavians or their descendants.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I hope you will all have an opportunity to see our city with your
+own eyes before you leave us,&mdash;its mills, churches, schools and
+happy homes,&mdash;and will therefore not consume the time by referring
+to these.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;As to yourselves, gentlemen, we have heard what has been said to
+you so expressively in Chicago by our friends there, and we join them
+heartily in their praise.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;When we heard that the soldiers and representatives of Denmark,
+Norway and Sweden would honor us with a visit we all rejoiced, and we
+have come together this evening to express our joy in a cordial welcome.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;We have intentionally conducted you to this hall where we may,
+under our own roof, pay you our homage in the plain manner of our sturdy
+Scandinavian forefathers, and give you an opportunity to see us as we
+are in our daily life. We are men of the people; we have come here as
+poor immigrants, ignorant of the language and of the customs of the
+country. Our sole heritage was our strong arms and our good
+cheer,&mdash;no, excuse me, another heritage of more worth than gold or
+genius have we brought from our old homesteads,&mdash;our share of
+Northern fidelity, strength, and virtue; and the talent confided to us
+we have used in all branches of industry, science, fine arts, in the
+service of the community, the state, and the Union, in peace and in war,
+and we perform our share in the great national work, the result of which
+is a new and powerful commonwealth, the foundation of which lies in the
+individual worth and right of man.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I think I can see a Providential dispensation in this, that when
+the time<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">- 292 -</a></span> arrived for the new world to take its place among the
+nations with a new and powerful cosmopolitan race, the Scandinavian
+people were also chosen to contribute a part in that grand work, and
+that it was especially reserved for the &lsquo;men of the people&rsquo;
+to receive in this country free and equal opportunity for their
+development. Who can fail to see the stamp of the Scandinavian people on
+the entire social fabric of the new world?</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;We would be forgetful if we did not gratefully remember the great
+good which the fatherland has bestowed upon us from tender childhood to
+the very hour when we bid it farewell; we would be unworthy of the name
+and fame of our fathers if we did not honor and love as a dear mother
+the ever memorable land of our birth, and you, its worthy
+representatives, as our relatives and brothers.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Your presence among us is a proud event, and its remembrance
+shall be cherished as one of the most pleasant. And when you return to
+those dear places where we took the first steps on life&rsquo;s eventful
+journey, we wish you to take back cordial greetings from us all, and say
+to our kindred that we teach our children to love and honor the people
+and institutions in the Northern lands, although they have never seen
+them; and say to them that, far out in the wide West by the laughing
+water of Hiawatha, and hundreds of miles beyond, are friends and
+brothers whose fidelity and affection neither time nor distance can
+obliterate.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The address was responded to with much feeling by Col. Liljeh&ouml;k of
+Sweden. The festivities continued amid addresses, music and song until
+long past midnight. The following day the guests were shown around the
+city, after which they visited St. Paul, where they also received a
+cordial welcome, and were presented to the governor.</p>
+
+<p>The following year, on the 14th of September, an event took place which
+deserves particular mention. It was the celebration of the two hundred
+and fiftieth anniversary of the landing of the first Swedish settlers on
+the Delaware. The Revs. J. Enstam and C. J. Petri, together with myself,
+in the middle of the summer called a meeting of Swedish-American
+citizens to prepare for such celebration. Committees were appointed and
+elaborate preparations made, to which nearly all the Swedes lent a
+willing and helping hand. The great exposition building was given up to
+our use: bands of music were engaged, a choir of one hundred and<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_293" id="Page_293">- 293 -</a></span> fifty Swedish singers, mostly
+from the different churches, was trained, and eminent orators, statesmen
+and professors were invited. A souvenir badge was sold at the Swedish
+business places in the city; the net proceeds,&mdash;amounting to about
+eight hundred dollars,&mdash;were donated to the fund for the relief of
+the sufferers by the great fires in Sundsvall, Ume&aring; and Lilla Edet
+in Sweden.</p>
+
+<p>The program of the day included a fine parade with bands of music and
+banners; but a heavy rain came early in the day, and the parade had to
+be abandoned, and the people instructed to assemble at the exposition
+building at their own convenience, <i>which they also did</i>, in such great
+numbers that before the hour of opening the exercises every seat and
+standing place in the great auditorium were occupied. Many came from
+distant towns, cities and states; a special train brought nearly one
+thousand from St. Paul, with marshals, music and banners; the general
+council of the Lutheran Church, then assembled in Minneapolis, came in a
+body and occupied seats on the platform to the right of Cappa&rsquo;s Seventh
+New York Regiment Band, while the Swedish chorus of one hundred and
+fifty voices, under Prof. Norman, occupied the platform to the left.</p>
+
+<p>The platforms were decorated with numerous society banners, and the
+colors of Sweden were seen everywhere. The lofty pillars reaching to the
+roof were wrapped in alternate stripes of blue and yellow, the national
+colors of Sweden, and side by side and uppermost were the stars and
+stripes. A large picture of the old Swedes Church in Wilmington,
+Delaware, built in 1698, was hung in front of the speakers&rsquo; platform,
+and attracted general attention.</p>
+
+<p>As chairman of the committee of arrangements I had the honor to act as
+presiding officer of the day. The government of Sweden was represented
+by Consul Sahlgaard, with other distinguished guests, and the historical
+society of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">- 294 -</a></span> Delaware by Maj. Geo. Q. White. As near as can be
+estimated there were fully fifteen thousand people present, and the
+interest manifested by that vast audience can best be understood from
+the fact that thousands stood upon their feet during the whole
+proceedings, which lasted three hours.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image075.jpg" width="620" height="397" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OLD SWEDES CHURCH AT WILMINGTON.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The festivities commenced at two o&rsquo;clock in the afternoon with a musical
+selection by Cappa&rsquo;s band, at the close of which the audience was
+welcomed by myself in the following words:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&ldquo;The discovery of America was the greatest event which had taken
+place from the days of Christ till it was made, but the settlement of
+America by the right kind of people was, in its beneficial effects upon
+the human race, a matter of still greater importance. It seems like an
+order of Divine Providence that this new world was left in its natural
+or savage state during all the dark centuries of schooling and
+experiments in Asia, Africa and Europe, in order that it might remain a
+virgin soil for the higher civilization which was to follow.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;To establish this civilization, based upon true principles of
+government<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">- 295 -</a></span> required not only wisdom and strength, but
+toleration, brotherhood, justice and exalted virtue. The people chosen
+for that great work came from different countries and different
+conditions of life,&mdash;the English Pilgrims to New England, the
+Dutch, the Swedes and the Quakers to the middle country, the English
+Cavaliers, the Scotch Highlanders and the French Huguenots to the
+South,&mdash;and in them all, combined and intermingled, were found the
+elements of body and of mind, which have given to the world its best
+government, its greatest nation, and its highest civilization.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Since the English were the largest in number their language
+became the language of all, and for that reason, perhaps, history has
+been partial to those who first spoke it. Memorials and anniversaries
+have often been celebrated over the landing of the Pilgrims and the
+valor of the knights; their just praise has been written and sung a
+thousand times, so that their honored names have become precious
+household words among the generations of our day, while the others have
+often been forgotten or ignored.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Fully recognizing the merits of all, we have assembled here
+to-day from many parts of the United States to commemorate a great
+historical event,&mdash;in celebrating the two hundred and fiftieth
+anniversary of the landing of the Swedes on the Delaware, and to do
+honor to their memory in prayer, song and speech, and to this
+intellectual feast I bid you all a hearty welcome.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>This celebration was unquestionably the largest and most important
+gathering that ever took place among the Swedes in America; great
+attention was paid to it all over the country, and it contributed
+greatly toward placing the Swedes rightly in the estimation of the
+people, throwing a clearer light on the achievements of the past, and
+emphasizing the importance of the Swedish-Americans of the
+present.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">- 296 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a><a href="#TOC_29">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XXIX.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div class="chaptdesc"><p>The Causes of Immigration&mdash;American Influence on Europe, and
+Especially on Sweden&mdash;The Condition of the Swedes in
+America&mdash;American Characteristics&mdash;Antipathy against
+Foreigners&mdash;The Swedish Press on America&mdash;American Heiresses.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>Much has been said on the causes of immigration. These are numerous, but
+the chief cause I have found to be that the people of the old world are
+now being aroused to the fact that the social conditions of Europe, with
+its aristocracy and other inherited privileges, are not founded on just
+principles, but that the way to success ought to be equally open for
+all, and determined, not by privileges of birth, but by the inherent
+worth of man. And here in America is found a civilization which is, to a
+large extent, built on equality and the recognition of personal merit.
+This and the great natural resources of the country, the prospects for
+good wages which a new continent affords, and in many cases greater
+religious liberty, draws the people of Europe, at any rate from Sweden,
+to this country.</p>
+
+<p>Sweden is a very good country, but more especially so for those who are
+fortunate enough to be born to title, honor or riches. To be sure, even
+there instances are known of men from the ordinary walks of life making
+their way to wealth and prominence; but those are exceptions, possible
+only in cases of unusually great personal merit. Here, on the other
+hand, the reverse is the rule; the self-made man accomplishes<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_297" id="Page_297">- 297 -</a></span> most, as instanced by the history
+of our presidents, governors, financiers and other distinguished men.
+And this is quite natural, for the prospects and possibilities which a
+man sees before him in this country stimulate his ambition, and arouse
+his energies to surmount the greatest difficulties.</p>
+
+<p>The new ideas now permeating society in Europe, and which will gradually
+transform it, have, to a great extent, originated in America, more
+particularly the idea of brotherhood, the sympathy with equals, the
+conviction that it is our duty to better the condition of our
+fellow-men, and not despise them, even if they are unfortunate. In this
+respect, as well as in many others, America exerts a great influence
+over Europe. To me the better situated classes of Sweden seem
+short-sighted in their hostility to emigration, for a man of broad views
+must admit that emigration has been beneficial even to Sweden herself.
+It may not have benefited the higher classes directly, as they cannot
+hire servants and laborers as cheaply as formerly; but the people have
+benefited by it as a whole, their condition being now better than
+formerly, when competition between the laborers was greater.</p>
+
+<p>America also exerts a great influence on the mental and moral
+development of the people of Sweden, although this may not be so
+apparent on the surface. The thousands and hundreds of thousands of
+letters written every year by Swedish-Americans to the people of the
+working classes of Sweden arouse the latter&rsquo;s ambition, and develop
+liberal, political and religious ideas among them. No one can calculate
+the scope of this influence, to say nothing of the eloquent language
+spoken by the millions of crowns which are annually sent home to poor
+relatives and friends, and which either lighten the burden of poverty or
+enable the recipients to prepare a brighter future for themselves in
+this country, and how many a poor, down-trodden fellow, who could
+expect<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">- 298 -</a></span> nothing better than the poor-house in his old age in
+Sweden has become an able and useful citizen in this country!</p>
+
+<p>When the poor young laboring man or woman, who in Sweden has felt the
+oppression of poverty and looked forward to a life without hope, arrives
+in this country, the timid, bashful looks give way to hopefulness and
+self-reliance. It is true that this is often carried too far, especially
+in the line of expensive and extravagant dress, which sometimes makes
+the wearer appear ridiculous; but these are trifles, the main thing
+being that those people learn to know their own worth, and are able to
+create a brighter future for themselves.</p>
+
+<p>The tact and manner acquired within a short time by common laborers who
+looked thoughtless and careless while at home, are simply astonishing. A
+Swedish diplomat, who visited Minnesota twenty years ago, and, among
+others, met one of his father&rsquo;s former farm laborers, who was now in
+good circumstances, in an official report to the government of Sweden
+expressed his astonishment at the change which the Swedish people had
+undergone in that respect.</p>
+
+<p>It cannot be denied that many among the higher classes in Sweden feel
+very unfriendly toward the United States, and it was even not long ago a
+common saying among them, &ldquo;America is the paradise of all rogues
+and rascals.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Many Americans suppose themselves to be better than all others, and
+believe their country and institutions to be perfect. In this they are
+mistaken, for in several respects this country is as yet in its infancy,
+and has many defects which the countries in the north of Europe have
+long since outgrown. As one instance I would mention that the school
+system is altogether too dependent on local influences, so that while
+the common schools in the northern cities and towns are very
+fine,&mdash;in some instances perfect,&mdash;those in the country rate
+very low compared with the same class in Sweden, Norway,<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_299" id="Page_299">- 299 -</a></span> Denmark, and Northern Germany.
+Another case in point is the system of taxation which notably gives
+unprincipled men of wealth opportunities for escape, while the poorer
+classes are taxed for the full amount of their property, the burden thus
+falling proportionately heaviest where it ought to be lightest, and
+<i>vice versa</i>. Again, the laws which make possible rings, monopolies, and
+trusts, to the great prejudice of the people, or permit gambling on the
+produce of the country as carried on in the great commercial marts of
+America, robbing the producer of the fair wages of his toil, and many
+other things which would not be tolerated among the nations of Europe.
+Thus it lies within the power of one man, in this our great state of
+Minnesota and other states, to make or unmake cities, towns, and
+communities, by a single edict locating a railroad, fixing a time-table,
+and in many other ways exercising arbitrary power that no European ruler
+would think of assuming. The execution of our laws, also, in many places
+has proven highly unsatisfactory, often making our much-boasted jury
+system, especially in criminal cases, a farce and a disgrace.</p>
+
+<p>The trouble is that political demagogues and Fourth of July orators
+continually keep pointing out only the best sides of our institutions,
+which undoubtedly are both many and great, while few have the courage to
+speak of the defects and short-comings.</p>
+
+<p>As for the conduct of the native Americans toward the immigrants who
+settle among them, I venture to say that although they consider
+themselves very tolerant, and are so in a general way, they are in many
+respects very intolerant and prejudiced; but this is owing to a lack of
+knowledge concerning other nations. It is true that the immigrant,
+especially from the north of Europe, is bidden welcome, and is generally
+well received, but he is expected to be content with shoveling dirt,
+chopping wood, carrying water, plowing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">- 300 -</a></span> fields, and doing
+other manual labor, no one disputing his right or his fitness for these
+occupations. But when he begins to compete with the native American for
+honor and emolument in the higher walks of life, he is often met with
+coldness, mingled, perhaps, with a little envy, and although the adopted
+citizen may, in many instances, start on an equal footing with the
+natives in culture, intelligence, and business ability, it is only
+exceptionally that he will be recognized as an equal socially; and there
+is scarcely an adopted citizen of the non-English-speaking nationalities
+who has not deeply realized the truth of this statement.</p>
+
+<p>It may be safely said that it will on an average take two generations
+before the children of the non-English-speaking immigrants shall cease
+to suffer more or less from these prejudices. Certainly the children of
+immigrant parents, although born and brought up in this country, are
+often subjected to sneers and taunts by their more fortunate
+playfellows, even within the walls of the American public schools.</p>
+
+<p>This antipathy is most noticeable in places where the number of
+foreigners is very great, but less where they are few, and may be
+explained and partly excused by the fact that, when a great number of
+foreigners live together they are more apt to maintain their customs,
+language and amusements, which differ from those of the native-born. But
+the chief reason is that when the immigrants, most of whom belong to the
+hard-working classes, arrive directly from a long and exhausting
+journey, they are often poorly dressed, awkward and ignorant of the
+language and customs of the country, and look forlorn and crestfallen.
+The first impression which the native American thus receives remains
+with him, while he does not stop to consider that the same class of
+people coming from America to Europe would not appear to better
+advantage if they should go there as immigrants. Nor does he consider
+the injustice of judging whole<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">- 301 -</a></span> nationalities by their less
+favored representatives under such circumstances. There are, of course,
+many noble exceptions among the native Americans; but as to genuine
+tolerance between different nationalities, I have seen far more of it in
+the great cosmopolitan cities of Europe, Asia and Africa, than in
+America.</p>
+
+<p>But these shortcomings may be easily overlooked for the many noble
+traits of character which all admit him to possess. And most striking and
+beautiful of these is the honor and respect he shows to woman. There is
+no other country in the world where woman is treated with such
+consideration, and where she is as safe and honored as among Americans,
+and if we judge nations by the way their women are treated, as I think
+we should, the American nation has no peer in the world.</p>
+
+<p>But if the Americans have a one-sided and wrong conception of
+foreigners, so have also many foreign people a wrong conception of
+America, and we ought not to blame the former more than the latter. The
+Swedish press, for instance,&mdash;with praise-worthy exceptions, of
+course,&mdash;has always shown great prejudice or ignorance in its
+treatment of America, and especially of the Swedish-Americans. Thus it
+has always been ready to dwell on the dark sides and keep silent about
+that which is praiseworthy in this country. If, for instance, a lawless
+deed has been perpetrated on the frontier it is pointed to as a sample
+of American civilization, without considering that such things take
+place only in the western cow-boy or mining life, the days of which will
+soon belong to the past. And if an immigrant, who, deservedly or
+undeservedly, has been unsuccessful writes a letter to his old home and
+slanders America, how eager the newspapers are to rush into print with
+it. Even if the man has been here only a few months, and seen only a
+small spot of the country, they are still ready to accept his story as
+reliable testimony,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">- 302 -</a></span> and judge the whole country accordingly.
+But this by no means applies to Sweden and the Swedish press alone; it
+may with equal truth be said of the Europeans and the press of Europe
+generally.</p>
+
+<p>There is no gainsaying the fact, however, that new-comers as a rule must
+expect adversity and difficulty on account of being strangers, and
+because of their unfamiliarity with the English language. And such as
+are unaccustomed to manual labor and have not learned a trade stand a
+poor chance, especially in the beginning. Book learning is of little use
+at first, for there is no lack of educated people in America. Hence it
+is a great mistake for young men with nothing but an education to depend
+upon to come here with the expectation of making a fortune, for the only
+way to success will at first generally be by taking hold of the spade or
+the axe. Have they the courage to do this? Then let them come, for
+opportunities will open after a while to those who shall deserve them.
+Certificates of character and recommendation are here of little value;
+titles and family connections of still less. One cares not much for what
+you have been; but only for what you are.</p>
+
+<p>In the last civil war a young German officer came to President Lincoln
+and offered his services as a volunteer in the army. The man had high
+recommendations, and talked a great deal about his noble birth, and even
+intimated that royal blood was flowing through his veins. Having
+patiently listened to all this, Lincoln, putting his hand on the young
+man&rsquo;s shoulder, said, encouragingly: &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t let this trouble you,
+my friend, for I assure you that if you only do your duty well and
+faithfully, these things will be no impediment to your success. We are
+not so unjust in America as to think less of a man on account of his
+European titles. No, I can assure you that you have precisely the same
+chance for advancement and success as if you had been a man of the
+people,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">- 303 -</a></span> provided you prove as competent and meritorious as one
+of them.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>I have often heard Europeans wonder how it is that with such a
+democratic spirit so many American heiresses seem anxious to marry
+European noblemen. But it should be remembered in the first place that
+there are not many, but comparatively only a few who manifest this
+desire, and also that those few by no means represent public opinion
+here. On the other hand, is it not quite natural that when European
+gentlemen of the highest classes meet and get acquainted with American
+girls, their social and intellectual equals, that a mutual attachment
+may in most cases be the true motive for such alliances? For, as the
+grand Lincoln remarked, when the European nobleman possesses all other
+requisite qualifications his titles are no barrier to his success,
+either in the army, in business affairs, or with the fair sex. Old names
+and titles are usually a guaranty of good education, culture, and other
+praiseworthy acquisitions.</p>
+
+<p>In my contact with the world and with men of different peoples and
+races, I have found that it is unjust to judge them by nations or
+classes, as if one nation or one class were necessarily better or worse
+than others, for there are both good and bad characters among all, and a
+good man is just as good, and a bad one just as bad, whether he be
+Hindoo, Mohammedan, or Christian, American or Swede, nobleman or
+peasant. Much good may be hidden under a coarse and common exterior, and
+we must not search for virtue only among the accomplished, the rich, and
+the fine-looking. Just as much, indeed, is found among the lowly and
+unobserved; and in the quiet, humble daily walks of life are constantly
+enacted deeds of heroism and virtue which are never known or applauded
+by the world, though fully as deserving as many of those which are given
+an honored place in the annals of history; yes, often much more
+so.</p>
+
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">- 304 -</a></span>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a><a href="#TOC_30">
+<span title=" Return to CONTENTS. " class="hoverlink">CHAPTER XXX.</span></a></h2>
+
+<div><p class="center smfont">REVIEW.</p><br /></div>
+
+<p>A few weeks ago I made a short visit to Vasa, our first home in
+Minnesota. The occasion was the eighty-seventh birthday of my mother,
+who still lives near the old homestead.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> With spirited horses I drove
+in company with a son and a grandson over the same road which was first
+marked out by our simple ox wagon thirty-eight years before.</p>
+
+<p>What a change! The former wilderness changed into smiling fields dressed
+in the purest green of early summer, and along the whole road are fine
+homes, nearly all of which belong to Swedish-Americans, who commenced
+their career as poor immigrants like myself, or to their children, most
+of whom are to the manor-born.</p>
+
+<p>We stop twelve miles from Red Wing close to our old farm, at a little
+cottage surrounded by tall trees. There, by the window, sits
+greatgrandma, watching eagerly for someone whom she knows always spends
+that day with her.</p>
+
+<p>Close to the quiet home stands the large Lutheran church, one of the
+finest country churches in America, and to the peaceful cemetery
+surrounding it we all soon make a pilgrimage to scatter flowers on the
+graves where my good father and sister, my wife&rsquo;s parents, sister, and
+many other near relatives have found a resting place. The little
+cemetery is clothed in a flowery carpet of nature&rsquo;s own garb, and
+studded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">- 305 -</a></span> with several hundred marble monuments with inscriptions
+that testify to the Swedish ancestry of those who rest under them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 349px;">
+<img src="images/image076.jpg" width="349" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SWEDISH CHURCH IN VASA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">- 306 -</a></span>
+From this place, which is the most elevated point in Vasa, the
+surrounding country affords a picture of such rural peace and beauty,
+that even a stranger must involuntarily pause to wonder and admire; how
+much more, then, I, who was the first white man that trod this ground!
+Below, toward the south, we see the wooded valley, watered by a little
+creek from Willard&rsquo;s spring, where we came near perishing that cold
+January night in 1854; at the head of the valley, the hill where we
+built the first log cabin; immediately beyond this hill the hospitable
+home of my wife&rsquo;s parents, from which I brought my young bride to our
+own happy little home, which stood on another hill near the same spring,
+and of which a part still remains; here, just below the church, is the
+field I first plowed; over there in the grove where we cut logs and
+fencing material, stands now the orphan home, established by Rev. E.
+Norelius; and on the other side the road is his handsome residence and
+garden, but he himself sits inside, frail and suffering on account of
+the hardships of the first few years.</p>
+
+<p>Close by are the post-office, two stores, a blacksmith shop, a
+school-house, two smaller churches, one Methodist and one Baptist, and
+several other public and private buildings, and a few miles farther
+north, near the Cannon river, are two railroads, running from the
+Mississippi westward, connecting with other roads which span the
+continent, and only terminate on the shores of the Pacific ocean.</p>
+
+<p>All around, so far as the eye can see, are green fields, grazing herds
+of cattle, planted and natural groves, comfortable buildings, and great
+white-painted school-houses. Not a hill, not a valley or a grove but
+they call forth touching recollections, some mingled with sorrow and
+pain, but by far the most bright and cheerful; for here I spent the
+first hopeful years of my manhood; here we lived, the first Swedes in
+Minnesota, in a circle of innocent and faithful friends; here I<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_307" id="Page_307">- 307 -</a></span> won the wife who tenderly and
+faithfully has shared the vicissitudes of life with me, in sorrow and in
+joy ever the same; here those of my countrymen who followed me when I
+was yet but a youth, have acquired independence, happiness, and such
+esteem that the settlement of Vasa has a reputation among the
+communities of the state which reflects honor upon the memory of the
+great king whose name it bears.</p>
+
+<p>But this picture of development, culture and progress is not confined to
+this settlement, for countless other Scandinavian, settlements in the
+west and northwest have made as great progress within a comparatively
+short time.</p>
+
+<p>On my arrival in 1852 the Mississippi river was the north-western
+boundary line of civilization with the exception of the state of Iowa,
+which then had only a small population. Since that time twelve new
+states further west have been peopled and admitted into the Union. There
+was no railroad west of Chicago; now the immense distance between the
+Mississippi and the Pacific ocean is spanned by four giant railroads,
+while more than a hundred trunk and branch lines intersect the country
+in all directions, and lakes and rivers are navigated by hundreds of
+steamers, which compete with the railroads in carrying the products of
+the West to the Atlantic, whence they are distributed over the whole
+civilized world.</p>
+
+<p>Hundreds of cities that did not exist, even by name, have since sprung
+up as if by magic, and some of them have already become renowned
+throughout the world for their industry, commerce and culture. Among
+them are Minneapolis and St. Paul, already intertwining their arms
+around each other in an embrace that will soon unite them into one. The
+former did not exist when I first gazed on St. Anthony falls, which now
+furnishes motive power for its magnificent mills and factories, and the
+latter was a town of about two thousand inhabitants.
+<!--[image077]<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">- 308 -</a></span>-->
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">- 309 -</a></span>
+Their combined population is now
+one-third of a million. St. Paul contains a large number of
+Scandinavians, but Minneapolis seems to be their favorite city, the
+Swedes alone numbering over forty thousand. They have many churches,
+private schools, academies and other institutions of learning.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 620px;">
+<img src="images/image077.jpg" width="620" height="367" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">FLOUR MILLS IN MINNEAPOLIS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The three Scandinavian nationalities agree pretty well in our good
+state, and have united their efforts in several enterprises of some
+magnitude. In Minneapolis there are several banks and other monetary
+institutions owned and controlled by them, not to mention hundreds of
+other important commercial and manufacturing establishments due to the
+enterprise of our countrymen. Having gradually learned the language and
+the ways of this country, a surprisingly large number of the
+Scandinavians who began their career as common laborers have engaged
+successfully in business on their own account, and many have devoted
+themselves to professions demanding a higher education, which is greatly
+facilitated by a number of excellent academies and colleges established
+and supported by them in several of the western states. A great number
+of county offices are filled by the Scandinavian-Americans; in our
+legislature there are generally from thirty to forty members of that
+nationality; many of them have occupied positions of the highest trust
+and honor as officers of the state and of the United States, and no one
+can deny the fact that they have universally proved themselves fully
+equal in ability and trust-worthiness to the native born.</p>
+
+<p>But it is not only in Minneapolis or in Minnesota, but throughout the
+whole country that the Scandinavians have gained such a good name, that
+in all the recent agitation against foreign emigrants, not one voice has
+been heard against them. They learn the English language well and
+quickly, and assimilate readily with the native American element, which
+is natural enough considering that they are to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">- 310 -</a></span> a very large
+extent of the same blood and ancestry as the English people, and that
+the English language is borrowed to no small extent from the
+Scandinavian.</p>
+
+<p>Americans often express astonishment at the ease and correctness with
+which the Scandinavian immigrants acquire the English language. A little
+study of philology will readily account for it. If we take, for
+instance, the names of household goods, domestic animals, and other
+things appertaining to the common incidents of plain every-day life, we
+find the English words almost identical with the Scandinavian terms,
+only varying in the form of spelling or perhaps pronunciation, as those
+are apt to change with time and locality. For example: English&mdash;ox,
+cow, swine, cat, hound, rat, mouse, hen, goose, chicken;
+Swedish&mdash;oxe, ko, svin, katt, hund, rotta, mus, h&ouml;na,
+g&aring;s, kyckling. Of implements: English&mdash;wagon, plow, harrow,
+spade, axe, knife, kettle, pot, pan, cup; Swedish&mdash;wagn, plog,
+harf, spada, yxa, knif, kittel, potta, panna, kopp. Or the part of our
+own bodies, such as: English&mdash;hair, skin, eyes, nose, ears, mouth,
+lips, teeth, shoulders, arm, hand, finger, nail, foot, toe, etc.;
+Swedish&mdash;h&aring;r, skinn, &ouml;gon, n&auml;sa, &ouml;ron, mun,
+l&auml;pp, tand, skuldra, arm, hand, finger, nagel, fot, and t&aring;.
+Or of the occupations of the common people, such as: English&mdash;spin,
+weave, cook, sow, sew; Swedish&mdash;spinna, v&auml;fva, koka, s&aring;,
+sy, etc. In this connection it may not be out of place to quote one of
+England&rsquo;s most eminent authors and scholars, Edward Bulwer Lytton, who
+says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&ldquo;A magnificent race of men were those war sons of the old North,
+whom our popular histories, so superficial in their accounts of this
+age, include in the common name of the &lsquo;Danes.&rsquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;They replunged into barbarism the nations over which they swept;
+but from the barbarism they reproduced the noblest element of
+civilization. Swede, Norwegian and Dane, differing in some minor points,
+when closely examined, had yet one common character viewed at a
+distance. They had the same prodigious energy, the same passion for
+freedom, individual and civil, the same splendid errors in the thirst
+for fame and the point of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">- 311 -</a></span> honor, and above all, as a main cause
+of civilization, they were wonderfully pliant and malleable in their
+adventures with the people they overran.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;At that time, A.D. 1055, these Northmen, under the common name of
+Danes, were peaceably settled in no less than fifteen counties in
+England; their nobles abounded in towns and cities beyond the boundaries
+of those counties, which bore the distinct appellation of Danelagh. They
+were numerous in London, in the precincts of which they had their own
+burial-place, to the chief municipal court of which they gave their own
+appellation&mdash;the Husting.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is, of course, impossible to ascertain the exact number of
+Scandinavians and their descendants in this country, but we can come
+very near it by studying the statistics of the United States treasury
+department, a recent report from which gives the number of emigrants
+during the last seventy years from Sweden and Norway as 943,330, and
+from Denmark as 146,237, or a total since the year 1820 of 1,089,567;
+while the same report gives the number during the same period from
+Germany as 4,551,719; Ireland, 3,501,683; England, 1,460,054; English
+Colonies, 1,029,083; Austria-Hungaria, 464,435; Italy, 414,513; France,
+370,162; Russia, 356,353; Scotland, 329,192; Switzerland, 174,333.</p>
+
+<p>When we take into consideration the numerous Swedish colonies that
+settled in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the seventeenth
+century, and their descendants, together with the descendants of
+Scandinavian emigrants of the last seventy years, I think it is safe to
+estimate the total population of Scandinavian descent at over four
+millions, or fully one-sixteenth of the entire population of the United
+States. The very fact that the nationality assimilates so readily with
+the native American element causes it to be lost sight of; and it should
+be so, for the only desirable immigrants to this country are those who
+cease to be foreigners, and merge right into the American nation. Such
+are certainly the Scandinavians. They do not bring over any grievances
+from the mother country to correct or avenge, and there are no
+Clan-na-Gael, no Mafia societies among<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">- 312 -</a></span> them, nor are there any
+anarchists or revolutionists. They come here to build homes for
+themselves and their children; they are contented and grateful for the
+privileges of American citizenship, and make themselves worthy of it by
+pushing into the front rank in the onward march of education,
+philanthropy and religion, as well as in material progress.</p>
+
+<p>One illustration, among many that might be given, is found in the report
+of a late conference of the Swedish Lutheran Church, from which it
+appears that they have now in Minnesota alone two hundred and forty-five
+parishes, with one hundred and seventy-nine churches, valued at over six
+hundred thousand dollars, and all paid for. The Norwegian Lutheran
+Church would undoubtedly show equal if not better results, though I
+cannot give the exact figures.</p>
+
+<p>It is a great mistake which some make, to think that it is only for
+their brawn and muscle that the Northmen have become a valuable
+acquisition to the American population; on the contrary, they have done
+and are doing as much as any other nationality within the domain of mind
+and heart. Not to speak of the early discovery of America by the
+Scandinavians five hundred years before the time of Columbus, they can
+look back with proud satisfaction on the part they have taken in all
+respects to make this great republic what it is to-day.</p>
+
+<p>The early Swedish colonists in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
+worked as hard for liberty and independence as the English did in New
+England and in the South. There were no tories among them, and when the
+continental congress stood wavering equal in the balance for and against
+the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, it was a Swede, John
+Morton (Mortenson), of the old Delaware stock, who gave the casting vote
+of Pennsylvania in favor of the sacred document.</p>
+
+<p>When nearly a century later the great rebellion burst upon<span class='pagenum'><a
+name="Page_313" id="Page_313">- 313 -</a></span> the land, a gallant descendant of
+the Swedes, Gen. Robert Anderson, met its first shock at Fort Sumter,
+and, during the bitter struggle of four years which followed, the
+Scandinavian-Americans were as true and loyal to their adopted country
+as their native-born neighbors, giving their unanimous support to the
+cause of the Union and fighting valiantly for it; nor should it be
+forgotten that it was the Swede John Ericson, who, by his inventive
+genius, saved the navy and the great seaports of the United States, and
+that it was another Swede by descent, Admiral Dahlgren, who furnished
+the model for the finest guns of our artillery. Surely love of freedom,
+valor, genius, patriotism and religious fervor was not planted in
+America by the seeds brought over in the Mayflower alone.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, it is verily true that the Scandinavian immigrants, from the early
+colonists of 1638 to the present time, have furnished strong hands,
+clear heads and loyal hearts to the republic. They have caused the
+wilderness to blossom like the rose; they have planted schools and
+churches on the hills and in the valleys; they have honestly and ably
+administered the public affairs of town, county and state; they have
+helped to make wise laws for their respective commonwealths and in the
+halls of congress; they have, with honor and ability, represented their
+adopted country abroad; they have sanctified the American soil by their
+blood, shed in freedom&rsquo;s cause on the battle-fields of the revolution
+and the civil war; and though proud of their Scandinavian ancestry, they
+love America and American institutions as deeply and as truly as do the
+descendants of the Pilgrims, the starry emblem of liberty meaning as
+much to them as to any other citizen.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore, the Scandinavian-American feels a certain sense of ownership
+in the glorious heritage of American soil, with its rivers, lakes,
+mountains, valleys, woods and prairies, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">- 314 -</a></span> in all its noble
+institutions; and he feels that the blessings which he enjoys are not
+his by favor or sufferance, but by right; by moral as well as civil
+right. For he took possession of the wilderness, endured the hardships
+of the pioneer, contributed his full share toward the grand results
+accomplished, and is in mind and heart a true and loyal American
+citizen.</p>
+
+<br /><br />
+
+<p class="center smfont">THE END.</p>
+<br /><br />
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Note: Vol 2, page 448.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Gen. John B. Sanborn, who was present when this paper was read.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> The rules in Sweden give the ticket clerks the right to demand even
+change.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Since the above was written the Russian government has shown a
+disposition to treat Finland in a way that will soon change the friendly
+feelings of the Finnish people.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> The Hindoos never sit as we do, but squat on the ground and rest the
+weight of the body on the heels.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Educated Hindoo of the middle class.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Since dead.</p></div> </div>
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Reminiscences, by Hans Mattson
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@@ -0,0 +1,9126 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Reminiscences, by Hans Mattson
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Reminiscences
+       The Story of an Emigrant
+
+Author: Hans Mattson
+
+Release Date: May 17, 2010 [EBook #32399]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMINISCENCES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by K Nordquist, Rene Anderson Benitz and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note: Most variations in hyphenation, capitalization, and
+spelling have been retained as in the original. Spelling errors have
+been corrected when most occurrences of the word in question are
+correct. Obvious typos have been amended. All amendments are listed at
+the end of the text. Minor printer errors (quotation marks, punctuation,
+etc.) have been amended without note. Mid-paragraph illustrations have
+been relocated between paragraphs for easier reading. Brief descriptions
+of illustrations without captions have been added in parentheses where
+appropriate. Table of Contents has been added.
+
+
+
+
+[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.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+The good brig Ambrosius landed us in Boston on June 29, 1851, but during
+the voyage about one-half of the passengers were attacked by small-pox
+and had to be quarantined outside the harbor. My good friend and I were
+fortunate enough to escape this plague; but instead of this I was taken
+sick with the ague on our arrival at Boston.
+
+Now, then, we were in America! The new, unknown country lay before us,
+and it seemed the more strange as we did not understand a word of the
+English language. For at that time the schools of Sweden paid no
+attention to English, so that although I had studied four languages,
+English, the most important of all tongues, was entirely unknown to me.
+
+The first few weeks of our stay in Boston passed quietly and quickly,
+but the ague grew worse and my purse was getting empty. My friend,
+however, had more money than I, and as long as he had a dollar left he
+divided it equally between us. I cannot resist the temptation to relate
+a serio-comical escapade of this period, one that to many will recall
+similar occurences in their own experience as immigrants ignorant of the
+language of the country.
+
+In Gothenburg we had become acquainted with a bright young man from
+Vexioe, Janne Tenggren by name, who had also served in the army. When we
+met him he had already bought a ticket on a sailing vessel bound for
+New York, so that we could not make the voyage together. But we agreed
+to hunt each other up after our arrival in America. We left Sweden about
+the same time with the understanding that if we arrived first we should
+meet him in New York, and if he arrived first he should go to Boston to
+meet us there.
+
+About a week after our arrival in Boston, we heard that the vessel on
+which he had embarked had arrived, and I immediately left for New York
+to fulfill our promise. But, unfortunately, I found he had already gone
+west, so I bought a return ticket to Boston the same day. The journey
+was by steamboat to Fall River, thence by rail to Boston. We left New
+York in the evening. I remained on the deck, and went to sleep about ten
+o'clock on some wooden boxes. About eleven o'clock I awoke, saw the
+steamer laying to and, supposing we were at Fall River, hurried off and
+followed the largest crowd, expecting thus to get to the railroad depot.
+Striking no depot, however, I returned to the harbor, only to find the
+steamer gone, and everybody but myself had vanished from the pier.
+
+There I stood, in the middle of the night, without money, ignorant of
+the language, and not even knowing where I was! Tired and discouraged I
+finally threw myself down on a wooden box on the sidewalk, and went to
+sleep. About five o'clock in the morning a big policeman aroused me by
+poking at me with his club. This respectable incarnation of social order
+evidently took me for a tramp or a madman, and as he could not obtain
+any intelligible information from me in any language known to him, he
+took me to a small shoe store kept by a German.
+
+Fortunately, my acquaintance with the German language was sufficient to
+enable me to explain myself, and I soon found that I had left the
+steamer several hours too early; that the name of this place was New
+London, that another steamer would come past at the same time the next
+night, so that all I had to do was to wait for that steamer and go to
+Boston on the same ticket.
+
+I spent the day in seeing the city and chatting with my friend, the shoe
+maker, and in the evening returned to the wharf to watch for the Boston
+steamer.
+
+This being my ague day, I had violent attacks of ague and fever, so that
+I was again forced to lie down to rest on the same wooden box, and again
+went to sleep. After a while I was aroused by the noise of the
+approaching steamer; rushed on board in company with some other
+passengers, and considered myself very fortunate when reflecting that I
+would surely be in Boston the next morning. I had made myself familiar
+with the surroundings during the day, and when the steamer started, I
+noticed that it directed its course towards New York, instead of Boston.
+I had no money to pay my fare to New York, could neither borrow nor beg,
+and so I crawled down in a little hole in the fore part of the steamer,
+where the tackles and ropes were kept, thus, fortunately, escaping the
+notice of the ticket collector.
+
+The next evening I again embarked for Boston and finally arrived safely
+at my destination.
+
+We stayed in Boston several weeks, and during that time my ague caused a
+heavy drain on our small treasury. We had no definite plan, did not know
+what to do, and as we had never been used to any kind of hard work,
+matters began to assume a serious aspect, especially in regard to
+myself. But then, as now, the hope of many a young man was the Great
+West which, at that time, was comparatively little known even in Boston.
+Toward the close of the month of July we, therefore, went to Buffalo,
+which was as far as our money would carry us. Here we put up at a cheap
+boarding house kept by a Norwegian by name of Larson, with whom we
+stopped while trying to get work. But having learned no trade and being
+unused to manual labor, we soon found that it was impossible to get a
+job in the city; so we left our baggage at the boarding house and
+started on foot for a country place named Hamburg, some ten miles
+distant, where we learned that two of our late companions across the
+ocean had found employment. On the road to Hamburg, about dusk, we
+reached a small house by the wayside, where we asked for food and
+shelter. I was so exhausted that my friend had to support me in order to
+reach the house. We found it occupied by a Swedish family, which had
+just sat down to a bountiful supper. Telling them our condition, we were
+roughly told to clear out; in Sweden, they said, they had had enough of
+gentlemen and would have nothing to do with them here.
+
+We retraced our steps with sad hearts until a short distance beyond the
+house we found an isolated barn partly filled with hay. _There_ was no
+one to object, so we took possession and made it our temporary home. I
+am glad to say that during a long life among all classes of people, from
+the rudest barbarians to the rulers of nations, that family of my own
+countrymen were the only people who made me nearly lose faith in the
+nobler attributes of man. I have an excuse, however, for this conduct in
+the fact that in the mother-country, which they had left a year before,
+they had probably been abused and exasperated on account of the foolish
+class distinction then existing there. They evidently belonged to that
+class of tenants who were treated almost like slaves. The following day
+we found our late companions a mile from our barn, both working for a
+farmer at $15.00 per month, which was then considered big wages. They
+were older men and accustomed to hard labor, so that their situation was
+comparatively easy. They received us kindly and procured work for
+Eustrom with the same farmer, while I, still suffering with the ague,
+could not then attempt to work, and therefore returned to my castle in
+the meadow, (the hay-barn). There I remained about a week living on
+berries which I found in the neighboring woods and a slice of bread and
+butter, which Eustrom brought me in the evening, when with blistered
+hands and sore back, he called to comfort me and help build better air
+castles for the future.
+
+A council was finally held among us four, and it was decided to send me
+back to Buffalo with a farmer who was going there the following morning.
+One of the men Mr. Abraham Sandberg on parting gave me a silver dollar,
+with the injunction to give it to someone who might need it worse than
+I, whenever I could do so. I have never met Abraham since; but I have
+regarded it as a sacred duty to comply with his request, and, in case
+these lines should come before his eyes I wish to let him know that my
+debt has been honestly paid.
+
+On reaching the old boarding house in Buffalo the landlord promised that
+he would send me to a hospital where I could receive proper treatment
+and care. I made up a little bundle of necessary underwear, and in an
+hour a driver appeared at the door; I was lifted into the cart and off
+we went through the muddy streets to the outskirts of the city, where I
+was duly delivered at a large building which I supposed to be the
+hospital. It was near evening, and I was brought into a large
+dining-room, with a hundred others or more, served with supper, corn
+mush and molasses water, after which I was shown to a bed in a large
+room among many others. I suffered with fever, and for the first time in
+my life with loneliness. Exhausted nature finally took out its due, and
+I slept soundly until awakened in the morning by a loud sound of a gong.
+As soon as dressed I walked out in the yard, or lawn, back of the
+building. On one side was a high plank fence, behind which I heard some
+strange sounds. I found a knot-hole, and, peeping through this, I
+observed another lawn, on which were many people. They were strange
+looking; I never saw any like them before. Some were swinging, some
+dancing, others shouting, singing and weeping and behaving in a most
+out-of-the-way manner. I wondered and wondered, and finally it dawned
+upon me that it must be a lunatic asylum. It was, in fact, as I since
+learned, the county poor farm, where one part was used for the lunatics
+and the other for paupers like myself. Has it come to this? I asked
+myself; is this the goal of all my ambition and hopes? Going back to the
+room, where I had slept, I stealthily took my little bundle, slipped out
+through a side door into a back yard, found a gate open and was soon in
+the street. I started on a run with all the power in me, as if pursued
+by all the furies of paupers and lunatics, never stopping until I was
+near the old boarding house, where I was taken in exhausted and in deep
+despair. I would have killed the landlord for deceiving me if I had been
+able to do so. One good thing resulted from the sad experience of that
+day: the mental shock on discovering where I was, cured me for the time
+being of the ague.
+
+The next day my friend returned from Hamburg, where he could no longer
+get any employment on account of his blistered hands, and poor health in
+general. We now put our wise heads together and agreed that we had
+already had enough of the West for the time being. Having plenty of good
+clothes, bedding, revolvers and other knick-knacks, we sold to our
+landlord whatever we could spare, in order to raise money enough to pay
+our way back to Boston.
+
+During our stay in Buffalo, our renowned countrywoman, Jenny Lind,
+happened to give a concert there. We were standing on the street where
+we could see the people crowd into the theatre, but that was all we
+could afford, and we never heard her sing. Our host advised us to go and
+ask her for help; but our pride forbade it.
+
+At this time the Swedes were so little known, and Jenny Lind, on the
+other hand, so renowned in America, that the Swedes were frequently
+called "Jenny Lind men," this designation being often applied to myself.
+
+Having purchased tickets for Albany, we returned East in the month of
+August. I still remember how we rode all night in a crowded second-class
+car, listening to the noisy merry-making of our fellow-passengers; but
+we understood very little of it, for up to this time we had lived
+exclusively among our own countrymen, and learned only a few English
+words--a mistake, by the way, which thousands of immigrants have made
+and are still making.
+
+Arriving at Albany, we sat down by an old stone wall near the railroad
+depot, to talk over our affairs. Fate had been against us while we
+remained together, and we probably depended too much upon each other.
+Accordingly, we decided to part for some time and try our luck
+separately; and if one of us met with success he would, of course, soon
+be able to find a position for the other. We decided by drawing lots
+that Eustrom should go to Boston and I to New York. When we had bought
+our tickets there remained one dollar, which we divided, and we left for
+our respective places of destination the same evening.
+
+Our landlord in Buffalo had given us the address of a sailors'
+boarding-house in New York, which was also kept by a Norwegian by the
+same name of Larson. So when I left the Hudson River steamer early the
+next morning, I paid my half-dollar to a drayman, who took me to said
+boarding house. I found Mr. Larson to be a kind, good-natured man, told
+him my difficulties right out, and asked him to let me stop at his house
+until I could find something to do. He agreed to this, and for a week or
+so I tried my best to get work. But, when asked what kind of work I
+could do, I was compelled to answer that I had learned no trade, but
+that I would gladly try to learn anything and do anything whatever, even
+sweep the streets, if necessary. As a result of my protracted sickness,
+I was so weak and exhausted that nobody thought I would be able even to
+earn my bread. As to easy or intellectual work, I had no earthly chance,
+as long as I did not know the English language. Finally Mr. Larson took
+me to a ship-owner's office. I still remember that a Norwegian captain
+was cruel enough to remark in my hearing, that he did not intend to take
+any half-dead corpses along with him to sea.
+
+After two weeks of fruitless efforts to get work for me, my host finally
+declared that he could not very well keep me any longer, because his
+accommodations were crowded with paying customers; nevertheless, he
+allowed me to sleep in the attic free of charge, while I had to procure
+my food as best I could, which I also did for another two weeks. Being a
+convalescent, I had a ravenous appetite, and, indeed, I found how hard
+it is to obtain food without having anything to pay for it. Of the few
+articles of clothing which I brought with me from Buffalo, I had to
+sacrifice one after another for subsistence. When all other means were
+exhausted, I was compelled to go to the kitchen-doors and tell my
+desperate and unfortunate condition by signs, and more than one
+kind-hearted cook gave me a solid meal.
+
+Tramps! In our day there is a great deal of talk about tramps, and it
+has become customary, to brand as a tramp, any poor wandering laborer
+who seeks work. There are undoubtedly many who justly deserve this
+title; but I think there are tramps who are not to blame for their
+deplorable condition, and who deserve encouragement and friendly
+assistance, for I have been one of them myself, without any fault or
+neglect on my part. It always provokes me to hear a young or
+inexperienced person use the expression "tramp" so thoughtlessly, and in
+such a sweeping manner. Long ago I made up my mind that no tramp should
+ever leave my door without such aid as my resources would allow. It is
+better to give to a thousand undeserving, than to let one unfortunate
+but deserving suffer.
+
+My good host, like his Buffalo namesake, finally contrived to get rid of
+me by representing me as a sailor, and hiring me to the captain of the
+bark "Catherine," a coasting vessel bound for Charleston, S. C., telling
+me that I was to serve as cabin boy. My wages were to be five dollars a
+month, of which he received seven dollars and a-half in advance, so that
+I could pay my debts and buy a sailor's suit of clothes.
+
+On the second day of our voyage we encountered a storm. I was on deck
+with the sailors and the captain stood on the quarter-deck. We were
+coursing against the wind and were just going to turn when the captain
+called on me to untie some ropes. Understanding very little English, and
+being no sailor, I naturally knew nothing about the names of the
+different ropes, and I grabbed one after another, but invariably missed
+the right one. The captain was swearing with might and main in English.
+Seeing that I did not understand him he suddenly roared out angrily the
+name of the rope in good Swedish and added: "Do you understand me now,
+you confounded blockhead!" Turning to him, cap in hand, I answered: "No,
+captain, I do not know the name of a single rope." "And still," he
+continued "you have followed the sea three years, what a dunce you are."
+I answered: "Indeed Mr. Captain, I have never been a sailor, and will
+never be worth anything at sea. But I am willing and anxious to do all
+you ask if within my power." The captain, whose name was Wilson, was a
+Swedish American and, although somewhat gruff, he was in fact one of the
+noblest men who ever commanded a ship. He immediately saw how the matter
+stood; the boarding house man had cheated both him and me and from that
+hour Captain Wilson became my friend and benefactor.
+
+Afterwards I found out of the whole crew, which numbered twenty-six men,
+nine-tenths were Scandinavians, but they always used the English
+language while on board the ship. Captain Wilson told me to see him in
+his cabin as soon as the work was performed. Here he asked me about my
+circumstances, and I told him the short story of my life, which elicited
+his sympathy to such an extent that he even asked me to pardon his rude
+behavior toward me. He assigned me to a place to sleep in the cabin;
+told the officers not to give me any orders as he was going to do that
+himself, and treated me with the utmost kindness and consideration in
+every respect.
+
+After this I was excused from all work properly belonging to a sailor,
+but kept the cabin in order, and helped the steward in waiting at the
+table, and the officers with their calculations. During my spare hours I
+read and conversed with the captain and his two mates, one of whom was a
+Dane and the other an Irishman, both splendid fellows. The first mate
+was preparing the second mate for a captain's examination, and I, having
+recently taken a course in mathematics, at a military school, was able
+to assist them in their studies.
+
+On the table in the cabin was a large English Bible, with which I spent
+many happy hours, and by which I learned the English language. At first
+I used to pick out chapters of the New Testament, which I knew almost by
+heart, so that I could understand them without a dictionary or an
+interpreter. After my first conversation with the captain I did not
+speak another word in the Swedish language during the voyage, and when I
+returned to Boston, three months afterwards, it seemed to me that I
+could talk and read English about as well as Swedish.
+
+I made two trips with the captain from New York to Charleston and back
+again. At the wharf of Charleston, I was, for the first time in my life,
+brought face to face with American Negro slavery in its most odious
+aspect. Crowds of Negroes were running along the pier pulling long
+ropes, by means of which the ships were loaded and unloaded. Each gang
+of Negroes was under the charge of a brutal overseer, riding on a mule,
+and brandishing a long cowhide whip, which he applied vigorously to the
+backs of the half-naked Negroes. During the night they were kept penned
+up in sheds, which had been erected for that purpose near the wharf.
+They were treated like cattle, in every respect. This sight influenced
+me in later life to become a Republican in politics.
+
+After our second return to New York, Capt. Wilson assumed the command of
+one of the first clipper ships which carried passengers to California in
+those days. This was at the most stirring time of the gold fever, and
+the captain kindly offered to take me along and let me stay out there,
+an offer which thousands would have accepted. But I was never smitten
+with the gold fever, and, having a distaste for the sea, I said good-bye
+to the kind captain, never to see him again. My wages were to have been
+only five dollars a month, but he generously paid me eight dollars, so
+that I had earned enough money to pay my way to Boston, whence my friend
+Eustrom had written me and urged me to come.
+
+I arrived in Boston about the middle of December, and, when I returned
+to the old boarding house, I spoke English so well that my acquaintances
+hardly believed it possible that I could be the same person. Mr. Eustrom
+was now working as wood polisher. He had made many friends and lived
+happily and contented on $4 a week. By strict economy these wages
+sufficed for board, lodging, and clothes. It happened to be an
+unfavorable time of the year when I arrived, however, and many men who
+had been employed during the summer were now discharged at the approach
+of winter. Mr. Eustrom's employer had a good friend in New Hampshire, an
+old Swedish sailor, Anderson by name, who was farming up there. He
+promised to let me come and live with him and do whatever chores I could
+until something might turn up the next spring.
+
+A few days afterwards I went by rail to Contocook where I was met by Mr.
+Anderson, who took me out to his hospitable home a couple of miles from
+the town. This Anderson was a remarkable man. Having no education to
+speak of, he was a better judge of human nature and practical affairs of
+life than any other man I ever met. He was pleased with me, and said he
+wished I would sit down in the evening and tell him about Sweden, and
+explain to him what I had learned at school. Poor Anderson! He had one
+fault, rum got the better of him, and it was cheap in New England at
+that time, only sixteen cents a gallon. He bought a barrel of it at a
+time, and did not taste water as long as the rum lasted.
+
+The day after my arrival he asked me if I would like to go with him into
+the woods to help cut some logs. Of course I would, and we took our axes
+and started off. It was a very cold December day, and I had thin clothes
+and no mittens. Mr. Anderson went to cut down a tree, and I commenced to
+work at one which was already felled. This was the first time I swung an
+axe in earnest, and after a short while I felt that my hands were
+getting cold. But I made up my mind not to stop until the log was
+finished. By holding the axe handle very tight it stopped the
+circulation of the blood through my fingers, and when I finally stopped
+and dropped the axe I could not move my fingers, for eight of them were
+frozen stiff. Mr. Anderson now took off his cap, filled it with snow,
+put my hands into the snow, and thus we ran to the house as fast as our
+legs would carry us. The doctor tried his very best; but, nevertheless,
+in a few days the flesh and the nails began to peel off, and two doctors
+decided to amputate all the fingers on my right hand. Fortunately I did
+not give my consent, but told them that I would rather die of gangrene
+than live without hands, for my future depended exclusively on them.
+
+My friend Eustrom, having heard of my misfortune, soon came to visit me,
+and brought with him an old Irish woman who was something of a doctor,
+and cured my hands by means of a very simple plaster which she prepared
+herself. But I was forced into complete inactivity for more than three
+months, during which time I was entirely helpless, and had to be washed,
+dressed, and fed like an infant. But, as to me, the old proverb has
+always proved true: "When things are at the worst they'll mend." There
+were men and women in my accidental home who willingly tended to me in
+my trouble. May God bless them for it! In the latter part of March, Mr.
+Anderson, who had always treated me with the greatest kindness, quite
+unexpectedly told me that I was now able to work again and could try to
+get a place with some other family in the neighborhood, because he could
+not keep me any longer.
+
+Our nearest neighbor was a genuine Yankee, Daniel Dustin by name. He was
+very rich, well read, liberal minded, respectable and honest, but so
+_close_ that he would scarcely let his own family have enough food to
+eat, and his wife was even more stingy. Mr. Dustin agreed to let me work
+for my board until spring, and then he would give me five dollars a
+month, which offer I cheerfully accepted. He immediately took me out
+into the woods to chop wood for the summer, and he was to haul it home.
+The new, tender muscles and nails on my fingers made wood chopping very
+painful to me, and I could feel every blow of the axe through my entire
+body. Never has any man worked so hard for me, when I afterwards hired
+help for good wages, as I worked for my board here; and, by the way,
+this board consisted chiefly of potatoes and corn meal cake. When the
+spring work commenced I got five dollars a month, and had to get up at
+five o'clock in the morning to do the chores, and then work in the field
+from seven in the morning until dark.
+
+In the beginning of June I got a letter from my parents, stating that my
+father and brother were going to leave for New York immediately, and
+they asked me to meet them there and go West with them. I had never
+complained in my letters to my parents, but, on the other hand, I had
+not advised them to come to America, either. They had been advised to do
+so by some of my fellow-passengers on the "Ambrosius," who went to
+Illinois, and were highly pleased with their prospects. So I went to
+Boston again. My father's voyage had been delayed, and I had to wait for
+him over a month, during which time I got sick, and would have been in a
+sorry plight, indeed, if it had not been for my friend Eustrom, who now
+felt like a rich man, with his six dollars a week. A couple of years
+later he became the partner of his employer.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Finally my father and brother arrived, and again I turned my course
+westwards in company with them and their friends. We traveled by rail to
+Buffalo and across the lake to Toledo, thence by rail again to Chicago.
+In the summer of 1852 there were no railroads west of Chicago, and our
+company had to take passage on a canal-boat drawn by horses to La Salle,
+and from this place we rode in farmers wagons to Andover and Galesburg.
+The country around there was as yet only in the first stages of
+development; there was very little money in circulation, and no demand
+for farm products. The immigrants suffered a great deal from fever and
+other climatic diseases.
+
+My brother who was nearly sixteen years old soon obtained steady work
+from an American farmer, while my father and I had to do different kinds
+of work, such as building fences, stacking grain, etc. The only pay we
+could get was checks on some store. I remember what an abundance of
+provisions there was in that locality, and nobody seemed to be in need.
+
+A farmer near Galesburg, for whom I worked a week, had so many hens and
+chickens and eggs, that when people came out from town to buy eggs, they
+were told to pay ten cents, go out to the barn and fill their baskets
+with freshly-laid eggs, no matter how big the basket. Beef and pork had
+scarcely any value, and anybody could go into a cornfield that fall and
+gather a crop on half shares.
+
+There was much religious interest among the Swedes in Illinois at that
+time. The Methodists and Lutherans were already building churches, and
+held services side by side in many of the towns and settlements,
+although they numbered only a few families yet. I remember distinctly
+one Sunday attending service in a Methodist church listening to an
+eloquent preacher, taking for his text "The Broad and the Narrow Ways."
+He depicted both in glowing language, and wound up with the following
+words, pronounced in a broad (Swedish) dialect: "My dear brethren, I
+have now shown you the two ways, and you may take which ever you like;
+that is all the same to me."
+
+My father had taken with him only just enough money to pay his way,
+although he had by no means exhausted his resources in Sweden, for he
+had prudently decided to spend at least a year in seeing the country and
+making himself familiar with its institutions, customs, manner of
+tilling the soil, etc. At this time he was a strong man, at the age of
+fifty. In order to obtain steady work, we two, and a few others of our
+company, hired a man in Galesburg to take us to Rock River, where a
+bridge for the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad was being built. We all
+got work, and had to take hold of the spade and the shovel. The wages in
+those days for railroad laborers were from seventy-five cents to one
+dollar per day. I received only seventy-five cents, out of which my
+board was to be paid, which, however, was very cheap, one dollar and a
+half per week only. A Swede by the name of Hoffman kept a boarding house
+for thirty-four of us, and all would have been well except for the ague.
+No man remained there many days without getting the "shakes;" I and my
+father got them the second day. The lower part of the shanty in which we
+boarded was used for dining-room and kitchen, the upper for sleeping on
+the floor. The shanty was as shaky as the ague, which came regularly
+every other day. Fate had so arranged it that seventeen of us had the
+chills one day, and seventeen the next day. Hoffman and his wife
+fortunately also had the chills alternate days, so that there was always
+one to attend to the cooking.
+
+Some may doubt it, but it is a solemn fact, that when seventeen ate
+dinner below, the shaking of those upstairs sometimes shook the house
+until we could hear the plates rattling on the table.
+
+During my healthy days I stood on the bottom of Rock River from seven
+o'clock in the morning until seven at night, throwing wet sand with a
+shovel onto a platform above, from which it was again thrown to another,
+and from there to terra firma. The most disagreeable part of the
+business was that one-quarter of each shovel-full came back on the head
+of the operator.
+
+After a couple of weeks the company's paymaster came along, and upon
+settling my board bill and deducting for the shaking days, I made the
+discovery that I was able to earn only fifteen cents net per week in
+building railroad bridges.
+
+Being half dead by this time from over work and sickness, we decided to
+see if we could strike an easier job, and, if possible, a better
+climate. We happened to meet a farmer by the name of Peterson, with whom
+we rode to a place near Moline, where my father tended to me during my
+illness. When he was not occupied with this he chopped cord wood from
+dry old trees. I also tried to assist him in this, but found my strength
+gone.
+
+Among the Swedes living in Moline at that time was a tailor, Johnson by
+name, a good kind-hearted man who, together with his wife, was always
+ready to aid his needy countrymen and get something to do for such as
+could work. I went to him one day to ask for advice or assistance, just
+as a great many had done before me. I was so weak and sickly that they
+had to assist me in getting into the house, but they received me as if I
+had been their own son, and, after a short rest, Mr. Johnson took me to
+one Dr. Ober, who carefully investigated my mental as well as my
+physical condition, and told me that such hard work as I had been doing
+would kill me, and that I ought to rest and take it easy. He was one of
+those magnanimous, noble men who are to be met with in all climes and
+walks of life, but who are easily recognized because they are so few. As
+I have said before, I have been very fortunate in getting acquainted
+with the best men and women of different classes and nations with which
+I have come in contact. While we were sitting in his reception room the
+doctor suddenly left us and went into his private room. In a short time
+he returned accompanied by his wife, a lady whose silvery locks and
+benignantly sympathizing looks made her seem more beautiful to me than a
+madonna. Having simply taken a hasty look at me, the doctor and his wife
+again withdrew, and when they returned he offered to let me stay with
+them like a member of the family in order that he might try to restore
+my health; he also allowed me to avail myself of his library and to
+attend school, the only condition being that I should do chores around
+the house and take care of the horses.
+
+I moved the same day, got a pleasant room and a snug bed, good,
+substantial food, and, above all, good and friendly treatment, so that
+from the time I came there until the day I left, I felt as if I had been
+a child of the house. Dr. Ober, who was a religious man, belonged to the
+Baptist Church, and as I now lived under its beneficient influence, and
+also became acquainted with the Swedish Baptist Pastor, Rev. G.
+Palmquist, and a few others who constituted the nucleus of the First
+Swedish Baptist Church of America. I became a member of their society
+before spring and would probably have continued a member of this
+denomination, if circumstances which were beyond my control, had not
+brought me to other fields of action and other surroundings.
+
+This winter passed in a very pleasant manner. In the afternoon I
+attended an English school, and in the evening I gave instructions in
+English to other young men and women. The friendship of Dr. Ober and his
+wife never failed, and many years afterwards I was a welcome guest at
+their home in La Crosse, Wis., to which place they had moved from
+Moline. Both of them now slumber under the sod, but their many good
+deeds shall live for ever.
+
+My father was much pleased with the great west, and he wrote back to the
+rest of our family in Sweden to come to this country the next summer,
+and in May I started to meet them in Boston. As there were no railroads
+to Moline, I took a steamboat to Galena, and thence the stage-coach to
+Freeport, and from there to Chicago by rail.
+
+The vessel carrying my mother and the party with her was three months on
+the ocean, and there was great scarcity of provisions on board. The ship
+at last arrived, in the month of July, and a couple of days later the
+whole party, consisting of about two hundred, took the train for the
+west, I volunteering as their guide and interpreter. All went well until
+about one hundred miles east of Chicago, when the baggage car attached
+to our train in front caught fire. It was thought best to try to reach a
+station, and the burning train sped on at the rate of sixty miles an
+hour. The scene was a frightful one, the cars crammed full of frightened
+emigrants, the flames hissing like serpents from car to car, windows
+cracking, people screaming, and women fainting, all at the same time
+looking to me, who was not yet twenty years of age, for protection and
+deliverance.
+
+As soon as possible I placed reliable men as guards at the doors to
+prevent the people from rushing out and crowding each other off the
+platform. The train did not reach the station but had to be stopped on
+the open prairie, where we all were helped out of the cars with no
+accident of any kind except every particle of baggage, saving only what
+the passengers had in their seats with them, was burnt. In due time
+another train brought us to Chicago, where the railroad company
+immediately offered to pay all losses as soon as lists of the property
+destroyed could be made out and properly verified. I undertook to do all
+that work without the aid of consul, lawyer or clerk, collecting nearly
+twenty thousand dollars, for old trunks, spinning-wheels, copper
+kettles, etc. Having lost nothing myself, I of course received nothing,
+and as the Company did not consider it their duty to pay me for my
+trouble, one of the emigrants suggested that they should chip in to
+compensate me for the valuable services I had rendered. Accordingly the
+hat was passed, the collection realizing the magnificent sum of two
+dollars and sixty cents, which was paid me for being their interpreter
+during the long journey and for collecting that large sum of money
+without litigation or delay. No lawyer, consul or agent would have been
+satisfied with less than five hundred dollars, but I can truthfully say
+that I never raised a word of complaint, but freely forgave the people
+on account of their ignorance. Many of them I also served afterwards on
+the way to Moline and Minnesota. In due time our party arrived in
+Moline, where my parents bought a small piece of property with the money
+brought from Sweden.
+
+Minnesota was then a territory but little known; yet we had heard of its
+beautiful lakes, forests, prairies and salubrious climate. Quite a
+number of our company had decided to hunt up a place for a Swedish
+settlement where land could be had cheap. It was finally agreed that a
+few of us should go to Minnesota and select a suitable place. Being the
+only one of the party who could speak English, I was naturally appointed
+its leader. My father also went with us, and so did Mr. Willard and his
+wife, the whole party taking deck passage on a Mississippi steamer, and
+arriving at St. Paul in the month of August.
+
+At that time St. Paul was an insignificant town of a few hundred
+inhabitants. There we found Henry Russell, John Tidlund, and a few other
+Swedish pioneers. Mr. Willard and I had very little money, and for the
+few dollars which we did own we bought a little household furniture, and
+some cooking utensils. We therefore at once sought employment for him,
+while the rest of our party started off in search of a suitable location
+for the proposed settlement.
+
+We had been told that there were a number of our countrymen at Chisago
+Lake and a few near Carver, but that all had settled on timber lands. We
+also learned that near Red Wing, in Goodhue county, places could be
+found with both timber and prairie, and an abundance of good water.
+Having looked over the different localities we finally decided on the
+present town of Vasa, about twelve miles west of Red Wing. The first
+claims were taken at Belle Creek, south of White Rock, and afterwards
+others were taken at a spring now known as Willard Spring, near which
+the large brick church now stands.
+
+After selecting this land my father returned to Illinois. In company
+with the other explorers, I went to St. Paul, where a council was held
+in which all participated, and at which it was decided that three of us,
+Messrs. Roos, Kempe, and myself, should go to our claims that fall and
+do as much work as possible, until the others could join us the
+following spring.
+
+Having made the necessary preparations we three went to Red Wing by
+steamboat and found a little town with half a dozen families, among
+whom was the Rev. J. W. Hancock, who for several years had been a
+missionary among the Indians. The other settlers were Wm. Freeborn, Dr.
+Sweeney, H. L. Bevans, and John Day. Besides these we also met two
+Swedes, Peter Green, and Nels Nelson, and a Norwegian by the name of
+Peterson. On the bank of the river the Sioux Indians had a large camp.
+The country west of Red Wing was then practically a wilderness, and our
+little party was the first to start in to cultivate the soil and make a
+permanent settlement.
+
+At Red Wing we supplied ourselves with a tent, a cook stove, a yoke of
+oxen, carpenter's tools, provisions and other necessaries. Having hired
+a team of horses, we then packed our goods on a wagon, tied the cattle
+behind, and started for the new settlement. The first four miles we
+followed the territorial road; after that we had nothing but Indian
+trails to guide us. Toward evening we arrived at a grove on Belle Creek,
+now known as Jemtland. Here the tent was pitched and our evening meal
+cooked, and only pioneers like ourselves can understand how we relished
+it after our long day's tramp. The team was taken back the next day, and
+we were left alone in the wilderness.
+
+After a day's exploration we moved our camp two miles further south, to
+another point near Belle Creek, where Mr. Roos had taken his claim.
+
+It was now late in September, and our first care was to secure enough
+hay for the cattle, and in a few days we had a big stack. Having read
+about prairie fires, we decided to protect our stack by burning away the
+short stubble around it. But a minute and a half was sufficient to
+convince us that we had made wrong calculations, for within that time
+the stack itself was burning with such fury that all the water in Belle
+Creek could not have put it out. Still, this was not the worst of it.
+Before we had time to recover from our astonishment the fire had spread
+over the best part of the valley and consumed all the remaining grass,
+which was pretty dry at that time of the year. Inexperienced as we were,
+we commenced to run a race with the wind, and tried to stop the fire
+before reaching another fine patch of grass about a mile to the north;
+but this attempt was, of course, a complete failure, and we returned to
+our cheerless tent mourning over this serious misfortune.
+
+The next morning we all started out in different directions to see if
+any grass was left in Goodhue County, and fortunately we found plenty of
+it near our first camping-ground. Having put up a second stack of very
+poor hay, we proceeded to build a rude log house, and had just finished
+it when my brother-in-law, Mr. Willard, surprised us by appearing in our
+midst, having left in Red Wing his wife and baby, now Mrs. Zelma
+Christensen of Rush City, who is, as far as I know, the first child born
+of Swedish parents in St. Paul. Mr. Willard who was a scholarly
+gentleman and not accustomed to manual labor, had found it rather hard
+to work with shovel and pick on the hilly streets of St. Paul, and made
+up his mind that he would better do that kind of work on a farm.
+Messers. Roos and Kempe having furnished all the money for the outfit, I
+really had no share in it, and as we could not expect Mr. Willard and
+his family to pass the winter in that cabin, I immediately made up my
+mind to return with him to Red Wing. In an hour we were ready and
+without waiting for dinner we took the trail back to that place. I
+remember distinctly how, near the head of the Spring Creek Valley, we
+sat down in a little grove to rest and meditate on the future. We were
+both very hungry, especially Mr. Willard, who had now walked over twenty
+miles since breakfast. Then espying a tempting squirrel in a tree close
+by, we tried to kill it with sticks and rocks; but we were poor
+marksmen, and thus missed a fine squirrel roast.
+
+Tired and very hungry we reached Red Wing late in the afternoon, and
+soon found my sister, Mrs. Willard, comfortably housed with one of the
+families there. Her cheerful and hopeful nature and the beautiful baby
+on her arm gave us fresh joy and strength to battle with the hardships
+that were in store for us. Mr. Willard and his wife had taken along what
+furniture they owned, a few eatables and five dollars and fifty cents in
+cash, which was all that we possessed of the goods of this world. But
+who cares for money at that age? Mr. Willard was twenty-five years old,
+my sister twenty-three, and I twenty, all hale and hearty, and never for
+a moment doubting our success, no matter what we should undertake.
+
+Our first work was wood chopping, for which we were less fit than almost
+anything else. We had to go to a place about three miles above Red Wing,
+where a man had made a contract to bank up fifteen hundred cords of wood
+for the Mississippi steamers. There was an old wood chopper's cabin
+which we repaired by thatching it with hay and earth, putting in a door,
+a small window, and a few rough planks for a floor. In a few days we
+were duly installed, baby and all, in the little hut which was only
+twelve by sixteen feet, but to us as dear as a palace to a king.
+
+We began to chop wood at once. The trees were tall, soft maples and ash,
+and our pay was fifty-five cents a cord for soft and sixty-five cents
+for hard wood. At first both of us could not chop over a cord a day
+together; but within a week we could chop a cord apiece, and before the
+winter was over we often chopped three cords together in a day. After a
+few days we were joined by four Norwegian wood choppers for whom we put
+up a new cabin to sleep in; but my sister cooked for us all, and the
+others paid for their board to Mr. Willard and myself, who had all
+things in common. Those four men were better workmen than we, and one of
+them, Albert Olson, often chopped three cords a day. They were quiet,
+industrious, and generous fellows, so that we soon became attached to
+each other, and we were all very fond of the little Zelma. My sister
+managed our household affairs so well and kept the little house so neat
+and tidy that when spring came we were all loth to leave.
+
+The weather being fine and the sleighing good in the beginning of
+January, we hired John Day to take us with his team to our claims while
+there was yet snow, so that we might chop and haul out logs for the
+house which Mr. Willard and I intended to put up in the spring. My
+sister remained in the cabin, but Albert went with us for the sake of
+company. We put some lumber on the sled, and provided ourselves with hay
+and food enough to last a few days, and plenty of quilts and blankets
+for our bedding. John Day, who was an old frontiersman with an instinct
+almost like that of an Indian, guided us safely to Willard Spring. A few
+hundred yards below this, in a deep ravine, we stopped near some
+sheltering trees, built a roaring camp-fire, and made ourselves as
+comfortable as possible. Having supped and smoked our evening pipe, we
+made our beds by putting a few boards on the snow, and the hay and
+blankets on top of those. Then all four of us nestled down under the
+blankets and went to sleep.
+
+During the night the thermometer fell down to forty degrees below zero,
+as we learned afterwards. If we had suspected this and kept our fire
+burning there would, of course, have been no danger. But being very
+comfortable early in the night and soon asleep, we were unconscious of
+danger until aroused by an intense pain caused by the cold, and then we
+were already so benumbed and chilled that we lacked energy to get up or
+even move. We found, on comparing notes afterwards, that each one of us
+had experienced the same sensations, namely, first an acute pain as if
+pricked with needles in every fibre, then a deep mental tranquillity
+which was only slightly disturbed by a faint conception of something
+wrong, and by a desire to get up, but without sufficient energy to do
+so. This feeling gradually subsided into one of quiet rest and
+satisfaction, until consciousness ceased altogether, and, as far as pain
+was concerned, all was over with us.
+
+At this stage an accident occurred which saved our lives. Mr. Day, who
+lay on the outside to the right, had evidently held his arm up against
+his breast to keep the blankets close to his body. His will-force being
+gone, his arm relaxed and fell into the snow. As the bare hand came in
+contact with the snow the circulation of the blood was accelerated, and
+this was accompanied by such intense pain that he was aroused and jumped
+to his feet.
+
+Thus we were saved. It took a good while before we could use our limbs
+sufficiently to build a fire again, and during this time we suffered
+much more than before. From that experience I am satisfied that those
+who freeze to death do not suffer much, because they gradually sink into
+a stupor which blunts the sensibilities long before life is extinct.
+
+It was about four o'clock when we got up. Of course we did not lie down
+again that morning, nor did we attempt to haul any timber, but started
+in a bee line across the prairie for the ravine where Mr. Willard and I
+had seen the tempting squirrel a few months before. We soon found that
+going over the wild, trackless prairie against the wind, with the
+thermometer forty degrees below zero was a struggle for life, and in
+order to keep warm we took turns to walk or run behind the sleigh. In
+taking his turn Mr. Willard suddenly sat down in the snow and would not
+stir. We returned to him, and it required all our power of persuasion to
+make him take his seat in the sleigh again. He felt very comfortable he
+said, and would soon catch up with us again if we only would let him
+alone. If we had followed his advice, he would never have left his cold
+seat again. After a drive of eight miles we arrived at a house on Spring
+Creek, near Red Wing, where we found a warm room and a good shed for the
+horses. After an hour's rest we continued the journey, and safely
+reached our little home in the woods before dark. I do not know that I
+ever appreciated a home more than I did that rude cabin when again
+comfortably seated by its warm and cheerful fire-place.
+
+A few weeks later I had an opportunity to visit St. Paul, and while
+there attended the wedding of a young Norwegian farmer from Carver
+County and a girl just arrived from Sweden. The ceremony was performed
+by the Rev. Nilsson, a Baptist minister, who had been banished from
+Sweden on account of proselyting. Among the guests was Mr. John
+Swainsson, who since became well known among the Swedes of Minnesota,
+and who died in St. Paul a short time ago. I also made the acquaintance
+of one Jacob Falstrom, who had lived forty years among the Indians and
+devoted most of that time to missionary work among them. He was a
+remarkable man, and was well known among the Hudson Bay employees and
+other early settlers of the Northwest. As a boy he had deserted from a
+Swedish vessel in Quebec and made his way through the wilderness,
+seeking shelter among the Indians; and, by marrying an Indian girl, he
+had become almost identified with them. I think he told me that he had
+not heard a word spoken in his native tongue in thirty-five years, and
+that he had almost forgotten it when he met the first Swedish settlers
+in the St. Croix valley. His children are now living there, while he has
+passed away to the unknown land beyond, honored and respected by all who
+knew him, Indians as well as white men.
+
+On my return from St. Paul I stopped at the cabin of Mr. Peter Green,
+at Spring Creek, near Red Wing. The only domestic animals he had was a
+litter of pigs, and as Mr. Willard and I intended to settle on our land
+in the spring I thought it might be well to start in with a couple of
+pigs. Accordingly, I got two pigs from Mr. Green, put them in a bag
+which I shouldered, and left for our cabin in the woods. According to my
+calculations, the distance I had to walk ought not to be over three
+miles, and in order to be sure of not getting lost I followed the Cannon
+river at the mouth of which our cabin stood. I walked on the ice where
+the snow was about a foot deep, and, if I had known of the meandering
+course of the river, I would never have undertaken to carry that burden
+such a distance. From nine in the morning until it was almost dark I
+trudged along with my burden on my back, prompted to the greatest
+exertion by the grunting of the pigs, and feeling my back uncomfortably
+warm. These were the first domestic animals I ever owned, and I think I
+well earned my title to them by carrying them along the windings of the
+river at least ten miles. Both I and the pigs were well received when we
+reached the cabin. We made a pig pen by digging a hole in the ground and
+covering it with poles and brush, and fed them on the refuse from the
+table. Before we were ready to move one of them died, while the other,
+after being brought to our new farm, ungratefully ran away, and was most
+likely eaten up by the wolves, which perhaps was just as agreeable to
+him as to be eaten by us.
+
+While living in this camp we saw more Indians than white men. A band of
+Sioux Indians camped near us for several weeks. They were very friendly,
+and never molested us. The men brought us venison and fresh fish, which
+they caught in great quantities by spearing them through the ice. We
+gave them bread and coffee, and sometimes invited one or two to dinner
+after we were through. Their women would stay for hours with my sister
+and help her take care of the baby. Indeed they were so fond of the
+white-haired child that they would sometimes run a race in vying with
+each other to get the first chance to fondle her. Sometimes we visited
+them in their tents in the evening and smoked Kinikinick with them.
+Several of their dead reposed in the young trees near our cabin. When
+somebody died it was their custom to stretch the dead body on poles
+which were tied to young trees high enough to be out of the reach of
+wild beasts, then cover it with blankets, and finally leave some corn
+and venison and a jar of water close by. At some subsequent visit to the
+neighborhood they would gather the bones and bury them at some regular
+burial-ground, usually on a high hill or bluff.
+
+[Illustration: MOUNTAIN CHIEF.]
+
+Once we saw a regular war dance in Red Wing. A few Sioux had killed two
+Chippewas and brought back their scalps stretched on a frame of young
+saplings. At a given hour the whole band assembled, and, amid the most
+fantastic gestures, jumping, singing, yelling, beating of tom-toms and
+jingling of bells, gave a performance which in lurid savageness excelled
+anything I ever saw. The same Indians again became our neighbors for a
+short time on Belle Creek the following winter, and we rather liked
+them, and they us. But eight years later they took part in the terrible
+massacre of the white settlers in Western Minnesota, and thirty-nine of
+their men were hanged on one gallows at Mankato in the fall of 1862 and
+the rest transported beyond our borders.
+
+Thus our first winter in Minnesota passed without further incidents,
+until the beginning of March, when the weather turned so mild that we
+were afraid the ice on the Mississippi might break up, and we therefore
+hurried back to Red Wing. By our wood chopping and Mrs. Willard's
+cooking enough money had been earned to buy the most necessary articles
+for our new home. When we had procured everything and taken a few days'
+rest, we again hired Mr. John Day to take us out to our land with his
+team. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants have had the same experience,
+and can realize how we felt on that fine March morning, starting from
+Red Wing with a wagon loaded with some boards on the bottom, a cook
+stove and utensils, doors, windows, a keg of nails, saws, spades, a
+small supply of provisions, a bedstead or two with bedding, a few
+trunks, and a little box containing our spotted pig, Mrs. Willard in the
+seat with the driver, her baby in her arms, her husband and myself
+taking turns as guides, John Day shouting to his horses, laughing and
+joking; all of us full of hope, strength and determination to overcome
+all obstacles and conquer the wildness. The snow was now nearly gone,
+and the air was spring-like.
+
+After a twelve miles' heavy pull we arrived at our destination, and made
+a temporary tent of sticks and blankets, very much after the Indian
+fashion. Two of the Norwegians had accompanied us to help build our
+cabin. Mr. Day stopped a couple of days hauling building material, and
+before night the second day the rear part of our cabin was under roof.
+After a few days the Norwegians left us, and Mr. Willard and myself had
+to finish the main part of the building which was also made of round
+logs. For many a year this rude log cabin was the centre of attraction,
+and a hospitable stopping place for nearly all the settlers of Vasa.
+
+In the month of April cold weather set in again, and it was very late in
+the season when steamboat navigation was opened on the Mississippi. At
+that time all provisions had to be shipped from Galena or Dubuque, and
+it happened that the winter's supplies in Red Wing were so nearly gone
+that not a particle of flour or meat could be bought after the first of
+April. Our supplies were soon exhausted, and for about two weeks our
+little family had only a peck of potatoes, a small panful of flour, and
+a gallon of beans to live on, part of which was a present from Messrs.
+Roos and Kempe, who had remained all winter on their claims, three miles
+south of us. They had been struggling against great odds, and had been
+compelled to live on half rations for a considerable length of time.
+Even their oxen had been reduced almost to the point of starvation,
+their only feed being over-ripe hay in small quantities.
+
+We would certainly have starved if it had not been for my shot-gun, with
+which I went down into the woods of Belle Creek every morning at
+day-break, generally returning with pheasants, squirrels or other small
+game. One Sunday the weather was so disagreeable and rough that I did
+not succeed in my hunting, but in feeding the team back of the kitchen
+some oats had been spilt, and a flock of blackbirds came and fed on
+them. Through an opening between the logs of the kitchen I shot several
+dozen of these birds, which, by the way, are not ordinarily very
+toothsome. But, being a splendid cook, my sister made them into a stew,
+thickened with a few mashed beans and a handful of flour--in our
+estimation the mess turned out to be a dinner fit for kings.
+
+Our supplies being nearly exhausted, I started for Red Wing the next
+morning, partly to save the remaining handful of provisions for my
+sister and her husband, partly in hopes of obtaining fresh supplies from
+a steamboat which was expected about that time. Three days afterwards
+the steamer arrived. As soon as practicable the boxes were brought to
+the store of H. L. Bevans. I secured a smoked ham, thirty pounds of
+flour, a gallon of molasses, some coffee, salt and sugar, strapped it
+all (weighing almost seventy pounds) on my back, and started toward
+evening for our cabin in the wilderness. I had to walk about fourteen
+miles along the Indian trail, but in spite of the heavy burden I made
+that distance in a short time, knowing that the dear ones at home were
+threatened by hunger; perhaps the howling of the prairie wolves near my
+path also had something to do with the speed. There are events in the
+life of every person which stand out like mile-stones along the road,
+and so attract the attention of the traveler on life's journey that they
+always remain vivid pictures in his memory. My arrival at our cabin that
+evening was one of those events in our humble life. I will not attempt
+to describe the joy which my burden brought to all of us, especially to
+the young mother with the little babe at her breast.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+We had now commenced a new career, located on our farm claims in the
+boundless West, with no end to the prospects and possibilities before
+us. We felt that independence and freedom which are only attained and
+appreciated in the western wilds of America.
+
+From the Mississippi river and almost to the Pacific Ocean, was a
+verdant field for the industry, energy and enterprise of the settler. To
+be sure, our means and resources were small, but somehow we felt that by
+hard work and good conduct we would some day attain the comfort,
+independence and position for which our souls thirsted. We did not sit
+down and wait for gold mines to open up before us, or for roasted pigs
+to come running by our cabin, but with axe and spade went quietly to
+work, to do our little part in the building up of new empires.
+
+[Illustration: OUR WAGON.]
+
+In the beginning of May, my father came from Illinois and brought us a
+pair of steers and a milch cow; this made us rich. We made a wagon with
+wheels of blocks sawed off an oak log; we also bought a plow, and,
+joining with our neighbors of Belle Creek, had a breaking team of two
+pair of oxen. That breaking team and that truck wagon, with myself
+always as the chief ox driver, did all the breaking, and all the hauling
+and carting of lumber, provisions, building-material and other goods,
+for all the settlers in that neighborhood during the first season.
+
+Soon others of our party from last year joined us. Some letters which I
+wrote in _Hemlandet_ describing the country around us, attracted much
+attention and brought settlers from different parts of the west, and
+while the Swedes were pouring into our place, then known as "Mattson's
+Settlement," (now well known under the name of Vasa), our friends, the
+Norwegians, had started a prosperous settlement a few miles to the
+south, many of them coming overland from Wisconsin, bringing cattle,
+implements and other valuables of which the Swedes, being mostly poor
+new-comers, were destitute. Many immigrants of both nationalities came
+as deck passengers on the Mississippi steamers to Red Wing.
+
+There was cholera at St. Louis that summer, and I remember how a steamer
+landed a large party of Norwegian immigrants, nearly all down with
+cholera. Mr. Willard and myself happened to be in Red Wing at the time,
+and the American families, considering these Norwegian cholera patients
+our countrymen, hastily turned them over to our care. We nursed them as
+best we could, but many died in spite of all our efforts, and as we
+closed their eyes, and laid them in the silent grave under the bluffs,
+it never occurred to us that they were anything but our countrymen and
+brothers.
+
+From these small beginnings of the Swedish and Norwegian settlers in
+Goodhue county, in the years of 1853 and 1854, have sprung results which
+are not only grand but glorious to contemplate. Looking back to those
+days I see the little cabin, often with a sod roof, single room used for
+domestic purposes, sometimes crowded almost to suffocation by hospitable
+entertainments to new-comers; or the poor immigrant on the levee at Red
+Wing, just landed from a steamer, in his short jacket and other
+outlandish costume, perhaps seated on a wooden box, with his wife and a
+large group of children around him, and wondering how he shall be able
+to raise enough means to get himself ten or twenty miles into the
+country, or to redeem the bedding and other household goods which he has
+perchance left in Milwaukee as a pledge for his railroad and steam-boat
+ticket. And I see him trudging along over the trackless prairie,
+searching for a piece of land containing if possible prairie, water and
+a 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 rest and shelter until he could build one of his
+own.
+
+[Illustration: OUR FIRST HOME.]
+
+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 necessities 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 gunny-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
+along that we could afford some pie or cake for dessert, the good
+house-wives were in a perfect ecstacy. The joys and sorrows of one, were
+shared by the others, and nowhere in the wide world, except in a
+military camp, have I witnessed so much genuine cordial friendship and
+brotherhood as among the frontier settlers in the West.
+
+One fine Sunday morning that summer, all the settlers met under two oak
+trees on the prairie, near where the present church stands, for the
+first religious service in the settlement. It had been agreed that some
+of the men should take turns to read one of Luther's sermons at each of
+these gatherings, and I was selected as reader the first day. Some
+prayers were said and Swedish hymns sung, and seldom did a temple
+contain more devout worshipers than did that little congregation on the
+prairie.
+
+Before the winter of 1854-55 set in, we had quite a large community in
+Vasa, and had raised considerable grain, potatoes and other provisions.
+During that winter the Sioux Indians again became our neighbors, and
+frequently supplied us with venison in exchange for bread and coffee.
+The following spring and summer the settlers increased still faster,
+several more oxen and other cattle, with a horse or two, were brought
+in, and I had no longer the exclusive privilege of hauling goods on the
+little truck wagon.
+
+That summer I again went to Illinois to meet a large party of
+newly-arrived emigrants from Sweden, who formed a settlement in Vasa,
+known as Skane. The people from different provinces would group
+themselves together in little neighborhoods, each assuming in common
+parlance the name of their own province; thus we have Vasa, Skane,
+Smaland and Jemtland.
+
+About this time a township was formally organized, and, at my
+suggestion, given the name of Vasa, in commemoration of the great
+Swedish king. Roads were also laid out legally, and a township
+organization perfected. A school district was formed and soon after an
+election precinct, and as I was the only person who was master of the
+English language the duty of attending to all these things devolved upon
+me. We were particularly fortunate in having many men, not only of good
+education from the old country, but of excellent character, pluck and
+energy, men who would have been leaders in their communities if they had
+remained at home, and who became prominent as soon as they had mastered
+the English language. This fact, perhaps, gave a higher tone and
+character to our little community than is common in such cases, and Vasa
+has since that time furnished many able men in the county offices, in
+the legislative halls, and in business and educational circles. There
+can be much refinement and grace even in a log cabin on the wild
+prairie.
+
+In the beginning of the month of September, 1855, Rev. E. Norelius
+visited the settlement and organized a Lutheran church.
+
+Thirty-five years have elapsed since that time, and many of those who
+belonged to the first church at Vasa now rest in mother earth close by
+the present stately church edifice, which still belongs to the same
+congregation, and is situated only a short distance from the place where
+the latter was organized. Rev. Norelius himself lives only a few hundred
+yards from the church building. Thirty-five years have changed the then
+cheerful, hopeful young man into a veteran, crowned with honor, and full
+of wisdom and experience. His beneficent influence on the Swedes of
+Goodhue county and of the whole Northwest will make his name dear to
+coming generations of our people.
+
+On November 23d, in the same fall, the first wedding took place in our
+settlement. The author of these memoirs was joined in matrimony to Miss
+Cherstin Peterson, from Balingsloef, near Kristianstad, whose family had
+just come to Vasa from Sweden. By this union I found the best and most
+precious treasure a man can find--a good and dear wife, who has,
+faithfully shared my fate to this day. Rev. J. W. Hancock, of Red Wing,
+performed the marriage ceremony. Horses being very scarce among us in
+those days, the minister had to borrow an Indian pony and ride on
+horseback twelve miles--from Red Wing to Vasa. On the evening of our
+wedding day there happened to be a severe snow-storm, through which my
+young bride was taken from her parents' home to our log house, on a
+home-made wooden sled, drawn by a pair of oxen and escorted by a number
+of our young friends, which made this trip of about a quarter of a mile
+very pleasant, in spite of the oxen and the snow-storm.
+
+The next winter was very severe, and many of our neighbors suffered
+greatly from colds and even frozen limbs. But there was an abundance of
+provisions, and, as far as I can remember, no one was in actual need
+after the first winter.
+
+In the spring of 1856 several new-comers arrived in our colony. That
+year marked the climax of the mad land speculation in the Northwest.
+Cities and towns were staked out and named, advertised and sold
+everywhere in the state, and people seemed to be perfectly wild,
+everybody expecting to get rich in a short time without working. The
+value of real estate rose enormously, and money was loaned at three,
+four, and even five per cent. a month. Fortunately, very few of the
+settlers in our neighborhood were seized by this mad fury of
+speculation. I, however, became a victim. I bought several pieces of
+land, and sold some of them very profitably, and mortgaged others at an
+impossible rate of interest. And, the world becoming too narrow for me
+on the farm, I availed myself of the first opportunity to trade away my
+land for some property in Red Wing, which was a booming little town at
+that time. We moved from the plain log cabin on the old farm into a
+house in town, where I engaged in a successful mercantile business. But
+speculation was in the air, and before the spring of 1857 my entire
+stock of merchandize was exchanged for town lots in Wasioja and Geneva,
+two paper cities further west. Meanwhile my friend Mr. Eustrom, with his
+young wife and baby, had arrived from Boston, and both of us, with our
+families and a few friends, moved out to Geneva early in the summer,
+with the intention of building up a city and acquiring riches in a
+hurry. But at that time the waves of speculation began to subside, and
+nine-tenths of the cities and towns which were mapped out, and the great
+enterprises which were inaugurated by enthusiasts like myself suddenly
+collapsed into a mere nothing. Among these was also Geneva, which is not
+larger to-day than when we left it, and it was about all I could do to
+raise enough money to get back to Vasa with my wife. My friend Eustrom
+pre-empted a claim near Geneva and remained there.
+
+Making an inventory of my property after the return to Vasa in 1857, I
+found that the principal thing I had was a debt of $2,000, bearing an
+interest of five per cent. a month. In order to pay this debt we sold
+everything we had, even our furniture and my wife's gold watch. This was
+the great crisis of 1857. It stirred up everybody and everything in the
+country, and it was no wonder that I, being an inexperienced and
+enthusiastic young man, had to suffer with so many others. But now the
+question was, what should I do? I could not return to the farm, for I
+had none; that is, it was encumbered for about twice its value.
+
+In the midst of these difficulties I went to Red Wing one day to consult
+a prominent lawyer in regard to some business matters. During my
+conversation with him he said: "You have nothing to do now, you have had
+enough of speculation, you know the English language, you are tolerably
+well acquainted with our laws, well educated, young and ambitious, why
+not study law, then? This state and this county is just the place for
+you to make a splendid beginning in that profession. Come to me, and
+within a year you can be admitted to the bar, after which you will find
+it easy to get along."
+
+I returned to Vasa in the evening, and, having consulted my wife, who
+was visiting her parents, I soon made up my mind. The next day both of
+us were on the way to Red Wing supplied with clothes, bedding, a few
+dishes and some provisions, which had been given us by my wife's
+parents, who also conveyed us to town. In Red Wing we rented a room
+about sixteen feet square, got a cook stove and a few articles of
+furniture on credit, and everything was in order for housekeeping and
+the study of law. I immediately commenced my course of study with that
+excellent lawyer, Mr. Warren Bristol, who afterwards for many years
+served as United States Judge in New Mexico, where he recently died.
+
+This life was something new for my young wife, who had grown up in a
+house of plenty. Now she had to try her hand at managing our household
+affairs, with the greatest economy, and she accomplished her task so
+well that no minister of finance could have done better. In fact we were
+so poor that winter that we could not afford to buy the tallow candles
+which were necessary for my night studies (kerosene was unknown at that
+time). But every evening during this trying but happy winter my wife
+made a lamp by pouring melted lard, which her parents sent us, into a
+saucer, and putting in a cotton wick, and in my eyes this light was more
+brilliant than the rays from the golden chandeliers in the palaces of
+the rich. By this light I studied Blackstone, Kent, and other works on
+law.
+
+Late in the spring of 1858 a place became vacant in the justice of the
+peace, and I succeeded in getting the appointment to this position,
+which brought me a couple of dollars now and then, thus improving our
+financial condition considerably. Early in the summer I was appointed
+city clerk, with a salary of $12.50 a month, which was quite a fortune
+for us at that time. After one year's hard study I was admitted to the
+bar, and my honored teacher accepted me as his partner on good
+conditions. My profession seemed to be well chosen; I had plenty to do,
+and met with all the success I could expect.
+
+My first case in the district court was before Judge McMillan, who
+afterwards became chief justice of our supreme court, and then United
+States senator. In opening the case I became nervous and excited and
+would have broken down entirely had it not been for the kindly manner in
+which the judge overlooked my diffidence, and helped me out of the
+embarrassment by leading me on and putting the very words in my mouth;
+this was only natural to his kind heart, and he probably never
+remembered it, but to me it was an act of great kindness, never to be
+forgotten, especially not when more than twenty years after the little
+incident he needed all his friends to rally for his return to the United
+States senate, his most formidable opponent being the venerable and
+beloved statesman, Alexander Ramsey.
+
+My law practice lasted only a few months, as I was appointed county
+auditor to fill a vacancy, and soon afterwards elected to fill the
+regular term of office, and again re-elected two years later. Before
+that time no Swedish-American had occupied such responsible civil office
+in the United States. But I probably made a mistake in accepting this
+office and thereby turning my back on a profession at which I would
+undoubtedly have made more easy and rapid progress than by anything
+else. But for the time being it produced great economical improvements
+in our private life. Our little home, the narrow room which served as
+bedroom, study, kitchen and parlor, was soon exchanged for a neat little
+house, and a year later we moved into a larger and more comfortable
+building, which was our own property.
+
+Meanwhile the settlement at Vasa had prospered, and the population had
+materially increased. The Scandinavian settlers had scattered over the
+neighboring towns and counties with marvelous rapidity. The crisis of
+1857 had been an excellent lesson to us all, for, although the price of
+real estate had fallen to about one-fourth of its former value, the
+people were better off now than formerly, owing to better management and
+more prudent economy.
+
+The Scandinavians had now commenced to take a lively interest in the
+political discussions which were agitating the entire country at that
+time. The all absorbing political question of the day was "slavery" or
+"no slavery" in the new territories. It is unnecessary to say that the
+Scandinavians were almost to a man in favor of liberty to all men, and
+that they consequently joined the Republican party, which had just been
+organized for the purpose of restricting slavery.
+
+In the winter of 1861, while I was holding the office of auditor the
+second term, the legislature of Minnesota appointed a committee to
+revise the tax laws. This committee invited five county auditors, of
+which number I had the honor to be one, to assist in its work. The tax
+laws which were formulated by this general committee were in force over
+twenty years.
+
+It was about this time the great American statesman, W. H. Seward,
+visited Minnesota. I heard him make his famous speech in St. Paul, in
+which, with the gift of prophecy, he depicted the future grandeur of the
+twin cities. I also heard Owen Lovejoy, a member of congress from
+Illinois, and one of the leading anti-slavery agitators of the times.
+
+During the presidential election of 1860 the political excitement ran
+very high in the whole country. The Southern states had assumed a
+threatening position, and expressed their intention to secede from the
+Union if Lincoln was elected president. Throughout the whole country
+political clubs were organized. The Democrats formed companies which
+they called "Little Giants," which was the nickname given to Stephen A.
+Douglas, their candidate for president.
+
+The Republicans also organized companies which they called "Wide
+Awakes." I was chosen leader of the Republican company in Red Wing.
+Political meetings were very frequent during the last few weeks before
+election, and among the most prominent features of those meetings were
+processions and parades of the companies, which were uniformed, and
+carried banners and torches. During the campaign C. C. Andrews and the
+late Stephen Miller, respective candidates for presidential electors on
+the Democratic and Republican tickets, held meetings together and
+jointly debated the important questions of the day, taking of course
+opposite sides, but within a year both were found as officers in the
+Union army, gallantly fighting for the same cause.
+
+About this time a company of militia organized in Red Wing, and I was
+one of the lieutenants, and took active part in its drill and maneuvers.
+Although none of the men who took part in these movements could foresee
+or suspect the approach of the awful struggle which was to plunge the
+country into a deluge of fire and blood, still they all seemed to have a
+presentiment that critical times were near at hand, and that it was the
+duty of all true citizens to make ready for them. It is a significant
+fact that fifty-four men out of our little company of only sixty, within
+two years became officers or soldiers in the volunteer army of the
+United States. Although the Scandinavian emigrants had been in the state
+only a few years, they still seemed to take as great an interest in the
+threatening political difficulties of the times, and were found to be
+just as willing as their native fellow-citizens to sacrifice their blood
+and lives for the Union.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Going from the court house on the afternoon of April 12th, 1861, a
+friend overtook me with the news that the rebels of the South had fired
+on Fort Sumpter. The news spread rapidly, and caused surprise and
+intense indignation. In a few days the governor issued a proclamation
+that one thousand men should be ready to leave our young state for the
+seat of war; more than a sufficient number of companies were already
+organized to fill this regiment, and the only question was, who were to
+have the first chance? This first excitement was so sudden that the
+Scandinavians, who are more deliberate in such matters, scarcely knew
+what was going on before the first enlistment was made.
+
+A few months passed, and the battle of Bull Run was fought. It was no
+longer a mere momentary excitement; it was no longer expected that the
+Rebellion could be subdued in a single battle or within a few months,
+but it was generally understood that the war would be long and bitter.
+Then the Scandinavians of Minnesota began to stir. We had heard that a
+few Swedes in Illinois, especially Major--afterward General--Stohlbrand
+and a few others, had entered the army. A few Scandinavians had also
+enlisted in the First and Second regiments; but there was no general
+rising among them in our state until I published an appeal in the
+Swedish newspaper _Hemlandet_ in Chicago. The following is an extract
+from that paper:
+
+  "TO THE SCANDINAVIANS OF MINNESOTA!
+
+  "It is high time for us, as a people, to arise with sword in hand, and
+  fight for our adopted country and for liberty.
+
+  "This country is in danger. A gigantic power has arisen against it and
+  at the same time against liberty and democracy, in order to crush
+  them.
+
+  "Our state has already furnished two thousand men, and will soon be
+  called upon for as many more to engage in the war. Among the
+  population of the state the Scandinavians number about one-twelfth, a
+  part of its most hardy and enduring people, and ought to furnish at
+  least three or four hundred men for this army. This land which we, as
+  strangers, have made our home, has received us with friendship and
+  hospitality. We enjoy equal privileges with the native born. The path
+  to honor and fortune is alike open to us and them. The law protects
+  and befriends us all alike. We have also sworn allegiance to the same.
+
+  "Countrymen, 'Arise to arms; our adopted country calls!' Let us prove
+  ourselves worthy of that land, and of those heroes from whom we
+  descend.
+
+  "I hereby offer myself as one of that number, and I am confident that
+  many of you are ready and willing to do likewise. Let each settlement
+  send forth its little squad. Many in this neighborhood are now ready
+  to go. A third regiment will soon be called by the governor of this
+  state. Let us, then, have ready a number of men of the right kind, and
+  offer our services as a part of the same. Let us place ourselves on
+  the side of liberty and truth, not only with words but with strong
+  arms,--with our lives. Then shall our friends in the home of our
+  childhood rejoice over us. Our children and children's children shall
+  hereafter pronounce our names with reverence. We shall ourselves be
+  happy in the consciousness of having performed our duty, and should
+  death on the field of battle be our lot, then shall our parents,
+  wives, children and friends find some consolation in their sorrow in
+  the conviction that they, also, by their noble sacrifices, have
+  contributed to the defense and victory of right, justice, and liberty.
+  And a grateful people shall not withhold from them its sympathy and
+  friendship."
+
+A few days later I left a dear wife, home, and two children, and started
+for Fort Snelling, but not alone; about seventy Swedes and thirty
+Norwegians from Red Wing, Vasa, Chisago Lake, Holden, Wanamingo,
+Stillwater, Albert Lea and other places, went there with me, or joined
+us in the course of a few days.
+
+[Illustration: MUSTERING VOLUNTEERS.]
+
+Meanwhile the third regiment had been called, and one hundred of my
+companions were mustered in as Company D of that regiment, with myself
+as their captain, a Norwegian friend, L. K. Aaker, formerly a member of
+our legislature, as first lieutenant, and my old friend H. Eustrom as
+second lieutenant. Although Company D was the only military organization
+in our state consisting exclusively of Scandinavians, there were quite a
+number of those nationalities in every regiment and company organized
+afterwards.
+
+I may be excused for saying a few words concerning my old military
+company. It consisted of the very flower of our young men. It was
+regarded from the start as a model company, and maintained its rank as
+such during the whole term of four years' service. Always orderly,
+sober, obedient and faithful to every duty, the men of Company D, though
+foreigners by birth, won and always kept the affectionate regard and
+fullest confidence of their native-born comrades. A large majority of
+them are resting in the last grand bivouac, many under the genial
+Southern sun, but no word of reproach or doubt of soldierly honor has
+ever been heard against any of those living or dead.
+
+About this time a whole regiment of Scandinavians, mostly Norwegians,
+was organized in Wisconsin,--the Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry
+regiment,--which rose to great distinction during its long service. Its
+brave colonel, Hans Hegg, fell mortally wounded while commanding a
+brigade on the bloody field at Chickamauga. There were many partially or
+wholly Swedish companies from Illinois, one of which belonged to the
+Forty-third Illinois regiment, under the lamented Capt. Arosenius, and
+came under my command a few years later in Arkansas. There were also
+many prominent Swedish officers in other regiments, such as Gen. C. J.
+Stohlbrand, Cols. Vegesack, Malmborg, Steelhammar, Broddy, Elfving, and
+Brydolf, Capts. Stenbeck, Silversparre, Sparrstrom, Lempke, Chas.
+Johnson, Erik Johnson, Vanstrum, Lindberg, etc., and Lieuts. Osborne,
+Edgren, Liljengren, Johnson, Lindall, Olson, Gustafson, Lundberg, and
+many others whose names I do not now recall.
+
+In the Goodhue county records for October 15, 1861, is a paragraph which
+states that, as the county auditor, H. Mattson, has voluntarily gone to
+the war with a company of soldiers to defend our country, it is resolved
+that leave of absence shall be extended to him, and that the office of
+county auditor shall not be declared vacant so long as the deputy
+performs his duties properly.
+
+The St. Paul _Press_ of the same date, has the following: "We
+congratulate Capt. Mattson and his countrymen for the splendid company
+of Swedes and Norwegians which he commands. Never was a better company
+mustered in for service."
+
+In the beginning of November two steamers arrived at Fort Snelling and
+took the Third regiment on board. We were ordered to join Buell's army
+in Kentucky. Company E, of our regiment, was also mainly from Goodhue
+county, and when the steamers arrived at Red Wing, they stopped half an
+hour to let Companies D and E partake of a bountiful supper, to which
+they had been invited by their city friends, and to say a last farewell
+to their families and acquaintances. My wife, with the little children,
+my sister, father, brother, and other relatives, were gathered in a
+large room in the hotel opposite the landing. The half hour was soon
+past, and the bugle sounded "fall in." I pass over the parting scene,
+leaving it to the imagination of the reader, for I cannot find words to
+describe it myself. I will only relate one little episode. When the
+bugle sounded for departure I held my little two-year-old daughter in my
+arms; her arms were clasped around my neck, and, when I endeavored to
+set her down, she closed her little fingers so hard together that her
+uncle had to open them by force before he could take her away from me.
+When a little child was capable of such feelings, it may be surmised
+what those felt who were able to comprehend the significance of that
+moment.
+
+In a few days we were camped on a muddy field in Kentucky, quickly
+learning the duties of soldier-life, and familiarizing ourselves with
+the daily routine of an army in the field.
+
+My military career of four years' duration passed without any event of
+particular interest or importance; it was like that of two million other
+soldiers--to do their duty faithfully, whatever that duty might be--that
+was all.
+
+After eight months' service I was promoted to the rank of major in the
+regiment. At that time we were serving in middle Tennessee. Shortly
+afterward our regiment, with some three thousand men of the troops, made
+a forced march across the Cumberland mountains. In order to give the
+reader an idea of the hardships which the soldiers occasionally had to
+endure on a march, I shall give a short sketch of this. The detachment
+broke camp in Murfreesboro in the forenoon of a very hot day toward the
+close of May, and marched twenty miles before night, which was
+considered a good distance for the first day. Most of the men suffered
+from blistered feet, and they were all very tired. We prepared our
+supper, and had just gone to rest in a large open field and were
+beginning to fall asleep, when, at ten o'clock in the evening, the
+signal was given to fall in. In a few minutes the whole force was in
+line, and silently resumed the march forward. We marched the whole
+night, the whole of the next day, the following night, and till noon the
+day after, moving altogether a distance of over eighty miles, over a
+difficult and partly mountainous country, and stopping only one hour
+three times a day to cook our coffee and eat, while those who sank down
+by the roadside entirely exhausted were left until the rear-guard came
+and picked them up. When we finally arrived at our destination the enemy
+that we were pursuing had already decamped, and we had to return by the
+same route over which we had come, though more leisurely. Among the many
+victims of this march was a bright Norwegian lieutenant of my old
+company, Hans Johnson, who died shortly after our return to
+Murfreesboro.
+
+A few days afterward the regiment started on an expedition to the South.
+During this march I got sick with the fever, and would probably have
+died at Columbia, Tenn., if my friend Eustrom, who at that time was
+captain of Company D, had not succeeded in getting me into a rebel
+family, where I was treated with the greatest care, so that in a few
+days I was able to go by rail to Minnesota on a twenty days' leave of
+absence. This took place in the beginning of the month of July, 1862.
+
+Having spent a fortnight in the bosom of my family I returned, with
+improved health, to resume my command. I arrived at Chicago on a Sunday
+morning, and, as I had to wait all day for my train, I went to the
+Swedish church on Superior street. Leaving the church, I heard a
+news-boy crying, "Extra number of the _Tribune_; great battle at
+Murfreesboro; Third Minnesota regiment in hot fire!" I bought the paper
+and hurried to the hotel, where another extra edition was handed me. The
+Union troops had won a decisive victory at Murfreesboro, and totally
+routed the forces of Forrest, consisting of eight thousand cavalry.
+Later in the evening a third extra edition announced that "The Third
+regiment has been captured by the enemy, and is on the march to the
+prisons of the South." Only a soldier can imagine my feelings when I
+received this news. I arrived in Tennessee two days later, only to meet
+the soldiers returning from the mountains where they had been released
+on written parole by the enemy. They were sore-footed, exhausted, hungry
+and wild with anger, and looked more like a lot of ragged beggars than
+the well-disciplined soldiers they had been a few days before. All the
+captured officers had been taken to the South, where they were kept in
+prison several months. Only two of them succeeded in making their
+escape. One of those was Capt. Eustrom, who, in company with Lieut.
+Taylor, made his escape from a hospital building, some negroes giving
+them clothes, and, through almost incredible hardships and dangers, they
+succeeded in reaching our lines, and I met them two days after my
+arrival at Nashville.
+
+The capitulation of our splendid regiment was one of the most deplorable
+events of its kind during the whole war. It was regarded one of the best
+regiments of volunteers of the Western army. It had defended itself
+with great valor, and, in fact, defeated the enemy, when for some
+unaccountable reason, Col. H. C. Lester decided to surrender, and he
+exerted such a great influence over our officers that seven company
+commanders went over to his side in the council of war, which he called,
+while the remaining officers and the soldiers were strongly opposed to
+the capitulation. When the men finally were ordered to stack arms they
+did so with tears in their eyes, complaining bitterly because they were
+not allowed to fight any longer. All the officers who had been in favor
+of capitulation were afterward dismissed from service in disgrace.
+
+Arriving at Nashville I was immediately ordered to assume command of my
+own scattered regiment, of the Ninth Michigan Infantry regiment, and of
+a battery of artillery, which had also capitulated on that fatal Sunday.
+Having supplied the men with clothing and other necessaries, I took them
+by steamboats to a camp for prisoners in St. Louis, and returned to
+Nashville to report the matter in person. On my return to Nashville I
+was appointed member of a general court martial, and shortly afterwards
+its president, which position I occupied from July till December, 1862.
+The sufferings which my friend Captain Eustrom had endured during his
+flight from the rebels shattered his health so that he was soon forced
+to retire from service.
+
+About this time the well-known Indian massacre in the western
+settlements of Minnesota took place. About eight hundred peaceable
+citizens, mostly women and children, and among those many
+Scandinavians--were cruelly butchered, and their houses and property
+burnt and destroyed. The soldiers of the Third regiment had given their
+parole not to take up arms against the enemy until they were properly
+exchanged, but, as this did not have anything to do with the Indian war,
+they were ordered from St. Louis to Minnesota and put under the command
+of Major Welch, of the Fourth regiment, and soon distinguished
+themselves by their fine maneuvers and valor in the struggle with the
+Indians.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+In the month of December the officers were exchanged and ordered back to
+Fort Snelling, to where the enlisted men had also returned from the
+Indian war. In January, 1863, we again left Minnesota for the South. The
+whole of this winter and the beginning of spring were devoted to
+expeditions against guerillas and Confederate recruiting camps in
+southern Tennessee. Most of this time I commanded the regiment, four
+companies of which were mounted. We had to procure horses as best we
+could, here and there through the country. We had many skirmishes with
+the enemy, and captured a number of prisoners.
+
+In the beginning of June we joined the forces that were besieging
+Vicksburg under the command of Gen. Grant, and remained there until that
+city had capitulated. The siege of Vicksburg is so well known from
+history that I shall make no attempt to describe it here. For five
+consecutive weeks the cannonading was so incessant that the soldiers
+became as accustomed to it as the passengers on a steamer to the noise
+of the propeller, and, when the capitulation finally put an end to all
+this noise, we found it very difficult to sleep for several nights on
+account of the unusual silence.
+
+The July number of _Hemlandet_, contained a letter from me, dated
+Vicksburg, June 24th, from which I make the following extract:
+
+  "The army of Gen. Grant is divided into two Grand Divisions, one of
+  which is arranged in a semi-circle toward Vicksburg, only a few
+  hundred yards from the intrenchments of the rebels, the other in a
+  semi-circle turned away from Vicksburg, and fronting the army of Gen.
+  Johnston. We are all protected by strong intrenchments, and always
+  keep over two thousand men as picket guards, and the same number are
+  digging rifle pits and building intrenchments.
+
+  "Gen. Logan's Division is close up to the intrenchments of the rebels.
+  The Swedish Maj. Stohlbrand is chief of artillery in Logan's Division,
+  and, has, as such, under his special charge one of the most important
+  positions in the beleaguering army.
+
+  "I visited Gen. Logan yesterday, and will relate a little episode
+  concerning this brave commander: When Gen. Logan heard that I was a
+  Swede, and wished to see Maj. Stohlbrand, who had just ridden out to
+  look after his batteries, the general, being always full of fun,
+  assumed a very solemn air, and said: 'Too bad you did not come an hour
+  sooner, for then you could have seen Stohlbrand. There'--and he went
+  to the door of his tent and pointed across the camp ground--'there is
+  the tent of Maj. Stohlbrand. Half an hour ago a bomb exploded from the
+  main fort yonder. Poor Stohlbrand! Only a few remnants were left of
+  the contents of his tent. Poor Stohlbrand! Perhaps you would like to
+  see the remains?'
+
+  "Accompanied by Gens. Stevenson, Ransom, and several other officers, I
+  followed Gen. Logan to the tent of Stohlbrand. Then Logan said: 'Out
+  of respect for poor Stohlbrand we have put everything in order again.
+  Here you see his camp stool, there his uniform, and there is his
+  little field cot.' The bed looked as if a dead body was lying on it,
+  covered by a blanket. Logan walked solemnly up to the head of the bed,
+  lifted the blanket, and behold, there was only a bundle of rags! The
+  rest of us, of course, supposed that Stohlbrand was dead, and that his
+  corpse was lying on the bed. This little joke made the humorous Logan
+  laugh so that his whole body shook.
+
+  "As to the Swedes in the army, I may mention that, besides our Company
+  D, there are in the same division the company of Capt. Arosenius of
+  the Forty-third Illinois regiment, and that of Capt. Corneliuson of
+  the Twenty-third Wisconsin regiment, and a number of Swedes of the
+  other regiments from Illinois and Wisconsin, and of the Fourth and
+  Fifth Minnesota regiments. Old Company D is a model, as usual,--the
+  best one I have seen yet. Both officers and men are quiet, orderly,
+  cheerful and obedient, always faithful at their post, and ready to go
+  wherever duty calls them. They are loved and respected by all who come
+  in contact with them. When I feel sad or despondent, all I need do is
+  to walk along the camp street and take a look at some of my old
+  Scandinavians. Their calm and earnest demeanor always makes me glad
+  and proud. I ask for no greater honor than to point them out to some
+  stranger, saying: 'This is my old company.'
+
+  "Not these alone, however, but all of my countrymen whom I met in the
+  army have a good name, and are considered most reliable and able
+  soldiers."
+
+I shall now relate a couple of anecdotes from the siege of Vicksburg,
+which I did not mention in the letter to _Hemlandet_.
+
+[Illustration: GRANT'S HEADQUARTERS.]
+
+Outside Gen. Logan's tent stood a big magnolia tree. While laughing at
+Logan's joke Gen. Stevenson picked up a little stick of wood and
+whittled on it with his penknife, in genuine Yankee fashion. Accidently
+he dropped his knife, and, while stooping down to pick it up, a fragment
+of a shell from the rebel batteries came and went two inches deep into
+the tree right where his head had been when he was whittling. He coolly
+remarked, "That piece of iron was not made for me."
+
+One day as I, in company with Lieut. Col. (afterward Gen.) C. C.
+Andrews, was visiting Gen. Grant outside of Vicksburg, a wagon drawn
+by six mules passed close by his headquarters. The driver, an old,
+rough-looking soldier, stopped, and asked the way to a certain regiment.
+Gen. Grant's tent stood on a little elevation, at the foot of which were
+several fresh wagon tracks. A number of officers, including myself, were
+standing and sitting around the general outside the tent. Gen. Grant,
+who was dressed in a fatigue suit and slouched hat, without other marks
+of distinction than three small silver stars, which could scarcely be
+distinguished on his dusty blouse, went toward the driver and, with the
+most minute particulars, gave him directions how to drive. While he was
+talking, we observed that the driver showed signs of deep emotion, and
+finally he alighted from the mule, which he was riding, stretched out
+his arms, and, with tears in his eyes, exclaimed: "My God! I believe it
+is Gen. Grant! General, do you remember Tommy Donald? I was a soldier in
+your company during the Mexican war!" With touching kindness the great
+commander-in-chief now took both hands of the ragged soldier in his,
+and, like old friends who had not met for a long time, they rejoiced in
+remembering the companionship of fifteen years before.
+
+[Illustration: ARMY WAGON.]
+
+When Gen. Grant returned to the tent the conversation turned to the
+newspaper clamor and general discontent because Vicksburg was not yet
+taken, upon which the general expressed himself in the following words:
+"I could make another assault and hasten the capture a few days, but
+will not do it because I _know_ positively that within ten days the
+garrison must surrender anyhow, for I have got them, and will take them
+all. Let them howl. I don't care. I have got Pemberton tight as wax."
+Saying which, he closed his right hand and laid it on the little camp
+table with such force that I noticed the veins filling and turning blue
+on the back of his hand. These two little incidents give a key to Gen.
+Grant's whole character, and the secret of his unparalleled success, not
+only in winning battles, but in bagging the entire opposing force.
+
+A week later Vicksburg fell into our hands. We took thirty-two thousand
+prisoners, fifteen generals, two thousand other officers, and nearly two
+hundred cannon.
+
+[Illustration: GENERALS GRANT AND PEMBERTON.]
+
+About a week after the surrender of Vicksburg the Third regiment was
+transferred to the Seventh army corps, under the command of Gen. Fred.
+Steele, and took part in the campaign against Little Rock. In the
+beginning of September, when we were only ten miles from Little Rock,
+our regiment enjoyed the distinction of marching at the head of the
+infantry column. We came upon the Confederate batteries on the west bank
+of the Arkansas river, where a brisk cannonade was opened. This combat
+afforded the most beautiful sight imaginable, if carnage and slaughter
+may be called beautiful. We stood on the east side of the river, the
+Confederates on the west. The water being very low, a steamer had been
+grounded about an eighth of a mile above us, and near the steamer the
+water was so shallow that the cavalry could ford the river; but just in
+front of the Third regiment the water was so deep that we had to throw a
+pontoon bridge for the infantry.
+
+Our regiment was stationed in a cornfield near the river bank to cover
+the march across the bridge, and the soldiers were ordered to lie down
+on the ground. But we found it very difficult to make them obey, for, in
+their eagerness to cross the river, they felt more like rushing ahead
+and shouting for joy. Many shots from the Confederate batteries passed
+over our heads, so low that the soldiers, in a sporting mood, jumped up
+and grabbed with their hands in the air, as if trying to catch them.
+In less than an hour the bridge across the deep channel was ready. A
+cavalry brigade had meanwhile moved up to the ford above, and now the
+signal for crossing was given. The Confederates set fire to the steamer,
+which they were unable to save.
+
+It was about noon on one of those glorious autumn days peculiar to this
+country, which greatly enhanced the impression of the sublime spectacle
+then to be seen on the Arkansas river. The burning steamer reddening the
+atmosphere with brilliant flames of fire, a long line of cavalry fording
+the shallow river in three files, the infantry marching by the flank
+over the pontoon from which they jumped into the water, forming on
+double-quick, first companies, then battalion, whereupon they marched
+cheerily, in knee-deep water, under flying banners and to the beat of
+regimental music, while the air was filled with shells and balls. Before
+the infantry had reached the woods where the batteries of the enemy were
+hidden, the latter was already in retreat, and Little Rock soon fell
+into our hands.
+
+On our march into the captured city the next morning, the Third regiment
+was again accorded the place of honor at the head of the army. It was
+designated to act as provost-guard for the purpose of maintaining order,
+and the whole regiment was soon quartered in the state capitol. Gen. C.
+C. Andrews, who held the position of colonel at that time, was appointed
+post commander at Little Rock, and I, who had been promoted to the rank
+of lieutenant-colonel soon after the surrender of Vicksburg, took
+command of the regiment, whereby it became my duty to maintain law and
+order in the captured city. This was an onerous and difficult task, for
+it must be remembered that the only executive authority in the southern
+states during the war was vested in the army, and especially delegated
+to the provost officers and guards. The third regiment was occupied with
+this task until the following spring, and performed its duty so well
+that the governor of Arkansas, in a message, expressed himself regarding
+it, in the following language:
+
+"During the time of their service in our capital good order has
+prevailed, and they have commanded the respect of our citizens. When
+called upon to meet the enemy they have proven themselves equal to any
+task, and reliable in the hour of imminent danger. Such men are an honor
+to our government and the cause which they serve. Their state may
+justly feel proud of them, and they will prove themselves to be worthy
+sons of the same wherever duty calls them."
+
+Toward Christmas I was ordered to Fort Snelling, with a detachment of
+officers and non-commissioned officers, for the purpose of recruiting
+our decimated ranks. I remained on this duty till the month of March,
+and then returned with four hundred recruits. Shortly afterwards the
+battle of Fitzhugh's Woods, near Augusta, Arkansas, was fought, and the
+regiment distinguished itself by very gallant conduct. During the stay
+in Little Rock most of the soldiers had re-enlisted for three years, or
+until the close of the war, whereby we acquired the title of "Veteran
+Regiment." But that was not the only distinction which was conferred on
+our men. A large number of young soldiers had been promoted from the
+ranks to be officers in several negro regiments, which were organized in
+Tennessee and Arkansas, and some as officers of new regiments of our
+own state. Col. Andrews had meanwhile been promoted to the rank of
+brigadier-general, and, in April, 1864, I was promoted to colonel of the
+regiment in his place, and was shortly afterward ordered to march with
+its eight hundred men to Pine Bluff, on the Arkansas river.
+
+From this time until the beginning of August the regiment experienced
+such hardships and sufferings from diseases and hard service, that it
+sustained far greater losses from these causes than any other regiment
+from our state had met with in open battle. Pine Bluff was a veritable
+pest-hole; the water was of a greenish color, the air full of germs of
+disease and poisonous vapors. Continually surrounded and threatened by a
+vigilant enemy, the exhausted and sickly soldiers had to get up at three
+o'clock every morning for the purpose of working at the entrenchments
+and strengthening and protecting our position in different ways.
+Meanwhile the number of those fit for duty was daily decreasing at an
+appalling rate. The hospitals were overcrowded with patients, and the
+few men left for duty were continually occupied in caring for the sick
+and burying the dead, until there were not men enough left to bury their
+dead comrades, and I was obliged to ask a regiment, which had recently
+arrived, to help us perform that sad duty.
+
+At this critical moment I received orders from Washington to take six
+companies to Minnesota, on a six weeks' veteran furlough, to which the
+regiment was entitled. Those went who were able to. Many died on the
+way, but those of us who survived until we reached Minnesota were soon
+restored to usual health and strength, so that we could return in due
+time and again take part in the campaign in Arkansas. The remaining four
+companies, which had been furloughed the previous winter, were ordered
+from Pine Bluff to Duvall's Bluff, on White river, where the whole
+regiment was reunited under my command in the beginning of October, and
+remained in winter quarters until the spring of 1865.
+
+Shortly after our return to Arkansas I assumed command of the First
+Brigade, First Division, Seventh army corps. This brigade consisted of
+my own regiment, the Twelfth Michigan, the Sixty-first Illinois, and a
+United States colored regiment. Our prospects for remaining in winter
+quarters for several months being favorable, many of the higher officers
+sent for their wives. I did the same, having first erected a comfortable
+log house for us. My wife and two little children arrived a few days
+before Christmas, and stayed in the camp the whole winter. No important
+event took place during the winter, excepting that we were once ordered
+to make an expedition up White river, with a considerable force of
+cavalry and infantry, and, after a fatiguing march, succeeded in
+breaking up a camp of irregular Confederate troops, and taking many
+prisoners.
+
+I will relate two incidents which took place near Duvall's Bluff, one of
+a serious, the other of a comic nature.
+
+The first was the shooting of a young soldier of the Twenty-second Ohio
+regiment, who time and again had deserted his post, and finally joined a
+band of rebel marauders. It became my sad duty to execute the sentence
+of death. My brigade formed a hollow square, facing inward, and the
+doomed man, a strong, handsome youth of twenty years, sat on a coffin in
+an open ambulance, which was driven slowly along the inside of the
+square, while a band marched in front of the wagon playing a funeral
+march. After the completion of this sad march the deserter was placed in
+the middle of the square, in front of the coffin, with his eyes
+blind-folded. A detachment of twelve men under a sergeant now fired
+simultaneously, upon the signal of the provost marshal. Eight rifles
+were loaded with balls, and the unfortunate young man fell backwards
+into his coffin and died without a struggle.
+
+[Illustration: SHOOTING A DESERTER.]
+
+One day while taking a ride on horseback in company with my wife, who
+had a fine saddle horse, and had become an expert rider during her long
+stay in the camp, we galloped mile after mile along the fine plain,
+outside of the picket-lines where men of my own brigade were on guard,
+till at last we found ourselves several miles from the place where we
+had passed through our lines. Returning toward camp, we struck the
+picket line at a point where a recently arrived regiment was stationed,
+and where the ground was soft and marshy. Being challenged by the guard
+I answered who I was, but as he could not plainly distinguish my uniform
+in the twilight and did not know me personally, he ordered us, with
+leveled gun, to stand still until he could call the officer of the
+guard. It was no easy matter to obey his orders, for the horses
+continually sank down in the soft ground, but finally the officer
+arrived, and we succeeded in getting to the camp without further
+trouble. I was not the first officer who thus got into trouble by
+neglecting to write out a pass for himself.
+
+On a fine April day, which can never be forgotten, the news came that
+our president, Abraham Lincoln, had been murdered. Stricken with
+consternation I hurried down to the Third regiment in person to tell the
+sad news. Never, either before or since, have I witnessed such a scene
+as the one that followed. Some of the men went completely wild with
+sorrow, weather-beaten veterans, embracing each other, wept aloud,
+others swore and cursed. In the prison yard, which was guarded by men
+belonging to my regiment, a rebel prisoner took off his cap, waived it
+in the air and cried, "Hurrah for Booth!" A man by the name of Stark
+immediately loaded his gun and shot the rebel dead on the spot. Many
+others, both inside and outside the camp, were shot because they
+expressed joy at the death of Lincoln. Passions were strong, and all
+tolerance and patience exhausted among the Union soldiers on that
+occasion. The main army of the Confederates had already surrendered
+when this calamity occurred, and the war was in fact over. A few days
+afterward we sent our families home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Reconstruction in the South--Third Regiment Mustered Out--The Farewell
+  Order--Sacrifices and Costs of the War.
+
+
+A very important work still remained to be accomplished by the union
+army, namely, the restoration of law and order in the southern states. I
+had the honor to be entrusted with a portion of that work, an account of
+which was given in a paper prepared and read by me before the commandery
+of the military order Loyal Legion, at one of its meetings in St. Paul,
+in March, 1889, from which I quote as follows:
+
+"After listening to the many interesting addresses on battles and
+campaigns that have been read before the commandery at our monthly
+meetings, I fear that you will be disappointed, not only with the
+subject of this paper, but also with the commonplace incidents which I
+have to relate, and yet I think that the part taken by the Union army in
+the so-called reconstruction of civil government in the rebellious
+states immediately after the war deserves a place in the history of that
+army and of the war. All the world knows how bravely our soldiers
+fought, how willingly they endured hardships of the camp and of the
+wearisome march, how patiently they bore sickness, wounds, and
+sufferings of every kind, and how faithfully they obeyed the orders of
+advance to danger and to death. But there is still another trait of
+their character, perhaps the greatest of them all, that of the good
+citizen, who was able, as soon as the last smoke of battle had cleared
+away, to restrain all feelings of enmity and revenge, to take the enemy
+by the hand, to guide, help, and protect him and his in all the rights
+of citizenship, and it is of that I would relate some facts that came
+under my own observation and experience.
+
+"Having been stationed at Duvall's Bluff, Arkansas, in command of a
+brigade, of which my own regiment, the Third Minnesota infantry, formed
+a part, I received orders from Maj. Gen. J. J. Reynolds, commanding the
+Department of Arkansas, on the 15th of May, 1865, to establish a
+military post at Batesville, Arkansas, on the upper White river, and to
+take command of a district comprising the north-eastern portion of that
+state. The field organization of the Seventh army corps, to which we
+belonged, was being broken up. Some of the regiments were sent home to
+be mustered out of service; others were sent to different points for
+purposes of occupation. My own regiment and two squadrons of the Ninth
+Kansas Cavalry were detailed for the work given in my charge.
+
+"On the 18th of May we embarked on steam transports, and reached
+Batesville on the 20th. A few days later my post headquarters was
+established at Jacksonport, and the troops were distributed at different
+points with one or two companies for each, at Batesville, Searcy,
+Augusta, Powhatan; and the main force at Jacksonport, from which point
+frequent cavalry patrols were sent to the outlying stations.
+
+"The topography of that country is very irregular and unique. The
+eastern portion, bordering upon the Mississippi, is flat and marshy,
+with many lakes and bayous, and has a rich, alluvial soil. The other
+portion is very broken, with hills and mountain ridges, rocks, caves and
+beautiful streams, but poor soil. The lowlands had been occupied by
+wealthy slave owners, whose sympathies were strong for the Southern
+cause. The highlands were occupied by the poorer class, only a few of
+whom had owned slaves. Many of this class were strong Union men, and
+soldiers in the Union army. During the great struggle of four years many
+bloody tragedies had been enacted between the loyal and the rebel
+residents, and bitter feelings of revenge still rankled in the breasts
+of the survivors. During the whole period of the war the country had
+been swept clean, at rapid intervals, by both armies alternately, and
+each time new atrocities had been perpetrated, and all the worst
+passions of the people rekindled. It had also been a place of refuge for
+the worst rebel elements in southern Missouri, when too hardly pressed
+by our friend Gen. Sanborn[2] and other Union commanders. At the time of
+our arrival the surviving soldiers from both armies were returning to
+their homes, also many refugees,--rebels from Texas and Union men from
+the North,--most of them to find their families destitute and their
+property destroyed.
+
+[Footnote 2: Gen. John B. Sanborn, who was present when this paper was
+read.]
+
+"The irregular Confederate troops under Gen. Jeff. Thompson, numbering
+some eight thousand men, had not yet surrendered, but were scattered
+over the district in a thoroughly demoralized condition, so that the
+whole situation was rather peculiar and very bad, and it was a difficult
+task to prevent fresh outbreaks, and to restore order and get the people
+started anew in the peaceful avocations of life.
+
+"My instructions were to preserve law and order, to organize and arm
+companies of home colonists for self-protection, to encourage
+agriculture and commerce, and to assist the citizens in restoring civil
+government. The men under my command during the early reconstruction
+period had certainly no reason to love Arkansas, because they had not
+only buried their best friends and comrades within its borders, but had
+themselves for months and months experienced there that dreadful
+suffering most feared by all soldiers, and for which few receive any
+credit,--namely, the inglorious privation of the silent watch,--in the
+swamp, in the trenches, in the hospital, on the camp-stretcher, and in
+the ambulance,--when tired, sore, sick, thirsty, lonely, and seemingly
+forsaken by God and man, unknown and with praise unsung, with no
+cheering sound of drum or bugle, no battle flag or cheer in sight or
+hearing, no voice of comrades or of guns, and no magic touch of elbows
+or shouts of victory. These men had experienced all that, and had no
+special reason to sympathize with the inhabitants who had done their
+full share to bring them into so much misery. And now observe how they
+treated those inhabitants. Immediately on arriving at Batesville the
+following order was promulgated, and, by the aid of an old printing
+press and swift couriers, scattered all over the district:
+
+                                   'HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES,
+                                   'BATESVILLE, ARK., May 22, 1865.
+
+  'General Order No. 1.
+
+  'I. It is hereby announced to the people of Batesville and surrounding
+  country that the chief object of the federal occupation of this place
+  is their protection against armed forces, of whatever kind, to give
+  encouragement to agriculture and other peaceful pursuits, and to
+  restore commercial intercourse.
+
+  'II. The public safety and mutual interests demand that all persons
+  living within our lines and enjoying the protection of the nation's
+  forces shall declare their obedience to the government.
+
+  'III. It is ordered, therefore, that all persons now living or
+  hereafter coming within our picket-lines who have not taken but desire
+  to take the oath of allegiance, with the purpose of restoring and
+  establishing the national authority, shall register their names
+  without delay in the provost marshal's office, where the oath will be
+  administered.
+
+    'By order of
+                                   'COL. H. MATTSON, Commanding.
+
+  'P. E. FOLSOM, Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.'
+
+"On the same day a beginning was made to organize companies of home
+colonists among the great number of Union refugees who had followed the
+troops to Batesville. Arms and ammunition were placed in their hands,
+and the following instruction given:
+
+                                   'HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES,
+                                   'BATESVILLE, ARK., May 22, 1865.
+
+  '_To the members of Companies of Home Colonists_:
+
+  'You will, as soon as practicable, depart with your families to your
+  several homes, and there proceed to cultivate the land and secure a
+  crop for the coming year.
+
+  'The arms and ammunition with which you have now been furnished by the
+  government of the United States are for the protection of yourselves
+  and families, and for no other purpose.
+
+  'The laws of your state guarantee you full redress for private
+  injuries; you will therefore leave all disputes and wrongs to be
+  settled by them and by the military authority of the United States,
+  and it is only against the armed force of marauders that you will
+  resort to the use of these arms; remember, always, that you are not
+  soldiers, but citizens.
+
+  'You will promptly report to your own officers and to the military
+  commander of this post any information you may obtain of armed forces
+  of marauders; and in case of emergency you are authorized to act as a
+  military body in pursuing them. The commanding officer will always
+  extend to you aid, both in men and subsistence, so far as lies in his
+  power, but you must, like free and independent citizens, place
+  yourselves, by industrious labor, as soon as possible, beyond the
+  necessity of federal support.
+
+  'Let your conduct among your late enemies be such as will elicit their
+  friendship.
+
+  'By assisting me to carry out the magnanimous policy of our government
+  you will soon have peace and security restored to your community, and
+  happiness and plenty to yourselves and your families.
+
+    'By order of
+                                   'COL. H. MATTSON, Commanding.
+
+  'P. E. FOLSOM, Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.'
+
+"In a remarkably short time the news of the policy thus announced spread
+to the most remote parts of the district, and had a very beneficial
+effect. It inspired hope and confidence everywhere. The disloyal people
+came out of their hiding places, and, with apparent sincerity and
+gratitude, took the oath of allegiance, and went to work as good
+citizens to perform their part in the work of reconstruction. Union men
+and rebels shook hands over the bloody chasm, and agreed to bury the
+past and work together for a better future.
+
+"Soon another class of people came in large numbers to seek help and
+protection from the Union forces. It was the poverty-stricken old men,
+and the women and children who had lost their natural protectors. It
+was a sight sad enough to move the stoutest hearts to look at their
+helplessness and misery, and I never had a more pleasant duty to perform
+than that of relieving their wants at the expense of our generous
+government. The department commander had placed a steamboat at my
+disposal, and given me unlimited power to draw on the commissary stores
+at Duvall's Bluff. That steamer made regular trips with supplies for
+all who were actually in need, and most of the applicants returned to
+their homes with plenty of flour, bacon, salt, seed, corn and other
+necessaries, with a government mule sometimes thrown in to carry
+the load home, and there was no distinction made between rebels and
+Unionists, except that the former were placed on their good behavior as
+to their future conduct. It was in this work that our soldiers,--officers
+and men,--showed without exception, that trait of character which
+entitles them to the name of exemplary citizens as well as exemplary
+soldiers, which they had previously earned in a service of four years.
+They never forgot that the conquered inhabitants were our own people,
+and members of the same great republic.
+
+"After a while our picket lines were withdrawn, and only enough guards
+posted to take care of the public property. Citizens and soldiers
+mingled freely in social intercourse, not as conquerors and conquered,
+but as friends and equals, our men interesting themselves in everything
+that tended to the welfare of the citizens, often helping them in their
+work and business, and always treating the helpless with gallantry and
+tenderness. On the Fourth of July citizens and soldiers, ex-rebels
+and Union men, to the number of many hundreds, met under the stars
+and stripes, in a lovely grove, to celebrate the day around an
+old-fashioned barbecue, and, for nearly two days and a night, enjoyed
+a feast of brotherly love and good will, all proud of the old banner,
+and happy to be again united as one people.
+
+"During the summer elections were held for town and county officers, and
+as soon as such officers had qualified, the soldiers, even more readily
+than the citizens themselves, did all in their power to uphold their
+authority. In many instances good penmen and accountants among the
+soldiers gave their services gratuitously to help the newly-elected
+civil officers start their books and accounts. To the honor of the
+rebels, especially the returned soldiers, I must say that they behaved
+in a most exemplary manner, and accepted the situation with good grace
+and acted most cordially and loyally toward us. The Freedmen's Bureau
+was not established in that district during my time of command, but
+I was informed by a friend, Maj. J. M. Bowler, who had command
+the following winter, that the planters generally yielded to the
+requirements of that department as soon as it was established; that they
+made fair contracts with the liberated slaves and strictly and carefully
+observed them, and were in all respects considerate toward the freedmen
+generally. Of course, I do not mean to say that all the citizens behaved
+so well. There were exceptions, even in the first days of
+reconstruction, and those exceptions were nearly all by the men who had
+never faced the Union soldiers in open battle, but had either skulked or
+resorted to guerilla warfare. But I do mean to say that in those early
+days, before President Johnson had began to show his final hand, the
+rebels were disposed to accept the situation in a manly and loyal way,
+and that, if the policy inaugurated by the Union army had been adhered
+to, the country would probably have been saved from the Ku-Klux and
+other horrors of a later period.
+
+"One strange fact was deeply impressed upon my mind during the time of
+my command in Northeastern Arkansas, namely, the genuine regret and
+sorrow among the returning rebel soldiers over President Lincoln's
+death. They not only respected him, but actually regarded him as a
+friend, because they believed him to be kind and just; so that, whatever
+measures he might have adopted, had he lived, they believed that they
+could have submitted to them with full confidence that it would be for
+the best. I can not better illustrate that feeling, as it was daily
+manifested to me, than by comparing it to the faith and confidence of
+erring children to an offended but loving father.
+
+"The most noted and influential rebel in the district at that time was,
+undoubtedly, Gen. Jeff. Thompson. On the 3d of June this noted general
+arrived at my headquarters at Jacksonport, pursuant to previous
+arrangements, to surrender his command, consisting of eight thousand
+officers and men, who began to crowd in on that and the following day in
+great numbers. They were the hardest looking soldiers I have ever seen.
+Jeff. Thompson himself was a man of commanding appearance, and a perfect
+gentleman. In my journal of that day I have described him as follows:
+'He is a tall, sinewy, weather-beaten man, a queer looking genius,
+dressed in a suit of snowy white, from the plume in his hat to the heel
+of his boot, and with a white sword-belt and white gloves. He is a
+clever chap, full of fun, telling great yarns, and an incessant talker.'
+I should judge he was about forty-five years old. On the third day after
+his arrival the troops had all assembled, and the surrender took place
+in due form. A staff officer from the Department of Missouri and another
+from the Department of Arkansas witnessed the proceedings and received
+the documents. When all was finished, Jeff. Thompson had his men
+assemble on the levee in front of a steamboat, from the cabin-deck of
+which he delivered his farewell address. I stood by his side while he
+spoke, and expected every moment to see him pierced by some
+well-directed bullet from the crowd on shore, but he was allowed to
+finish his address without interruption, after which the men slunk out
+of sight, and before evening the whole motley crowd had left the town
+with the determination, as I verily believe, to follow the good advice
+of their general. The address deserves a place among our papers, and I
+will read it, as it appeared a few weeks later in Harper's Magazine,
+from a _verbatim_ report made by one of my officers. He said:
+
+  'Many of the eight thousand men I now see around me, very many of you,
+  have been skulking for the last three years in the swamps within a few
+  miles of your own homes,--skulking duty,--and during that time have
+  not seen your own children. I see many faces about me that have not
+  been seen by mortal man for the last three years; and what have you
+  been doing all that time? Why, you have been lying in the swamps until
+  the moss has grown six inches long on your backs, and such men call
+  themselves "chivalrous soldiers." A few weeks ago Gen. Reynolds sent a
+  flag of truce to my headquarters, and I sent out to gather a
+  respectable force to meet those officers, and not one of you
+  responded. A few days later, when Col. Davis and Capt. Bennett, of
+  Gen. Dodge's staff, bore dispatches to me from that general, I
+  attempted again to call about me enough of you to make a respectable
+  show, and how many of these brave men reported at the call? One
+  sore-eyed man with green goggles. But you rally like brave and gallant
+  men around Uncle Sam's commissary stores, and I have now come to
+  surrender you, and hope that you will make better citizens than you
+  have soldiers.
+
+         *     *     *     *     *
+
+  'Those of you who had arms, with a few exceptions, have left them at
+  home, and those who had government horses have failed to report them
+  here. Now let me say to you, one and all, those of you who have
+  retained your arms, as soon as you get home take them to the nearest
+  military post and deliver them up, or burn them, or get rid of them in
+  some manner, for as sure as there is a God in heaven, if they are
+  found in your houses, just so sure will your houses be burned to the
+  ground; and I hope to God every one of you who keep good arms or
+  military property of any kind in your houses will be hanged; and you
+  will, too.
+
+         *     *     *     *     *
+
+  'But I want you to go home and work hard and take care of your
+  families. Work early and late, and get up at night and see if your
+  crops are growing. Above all things avoid political discussions. If
+  any man says "nigger" to you, swear that you never knew or saw one in
+  your life. We have talked about the niggers for forty years, and have
+  been out-talked. We have fought four years for the niggers, and have
+  been d----d badly whipped, and now it is not "your put." The Yankees
+  have won the nigger and will do what they please with him, and you
+  have no say in the matter. If they want him they will take him; and if
+  they say that you must keep him, you have to do it, and no mistake. I
+  tell you that you have no say in the matter, and you oughtn't to have
+  any. Go home and stay there. Don't go anywhere but to mill. Don't go
+  to church, for the minister will put knots and mischief in your heads,
+  and get you into trouble. Be good citizens, and then those of you who
+  have been good, honest and brave soldiers need have nothing to fear;
+  but I warn those of you who have been nothing but sneaking, cowardly
+  jayhawkers, cutthroats and thieves, that a just retribution awaits
+  you, and I hope to God that the federal authorities will hang you,
+  wherever and whenever they find you, and they will do it, sure.
+
+         *     *     *     *     *
+
+  'Do not complain if you are not permitted to have a voice in elections
+  and civil affairs. You have forfeited all such rights, and it now
+  becomes you to submit to such laws and regulations as the federal
+  authorities may deem proper to enact. I believe and know that they
+  will do the best they can for you, especially if you show henceforth
+  that you now desire to merit their confidence by strict obedience to
+  the laws where you may reside.
+
+  'We are conquered and subjected; we have no rights, but must accept
+  such privileges and favors as the government may see proper to bestow
+  upon us. Again I say, go home; attend to your business, and try to
+  raise a new generation of boys that shall become better men than you
+  have been.'
+
+"Jeff. Thompson lived many years after that day, a good and loyal
+citizen. He was a brave and generous man, and had always treated our
+prisoners with humanity whenever they had fallen into his hands. His
+advice to his soldiers echoed the sentiments of the better class of the
+rebels in the district at that time.
+
+"We remained there the whole summer, always impatient to be mustered out
+and return to our own homes, but never deviating from the orderly and
+friendly position first taken. Many of the men formed friendships and
+other connections that have lasted ever since. Some of them returned
+after their muster out, and are still counted among the best citizens
+of that state; some formed engagements with the country girls, and went
+back to marry them. One of my young captains, a fine St. Paul boy,
+brought with the regiment to Minneapolis, as his bride, the most
+beautiful woman, as well as the most bitter rebel, of that portion of
+Arkansas, and I am glad to say that, although she soon returned with her
+gallant husband to her native state, where they still reside, she is
+now, and has been ever since, as true and loyal to our banner and our
+cause as any of our Northern wives and mothers.
+
+"I would not have it understood that all our work was so pleasant and
+peaceful. Sometimes we had to deal with tough cases of both sexes, and
+then the iron hand of power was freely used to restrain, but seldom to
+punish. As a relic of old slave times I will relate one incident of many
+that came under my observation.
+
+"One day a very tidy negro woman came and reported that her late master
+had recently killed her husband. I sent for the former master. He was a
+leading physician, a man of fine address and culture, who lived in an
+elegant mansion near the city. He sat down and told me the story, nearly
+word for word as the woman did. It was substantially as follows: Tom,
+the negro, had been his body-servant since both were children, and,
+since his freedom, still remained in the same service. Tom had a boy
+about eight years old. This boy had done some mischief, and I (said the
+doctor) called him in and gave him a good flogging. Tom was outside and
+heard the boy scream, and after a while he pushed open the door and took
+the boy from me, telling me that I had whipped him enough. He brought
+the boy into his own cabin, and then started for town. I took my gun and
+ran after him. When he saw me coming he started on a run and I shot him,
+of course. 'Wouldn't you have done the same?' he asked me with an
+injured look. The killing of his negro for such an offence seemed so
+right and natural to him that he was perfectly astonished when I
+informed him that he would have to answer to the charge of murder before
+a military commission at Little Rock, where he was at once sent for
+trial. What a great change in sentiment a quarter of a century has
+produced! Our children will never learn to realize what a curse slavery
+was, even while some of them were in their cradles.
+
+"It has been said that the old soldiers occasionally did a little
+foraging on their own hook, while in the enemy's country, and I rather
+think they did; but I wish to state most solemnly, that whatever bad
+habits the boys might have had in that respect before the surrender of
+the Confederate army, they reformed at once after that event, most
+thoroughly and sincerely, and during the whole summer of 1865, although
+scattered over a wide country, and almost free from military duty and
+restraint, there was never a complaint made against a man in my command,
+for depredation of any kind, and I verily believe that the rights of
+property, even down to the beloved shoat and chicken, were held as
+sacred by the Union soldiers in our district during that time as those
+rights are ordinarily held in any well-governed country during times of
+peace. All things considered I am fully convinced that the excellent
+conduct of our soldiers in the South during the early days of
+reconstruction, when the army took a prominent part in that work, did
+more to establish law and order and to foster friendly and loyal
+sentiments towards the Union, than all the laws and constitutional
+amendments enacted for that purpose. Had the great and noble Lincoln
+lived, or even if President Johnson had remained true to the principles
+of his early life, and left the Union soldiers at liberty to carry out
+the firm but humane policy of reconstruction which they inaugurated
+under the inspiration of Grant and Sherman, we would have had not only
+a united country, but a loyal and law abiding people in the South a
+quarter of a century ago, because the Union soldier was the best citizen
+and the best teacher of good citizenship. Armies of other nations have
+achieved victories as great as ours, other soldiers than ours have been
+patient, obedient, enduring and brave, but none in the world's history
+have shown such greatness in civic virtues as the Union soldiers of the
+war of the Rebellion.
+
+"In the beginning of September, 1865, the regiment was ordered home, and
+on September 16th it was mustered out at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on
+which occasion the following general order was read:
+
+  'General Order No. 16.
+
+  '_Officers and Men of the Third Minnesota Regiment_:
+
+  'After four years of active service this regiment is about to be
+  disbanded. Before another day you will all have received your
+  honorable discharges and be on your way to your quiet, happy homes.
+  The familiar sound of the bugle and drum will no longer be heard among
+  us. The "Stars and Stripes," which we have all learned to love, will
+  no longer wave over our ranks.
+
+  'You have toiled, struggled and suffered much during the last four
+  years, yet to those who are now here to enjoy the triumph over our
+  enemies and the peace and prosperity of our country, the reward is
+  ample. I know that we will all regard the acts of those years as the
+  noblest and proudest of our lives. For those, our noble comrades, who
+  have fallen victims in the struggle, let us always, with the most
+  tender affection, cherish their memory.
+
+  'You have served your country nobly and faithfully in every field
+  where duty called you, and I am proud to assert that on every occasion
+  and in every locality, from the northwestern frontier, against the
+  savage Indian foes, to the deathly swamps of the Yazoo and Arkansas
+  valleys, against the haughty Southern rebels,--wherever this regiment
+  has been, its rank and file, its bone and sinew, the true
+  representatives of our noble young state, have ever reflected honor
+  and credit on that state.
+
+  'As your commanding officer I am greatly indebted to you all, officers
+  and men, for your admirable conduct on all occasions, for your ready
+  obedience of orders, and for your fidelity, patriotism and
+  perseverance in the discharge of all your toilsome duties.
+
+  'In bidding you farewell, I give you all my most hearty thanks. May
+  peace, prosperity and happiness ever be your reward.
+
+  'For me, the greatest honor,--greater far than I ever expected to
+  achieve,--is the fact of having so long commanded, and at last led
+  home in triumph and peace, the always dear and noble Third Minnesota
+  Regiment.
+
+                                   'H. MATTSON,
+                                   'Colonel Commanding Regiment.
+
+  'P. E. FOLSOM, Lieutenant and Adjutant.'"
+
+During this war the Union army had mustered in 2,883,000 men, 400,000 of
+whom had lost their lives. To this army Minnesota contributed 25,052, or
+about one-seventh of her entire population. Of this number 2,500 were
+killed or died of sickness during the war, and it is calculated that
+5,000 died since the war on account of wounds and diseases contracted
+during service. The Third regiment had, during four years' service, a
+total enrollment of 1,417, of which number there were left only 432 men
+when we returned in September, 1865. The war cost the Union about two
+billion, seven hundred million dollars. The sacrifice of gold and blood
+was not too great. Not only America, but the whole human race has gained
+more through the victories of our army than can be estimated in gold and
+blood. And the Scandinavians of the West may justly feel proud of the
+part they took in this struggle for liberty and human rights.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+The war which closed with the events narrated in the last chapter was
+one of the most important of modern times, and proved the greatness and
+the resources of the American people never properly appreciated before.
+But it revealed a still greater nobility of character when our immense
+army, after four years' service, suddenly disbanded, its soldiers
+quietly and peacefully returning to their common daily toil without the
+least disorder or disturbance of any kind. The swords were turned into
+plowshares as quietly and naturally as if they never had been steeped in
+blood.
+
+For my own part--and that was undoubtedly the case with most of our
+volunteers--I entered the service because I considered it to be my duty
+to do my little part in defending the country which had adopted me as a
+citizen, and not, as many have supposed, on account of ambition or for
+the sake of gain; in fact, as has been shown already, I resigned a more
+important and remunerative position in the civil service than the one I
+first accepted in the army; hence it was quite easy for me to exchange
+the uniform for the plain garb of the citizen and hang my sword among
+the reminiscences of the past.
+
+One day shortly after my arrival home, while walking along a street in
+Red Wing, I noticed a former professor of a university, who had been a
+captain in the Sixth regiment working in his shirt sleeves with a plane
+and helping to build a house. After saluting him I asked how he liked
+this kind of work, to which he answered that another professor had been
+appointed in his place while he was in the war, and being through with
+the service, he neither liked nor could afford to be idle. Having
+acquired some skill in handling carpenter's tools in his youth, he said
+he found it easy to get work at two dollars a day, and meanwhile he
+could be on the look-out for a position as professor of mathematics at
+some college or university.
+
+Here is the key to the greatness of this country: Labor is respected,
+while in most other countries it is looked down upon with slight. The
+former professor and Capt. Wilson was soon thereafter appointed state
+superintendent of schools, while, if he had remained idle and dependent
+upon his relatives and friends for assistance, too proud to work, he
+would most likely have been looking around for something to turn up to
+this day.
+
+Another little incident, which occurred about this time may interest the
+Swedish reader. The great Gen. Sherman visited St. Paul, and a banquet
+was given to him at which I was present. During the conversation I asked
+about the Swedish Gen. Stohlbrand. "Do you know him?" Gen. Sherman
+inquired. "Yes, sir; he is my countryman, and we served in the same
+regiment in Sweden," I said. "Then," said he, "you may be proud of your
+old comrade, for a braver man and a better artillery officer than Gen.
+Stohlbrand could not be found in our entire army."
+
+At the same time the general told the following: Stohlbrand had served
+in his corps for some time with the rank of major, and performed such
+services as properly belong to a colonel or brigadier-general without
+being promoted according to his merits, because there had been no
+vacancy in the regiment to which he belonged. Displeased with this,
+Stohlbrand sent in his resignation, which was accepted, but Sherman had
+made up his mind not to let him leave the army, and asked him to go by
+way of Washington on his return home, pretending that he wished to send
+some important dispatches to President Lincoln. In due time Stohlbrand
+arrived in Washington and handed a sealed package to President Lincoln
+in person. Having looked the papers through the president extended his
+hand exclaiming: "How do you do, General!" Stohlbrand, correcting him,
+said; "I am no general, I am only a major." "You are mistaken," said
+Lincoln, "you are a general,"--and he was from that moment. In a few
+hours he received his commission and returned to the army with a rank
+three degrees higher than that he held a few days before.
+
+The subject of the conversation thus being Swedish officers, several
+honorable deeds were told of some of them, among others, how Col.
+Vegesack, his regiment making a charge with leveled bayonets, and his
+color-bearer receiving a mortal wound, himself seized the colors and led
+his regiment to victory.
+
+Soon after the close of the war a well-known lawyer and myself opened a
+law office in Red Wing, the name of the new firm being Mattson &
+Webster. I had successfully practiced law but a few months when it was
+announced that a new Swedish newspaper, to be called _Svenska
+Amerikanaren_, was to be established in Chicago. This enterprise was
+backed by a number of prominent Swedes of Illinois, who appointed me
+editor in chief without my knowledge or solicitation. At that time there
+was only one Swedish newspaper in this country, viz., _Hemlandet_, which
+was more of a church than a political paper, hence this was an open and
+large field for me. I accepted the appointment on condition that I
+should not move to Chicago, but simply help to start the paper and put
+it on a firm footing, and that I should be allowed to resign in case I
+found this kind of work unfavorable to my health, which had been very
+seriously affected by the hardships and sufferings of the war.
+
+On September 18, 1866, the first number of the _Svenska Amerikanaren_
+was published. I quote from the article announcing my having assumed
+editorial charge of the paper as follows: "It shall be my ambition to so
+write as to advance the interest of the laboring people of our
+nationality, and to guide them in becoming good American citizens. I am
+one of that class myself, and during my residence in the settlements of
+the West I have learned to know their wants." The paper was very
+favorably received both in this country and in Sweden, and, under the
+name of _Svenska Tribunen_, is still exercising a great and good
+influence among the Swedish Americans.
+
+The following winter (1867) the legislature of Minnesota established a
+state bureau with the purpose of inducing immigrants to settle in the
+state, and I was appointed by Gov. W. R. Marshall to be secretary of the
+board of emigration, with the governor and secretary of state as
+_ex-officio_ members; the Rev. John Ireland, now Catholic Archbishop of
+Minnesota, was also for a time a member of that board.
+
+The St. Paul _Press_ for March 14, 1867, contained the following
+concerning the new board:
+
+"The state board of emigration, composed of Gov. Marshall, Col. Rogers
+and Col. Mattson, was organized yesterday, and a general plan of
+operation agreed upon. We learn that the board concluded that, with the
+limited means at their disposal, it was not advisable to employ agents
+to work in Europe, but to use every practicable effort to turn
+immigrants to Minnesota, after their arrival in this country. Efforts
+will be made to procure the publication of facts in regard to the state,
+in eastern and European journals; to make arrangements with railroads,
+more advantageous to emigrants than, heretofore and to afford them
+through interpreters and otherwise reliable information in regard to the
+best routes to the state from eastern parts. To give the emigrant a
+general idea of the characteristics of every locality in Minnesota, it
+is proposed to procure a map or chart of the state, showing its
+boundaries, streams, lakes, navigable rivers, timber and prairie
+sections, etc."
+
+One of my first and most pleasant duties as secretary of the board was
+to secure aid for the settlers along the Minnesota river. This locality
+had suffered from drought the previous year, and the settlers, most of
+whom were Swedes, Norwegians and Finlanders, were almost entirely
+destitute, and had no grain left for seed. Having secured an order from
+the government in Washington for provisions from the commissary
+department at Fort Ridgely, and being furnished with a letter of credit
+from our own state, I left for the stricken territory in the beginning
+of April, passing through the counties of Redwood, Renville, Yellow
+Medicine and Chippewa. At New Ulm several hundred sacks of flour were
+purchased, and at Fort Ridgely large quantities of provisions were taken
+out of the United States military stores. Agents were appointed to
+distribute these among the people, seed wheat and corn were shipped
+there from the South, and the settlers were thus relieved.
+
+Soon after my return to St. Paul the board of emigration was again
+called together, and I was authorized to appoint Swedish, Norwegian and
+German agents and interpreters to meet our emigrants in New York and
+Quebec, and be their guides and protectors on the journey through the
+country to our state. Temporary homes were also secured until the
+commissioners in the service of the board could get work for those who
+wanted to work out, and direct the rest to the interior of the state,
+where they could settle on government land or buy cheap land from
+private parties.
+
+Arrangements were made with newspapers in different languages for
+publishing articles written by myself and others, which contained
+descriptions of Minnesota and its resources. Pamphlets and maps with
+more detailed accounts, were printed in Swedish, Norwegian and German,
+and distributed in the respective countries, on board the ocean
+steamers, at the railroad stations and at other convenient places. I was
+the author of nearly all of this literature, in which great pains were
+taken to describe everything in detail; how the chests or boxes ought to
+be made and marked before leaving the old country; what articles ought
+to be taken along; what kind of provisions were most suitable; what
+measures ought to be taken with reference to cleanliness and behavior
+during the long and tedious journey, etc. On my visits among our western
+farmers years afterwards I have often seen pamphlets in Swedish and
+Norwegian with my name as author standing in the little bookshelf side
+by side with the Bible, the prayer-book, the catechism, and a few other
+reminiscences from the old country. I also spent some time attending to
+the needs of the emigrants in the sea-ports and in Chicago, made
+arrangements with railroad companies for securing better accommodations
+and even free tickets for hundreds of emigrants, who would otherwise
+have been compelled to part with their companions before reaching their
+place of destination.
+
+While performing my duty as secretary of the board of emigration I also
+acted as land agent for one of our greatest railroad companies, whose
+line went through Wright, Meeker, Kandiyohi, Swift and Stevens counties,
+and near Lake Ripley, in Meeker county. I purchased some eight hundred
+acres of land for myself, on which I made extensive improvements and
+spent some time as a farmer.
+
+[Illustration: LAKE RIPLEY.]
+
+In the above-named localities there were only a few widely scattered
+families when I went there in 1867, while it is now one continuous
+Scandinavian settlement, extending over a territory more than a hundred
+miles long and dotted over with cities and towns, largely the result of
+the work of the board of emigration during the years 1867, 1868 and
+1869. The board of emigration did not show partiality toward any
+portion of the state, but did all its work with a view to the interest
+of the whole community. Our efforts, however, in behalf of Minnesota
+brought on a great deal of envy and ill-will from people in other states
+who were interested in seeing the Scandinavian emigration turned towards
+Kansas and other states, and this feeling went so far that a prominent
+newspaper writer in Kansas accused me of selling my countrymen to a life
+not much better than slavery in a land of ice, snow and perpetual
+winter, where, if the poor emigrant did not soon starve to death, he
+would surely perish with cold. Such was at that time the opinion of many
+concerning Minnesota. I would be more than human if I did not, in
+recalling these incidents, point with pride and satisfaction to the
+condition of the Scandinavians in Minnesota to-day, but will return to
+this further on.
+
+The position which I held enabled me to be of service to countrymen in
+more ways than one. Thus the interests of the church were by no means
+neglected, and I think my readers will excuse me for inserting the
+following lines from the minutes of the eighth annual council of the
+Swedish Augustana Synod, held in Berlin, Ill., June 13, 1867:
+
+"Whereas, The same conference reports that Col. Mattson has offered to
+procure sites for churches, parsonages and burial grounds for Lutheran
+churches in the new Scandinavian settlements in Western Minnesota,
+
+"Therefore Resolved, That the synod express its thanks to Col. Mattson,
+and request him to get deeds on said property to be given to the
+different churches of the Augustana Synod, as soon as they are organized
+at the different places."
+
+It has always been admitted that during those years the emigrants
+destined for Minnesota received better care, guidance and protection
+than was ever accorded to a like class before or after that time. It is
+also acknowledged that the state received great benefits in return by
+being settled by a superior class of emigrants from the northern
+countries. As for my own share in that work, although my efforts were
+sometimes misunderstood and I myself blamed, as any one will be who has
+to deal with newly-arrived emigrants, I felt much pride and satisfaction
+in the work, knowing that not only the state, but the emigrants
+themselves, and even the serving and laboring classes remaining in the
+old countries, were very greatly benefited thereby. While laboring hard
+for immigration to Minnesota my chief object was to get the emigrants
+away from the large cities and make them settle on the unoccupied lands
+in the northwest, where the climate was suitable to them, and where it
+was morally certain that every industrious man or family would acquire
+independence sooner and better than in the crowded cities of the east. I
+never attempted to induce anyone to immigrate, but tried to reach those
+only who had already made up their minds to do so, and the only people
+that I ever induced to leave their mother country were a number of poor
+servants and tenants among my own or my parents' acquaintances for whom
+I myself paid partly or wholly the cost of the journey.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+For many years I had desired to revisit the home of my childhood, and in
+December, 1868, saying good-bye to family and friends, I set out alone
+on my first visit to Sweden, after an absence of nearly eighteen years.
+The chief object of the journey was recreation and pleasure; the second
+object to make the resources of Minnesota better known among the farming
+and laboring classes, who had made up their minds to emigrate. This
+visit to the fatherland marked an important era in my life. Being only
+eighteen years old when I first left it, my impressions were vague and
+imperfect. Nor had I seen much of that beautiful country until my return
+in 1868. I shall now endeavor to relate some of those impressions and
+experiences as faithfully as memory permits, and should I have to record
+some things that will offend certain classes of my countrymen, I do it
+with no unfriendliness or lack of kindly feeling, but simply in the
+interest of truth; for after having been a true and loyal American
+citizen for nearly forty years I still cling to Sweden, its people and
+institutions, with the affection of a child toward its mother.
+
+When I left Sweden in 1851 there were no railroads. On my return the 23d
+day of December, 1868, via England, Germany and Copenhagen, I landed at
+Malmoe just in time to walk to the railroad station and take the train
+to Christianstad. The beautiful station with its surroundings, the
+uniformed and courteous officials in attendance, the well-dressed and
+comfortable-looking people in the first and second-class waiting room,
+all made a pleasant impression upon me, which soon was to be disturbed,
+however, by the following little incident: As I stepped up to the
+ticket window to buy my ticket I observed a poor working woman at the
+third-class window with a silver coin in her hand and with tears in her
+eyes begging the clerk to give her the change and a ticket. I heard her
+pleading that she had left three little children alone at home, that
+this was the last train, and if she did not get home with it she would
+have to walk in the mud after dark. The clerk insultingly refused her,
+stating that he had no time to bother with her trifles unless she paid
+the even change; she asked several gentlemen near by to change her money
+for her, but they all turned away as if fearing contamination by coming
+in contact with one so poor and lowly.[3] I had only a few large bills,
+and as the woman was crowded away, the same clerk at the first-class
+window took one of my bills, and, with a most polite bow, gave me a
+handful of large and small change. Of course I got the woman her ticket
+also. This was possibly an exceptional case, but to me it was a striking
+example of the difference between Swedish and American ways and
+courtesy. I venture to say that in no railway station or other public
+place in the whole United States, north or south, east or west, would a
+poor woman in her circumstances be left one minute without a friend and
+protector. Men of all classes,--from the millionaire to the day-laborer,
+or even street loafer,--would have vied with each other in trying to be
+the first to render her assistance.
+
+[Footnote 3: The rules in Sweden give the ticket clerks the right to
+demand even change.]
+
+I passed my old home at Oennestad station after dark, and soon arrived in
+Christianstad, where four years of my youth had been spent. It was my
+purpose this time only to pass through the city without looking up any
+old acquaintances. This was my thirty-sixth birthday, and, thinking of
+family and friends in my western home, I felt lonely, and repaired to my
+room at the hotel. I was not left alone very long, however, for the news
+of my arrival had preceded me by a telegram from Copenhagen, and soon an
+old schoolmate called, and a few minutes later the editor of the leading
+newspaper, Karl Moellersvaerd, who was exactly of my own age and had been
+on a short visit to America, and with whom a warm and lasting friendship
+was soon formed. The stroll through the little city the following
+morning brought many tender recollections, and I should have enjoyed it
+more had I not been such an object of attention and curiosity to
+everybody there.
+
+The advent of the railroad and the leveling of the old fortifications
+had brought many improvements on the outskirts, but the interior of the
+town with its little, narrow, but rectangular squares, streets and
+alleys, and its little one and two-story houses had undergone no change.
+And yet I could hardly realize that it was the same, because those
+objects which, to my boyish fancy, had seemed grand and imposing now
+appeared so diminutive that it was more like a dream than a living
+reality. This was particularly the case when, at noon, I watched the
+guard-mount of the artillery at the great square, and saw a large number
+of finely-uniformed officers, many of them grey with age and service,
+their breasts covered with decorations and crosses. With their sabres
+dragging and clashing against the pavement, and their spurs rattling,
+they walked up to the parade line from which they reviewed a couple of
+dozen soldiers with an air of solemn dignity, which might have done
+honor to a Grant, a Sherman, or a Sheridan, while reviewing our hundreds
+of thousands of veterans of a hundred battlefields. Truly, if the army
+of Sweden is defective in anything it is not in the dignity and style of
+the officers of the Vendes artillery; but, joking aside, the splendid
+bearing and discipline of the regiment made a good impression. This
+regiment has in fact become noted as a training school for young men,
+who are afterwards employed in the railroad service, and in large
+establishments where ability, punctuality and practical knowledge are
+necessary.
+
+Christmas eve found me in Fjelkinge, at the old homestead where my
+father was born, and where his people had lived for generations. The
+place was now owned by a cousin of mine, an excellent and very prominent
+man in his locality. The telegram had not reached this quiet, and, to
+me, sacred, spot. The astonishment and surprise of my honored cousin and
+my two aged uncles, who were still living, can more easily be imagined than
+described, and I was received with cordiality and joy. That night, spent
+under the roof of my forefathers, surrounded by the old people and the
+many dear recollections, and by a new generation that had come into
+being since my last visit there, stands vividly in my memory as one of
+the most delightful of my life.
+
+Another cousin of mine, a younger brother of Hans Larson, of Fjelkinge,
+was rector at Trolle-Ljungby, not far from the old homestead. In his
+church there was to be an early service Christmas morning. We
+consequently left Fjelkinge very early, and arrived at Ljungby just as
+the candles were lighted and the service commenced. We entered and sat
+down in the sacristy just as my cousin had left it to enter the pulpit
+in the church. He did not know that we were there, but we could see him,
+and hear his words during the solemn "Otte song." On his return with his
+family to the sacristy after the services, there was another surprise,
+and such joy as we then experienced does not often fall to the lot of
+mortal man. He told us that he had just had a dream about me that very
+night, and his mind was full of anxiety about my safety; but he had not
+expected to meet me so soon. Between him and me there had been a bond of
+friendship and brotherhood, even from childhood, which was now renewed,
+never to be broken again.
+
+I had a third uncle, my father's youngest brother, who lived in Visloef,
+three Swedish miles from Fjelkinge. The second day after my arrival he
+sent his son asking me to come to him immediately, as he had been
+waiting for me a long time, and I went to his house the same evening.
+This uncle had been stricken with paralysis two or three years before,
+and been a bed-ridden invalid ever since, unable to use his limbs,
+and at times even to speak. His eldest son had gone to Minnesota
+the previous summer. The evening which I spent at his bedside was a
+remarkable one. As soon as I approached his bed he partly raised himself
+to sitting posture and began to speak, which he had not been able to
+do for a long time. His wife was sick abed in another room, but his
+youngest son and two daughters were at his bedside with myself. He said
+he had been wanting to die for a long time, but when he had heard that I
+was to visit Sweden he wished to live until he could see me again. He
+asked me to tell all about my father, our family and friends, and his
+eldest son. Then he asked me to take his family with me to America
+when he was dead. When he had no more questions to ask or anything to
+communicate he sent his son for two of the neighbors, said good-bye to
+all of us with the exclamation: "Thanks for all you have related and
+promised! Now I am ready to die! Farewell! God bless you all!" after
+which he breathed his last. The following spring his family accompanied
+me to Minnesota.
+
+I decided to spend New Year's eve with one of my most intimate boyhood
+friends, Mr. Nils Bengtson, in the little village of Skogloesa, where I
+was born. Some of the dearest friends of my parents and a number of my
+childhood acquaintances were present there, and on New Year's day we
+attended services together in the old church at Oennestad. My presence
+was expected, and the church was crowded with people who had been
+friends and neighbors of my parents, or school and playmates of myself.
+Even the pastor had chosen a text applicable to me: "I think of the
+bygone days, and of the time that is past." The solemn services made a
+deep impression on all of us. A day or two later, in company with some
+friends I visited the little cottage where I was born, and where a
+number of the neighbors had now gathered to see me. One of my earliest
+recollections from childhood was the spruce tree, which, as I mentioned
+in the first chapter, was planted in the little garden by my parents. It
+was the only tree of its kind for a great distance around. It had grown
+to be a foot in diameter, was very beautiful, and was the pride not only
+of the present owner of the little farm, but of the whole neighborhood.
+After breaking off a sprig or two of the tree to carry back to my
+parents, we left the place early in the evening for Nils Bengtson's
+home, which was about half a mile distant, and where I was still a
+guest.
+
+Early the next morning my host awoke me with the news that the owner of
+the cottage had arrived before daylight, anxious to communicate a
+strange accident. Upon being admitted he stated that shortly after I
+left his house in the evening, a single gust of wind swept by in great
+force and broke the spruce tree off with a clean cut a few feet from
+the ground. It seemed very strange to us all, and he regarded it as an
+ill-omen, sold the place shortly afterward, and went with me to America
+the following spring.
+
+At that time only a few Swedish emigrants had returned from America, and
+to see a man who had been eighteen years in America, and had been a
+colonel in the American army must have been a great curiosity,
+especially to the country people; for wherever it was known that I would
+pass, people flocked from their houses to the roads and streets in order
+to catch a glimpse of the returned traveler. So great was their
+curiosity that on New Year's eve the servant girls of Nils Bengtson at
+Skogloesa, drew lots as to who should carry in our coffee, and thereby
+get a chance to take the first look at the American colonel. One of the
+ladies of the house told me afterwards that when the girl returned to
+the kitchen she put the tray down with great emphasis and
+disappointment, exclaiming indignantly: "Oh, pshaw! He looks just like
+any other man!"
+
+Now followed a season of visits and entertainments in Christianstad and
+the neighboring country, which I shall ever hold in grateful
+remembrance. I was received with cordiality everywhere among the common
+people and the middle classes, while the aristocratic classes looked on
+with distant coldness, as they always do when a man of the people has
+succeeded in getting beyond what they would call his legitimate station,
+and is what we would call, in other words, a self-made man. My plain
+name and humble ancestry were in their eyes a fault that never could be
+forgiven. This did not trouble me, however, for I sought no favors, or
+even recognition from the great, but found plenty of delight in the
+cordial welcome of the middle classes.
+
+In the month of February I visited Stockholm, in company with my friend
+Nils Bengtson. It was the first time I had been there, and, like all
+other travelers, I was charmed with the beautiful city, and its gay and
+festive life. The parliament (Riksdag) was in session, and as a liberal
+from America I was received with great cordiality by the liberal party.
+One grand dinner and two evening parties were given by some of its
+members in my honor, at which some of the most distinguished liberal
+members of parliament were present. Of course numerous toasts were
+proposed and speeches made, in one of which I was called upon for my
+views on the Swedish militia as corresponding largely to the lately
+disbanded volunteer army of the United States.
+
+There was quite a famine in some of the Swedish provinces that winter,
+and when the government asked the parliament for an appropriation of
+several millions for carrying on field maneuvers of the army the coming
+season, the liberals made a strong opposition, preferring to use the
+money on some public improvement in the famished provinces. Of course I
+expressed my sympathy strongly in favor of the volunteer organizations
+and against the proposed maneuvers of the regulars. A few days afterward
+my words were quoted in the parliament, and gave rise to a spirited
+correspondence in one of the Stockholm conservative newspapers.
+
+Returning to Skane I found myself besieged by people who wished to
+accompany me back to America in the spring. Having visited my wife's
+relatives at Ballingsloef, and enjoyed their hospitality, and made some
+trips to Wermland, Gothenburg, Lund and Copenhagen, I spent the rest of
+my time with friends in Christianstad, Ljungby and Oennestad.
+
+Having been for many years a Free Mason in America, and advanced to the
+highest degrees in that order, I was received in great state and full
+ceremony into the provincial lodge at Christianstad, and on Good Friday,
+if I remember right, I had the honor of marching in the Masonic
+procession between the two highest Masons of the province, the aged
+brothers, Barons Rolamb, wearing their gorgeous uniforms, while I was
+dressed only in a plain black dress suit. The procession marched from
+the lodge to the chapel, only half a block distant on the same street,
+but a great crowd had gathered to see the mystic order, and I noticed
+many manifestations of satisfaction among the masses at the honor
+bestowed upon me, while I have reason to believe that some of the
+uniformed brethren silently choked down a grudge over the plain citizen
+whom the strict rules of the order, for that day at least, had placed in
+a higher position than most of them could ever hope to attain.
+
+Time passed swiftly, and, as the crowds of intending emigrants were
+increasing daily, it was found that it would be impossible for one
+steamer to carry them all, so I went early in April to Helsingborg,
+where one shipload was started for Minnesota under the leadership of
+Capt. Lindberg, a veteran from the Anglo-Russian and the American war. A
+few weeks later I followed across the Atlantic with a party which
+numbered eight hundred people, and in due time returned to my home in my
+adopted country.
+
+On the whole that first visit to Sweden was exceedingly pleasant,
+although there would occasionally come up disagreeable incidents
+whenever America was the subject of discussion. The laboring and middle
+classes already at that time had a pretty correct idea of America, and
+the fate that awaited emigrants there; but the ignorance, prejudice and
+hatred toward America and everything pertaining to it among the
+aristocracy, and especially the office holders, was as unpardonable as
+it was ridiculous. It was claimed by them that all was humbug in
+America, that it was the paradise of scoundrels, cheats and rascals, and
+that nothing good could possibly come out of it. They looked upon
+emigrants almost as criminals, and to contradict them was a sure means
+of incurring their personal enmity and even insult.
+
+I remember a conversation at an evening party in Naesby between a
+learned doctor and myself. He started with a proposition that it was
+wrong to leave one's native country, because God has placed us there,
+and, although the lot of the majority might be very hard, it was still
+their duty to remain to toil and pray, and even starve, if necessary,
+because we owed it to the country which had given us birth. In reply I
+referred to one of the first commandments of the Bible, that men should
+multiply, go out and fill up the earth; that if it were wrong for Swedes
+to emigrate, it was equally wrong for the English, the Germans, the
+Spaniards and even our progenitors, the ancient Arians, and if so,
+what would the result be? Portions of this bountiful earth would be
+overcrowded, privation, crime, bloodshed and misery would follow, while
+other continents would lie idle. If it had been wrong to emigrate,
+America, which to-day is the larder and granary of the world, would have
+remained in the possession of a few savages. My argument was of no
+avail; the doctor, otherwise a kind and humane man, would rather see his
+poor countrymen subsist on bread made partly out of bark, which hundreds
+of them actually did at that very time in one of the Swedish provinces,
+than have them go to America, where millions upon millions of acres of
+fertile lands only awaited the labor of their strong arms to yield an
+abundance, not only for themselves, but also for the poor millions of
+Europe.
+
+Hard as it is for the individual to change habits of long standing, it
+is still harder for nations and races to free themselves from prejudices
+centuries old, especially in a small country like Sweden, isolated from
+the great nations and thoroughfares of the world. The importance of a
+military officer in Sweden dates from an age when the common soldier was
+simply an ignorant machine, and the difference between "a faithful
+servant of the king" and a common mortal was immense. The common mortal
+of to-day, however, is climbing bravely up towards the military
+demi-god. To command a company, or even a regiment, in modern warfare,
+especially in times of peace, requires but little tact and skill
+compared with former times, when such commander often had to act
+independently and at his own risk, whereas now there is scarcely any
+branch of business which does not require more talent for its proper
+management than the command of a company or a regiment. It is therefore
+not on account of superior merits, but on account of old fogy notions
+and prejudices that the bureaucracy, military and civil, consider
+themselves to be of such immeasurable importance. My experience in life
+has taught me that individually men do not count for much in the world;
+that no man amounts to a great deal by himself; and that the highest as
+well as the lowest is dependent largely upon his fellows.
+
+What has been said about the military officers applies, in many cases,
+equally well to the civil officers, or rather, to a class of men holding
+life tenure offices in the civil service. Just now civil service reform
+is the question in American politics, and it means that officers in the
+civil service shall be appointed for life. I have always, for my part,
+doubted the wisdom of this reform, because I have seen so much evil
+growing out of that system in Sweden, England and India. To be sure,
+there would be much good springing from it, but it is very questionable
+whether the evil results would not be still greater.
+
+We Americans hold that all power of government emanates from the people
+(as it certainly does with us), and that the officers of the government,
+from the president down to the village constable, are merely the
+servants of the people, whose duty it is to enforce the laws and
+preserve good order. In the other countries named it is still, to a
+certain extent, supposed that God in his wisdom appoints the ruler, that
+all power lies in him, and that whatever privileges the people receive
+come as favors from the ruler. The influence and effect of these two
+ideas are as different in all the ramifications of the system as the
+ideas themselves are irreconcilable.
+
+In America the humblest citizen goes to a local, state, or United States
+official with head erect and demands that such and such things be done,
+according to the law. In the other countries the lowly and even the
+average individual comes before the magistrate cringing and supplicating
+for his rights as for a favor. Of course such a false and absurd system,
+practiced for hundreds of years, can not fail to leave a strong
+impression both upon the seekers and the granters of such favors.
+
+To me, brought up, ever since my boyhood, under the American system, the
+importance of the civil officers in Sweden seemed to be greatly at
+variance with the progress made in the elevation of the people in
+general. I will only take one example: The provincial governor
+(Landshoefding) and his immediate subordinates of a little province of
+the size of half a dozen of our counties, appears with much more pomp
+and style than any of the governors of our great states; and I have no
+doubt that such a governor considers his office to be more important
+than that of the governors of some of our states, each of which has a
+population larger than that of the smaller kingdoms of Europe.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Politically the Scandinavians in America had exerted no particular
+influence beyond that they had generally been counted upon as loyal to
+the Republican party, and a few of them had held county offices and been
+members of the state legislatures in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The honor
+of first bringing out a Scandinavian for a state office belongs to F. S.
+Christensen, a young Dane, who, in the summer of 1869, was editor of
+_Nordisk Folkeblad_ in Rochester, Minn. One day he called on me and
+asked if I would be candidate for secretary of state, providing the
+Scandinavians of Minnesota should nominate me, to which I readily
+assented. A few weeks later a Scandinavian convention was held in
+Minneapolis and resulted in designating me as their choice for secretary
+of state. At the Republican state convention held in St. Paul in
+September that year, I was nominated almost unanimously by the whole
+Republican party. Being called to the platform after the nomination, I
+accepted the same in a brief speech, which at the time attracted much
+attention as echoing the sentiments of our people in the west. I
+therefore regard it of sufficient importance to quote it here:
+
+  "_Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention_:
+
+  "Allow me to tender you my hearty thanks for the honor you have
+  conferred upon me by this nomination. I feel doubly gratified for the
+  very large majority you gave me. The time does not admit of any
+  extensive remarks upon my part, yet so much has been said lately
+  regarding the Scandinavian element, that the subject, perhaps,
+  requires an explanation from me; and, as the chosen representative of
+  the Scandinavian people of this state in the present campaign, I am
+  authorized to express their views, and I do so from a thorough
+  knowledge of them. It is true that we have left our beloved land; we
+  have strewn the last flowers upon the graves of our forefathers, and
+  have come here to stay, come here to live, and come here to die. We
+  are not a clannish people, nor do we desire to build up a Scandinavian
+  nationality in your midst. You have known us here for many years; you
+  have seen us come among you unacquainted with your language and your
+  customs, and yet I know that you will bear me witness how readily
+  and fraternally we have mingled with you, learned your language
+  and adopted your ways, and how naturally our children grow up as
+  Americans, side by side with yours. We have been cordially received
+  in this great west by your own pioneers, and have become prosperous
+  and happy. Yes, we love this great country of freedom, and we wish to
+  be and remain Americans."
+
+Being elected a few weeks later by a large majority, I assumed the
+duties of secretary of state on the 1st of January, 1870. As secretary
+of state I was still a member _ex-officio_ of the board of emigration,
+and had charge of all its work and correspondence, which amounted often
+to a hundred letters a day.
+
+In the month of June following, rumor came to the capitol of a new
+Indian outbreak on our western frontier. It was said that Indians had
+come in the night and committed depredations, and quite an alarm was
+caused all along the frontier; the bloody massacre of 1862 was still
+fresh in the memories of our people, and while the state authorities did
+not believe this rumor, we deemed it necessary to take measures at once
+for pacifying the people by protecting the frontier. Therefore I started
+out at once with several hundred stand of arms, with ammunition
+and authority to organize the settlers into militia companies and
+commission officers for the same. Selecting a few friends for company
+and aids, we went by rail as far as Benson, Swift county, thence by ox
+teams northward, following the frontier settlements to the northern
+portion of Otter Tail county. Four companies of militia were organized
+and officers duly appointed, the last being in Otter Tail county, with a
+Swedish count, Ragnar Kalling, as captain. This prompt action stopped
+the panic, and all has been quiet since that time. The rumor of the
+Indian depredation proved to have originated with some settlers who, in
+the disguise of Indians, had tried to scare away a Norwegian from a
+claim which he had taken from another man.
+
+During this year one of the greatest railroad enterprises in the world
+was commenced, namely, the building of the Northern Pacific, extending
+from Lake Superior to the Pacific coast, a distance of over two thousand
+miles. The celebrated financier Jay Cooke, of Philadelphia, who had
+acquired a great reputation as the financial agent of President
+Lincoln's administration during the war, was at the head of the
+enterprise. The Northern Pacific Company had received a government grant
+of many millions of acres of land along the proposed railroad, and it
+required millions upon millions of dollars to build the road. One of the
+important financial questions with Jay Cooke was how to derive a revenue
+from the sale of lands, and how to get settlers and communities started
+along the line of the road. So ignorant were the people of this country
+about the region lying within the limits of the Northern Pacific
+railroad that it was generally supposed to be either barren or too far
+north for successful agriculture; yet that very region has since proved
+to be the greatest wheat producing country in the world. Mr. Cooke
+himself had been all over it with a small party, under the escort of
+United States cavalry, on an exploring tour, and he was perhaps the
+only man of that day who foresaw the future greatness of the Northern
+Pacific region.
+
+Late in the fall of 1870 I received a letter from Mr. Cooke, in
+Philadelphia, inviting me to come and spend a week with him and talk
+over the new Northwest. Upon the advice of ex-Gov. Marshall, who had
+spoken of me to Mr. Cooke, the then Gov. Austin and other prominent men,
+I repaired to Philadelphia, and spent some days at Mr. Cooke's palatial
+residence near that city. He had also for guests a delegation of French
+and German bankers, who had just arrived from Europe. Mr. Cooke
+impressed me as one of the greatest and noblest men I had ever met. His
+enthusiasm and eloquent arguments carried everything before him. The
+millions were raised, largely in Europe, and the road was built, as
+we all know. The result of my conference with him was my permanent
+engagement, at a salary more than twice as large as that I had from the
+state, to repair to Europe in the spring as agent of his enterprise,
+with headquarters in Sweden, my special duties being to make known in
+the northern countries of continental Europe the resources of the
+Northern Pacific, particularly the park region in Minnesota. I was also
+requested by Mr. Cooke to draw up a general plan on my return home for
+the disposal of the company's lands, which I did, and that plan was
+adopted for the guidance of its land and emigration officers and agents.
+
+In the month of December a national convention was held in the city of
+Indianapolis, Ind., for the purpose of devising measures for the better
+protection of emigrants on ocean steamers, and while in transit through
+this country. All the states interested in emigration sent delegates to
+that convention, and I was one of those representing our state; my
+knowledge and experience of the subject at issue enabled me to take
+such a part in the proceedings that at the close of the convention, I
+was appointed one of a committee of five (Gov. McCook, of Colorado,
+State Treasurer Smith, of Wisconsin, Banker Greenbaum, of Illinois,
+and a leading newspaper man of Philadelphia, were the other members)
+to draft a law for the protection of emigrants, and to proceed to
+Washington and lay the same before the president and congress. There I
+had an opportunity for the second time to meet Gen. Grant, who was then
+president. I spent much time with him, and he took a lively interest in
+the emigration question. The result of our work was the passage by the
+United States congress of the excellent laws in relation to emigration
+which still remain in force.
+
+In January, 1871, the state legislature of Minnesota again assembled.
+The senate then consisted of twenty-two members, and was opened and
+organized by Lieut. Gov. Yale, and the house of representatives, with
+forty-seven members by myself as secretary of state.
+
+During that winter I received several touching letters from Swedes
+located in the state of Mississippi. They were part of a little colony
+which had gone there the previous year, direct from Sweden. The climate
+was unsuitable; one-fifth of the people had already died, nearly all the
+rest were sick, and there was great distress and misery among them. They
+asked me to get them away into the healthy climate of Minnesota. They
+were entirely destitute of means, and had to be placed where the men
+could obtain employment when they should have regained sufficient health
+and strength.
+
+The Duluth & St. Paul Railroad Company, which was then a part of Jay
+Cooke's system, upon my request, furnished the necessary means, and sent
+Mr. F. S. Christensen, heretofore mentioned, to Mississippi to bring the
+party to St. Paul, which he did under many difficulties, in such
+satisfactory manner that upon his return he received an appointment by
+the company as local land agent at Rush City, in which position he
+remained many years. He is now president of the bank at that place,
+being married as before stated, to my niece, the little Zelma, whom the
+Indian squaws were so fond of playing with in the old log cabin. The
+little colony from Mississippi has certainly demonstrated that the
+northern climate is by far the best for the northern people. They had
+left Sweden strong, robust and hopeful men and women; after having
+stayed one year in the South they arrived in Minnesota pale, poor and
+broken down, lacking strength and energy, and almost without hope.
+
+The railroad company acted most generously towards them. It built them
+comfortable houses, furnished an abundance of provisions, cooking
+utensils and other necessaries; they gave the men employment at liberal
+wages as soon as they were able to work, and yet many of those very
+people growled and complained because we did not do more for them. I
+remember distinctly how one of the women, when her share of groceries
+and provisions arrived, was perfectly indignant because there was only
+granulated sugar, and she had always been "used to drink coffee with
+lump sugar in Sweden." This bad trait among newly arrived emigrants from
+any country is very common, gratitude and contentment being exceptional
+the first year or two, as all will testify who have had anything to do
+with them. It really seems that the more that is done for them the less
+satisfied they are. I am glad to say, however, that after a few years
+they get over this bad fault, and so did the little party from
+Mississippi, most of whom have all of late years repented and even
+apologized for their former folly and ingratitude. They formed the
+nucleus of the large Swedish settlement west of Rush City, now one of
+the most prosperous in the state.
+
+After the close of the legislature in the spring of 1871 preparations
+were made for carrying out my agreement with Jay Cooke to go to Europe
+for an indefinite time. Having been criticised by some of my countrymen,
+for resigning the office of secretary of state at that time, I owe them
+the following explanation: First: Personally, I was comparatively poor,
+and the salary which I received from the government, with the great
+draw-backs for all sorts of charities and public enterprises, which an
+official in that position has to meet, was insufficient to support me
+and my family, and I considered that I had the same rights as any other
+citizen to better my pecuniary condition, which I did by accepting the
+offer of Jay Cooke. Secondly: It was of greater importance to the
+public, and I could render better service to the state at this period of
+its early development, as agent for a great railroad company, which fact
+was fully recognized by our leading public men, and it was with their
+advice and at their earnest request that I took the step. I accordingly
+tendered my resignation to the governor of our state, but he, out of
+polite consideration, preferred that I should take a leave of absence
+until fall, when the people would have an opportunity at the political
+convention, to designate my successor, and wrote me the following
+letter:
+
+                                   "STATE OF MINNESOTA,
+                                   "EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
+                                   "St. Paul, May 25, 1871.
+
+  "_Col. H. Mattson, Secretary of State_:
+
+  "Dear Sir: Learning that it is your intention, on taking your
+  departure for Europe, to resign your office of secretary of state,
+  allow me to ask you to reconsider that resolution. You will leave a
+  very competent deputy, perfectly acquainted with all the duties of the
+  office, and in whose integrity, as well as in his honesty, the public
+  have unlimited confidence. Within a few months your successor will be
+  indicated by the delegates chosen by the people, comprising the
+  dominant party of the state, and then he may be appointed, if you are
+  to resign at all, with no uncertainty as to the popular choice of the
+  individual who should fill that important post. For these reasons I
+  hope you will conclude to withhold your resignation, at least for the
+  present. I most cordially wish you a pleasant journey to the field of
+  your new labors, great success there, and a safe return to the land
+  you have served and loved so well.
+
+                    "Very truly yours,
+
+                                   "HORACE AUSTIN, Governor."
+
+It is true that even after the state convention the governor did not
+appoint my successor, but preferred to leave the office nominally in my
+hands in charge of my very able assistant, the Hon. Pennock Pusey, until
+the end of the term, so that in fact I did not resign, but kept my
+office during the whole term for which I had been elected.
+
+In the last week of May I left for Sweden the second time, taking my
+family with me. The journey passed very pleasantly over England, Germany
+and Denmark. We arrived in Hamburg in the morning of the day when the
+Hamburgian troops returned under Prince Carl from the Franco-Prussian
+war, and made a triumphant entry into the city, being received with the
+greatest enthusiasm by the whole populace. It was indeed a grand sight,
+as all these troops marched by our hotel, men and horses literally
+covered with wreaths, flowers and bouquets, thrown over them by the
+grateful people. On this journey I carried important business letters
+from leading railroad men in Minnesota to some capitalists in Holland,
+who had advanced several million dollars for the construction of
+railroads in our state. I mention this, because it paved my way to very
+important business connections with prominent Hollanders a few years
+afterward.
+
+Shortly before entering upon this journey, a private banking and foreign
+exchange business was established in St. Paul under the firm name of H.
+Mattson & Co. My partners were Consul H. Sahlgaard and A. T. Lindholm,
+who successfully managed the business during my absence. A few years
+later this affair was merged into the St. Paul Savings Bank, of which
+Mr. Sahlgaard became the cashier, while Mr. Lindholm and myself both
+withdrew. The banking firm H. Mattson & Co. was one of the first firms
+that, as agent for the Cunard Line, introduced the system of prepaid
+steamship tickets from Europe to America, which has gradually gained the
+confidence of the people, and developed into a very extensive and
+important business.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+On June 21, 1871, I landed a second time in my native country at Malmoe.
+As already stated, I was this time accompanied by my wife and children,
+and intended to remain in Europe several years, which we also did.
+
+At Hessleholm we were met by relatives and friends who conducted us to
+the old city of Christianstad, where we were to make our home. The early
+part of the beautiful northern summer we spent in visiting friends and
+kinsmen. Entertainments, excursions and festivities of all kinds
+alternated continually. The kindness and hospitality of the people knew
+no bounds, and no matter how defective some of the old institutions of
+Sweden may be they are in my opinion more than counterbalanced by the
+many beautiful and noble traits of character of the people, which we
+observed everywhere, and which are faithfully stored up in our hearts
+and minds, so that we always find a great delight in looking back to
+those days.
+
+Having spent a large portion of the summer in this manner, I started in
+the month of August on a tour to the northern part of the country,
+visiting Stockholm, Upsala, Gefle, Hudiksvall, and several other places.
+This was my first opportunity to see the beautiful scenery of northern
+Sweden, the fine, quiet bays, the magnificent lakes, the pleasant
+valleys, the green hills, the mountains dark with pine forests, all of
+which contribute to make the scenery of Norrland so varied and
+attractive.
+
+In the fall I returned to southern Sweden, and had an opportunity to
+witness the field maneuvers of the largest portion of the Swedish army,
+and also to meet the popular king Charles XV. The maneuvers were very
+fine, but, in my opinion, the troops could not have endured a long
+campaign, with its exhaustive marches and hardships. The soldiers
+complained loudly of fatigue, and quite a number of them were taken sick
+after the march of only fourteen to eighteen miles, although the weather
+was fine, cool, and bracing. Compared with our American army during the
+late war, when marches of twice that distance were quite frequent, the
+Swedish army was inferior; but these weak points would probably soon be
+remedied by practice in actual warfare.
+
+After having seen King Charles I was no longer astonished at his great
+popularity among the people. There was something about him which seemed
+to electrify and charm everyone who came within the circle of his
+personal influence. I saw him again the following winter at the opening
+of parliament in Stockholm. With all due respect for old Swedish customs
+and manners, I cannot but compare this pageant to a great American
+circus--minus the menagerie, of course. I would like to describe this
+serio-comical demonstration for the benefit of my American readers; but
+I am sorry to say that I can no longer remember the titles of the
+different officers, heralds, guards, lackeys, pages, etc.,--all of them
+dressed in the most gorgeous costumes, some of them preceding, others
+following the king and the royal princes, who were adorned with all the
+mediaeval clap-trap insignia of royalty, and wrapped in huge mantles of
+gay colors, and with long trains borne by courtiers or pages. We can
+comprehend the importance of a display of this kind a couple of
+centuries ago, but it seems to me that the common sense of our times
+demands its abolishment, and unless I am very much mistaken King Charles
+himself, who was a practical and sensible man, was of the same opinion.
+
+The same winter I made a visit to Norway, which was repeated the
+following summer. The social and political conditions of the country
+reminded me somewhat of America, Norway being ahead of Sweden in that
+respect, and I am not surprised that the Norwegians are proud of their
+beautiful country.
+
+One of my most pleasant journeys in Europe was a trip which I took in
+company with wife and children in the early part of the summer of 1872.
+On this trip we went through the lovely province of Soedermanland, and
+thence by rail to Stockholm, where we met many old friends and
+acquaintances. Midsummerday was celebrated in the circle of a number of
+happy friends at Hasselbakken, and on the following days we made
+repeated visits to the enchanting surroundings of the capital. On one of
+these outings to Drotningholm, a summer palace, we met other American
+tourists, and I remember distinctly how we all agreed that this was just
+the locality for some charitable institution, where the unfortunate poor
+and suffering members of society could be taken care of, as, for
+instance, a home for old widows, or orphans, or old men who have served
+their country faithfully in peace or war, but have been reduced to
+poverty in their old age. As a contrast to Drotningholm we pictured in
+our minds the Soldiers' Home near Washington, where Abraham Lincoln had
+a few rooms, and found rest and recreation among trees and flowers, and
+it seemed to us that some of the country palaces of Sweden might just as
+well be used for a similar purpose.
+
+Having remained in Stockholm for some time, we directed our course
+southward, by way of the Goeta canal, past Motala, Trollhaettan, and
+Gothenburg. How great, how delightful, how glorious! Dull and coarse
+must that man or woman be who can make this trip without being proud of
+the sons of Sweden and their peaceful avocations. In school I had read
+the history of Sweden, but it treated chiefly of warfare and of the
+exploits of the kings, only incidentally touching the achievements of
+peaceful work and the development of social and moral culture, which, in
+my opinion, are of supreme importance, and deserve the greatest honor.
+But then, it must be remembered that Swedish history was at that time
+written with the assumption that royalty and a few warriors are the sun
+and the stars around which the whole people and the country revolve, and
+from which they received their light and value. A better time has now
+dawned on Sweden, and even common people are acknowledged to have a
+certain inherent worth. Still I am afraid it will take some time before
+old prejudices can be dispelled.
+
+In the fall of the same year I took a trip through Finland and Russia,
+having secured a passport issued by Gen. C. C. Andrews, who was then
+United States minister in Stockholm. I went with the steamer Aura from
+Stockholm to Abo, Helsingfors, and Cronstadt. The pine-clad islands and
+shores of the Bay of Finland afforded a beautiful panorama from the
+steamer. The sight of Sveaborg made me feel that I was still a Swede in
+soul and heart, for I was overpowered by a deep sadness when I thought
+of the heinous treason by which this impregnable fortress was forced to
+surrender.
+
+I spent several days in St. Petersburg, during which I took in the chief
+sights of this grand city, such as St. Isaac's church, the monument to
+Peter the Great, the winter palaces, etc. It happened to be the
+anniversary of the coronation of the Czar, and I had the pleasure of
+seeing the magnificent military parade arrayed for the occasion. My
+American passport opened all doors to me wherever I tried to enter, and
+I was treated with the greatest politeness by military as well as civil
+authorities. To an uninitiated eye my personal liberty and independence
+seemed just as great here as in Washington; but that was not the case,
+for I knew that my every step was being closely watched.
+
+One day my guide conducted me to a place in one of the suburbs, where
+some hundred prisoners were starting on their long journey to Siberia.
+He also conducted me to the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, where the
+Russian Czars are crowned and buried; and through the fortress and
+prison, in whose moist, murky dungeons the political prisoners hear the
+great bell in the steeple striking the hour, and the watchman crying his
+monotonous, "God save the Czar," while from year to year the victims of
+despotism suffer and languish, often on a mere suspicion, and without a
+fair trial, until death finally puts an end to their sufferings. What is
+the reason that politically Russia has always been on the most friendly
+terms with the United States? How can liberty and the rankest tyranny
+have anything to do with each other? This has always been a riddle to
+me. I despise the friendship of a despotism like that of Russia, where
+the government orders innocent men and women to be seized in the silence
+of the night, torn away from their homes and families, incarcerated in
+dungeons, and subjected to bodily torture and social disgrace simply
+because they are suspected of having expressed or cherished liberal
+ideas.
+
+Returning to Sweden by way of Finland I remained a few days at
+Helsingfors. Having presented my passport to the authorities of the
+city, the commander of the garrison sent an officer inviting me to visit
+the barracks and other places of interest. I accepted the invitation and
+spent two days under the guidance of my cicerone. This was of course a
+rare treat, and it brought me in contact with many prominent citizens
+and officers. We also took a ride out in the country to see the
+condition of the peasants. In common with all other Swedes I have always
+sympathized with unfortunate Finland, in the belief that its people must
+be very unhappy and yearn for a reunion with Sweden. This proved to be a
+great misconception. What a peculiar contradiction! The Russian despots
+treat the Fins with generosity and justice, and as far as I could
+understand, the people were highly pleased with Russian supremacy, and
+would not become subjects of Sweden again, even if they could.[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: Since the above was written the Russian government has shown a
+disposition to treat Finland in a way that will soon change the friendly
+feelings of the Finnish people.]
+
+The following winter I had the honor of meeting King Oscar, of Sweden,
+at the funeral solemnities arranged by the grand lodge of Free Masons on
+the occasion of the death of King Charles XV. I have attended quite a
+number of official gatherings of different kinds in different countries,
+and seen persons vested with the highest authority conducting the same,
+but as to true dignity and lofty majesty, King Oscar excelled them all.
+When I compare him with the czar of all the Russias, or compare the
+condition of the Swedes with that of their Russian neighbors, I thank
+God for my old native land and its noble king.
+
+Of my numerous trips in Sweden I must mention one in particular,--a
+journey by sleigh,--in company with my old friend Karl Moellersvaerd,
+from Upsala to Gefle, and from Falun south, through Dalarne, past
+Smedjebacken, and the lakes below this to Vesteras. The beauty of the
+country of a northern clime does not show itself in its entire splendor
+until dressed in the garb of winter. The branches of the mighty pines
+loaded down by the dazzling snow; millions of snow crystals, more
+beautiful than diamonds, glittering from every twig as the sun sends
+its first morning rays through the forests; the picturesque costumes of
+the peasantry; the comfortable inns with their fine dishes of northern
+game; the neat sleighs drawn by small, swift, sure-footed horses; here
+and there a smelting furnace or a country church,--all these things
+combined left on my mind a picture of rural life more quiet, happy and
+beautiful than I had ever seen before.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+In the spring of 1873 I returned to Minnesota in company with a large
+number of immigrants. Being anxious to have my children learn the
+Swedish language, I left my family in Sweden where the children attended
+school. They spent this summer at Ronneby watering place, where the
+surroundings are characteristic of the mild and pleasant scenery of
+southern Sweden.
+
+In traveling from the Atlantic to Minnesota we came by way of the Great
+Lakes and the Sault St. Marie canal. Having spent a couple of months in
+Minnesota I returned to Europe again via Philadelphia, New York and
+Quebec. The reader may remember that the Northern Pacific railroad was
+building at that time, and that Jay Cooke, by means of his enthusiasm
+and great popularity, had succeeded in raising large sums of money for
+this stupendous enterprise. The Union Pacific railroad, south of us, was
+already in operation, and its owners, fearing the competition of the new
+road, had resorted to all conceivable schemes to undermine the
+confidence of the public in the Northern Pacific road and its promoters.
+Many of those who had furnished money began to feel uneasy, but Jay
+Cooke went ahead, full of hope and confidence in its final success. Just
+as I called at his private office in Philadelphia in August, one of his
+bookkeepers handed him a card from a prominent moneyed man in
+Philadelphia who wished to see him, and the following conversation took
+place between the two:
+
+"What can I do for you, my friend?" Jay Cooke said.
+
+"We begin," said the capitalist, "to lose confidence in your railroad
+schemes. I have bought $20,000 worth of bonds, but I am getting a little
+afraid, and came to ask your advice."
+
+"My dear sir, the Northern Pacific Railroad bonds are just as safe as
+United States bonds."
+
+"If this is your conviction, will you please exchange them for my
+bonds?"
+
+"Certainly. Here; give this"--he handed him a slip of paper with a few
+lines on it--"to my cashier, and he will give you United States bonds in
+exchange."
+
+The gentleman withdrew perfectly satisfied, and Jay Cooke turned to me
+with the following explanation: "I have seen the Northern Pacific
+country; that's the reason I am so confident in the success of this
+railroad enterprise. If we only succeed in accomplishing the work, I
+shall certainly prove that I was right; but if we fail, our antagonists
+will get a grist to their mill. But, whatever the result may be, no one
+shall have a right to say that I did not stake my fortune on my
+conviction."
+
+The same day I left Philadelphia for Europe, but I had scarcely reached
+Sweden when the great crisis came. Jay Cooke, whose fortune was
+estimated at twenty million dollars, was a ruined man. The work on the
+Northern Pacific railroad was suddenly stopped, and the obligations of
+the company depreciated to almost nothing. We all remember the terrible
+crisis that followed. Thousands of people were ruined, and the whole
+country suffered one of the most disastrous financial crises of modern
+times. My own loss was a very hard blow to me, not merely because I
+lost my position, but because my property in Minnesota, which consisted
+exclusively of real estate, stock and farm products, lost its value.
+This catastrophe was chiefly due to business jealousy, and there was no
+real cause for the panic, which was also clearly proven afterward. The
+Northern Pacific railroad has now been completed, and has proven to
+possess all the merits which Jay Cooke claimed for it. Its obligations
+are again above par. Jay Cooke has paid every dollar of his debt, with
+interest, and again lives in affluence and luxury, respected and honored
+by the whole country.
+
+Returning to Sweden I passed through Holland, which country I had
+visited a couple of times before, as already mentioned. I carried
+important business letters from the leading men of the St. Paul &
+Pacific Railroad Company, now known as the Great Northern Railroad
+Company. Dutch capitalists had advanced the money--about twenty million
+dollars--for building this road. The company had received very extensive
+land grants from the United States government; but during the first few
+years after the construction of the road to Breckenridge the country
+through which it passed was so sparsely settled that the traffic of the
+road was insufficient to pay its running expenses, hence their stocks
+and obligations depreciated very much in value. But the American
+railroad officials with whom I had been connected in the capacity of
+land agent were firmly convinced that if this road could be extended
+about thirty miles to the Northern Pacific railroad, and a little more
+time allowed for the settlement of the country along the line, the
+enterprise would pay a handsome dividend. It was my task to explain this
+to the Dutch capitalists, and persuade them to advance another
+$150,000--a mere trifle compared with what they had invested already--to
+build said extension, which was to pass through a perfectly level
+country. The president of the company, George L. Becker, and its land
+commissioner, Herman E. Trott, had previously visited Holland on the
+same business. But all our representations were in vain. The Dutch were
+stubborn, and would not give out another dollar. "It is of no use," they
+said, "to throw away a small sum of good money after a large sum of bad
+money, for it is all lost, anyway." The crisis of 1873 aggravated the
+situation still more, for this company, and its bonds were continually
+depreciating. The St. Paul & Pacific railroad had pledged itself to
+accept its own bonds at par in payment for its land, and as I and others
+had sold hundreds of thousands of acres of this land to new settlers on
+credit, I tried, and also succeeded, in perfecting an arrangement with
+the Hollanders, by which the new settlers who had purchased land on
+credit, were allowed to buy on time the bonds of the company, at about
+twenty-five per cent. of their face value, and apply the same, without
+discount, on their debts for the land, a method of liquidation that was
+highly advantageous to the settlers. As soon as this was found out in
+Minnesota, bankers and other capitalists sent agents to Holland to make
+similar arrangements, and, in the course of the next three years, a
+brisk business was done in exchanging those bonds for land, by which
+thousands of settlers saved large sums of money, and a number of bankers
+and agents made small fortunes. If I had returned to Minnesota
+immediately I could have realized a very handsome profit by this
+arrangement; but I had made agreements which compelled me to stay in
+Sweden some length of time, and I left this business in the hands of my
+former partner, Consul Sahlgaard, and the St. Paul Savings Bank. But
+they did not grasp the importance of this matter until it was too late,
+and the lion's share of the profits went to new parties; who thus reaped
+the benefit of my plans, as is often the case under such circumstances.
+
+As in the case of the Northern Pacific Railroad, the subsequent success
+of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad proved that Messrs. Becker, Trott,
+and myself were right, and if the Dutch bondholders had followed our
+advice they would not only have saved their twenty million dollars, but
+also made as much more. The bonds continued to depreciate to almost
+nothing until the company was declared insolvent, a receiver appointed,
+and very expensive legal measures were resorted to, until finally the
+Dutch became disgusted with the whole matter and transferred all their
+interests to an American syndicate headed by J. J. Hill, of St. Paul, at
+present the well-known Minnesota railroad king. The sum paid was a mere
+trifle. Hill's syndicate procured money for building the connecting link
+and completing the system. The syndicate made twenty million dollars by
+this transaction, and, within five years after the Dutch had sold their
+bonds for a mere bagatelle and the company had changed its name to the
+St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, practically the same bonds were sold
+on the exchange in Amsterdam for one hundred and fifty cents on the
+dollar.
+
+The only profit I derived from my connection with this business was that
+I gained the respect and confidence of the Dutch capitalists, who very
+soon understood that they would have been all right if they had followed
+my advice. Therefore, when another Dutch company, known as the Minnesota
+Land Company, shortly afterward was brought to the verge of ruin by
+mismanagement, the affairs of this company were intrusted to my hands,
+and when the Maxwell Land Grant Company of New Mexico, which also
+consisted of Dutch capitalists, got into similar trouble they appointed
+me American manager of the affairs of that company, to which I shall
+refer further on.
+
+Soon after my return to Sweden in the fall of 1873 I became interested
+in an important business enterprise near my old home. A few years
+before this a number of Englishmen had organized a stock company for the
+purpose of draining a big swamp, and a lake called Hammarsjoe, in the
+vicinity of Christianstad. After expending a large sum of money the
+company failed to accomplish the undertaking. An officer in the Danish
+army, Captain M. Rovsing, who had had experience in that kind of work,
+in company with myself bought all the privileges and rights as well as
+the plant and material of the English company, and the work was
+completed under the supervision of Captain Rovsing in the latter part of
+1875. This Captain Rovsing was not only a firstclass engineer, but also
+an able and good man in other respects. I cannot tell whether it is luck
+or something else, but it is certain that I have always had the good
+fortune to enter into close business connections, and to form ties of
+intimate friendship, with persons distinguished by the highest sense of
+honor and integrity, and of those acquaintances Captain Rovsing occupies
+one of the foremost places.
+
+During a part of this time I also contributed some time and work toward
+colonizing the province of Manitoba, and thereby gave an impetus to the
+establishment of the first Icelandic colony in the Northwest.
+
+In the spring of 1874 we moved to Gothenburg, where we stayed until the
+work at Hammersjoe was completed, and in January, 1876, we said good-bye
+to Sweden, and arrived in America after a stormy voyage of nineteen days
+across the Atlantic. For sixteen days the storm was so violent that the
+life-boats and everything which was loose on the deck was swept away by
+the waves, and the officers serving during the night had to lash
+themselves to the rigging by ropes, not daring to rely on their hands
+and feet.
+
+It is strange how easily people in the course of time get used even to
+the most unpleasant circumstances. This was illustrated in a striking
+manner by the few cabin passengers who sat packed together in the cabin
+during this storm. After a couple of weeks we got so used to it that we
+finally found our voyage quite endurable. Still we were very glad when
+the beautiful steamer Circassian of the Allan Line brought us safely to
+shore in Portland, Me. A few days more on rail, and we were again safe
+and sound in our dear Minnesota.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+"The world do move" nowadays, and most emphatically so in the great
+American Northwest. An absence of four years is almost enough to bury
+one out of sight, at least that is what I found on returning to
+Minnesota. The crisis of 1873 had left my finances in anything but a
+flourishing condition, to which was added the ravages of the
+grasshoppers, which caused considerable losses to me on my farm at
+Litchfield, that being about the only property I then owned.
+
+My attention was soon drawn from these private reverses to public
+affairs. The first steps toward re-entering the field of politics was my
+nomination for presidential elector by the Republican state convention,
+held at St. Paul in the summer of 1876. At the request of the Republican
+state central committee, I took an active part in the campaign that
+followed, as in fact I had done at every previous election since my
+residence in this state, but this time I spent the whole autumn in
+making a thorough political canvass through most of the Scandinavian
+settlements in the state. During that canvass it was my good fortune for
+a long time to be associated with the late William Windom, then a United
+States senator, and afterward twice secretary of the treasury.
+
+Mr. Windom was at that time in the very prime of his noble manhood; his
+fine mental and physical endowments made him an object of love and
+veneration among the people. Though a man of the purest character and
+exemplary life, he was a pleasant, boon companion, fond of a joke and a
+good story, liberal and charitable in his judgment of others, easy and
+polite in his manners, open-hearted and kind toward all. He was a large,
+broad-shouldered man, weighing over two hundred pounds, with a high
+forehead, dark eyes, and smoothly shaved face. As a speaker he was
+earnest, though quiet, fluent and humorous. He never used tobacco or
+spirits in any form. We traveled together in all sorts of conveyances,
+and held meetings in country stores and school houses; ate and slept in
+the lowly cabins of the farmers, but everywhere Mr. Windom felt at home,
+and made every body else feel at ease also. I was afterward with him
+often and in many places,--from the executive mansion in Washington to
+the frontier cabin in the west,--and for the last time in New York city,
+when he went there in August, 1890, to save the nation from a financial
+crisis, but never did I notice any difference in his conduct toward the
+humblest laborer or the highest in power. In sorrow and adversity he was
+a tender friend; in manners he was a Chesterfield; in the senate a
+Roman, and in the treasury department a Hamilton. By his death the
+nation, the state of Minnesota, and his numerous friends, among whom for
+many years I had the honor to be counted, sustained a heavy loss.
+
+Soon after the close of the campaign I commenced to publish a Swedish
+weekly newspaper called _Minnesota Stats Tidning_, in Minneapolis, to
+which place I had just removed with my family, and continued as its
+chief editor until the summer of 1881.
+
+In 1877 friends in Chicago and myself started another Swedish weekly,
+called _Svenska Tribunen_, in that city, and for some time I had the
+actual management of both papers, dividing my time between Minneapolis
+and Chicago. My aim in this journalistic work was mainly to instruct and
+educate my countrymen in such matters as might promote their well-being
+and make them good American citizens. The _Stats Tidning_, or at least a
+part of it, gradually became a kind of catechism on law and political
+economy, containing information under the heading "Questions and
+Answers." This was intended especially for the Swedish farmers in the
+state. If a farmer was in doubt as to his legal rights in the case of a
+road, a fence, the draining of a marsh, or wished to know how to cure a
+sick horse or other animal, or how he could get money sent from Sweden,
+or if he wished advice or information on any other question relating to
+everyday life, especially if he got into trouble of some kind, he would
+write to the _Stats Tidning_ for the desired information. Such letters
+were then printed in condensed form and followed by short, clear,
+pointed answers, and, so far, I have not heard of a single person being
+misled by those answers. On the other hand, I know that the public, and
+more especially the newcomers, reaped very great benefits from them. Few
+persons have any idea of how irksome and laborious this kind of
+journalism is, and at times I was on the point of giving it up in
+despair. As an example I will relate one little incident connected with
+this work. A farmer in a neighboring county had, through ignorance of
+the homestead law, met with difficulties in securing title to his claim.
+As usual he wrote to the _Stats Tidning_, and received the desired
+information just in time to save his property, which was worth over
+$1,000. On a visit to Minneapolis a short time afterward his feeling of
+gratitude directed him to the office of the paper to express his thanks.
+In a conversation with him I found that he had never subscribed for the
+paper himself, but was in the habit of going to his neighbor every
+Saturday afternoon to read it. I asked if it would not be well for _him_
+to subscribe for it also; it might happen to contain useful information
+in the future, and he could afford to pay for it. To this he answered:
+"No, I cannot do that, for I have not much time to read, and if I want
+to read I have some back numbers of a church paper, from Sweden, and
+should I want to read answers to any questions I can borrow a copy of
+your paper from my neighbor." So highly did this good and pious farmer,
+from a financial point of view, appreciate information which had saved
+him his home. In my opinion such people do not deserve reproach, but
+sympathy on account of their gross ignorance. It is also a fact, that,
+during all this time, the income received from the paper did not cover
+its expenses, and if it had not been for other resources the enterprise
+would have failed even at the very climax of its popularity.
+
+After five years of untiring journalistic work I was only too glad of an
+opportunity to sell the paper in the spring of 1881 to a publishing
+company, which soon moved the plant to St. Paul. My former associates,
+Messrs. Lunnow and Soderstrom, soon after commenced the publication of a
+new Swedish weekly, called _Svenska Folkets Tidning_, which has now a
+larger circulation than any other Swedish paper in our state. Having
+sold my share in the _Svenska Tribunen_ in Chicago a few years before,
+and thus being no longer connected with any newspapers, I found more
+time to devote to my wheat farm in the Red River valley.
+
+[Illustration: FARM IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY.]
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+In the morning papers of July 2, 1881, a telegram from Washington
+announced that President Garfield had appointed me consul-general to
+India, in the cabinet meeting of the previous evening. The same telegram
+also announced that the president had left Washington for New England,
+where he intended to spend his summer vacation in the country. It was
+with mingled feelings of satisfaction and misgiving that I faced the
+opportunity to satisfy my longing to see the wonderful Orient,
+especially India, in which country the missionary Dr. Fjellstedt had
+aroused my childish interest, as stated in the beginning of these
+reminiscences. After consulting wife and children concerning this, to
+us, important news, I walked down town, receiving congratulations from
+friends and acquaintances on the way, and, arriving at one of the
+newspaper offices, I found a large crowd of people eagerly reading on a
+bulletin-board a dispatch to the effect that President Garfield had been
+shot by Guiteau. The news caused an excitement and consternation almost
+as intense as that produced by the assassination of Lincoln. Telegrams
+were received from Washington continually, and outside the newspaper
+offices were placed bulletins describing the condition of the wounded
+president, who was very popular with the American people. The last
+telegram of that day announced that he was very low, and would probably
+die before morning. The next morning the dispatches announced that the
+president was still living, and that on the previous evening, believing
+that he had only a few more hours to live, he had caused to be made out
+my own and four other commissions and had signed them with his dying
+hand. I feel justified in narrating this in detail, inasmuch as I am in
+possession of the document which contains the last official signature of
+our second martyred president, and which is a very dear treasure to me.
+Believing that it will interest the reader to see the last signature of
+President Garfield, I submit a photographic fac-simile of the same.
+
+[Illustration: GARFIELD'S SIGNATURE.]
+
+I had only one month to prepare for the journey, and on account of the
+long and expensive voyage, it was decided, in family council, that I
+should go alone, leaving wife and children in Minneapolis. It was also
+understood that I would only be absent about one year, for it was hardly
+to be expected that a person of my age could stand the dangerous climate
+of India much longer.
+
+The 17th of August, 1881, was an important day for our little family,
+for on that day I left my home for a journey of thirteen thousand
+miles,--to distant Calcutta, the capital of India. Passing through
+Chicago on the following day, a number of my Swedish friends at that
+place had arranged a splendid banquet in my honor. About sixty of us
+spent a most delightful evening around the bountiful table; but what I
+prized more highly than anything else were the friendly and cordial
+feelings which were expressed in speech and song.
+
+In Washington I spent a few days in order to receive the last
+instructions from the state department. Hon. W. Windom, who was
+secretary of the treasury under the administration of Garfield,
+accompanied me to the White house, where the president was yet hovering
+between life and death. We were not admitted to the inner room, which
+was separated from the front room only by draperies. I can vividly
+recall the picture of the president's noble wife as she stepped out to
+us, and, with an expression of the deepest suffering, affection and hope
+in her face, told us that the patient had taken a few spoonfuls of
+broth, and that he now felt much better, and would soon recover. Thus
+life and hope often build air-castles which are destined to be torn down
+again by the cruel hand of fate.
+
+When the steamer touched the coast of Ireland the first news which the
+eager passengers received was that the president was still living and
+had been taken to a place on the coast. The voyage across the Atlantic
+from New York to Liverpool was a pleasure trip in every respect, and was
+favored by the most delightful weather. On board the White Star Line
+steamer Celtic,--a veritable palace of its kind,--the passenger had all
+he could wish, as far as solidity, speed, reliability, order, comfort,
+and good treatment are concerned. On September 9th I arrived in Paris.
+It seemed to me as if it had been only a couple of days since I was
+sitting in the midst of that happy company of friends in Chicago, whose
+tender and cordial farewell still sounded as an echo in my ears--or
+maybe in my heart. Nevertheless I was already in the grand and happy
+capital of the third French republic.
+
+I had time and opportunity to stay a few days in the large cities
+through which I passed, each one of which left a particular impression
+on my mind, and, although they are similar in most respects, each of
+them has its peculiarities, especially with regard to the character,
+temperament and customs of the people. I cannot refrain from describing
+a few of them. Washington did not seem to be itself when I passed
+through it, a cloud of sadness and mourning brooding over it on account
+of the critical condition of the president. Boston is prim and stiff,
+and seems like a place of learning. New York is a turmoil of pleasure
+and business. "Hurry up" seems to be written in every face; "tumble
+harum-scarum in the ever-changing panorama of the world!" Liverpool is a
+good deal like New York, but on a smaller scale. London is the stiff
+colossus of Europe. Amsterdam and Rotterdam bear the stamp of thrift,
+cleanliness, earnestness, and comfort. Antwerp and Brussels that of
+joyous abandonment. Paris includes everything which is worth seeing in
+the others, and shows everything in gayer colors and to greater
+perfection.
+
+I remained only four days in the city on the Seine, and the impressions
+of such a short stay are naturally fleeting and probably even
+unreliable. Paris has its imposing monuments from the days of Louis XIV.
+and the two Napoleons, which glorify the exploits of war; it has its
+beautiful churches, palaces and museums like other great cities; but in
+my eyes the greatness of Paris is to be found in her boulevards and
+public promenades. I also made a visit to Versailles, the wonderful city
+of palaces, and spent a day among the great monuments of grandeur and
+royalty, misery and tyranny. As works of art they are grand and
+beautiful, but their historical significance produce varied feelings.
+In the French capital everything seemed to indicate comfort and
+satisfaction. The workman of Paris is a gentleman in the best sense of
+the word. He feels free, independent, and proud in the consciousness
+that he is a part of the state. Soldiers were no longer to be seen in
+the city; they being garrisoned at Versailles and other neighboring
+cities; still there has never before been such a feeling of profound
+peace and security in France. Liberty is a great educator. The style,
+name, and other indications of the empire are passing away, and the
+republic has put its stamp on Paris. The commune is no longer feared,
+for the state is no longer an enemy of the people, but a protector of
+its rights and liberty. Fortunate Paris! Happy France!
+
+But I must hurry on, in order to reach the end of my long journey. On
+the 13th of September I saw the majestic Alps with their snow-clad
+summits, which seemed to touch the very vault of heaven. The same day I
+passed through the tunnel at Mont Cenis, and arrived the following day
+at Rome, via Turin and Florence. And is this great and glorious Rome?
+Yes! These walls, ruins, palaces, and Sabine hills,--aye, the very air I
+breathe,--all this belongs to the eternal city. From the window of my
+room in Hotel Malori I can read the signs,--"Via di Capo le Care," "Via
+Gregoriana," etc., and among these an index pointing to the Rome and
+Tivoli street-car line. Indeed, I have seen the great city of Rome, with
+its churches, statues, paintings, and ancient ruins and catacombs; the
+little monument to the Swedish Queen Christina in the St. Peter's
+church; the triumphal arch which commemorates the destruction of
+Jerusalem, and the temple of Vesta where the ancient vestal virgins
+guarded the sacred fire. Two thousand years thus passed in review before
+my eyes in a few days.
+
+[Illustration: ROME.]
+
+From Rome I proceeded to Naples. This city is built on the most
+beautiful bay in the world, and has a population of six hundred thousand
+inhabitants. It is built in the form of an amphitheatre, with a steep
+decline toward the water. In the south we see the island of Capri,
+fifteen miles distant, and on the east coast the volcano Vesuvius,
+which, by its threatening clouds of smoke, seems to obscure the eastern
+part of beautiful Naples, although it lies fourteen miles distant from
+the city. Long before the time of Christ the bay looked about the same
+as it does now. The chief cities around it at that time were Naples,
+Herculaneum and Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius, however, did not look as it
+does now, but rose as a green hill, called "La Somma," and served as a
+summer resort for many wealthy Roman patricians. The city of Pompeii had
+about forty thousand inhabitants. On August 23, A.D. 79, terrific
+rumblings were heard from the interior of La Somma, the summit of which
+suddenly burst open, and a pillar of ashes, steam, and red-hot rocks
+shot up through the opening to a great height, and fell, scattering
+itself over the surrounding country, while streams of melted lava rolled
+down the hill-sides and buried Herculaneum and everything in it under a
+layer of ashes and lava to the depth of eighty feet. Toward night the
+eruptions increased in force, and before morning Pompeii and some
+smaller towns were also buried under the glowing rivers of volcanic
+rocks, ashes and mud.
+
+The remarkable history of this place absorbed my mind as I passed
+through the two thousand years-old streets of Pompeii, which, in the
+course of this century have again been brought to light by the removal
+of the petrified ashes and other volcanic matter. The ancient city now
+looks a good deal as it did eighteen hundred years ago. It is situated
+on a round knoll, and measures three miles in circumference. The houses
+are built of stone, and only one story high, with roofs of brick and
+floors of cut stone, just as the modern houses in that vicinity are
+built to-day. Every house has an open court in the center, and all
+aisles and doors lead to this. Glass windows were not used, but the
+rooms received light from the open court, which could be covered by
+canvass as a protection against the sun and rain. I measured the
+streets. They proved to be twelve feet wide, with a four-foot-wide
+sidewalk on either side. The paving consisted of boulders, with a flat
+surface about twenty inches in diameter, and contained deep grooves made
+by the chariot wheels. The houses were standing in their original
+condition, with fresco paintings on the walls and statues in their
+proper niches. The temples with their sacrificial altars, the theatres,
+the court, the council-house, and all other public buildings were
+adorned with marble pillars and choice works of sculpture. I saw a
+barber-shop with chairs, niches for the soap and mugs, and the waiting
+sofa. In a baker's house I saw the oven, the dough-trough, scales, and
+petrified loaves of bread. In a butcher shop were a saw, a knife, and
+other tools. There were also furniture, vessels for cooking, bowls,
+grain, pieces of rope, and plaster of Paris casts of the human bodies
+which had been found, generally prostrate, with the face pressed against
+the ground. There lies a cast of a man with a pleasant smile on his
+lips; he must have passed unconsciously from sleep to death. But it is
+fruitless to try and describe this remarkable place which has no
+parallel on the face of the earth. I heard the Swedish language spoken
+in this city of the dead, and had the pleasure of making the
+acquaintance of Alderman Toernquist and wife, from Wimmerby, and a Doctor
+Viden and his daughter, from Hernoesand. Thus the living meet among the
+dead, representatives of the new times stand face to face with the dead
+of antiquity, children of the cool North in the sunny South. What a
+wonderful world this is, to be sure!
+
+The 17th of September I embarked on board the steamer La Seyne, destined
+for Alexandria in Egypt. The warm, Italian noonday sun poured down its
+dazzling rays; we were surrounded on all sides by ships and steamers
+carrying the flags of all nations; hundreds of fishing crafts were
+sailing out of the harbor, and in the distance the mighty volcano
+Vesuvius towered in imposing majesty above the vine-clad hills. There
+was a life and a traffic which it is difficult to describe. While La
+Seyne was lying at anchor for several hours out in the bay, Italian
+singers in their boats swarmed around the ship and entertained the
+passengers with music. Other boats contained three or four men each, who
+begged the passengers to throw coins into the water. As soon as a coin
+was thrown, down dived one of the men to the bottom, and invariably
+returned with the coin in his mouth although the water was very deep,
+perhaps from seventy-five to one hundred feet. The voyage across the
+Mediterranean was very pleasant, especially in the vicinity of the
+island of Sicily. The deep blue sky, the orange groves and vineyards on
+the island, and the neat, white cottages,--all gave an impression of
+indescribable tranquility and happiness.
+
+On this voyage, which lasted three days, I became acquainted with
+several interesting persons, among others with a Professor Santamaria,
+professor in an university in Egypt, and his family, and with a Jesuit
+priest, Miechen by name. By birth a French nobleman of a very old and
+rich family, he had been educated for a military life, and had served in
+the army with distinction, and in the late Franco-German war he had been
+advanced to the rank of major, although he was only thirty years of age.
+But suddenly he had been seized with religious enthusiasm, and had given
+up his illustrious family name, renounced his fortune, his honors, and
+the brilliant military career which lay open to him, in order to become
+a priest. After two years of theological studies he was ordained a
+priest, and admitted into the Jesuit order.
+
+He had now been ordered to supply himself with a full set of certain
+scientific instruments, and with them to repair to Cairo, Egypt, where
+he would receive further orders. I talked a great deal with this man. He
+spoke English fluently, and was equally familiar with nearly all the
+other European languages. He was no fanatic or religious crank, but a
+polished, cultured gentleman, who had seen and learned to know the
+world, reaped its honors and tasted its allurements, and he was
+evidently as liberal and tolerant as myself. And this man went to a
+field of action of which he had no knowledge whatsoever. Probably an
+honorable position as professor in a university was awaiting him, or
+perhaps he would have to go to some isolated mountain to observe a
+phenomenon of nature in the interest of science, or penetrate a
+malarious wilderness as missionary among savages, where he would be
+debarred from all intercourse with civilized people, and deprived of all
+the comforts and conveniences to which he had been used during his
+previous life. Still he went willingly and joyfully to his work,
+completely indifferent as to his fate, thoroughly convinced that he was
+on the path of duty--to accomplish what God intended he should do. I was
+on my way to a great country and a court as the representative of one of
+the greatest nations on earth, but when I walked the deck arm in arm
+with this humble priest, I felt my inferiority compared with him, and I
+actually considered his position enviable. On the same voyage I became
+acquainted with a Danish traveler,--A. d'Irgens-Bergh,--who afterward
+met me in India, where we visited many places of interest together, and
+established a friendship which afforded both of us much pleasure.
+
+On the morning of September 21st the coast of Egypt appeared in sight.
+There is Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great, and formerly
+renowned for its commerce, and as the centre of learning and culture of
+the then known world. Even now this city is grand and beautiful,
+although its beauty and style are different from anything else that I
+have seen. We often form conceptions of things which we have not seen,
+but which are interesting to us, and when we afterward find that those
+conceptions are wrong we feel disappointed. Thus I had always thought of
+Egypt as a country of a dark tone of color, probably on account of the
+fertility of the soil of the valley of the Nile, since we Northerners
+find that fertile soil is dark and poor soil of a lighter color.
+Therefore I could hardly believe my own eyes when everything I saw on
+the shore looked white. Not only the houses, palaces, and huts, but even
+the roads and the fields, all had a white color.
+
+As we neared the harbor, and even before the pilot came on board, we
+noticed that all the flags were at half-mast. As soon as I landed and
+had shown my passport to the customs officer an elegant equipage was
+placed at my disposal under the charge of a dragoman, and we drove to
+the office of the American consulate, where also the flag was at
+half-mast. The sad occasion for this soon became apparent. President
+Garfield had died during my voyage across the Mediterranean, and the
+whole civilized world was in mourning.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+I was now in Africa and Egypt, among the remnants of ancient glory of
+which I had read so much, and which I so often had longed to see, in
+the wonder-land of Egypt, with which every Christian child is made
+acquainted through the first lessons in Bible history, the country to
+which Joseph was carried as a slave, and whose actual ruler he finally
+became by dint of his wisdom and virtue. I was in the Nile valley where
+Pharaoh built his magazines and stored up grain for the seven years of
+famine, and whence Moses conducted the children of Israel by means of "a
+pillar of a cloud and a pillar of fire." In the land of the pyramids
+everything seemed strange and wonderful, and different from anything I
+had seen before. The streets crowded with people, the bazaars, the
+oriental costumes, the Babylonian confusion of all the tongues of the
+earth,--all this combined made on me an overwhelming impression.
+Cleopatra's needle; Pompey's pillar; the caravans of camels on their way
+into the desert; the old graves and catacombs; the palm groves, the oxen
+turning the old-fashioned water-wheels which carry the water from the
+Nile for irrigating the fields, just as in the days of Moses,--all this
+was reproduced in actual, living pictures before my wondering eyes.
+Side by side with these remains of the past we meet with the great
+European improvements of our days,--the large ships in the harbor, the
+churches, the schools, the universities, the modern markets for trade
+and commerce, the splendid hotels and exchanges.
+
+[Illustration: ALEXANDRIA.]
+
+I stopped two days in Alexandria. The second day I visited the summer
+palace of the khedive, or vice-king, on which occasion a funny incident
+took place. Like every other foreigner coming to Egypt I had bought a
+sample of the head-gear generally used in that country, consisting of a
+red cap called "fez," which is made of very thick, soft felt, and fits
+very closely to the head. With this cap on and wearing a tightly
+buttoned black coat I rode in the equipage already mentioned to the
+palace. Ishmael Pasha, the former khedive, who had just abdicated and
+left the country, had been very popular among his servants and
+adherents. I was of the same size and build as he, my beard was cut like
+his, and in my red fez I looked so much like him that when our carriage
+passed through the gateway to the palace some of the servants whispered
+to each other that Khedive Ishmael had returned, and when the coachman
+stopped at the entrance I was surrounded by a number of servants who
+greeted me and evinced the greatest joy. The poor creatures soon
+discovered their mistake. Their good friend the khedive will never
+return to Egypt, for England and France will not allow it. He was too
+sincere a friend of his own people, and too independent in dealing with
+the shareholders of the Suez canal built during his reign.
+
+Alexandria has a population of two-hundred-fifty thousand. It was
+founded by Alexander the Great three hundred years before Christ, on
+account of the great natural advantages of this place as a seaport. At
+the time of Christ it had about half a million inhabitants. It was
+repeatedly ravaged by destructive wars, and finally completely pillaged
+by Caliph Omar, who is also said to have burnt its library, the largest
+and most valuable collection of books of antiquity, an act by which
+civilization suffered an irreparable loss, the library containing the
+only copies of a number of ancient literary works. It is claimed that
+the caliph gave his generals the following characteristic answer, when
+asked what was to be done with the library: "If it contains anything
+contrary to the Koran it is _wrong_; if it contains anything that agrees
+with the Koran it is _superfluous_; therefore, at all events, it ought
+to be burnt."
+
+[Illustration: PILLAR OF POMPEII.]
+
+The most remarkable of the ancient monuments still remaining in
+Alexandria is Pompey's pillar, which is a monolithic shaft of polished
+red granite, seventy-three feet high and twenty-nine feet eight inches
+in circumference. One of the most interesting objects of a more recent
+origin was the Cafe El Paradiso. It consists of an immense restaurant
+and concert hall, or rather halls, for there are many of them. One of
+these extends over the water, so that when one sits there drinking
+genuine Mocha coffee and smoking a Turkish nargileh one can hear
+the beating of the waves and feel the undulations of the azure
+Mediterranean. I drove out into the country a few miles to see the
+Egyptian fellahs, or peasants. No--I shall not disgrace the name
+"peasant" by using it here; for the Egyptian fellah is an ignorant,
+superstitious, absolutely destitute, and, in every respect, miserable
+wretch, and is worse off than a slave. Four walls of stones or earth
+make one or two rooms, with a floor of clay and a roof of straw or sod.
+A wooden box, a couple of kettles, and some mats made of grass or palm
+canes, are the only pieces of furniture. A couple of goats, an ass, or,
+at the very best, a yoke of oxen, are all he possesses in this world. He
+works hard, and his fare is exceedingly plain. He neither desires nor
+expects anything better, nothing stimulates him to acquire wealth; for
+that would only give the tax-gatherer a pretext for extra extortions.
+Miserable Egypt! I have seen much poverty and much misery among men; but
+of everything I have seen in that line nothing can be compared with the
+wretched condition of the Egyptian fellah.
+
+[Illustration: FELLAH HUT.]
+
+Still these unfortunate people seem to find happiness in their religion.
+Here some one might object that this is a wretched happiness, because
+their religion is Mohammedanism or Islamism. Man feels himself drawn to
+a higher power. No matter what his condition, he longs for a life after
+this, and searches after an object for his worship, and when he has
+found this object he will give up his life rather than give up his
+faith. And still that object for which a person or a nation is willing
+to sacrifice even life itself is ridiculed and despised by another
+person and another nation. If the ignorant were the only ones who
+disagree in matters of faith, this condition might be easily explained;
+but even the highest civilization has failed in its attempts to
+harmonize the different religions, and, in my opinion, this fact ought
+to make all thinking men tolerant and liberal toward those who hold
+different religious views. The Mohammedan faith has made a deep and
+lasting impression on a population scattered over a large part of the
+surface of our earth, and no one dares deny that its adherents are much
+more devoted to their religion and much more conscientious in observing
+its rites than we as Christians are with reference to our religion.
+
+[Illustration: FELLAH WOMAN.]
+
+The adherents of Mohammed now number one hundred and thirty millions,
+and the number is constantly growing. Many believe that this religion
+gains so many adherents because it is sensual, and allows all kinds of
+debauchery. But this supposition runs counter to the facts. It is true,
+that Mohammed allowed a man to have four wives; but it must be
+remembered that he limited the number to four, and that the number had
+been unlimited before. The life of an orthodox Musselman is an unbroken
+chain of self-denial and self-sacrifice, and, in this respect, we must
+acknowledge that he is superior to us Christians. His chief article of
+faith is expressed in this dogma: "There is no god but Allah, and
+Mohammed is his prophet." The leading commandments bearing on the
+practice of their religion are prayer, ablutions, alms-giving, fasting,
+and a pilgrimage to Mecca. The use of intoxicating drinks is strictly
+prohibited, hospitality is recommended, gambling and usury are not
+allowed. Friday is the Mohammedan's day of rest. Since my first visit in
+Egypt I have been very closely connected with many Mohammedans, several
+of whom have been members of my own household, and it affords me great
+pleasure to testify that, as far as my observations go, they have lived
+faithfully according to the precepts of their religion. Nay, I am
+convinced that in most cases they would renounce property, liberty, and
+even life itself, rather than violate any of the cardinal precepts of
+the Koran. But as to the Egyptian fellah, he has no comfort to
+renounce, his whole life being made up of continual fasting and
+abstinence from sheer necessity, so that it is comparatively easy for
+him to be a good Mohammedan.
+
+[Illustration: IRRIGATION MILL.]
+
+Having engaged a berth for the voyage from London to India on the
+steamer City of Canterbury, which I was to take about this time at the
+west end of the Suez canal, I could not remain any longer in Egypt, but
+took the Austrian steamer Apollo to Port Said, at the entrance to the
+Suez canal. On September 25th, in the evening, I embarked on the City of
+Canterbury where I made myself comfortable in a fine state-room which
+had been reserved for me. It takes two days to pass through the Suez
+canal, which runs through a great sandy plain that was formerly covered
+by the waters of the Red Sea. Among the many memorable places which were
+pointed out to us during this passage was also the spot where Moses is
+said to have conducted the Israelites across the Red Sea. The work on
+the Suez canal was commenced in 1859 and completed in 1869, and it cost
+about $95,000,000. The length of the canal is one hundred miles, its
+width at the surface of the water is three hundred and twenty-eight
+feet, at the bottom seventy-two feet, and its depth twenty-six feet. To
+a ship sailing from Sweden or England to Bombay in India, the distance
+by way of the Suez canal is five thousand miles shorter than by the
+passage around the Cape of Good Hope.
+
+I recollect an anecdote which dates from the opening of the canal in
+1869. On that occasion an irreverent speaker is claimed to have said in
+toasting De Lesseps, the French engineer who planned and executed the
+work, that the latter was the only man who had improved upon the work of
+the creator: He had connected the waters of the Red Sea and those of the
+Mediterranean. Thus the significance of a great work may also find an
+expression in the garb of a bold joke.
+
+Having remained in Suez a short while, the steamer glided out on the Red
+Sea, keeping close up to the naked coast of Africa. On the second day of
+our Red Sea voyage we saw Mount Sinai looming up some distance from the
+coast of Arabia. September is the hottest month of the year in that
+region, and as we had the wind with us, the customary breeze caused by
+the motion of the steamer was neutralized, and the heat was terrific. We
+slept on the deck, and we hailed the morning hour with joy on account of
+the shower-bath which was afforded when the sailors washed the deck. It
+is a conundrum to me why this body of water is called the Red Sea, for
+there is nothing whatever to suggest this color. One day we had a
+miniature illustration of a sand storm. A strong wind carried the sand
+from the coast of Africa several miles into the sea and covered the
+steamer with a layer of fine, white sand, which looked like fresh snow.
+We also had a chance to see flying fish which flew over the ship, and
+occasionally fell down on the deck. These fish were small and
+silver-colored, their fins looking a good deal like the wings of the
+bat. They can not turn in their course, nor can they fly up and down at
+pleasure, but only upward and forward in a straight line; and when they
+fall down on the deck they are just as helpless as any other fish out of
+water.
+
+Having reached the Indian ocean, the temperature became more pleasant,
+so that we no longer suffered so much from the heat. At last our
+splendid steamer plowed its course up the majestic Ganges, the sacred
+river with its one hundred mouths, on whose peaceful bosom millions and
+millions of human bodies have been carried to the ocean. For a distance
+of eighty miles we sailed up this wonderful river, and on either side
+we could see cities, temples, palm groves, and large crowds of people.
+On October 15th we arrived at Calcutta, where I was received by the
+American vice-consul, and comfortably quartered in the Great Eastern
+hotel.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+This is India, the wonderful land of the Hindoos. Africa had appeared
+strange to us compared with Europe and America; Asia seemed still more
+so. The Hindoos have a high and very old civilization, but entirely
+different from that of Europe and America. The country is named after
+the river Indus. It is hardly equal in area to one-half of the United
+States, but contains a population of more than two hundred and
+sixty-nine millions, eighty-one millions of whom are Mohammedans, one
+hundred and ninety millions Brahmins, two millions Christians, three and
+a half millions, Buddhists, Parsees or fire-worshipers, two millions
+Sikhs, and the rest are Jews or adherents of unknown religions. Queen
+Victoria of England is Empress of India, and the country is ruled in her
+name by a viceroy. It is divided into three great presidencies, viz.,
+Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, and these are again divided into a number of
+districts and native principalities. In order to maintain her supremacy
+in India, England keeps an army of about two hundred thousand regulars,
+of whom a little over one-third are English and the rest natives; and
+beside these there is a large militia and police force. Most of the
+native soldiers hail from the mountain districts. The most prominent of
+them belong to the Sikhs and Gourkas, two Indian nations. The Sikhs are
+tall, stately fellows, in my opinion ideal soldiers for a standing army.
+The Gourkas are smaller in stature, but very energetic and hardy; and
+both are renowned for their courage and endurance. It is said that a
+Gourka soldier would rather fight than eat, while a Sikh takes the
+matter more philosophically, and eats first and then fights. All native
+regiments are commanded by British officers, and a native seldom
+attains the rank of a commanding officer,--not because he is incapable
+of performing this duty, but rather because the English do not trust him
+implicitly.
+
+[Illustration: SIKH CAVALRY MAN.]
+
+The bulk of the people belong to the Arian race, as we do; with the
+exception of the complexion, which is a little darker, their features
+are the same as ours. Occasionally a Hindoo may have red hair, but never
+blonde hair and blue eyes. Comparing the higher and the lower classes,
+the complexion of the former is lighter, and their bodies are better
+built and statelier than those of the lower or laboring classes, who
+also have a darker skin. The English language is used at the court and
+in all official circles, and the men of the higher classes among the
+natives speak and read English.
+
+The plain of Bengal, in which Calcutta is situated, is triangular in
+form, each side being about one thousand miles in length. It is bounded
+by the Bay of Bengal, the Indian ocean, the Bay of Persia, and the
+Himalaya mountains. The soil is very rich, and, having been cultivated
+for thousands of years, it still produces two or three fair crops a year
+without fertilization or proper cultivation. As the Nile in Egypt
+deposits a rich sediment over its valley, so does the river Ganges carry
+from the mountains a whitish, slimy silt, which it deposits during its
+annual overflow in the plains of Bengal. This silt is a great
+fertilizer, and thus nature supplies what poor husbandry fails to
+provide.
+
+It is not my intention to give a description of India and its wonderful
+people, but simply to give some pen pictures of scenes and incidents
+which came within the range of my observation and experience during the
+year and a half which I stayed there. I shall therefore ask the reader
+to follow me on my daily walks of life as well as to some of the fetes
+and entertainments where I was a guest, and on my travels through the
+wonderful country. I had a chance to come in contact with all classes,
+as the rank to which my official position entitled me not only opened
+the doors of the palaces and temples to me, but also paved my way to the
+humblest houses.
+
+[Illustration: STREET IN CALCUTTA.]
+
+India has over five hundred cities. Of these Calcutta is the largest,
+and has a population of about eight hundred thousand. It is called "the
+city of palaces," but only certain portions of the city deserve that
+name. Owing to the warm climate, the buildings in India, as in all other
+warm countries, are low, seldom more than two stories high, and the
+walls and roofs are very thick. The building material generally consists
+of brick and cement, the roofs being mostly made of the latter. There
+are verandas on the sides of the houses, and these, as well as the
+windows, are protected by heavy Venetian blinds. In the evening the
+doors and windows are thrown open so as to let in the cool night air,
+but in the morning they are closely shut, so as to keep as much of it as
+possible. Inside there are many contrivances for protecting the people
+against the excessive heat. The most important of these is the punkah,
+consisting of a wooden framework which is stretched with heavy canvass
+and is about two and a half feet wide, and from ten to twenty feet long,
+according to the size of the room. It is suspended from the ceiling, and
+reaches down to the heads of people sitting on chairs. By means of
+pulleys this punkah is kept in an oscillating motion by coolies
+stationed in the back of the house or on the back porch, and it creates
+such a pleasant breeze that one forgets all about the heat. Every room
+or office in the houses of Europeans and Americans has its punkah, and
+even the churches have a great number of them during the hot season.
+From March till October the punkahs are kept in motion all night over
+the beds of those who can afford the luxury of four "punkah walla"
+(pullers); for it always takes two pullers for each punkah in the
+day-time, and two others at night to relieve each other every hour or
+two. Servants' wages are very low in India, and as the punkah walla
+belongs to the lowest grade of servants his wages are only five rupees
+($2.50) a month, and he must board himself as do all other servants.
+
+The clothing which people wear also adds largely to their comfort. The
+cooley, or common laborer, wears a long piece of cloth wrapped around
+his waist and tucked up so as to resemble a short pair of drawers, and a
+head gear somewhat resembling a turban; the breast, back, and upper
+limbs being entirely naked. Both men and women of the better class of
+natives have loose falling robes of jute, silk or cotton. Europeans
+generally dress in white linen trousers and jackets, and it is only
+toward evening when taking a drive near the public parks, or at night
+while attending parties and receptions, that etiquette compells them to
+put on the black dress suit. What strikes the newcomer most on his first
+arrival in India is perhaps the great number of people that he meets and
+sees. The cities are veritable bee-hives of moving crowds of people, and
+the bazaars, shops, and dwellings resemble honey-combs, with their many
+subdivisions, giving each man or group of men the smallest possible
+space.
+
+[Illustration: TYPES OF THE LOWEST CASTE.]
+
+Sitting in my comfortable easy chair with my eyes closed, thinking of
+the past, I now see a picture of a spot in Calcutta called "Dalhousie
+Square," where I loved to walk in the cool evening shades. I wish I were
+an artist and could paint the picture on canvas for my readers; but
+since I am not I will try to describe it with the pen. Dalhousie square
+is about twice the size of our ordinary city parks; it is laid out in
+walks, flower beds and grass plots, and planted with flowers, shrubs and
+trees of almost every imaginable kind; it is a perfect gem of a little
+park. It is surrounded by a high iron railing, with gates at the four
+corners, which are open in the day time. On one side of the park are the
+new government office buildings, while the other sides are lined with
+ordinary business houses, separated from the park by wide streets. The
+principal one of these streets leads from the viceroy's palace up to the
+native part of the city, and is generally frequented by a great number
+of fine carriages, hacks, palanquin bearers, horsemen, and thousands of
+pedestrians.
+
+At one corner is a hack stand, with hacks just like our own; but instead
+of our American hackdriver we find the native Jehu, or coachman, who,
+while waiting for a customer, sits perched on the seat with his feet
+drawn up under his body, engaged with needle and thread in sewing a
+garment for himself or his wife, perhaps, or occupying himself with a
+piece of embroidery or fine crochet work.
+
+In front of yonder fine office building is seated a Durwan (doorkeeper),
+who is a Brahmin or priest. He sits at that door or gate all day long,
+and sleeps in front of it at night on his little bed, which resembles a
+camp cot. Early in the morning he takes up his bed and walks with it to
+the rear, where stands a little cookhouse in which he prepares his food
+for the day, consisting chiefly of boiled rice and vegetables. Just now
+he is reading aloud, and with a singing voice, from the Shastras (the
+Hindoo Bible) to a crowd of listeners, who eagerly and reverently seize
+on every word from the holy writings. Just behind me on a green spot in
+the park a dozen or more Mohammedans lie prostrate, their foreheads
+touching the ground, repeating their prayers; and if it happens to be at
+the setting of the sun hundreds of people are seen in the streets,
+shops, hotel corridors, or wherever they happen to be, turning their
+faces toward the holy city Mecca, reverently kneeling and saying their
+evening prayers.
+
+Here on the side-walk, close by me, sits a money-changer and broker. He
+has a box filled with coins of almost every kind and description; he
+buys and sells gold and silver of other countries, such as are not
+current in Calcutta, loans money on jewelry and other valuables, and
+does a general banking business on a very small scale. There comes a
+peddler,--more of them. Now they are crowding in by the hundred, selling
+canes, parasols, embroideries, watches, jewelry, and trinkets of every
+description, following the foot passengers, running beside the carriages
+going at full speed, sticking their goods through the windows and
+imploring the occupants to buy.
+
+Going around to the more quiet side of the square, I find a professional
+writer squatted on the side-walk. He has a bundle of dry palm leaves,
+and a customer of the lowest Hindoo classes stands before him stating
+what message he wishes to send to his wife and relatives in the country.
+With a sharp steel instrument the writer inscribes some strange Bengal
+letters on the palm leaf, folds it up into a little package which is
+sent by a traveling neighbor, or, perhaps, by a swift messenger, to the
+dear one in the humble cottage which stands somewhere out on the plain
+among the rice fields.
+
+A little further on sits a native barber, also on the side-walk.[5]
+Instead of a barber's chair he has a common-sized brick. The man who is
+to be shaved squats down opposite the barber; if the customer is the
+shorter of the two the brick is put under his feet, but if he is taller
+the barber puts the brick under his own feet, in order that they may be
+on a perfect level before the operation begins. A Hindoo barber not
+only shaves and cuts the hair, but also cleans the nails and ears and
+does other toilet work.
+
+[Footnote 5: The Hindoos never sit as we do, but squat on the ground and
+rest the weight of the body on the heels.]
+
+[Illustration: HINDOO BARBER.]
+
+There I see two stately men walking arm in arm; they have fine cut, very
+regular features, and beautiful black hair and beard; their intelligent
+looks and easy carriage command attention; they wear japanned shoes,
+snow white trousers, long white linen coats buttoned close to the chin,
+and high black hats without brim. They are Parsees, descendants of the
+ancient Persians and fire-worshipers, and probably merchants and men of
+wealth. And there again I see a group of Asiatic Jews in skull caps and
+long gowns,--keen, thoughtful and intelligent, without the slightest
+change in manners, costumes, or features since the days of the Jews of
+nineteen hundred years ago.
+
+In the crowded street I suddenly hear a shout, and see two men running
+with staffs in their hands, hallooing: "Stand aside, get out of the way,
+you fellows! The Prince of Travancore is coming! Clear the road, get out
+of the way!" Close on the heels of the runners is a magnificent carriage
+drawn by four Arabian steeds. By the side of the driver sits a
+trumpeter, who occasionally blows in a long horn to make known that the
+great personage is coming. Inside is the prince, and behind the carriage
+are four mounted soldiers, his body guard.
+
+Just coming in sight around a street corner, turning up one of the
+native streets, is a long line of ox-carts. They are loaded with cotton,
+jute, hides, indigo, or other native products. They are very light, and
+are drawn by a pair of Hindoo oxen no larger than a two-year-old heifer
+of our cattle, but with fine limbs and a high hump over the shoulders.
+They are yoked far apart, about the same way as in Sweden; but the
+coolie driver sits close behind them and guides them by a twist of the
+tail with his hand. Several palanquin-bearers are passing the square.
+The palanquin is a long covered box attached to a long pole and carried
+by four men, two at each end of the pole, which rests on their
+shoulders. Inside the palanquin is perhaps a Hindoo merchant going to a
+bazaar, or a couple of students going to the university, or maybe the
+wife of some well-to-do native merchant on the way to the home of her
+parents.
+
+[Illustration: INDIGO CART.]
+
+The trees in the park are all full of flowers, like the tulip tree and
+the chestnut in bloom. Innumerable birds of gay colors flutter among the
+branches of the trees, and on the roofs of the highest houses we
+discover a couple of the so-called adjutant birds, a species of stork,
+which stand like sentinels on guard watching the thousands of ravens
+that hover over the city ready to dive for any garbage that may be
+thrown out into the street or alley. Formerly, these were the only
+scavengers in the cities of India. A dozen coolies who are almost naked
+are seen running among the carriages sprinkling water on the streets
+from goat skins, to keep the dust down.
+
+There comes a family procession of the lower class with a basket of
+bananas and wreaths of flowers going to the river Ganges to offer
+sacrifices and enjoy an evening bath in the open river. Early every
+morning thousands upon thousands may be seen in the streets bent on a
+similar errand. Men from Cashmere, Afghanistan, China, Arabia, Thibet,
+etc., are seen in the throng, dressed in their native costumes. It is a
+strange and beautiful picture to look at for a little while. I have
+described only a small portion of it, for fear of tiring the reader.
+
+[Illustration: HINDOO MERCHANTS.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+The Promenades of the Fashionable World--Maidan--The Viceroy--British
+  Dominions in India.
+
+
+No European or American walks out doors in India, excepting a promenade
+early in the morning or late in the evening. They are either carried in
+palanquins, or, which is more common, they keep a horse and carriage.
+Observing the good old rule of adopting the custom of the country, I
+also procured a phaeton and a gray Arab as well as the indispensable
+Hindoo driver and runner, and I now invite the reader to take a ride
+with me late in the afternoon, when hundreds of equipages fill the
+fashionable driveways.
+
+It is five o'clock in the afternoon, and the dim rays of the setting sun
+allow us to lower the top of the carriage so that we may have an open
+view all around. But before doing this, we must exchange the white
+business suit and broad-brimmed Indian hat (which are made of the light
+pith of an Indian shrub somewhat similar to our elder bush, and covered
+with a thin layer of cotton) for the conventional black hat and coat,
+for these people are dreadfully ceremonious. The _chandra_ takes his
+place in the driver's seat, and the _badon_ on the steps behind the
+carriage. They are both dressed in snow-white outer garments, which look
+a good deal like a common nightgown, and a head dress consisting of ten
+yards of white muslin, wound several times around the head in the shape
+of a round turban. The Mohammedan coachmen and runners generally wear
+the colors of their masters in the same manner as other native servants
+do. In my case, of course, it was the red, white and blue sashes, belts
+and turbans. The runner has his place on a step behind the carriage, and
+it is his duty to jump off and run in front to clear the way whenever it
+may be necessary.
+
+We start from the Great Eastern hotel, where I first resided, down a
+long street called Chowringhee road, which is two miles long and very
+broad, and lined on the east side by English residences built of stone.
+Every mansion stands in a large garden full of tropical trees and
+plants, and surrounded by a stone wall five feet high. There are wide
+double gates for carriage drives, and at these gates the durwan (gate or
+doorkeeper) sits the whole day long. On the west side of the street runs
+a double street-car track, and beyond this is an immense common parade
+or pleasure ground, the Maidan, which extends to the Hoogley, a branch
+of the Ganges. On the west side it is bounded by the Strand, and on all
+other sides by a macadamized road about one hundred and fifty feet wide
+and planted with large, shady trees on either side. The east side of
+this road is already described. On the north side, from the river to
+Chowringhee road, between Eden Garden and the palace, it is called the
+Esplanade. Another hundred-foot-wide road runs south from the palace,
+and divides the ground into halves. This is called the Red road because
+it is macadamized with crushed red brick. From the Red road opposite
+Fort William another great road runs to Chowringhee road. A great number
+of foot-paths cross each other in all directions, and in the evening
+these are crowded with people in oriental costumes going to their homes
+in the suburbs.
+
+Here and there are statues erected to the honor of prominent English
+generals and statesmen, and certain parts of the grounds are also
+dotted with small groups of palms and other tropical trees. All these
+trees and plants are different from those growing in the North. Most of
+them have very broad and thick leaves, nearly all of them bear beautiful
+flowers, and many of them fruits. They are green the whole year round.
+In the north-east corner of the grounds is a garden of about forty acres
+which is called Eden. It is exceedingly beautiful and contains a great
+variety of trees and flowers, an Indian pagoda, lakes, canals and
+bridges, and thousands of birds enjoying an almost undisturbed
+existence, and singing and twittering among the trees and flowers. Eden
+Garden is surrounded by a low brick wall with several gates, the widest
+of which is the one next to the Strand. Inside this gate is a high
+orchestra stand, and below a square promenade on the fine grass plat.
+From six to seven o'clock in the evening a military band plays to the
+fashionable world which gathers here to take an evening walk.
+
+[Illustration: GOVERNMENT HOUSE.]
+
+A quarter of a mile below the Eden garden is the historical Fort
+William, around which Lord Clive and other heroes struggled to found the
+British Empire of India. Below the fort and next to the Strand is the
+drill-ground, and below this again a large race course. South of Maidan
+are several suburbs, and beyond these a zoological garden.
+
+Driving past the imposing orange-colored palace of the viceroy, called
+the government house, which very much resembles our capitol at
+Washington, but is neither so large nor so elegant, we finally strike
+the Esplanade, where the Chowringhee road meets the Red road. We stop a
+few minutes at the Esplanade to take a look at the gay picture. The
+Esplanade is crowded with a surging mass of humanity, all going from the
+river bank to their homes in the Eastern part of the city. It is the
+sixth day of the new moon, and thousands of men, women and children have
+been down to the river, washed themselves in its waters, and offered
+sacrifices consisting of fruits and flowers. The women are dressed in
+white, red, yellow, green, blue or violet garments. The smallest
+children sit astride on the left hip of their mothers, the men carry
+large baskets of fruit, mostly bananas, on their heads for the river-god
+received only a small portion, and the rest is to be eaten at home. Here
+and there among the pedestrians is a well-to-do Hindoo who takes his
+family, consisting of two or three wives and a crowd of children, to the
+river in an ox-cart. There are hundreds of musicians and peddlers in the
+throng, and all are joyful and rejoicing. It must be observed that only
+people of the lower classes take part in such public demonstrations in
+company with women and children. Fashionable women would never walk
+beyond the gardens around their own houses and do not appear in company.
+
+Soon carriages are seen passing by in long rows, either down the Red
+road or to the right along the Esplanade toward the Strand. We follow
+the latter and arrive at the river bank where thousands of people are
+yet busy with their sacrifices or trading with peddlers for fancy goods
+and dainties, while others listen to the music from peculiarly
+constructed flutes and drums, which vie with each other in producing the
+most ear-rending discord. Elegantly covered carriages swarm in four
+lines up and down the road. Most of the occupants are Englishmen with
+their ladies; but you may also see quite a number of Hindoo princes or
+noblemen with their ladies in oriental costumes, or Parsee merchants in
+black silk coats and high caps. To the right there is a veritable forest
+of ship's masts extending along the beach for miles, and to the left
+some native soldiers are being drilled. We drive down and have a chat
+with the English officers and stop to see a game of polo played, the
+native cavalry contesting with their English officers, all displaying a
+wonderful skill. Every now and then a couple of young Englishmen or
+officers on horseback meet each other, and yonder are two half-naked
+Hindoos on a jog-trot carrying a load which looks like a big coffin, but
+which turns out to be a palanquin occupied by a passenger who, in an
+inclined position, smokes his cigar and takes as much comfort as he can
+get in that primitive mode of traveling. But see there! At a given sign
+hundreds of men arrange themselves in long rows with their faces turned
+to the west, just as the sun sinks below the horizon; they prostrate
+themselves with their faces turned toward Mecca, and say their evening
+prayers. They are Mohammedans.
+
+Returning we stop at the gate to the Eden garden where a large number of
+equipages have already arrived before us, compelling us to wait for our
+turn to drive up and get out of the carriage. The garden is now
+illuminated by thousands of gas and electric lights; men, women and
+children walk forth and back on the soft grass plats; the military band
+plays well-known tunes; Chinese, Parsees, Jews, Hindoos and Arabs, in
+the most varied costumes, mingle with each other and with the Europeans.
+There are plenty of seats for such as wish to sit down and rest; but it
+is now time for exercise, and they walk in rows of ten or more until the
+band winds up its program for the evening by playing "God save the
+Queen." In the midst of a general hurry and confusion we hunt up our
+carriage which was to stop at a certain spot, and return to the
+crossroad from which the roads of Maidan as well as the streets in the
+city may be seen glimmering in the gaslight as far as the eye can reach.
+When we reach home it is just time to dress for dinner, which generally
+begins at eight o'clock, lasting two or three hours. As to fashionable
+life, social pleasure, display of dress and finery, etc., Calcutta
+excels every other place in the world.
+
+[Illustration: PARSEE FAMILY.]
+
+My exequatur not having arrived from London, I had to obtain a special
+recognition from the viceroy as American consul-general, after which my
+formal presentation took place. The Marquis of Ripon was viceroy during
+my stay in India. On presenting my credentials I had a lengthy
+conversation with him, and learned to admire him from that moment. From
+my memorandum book written on that day I quote the following:
+
+  "Lord Ripon is a plain, manly man, whose character, head, and heart
+  would have made him a great man even if he had been born in obscurity,
+  but now he ranks as one of the highest, and is one of the wealthiest
+  of the English nobles. He said, among other things, to me: 'I like
+  America and her people very much. I was there on a commission which
+  tended to make America and England better friends, and all such
+  efforts are well worthy all men (he referred to the Alabama treaty, in
+  which as Earl de Gray he was one of the commissioners). With American
+  and English ideas of liberty it is hard to understand how to rule
+  India. I would educate the natives,' said he, 'even if I believed that
+  it would be dangerous to English power, because it would be right to
+  do so; but I don't think it is dangerous. India has always had a few
+  very able and highly-educated men, while the millions have been in
+  utter ignorance and superstition, and such a condition is more
+  dangerous to English rule than if all are raised in the scale of
+  knowledge. My only object, and I think England's, in India, is to
+  benefit India. Our schools and railroads are doing away with
+  ignorance, and are fast destroying the _caste_ system. Considering the
+  natives as enemies, we must put on a bold front and fear no danger,
+  but be always on the guard.'"
+
+Afterward I became intimately acquainted with this truly noble man, and
+was proud and happy to be counted by him as one of his very few friends
+in India who stood by him when the powerful Anglo-Indian bureaucracy
+turned against him on account of his humane efforts to raise the natives
+socially and politically. Unfortunately for India, she has not had many
+British rulers like Lord Ripon, but most of them, in conjunction with
+the office-holding class, rule India, not for the good of India, but for
+their own interests.
+
+Our British friends are certainly entitled to credit for the audacious
+pluck which they showed when a handful of their soldiers and citizens
+conquered that great country with its innumerable inhabitants. The only
+thing, however, that made it possible to do so, and which makes it
+possible to hold India to-day, is the internal strifes, the jealousies
+and the religious intolerance among the natives themselves. If they were
+united they could free the country from the foreigners in a month. But
+why should they? The country is better governed than ever before, and it
+is gaining fast in progress and prosperity. Still there is a deep hidden
+feeling of ill-will toward the English, and the time will yet come when
+a terrible struggle will be fought in India. Perhaps Russia will have a
+hand in the fight. It will be a bloody, savage war, and will cause Great
+Britain serious trouble. I said that India is better ruled now than ever
+before; but that is not saying much, for it ought to be ruled still
+better and more in the interest of the natives. India has civil service
+with a vengeance, the office-holding class being even more arrogant,
+proud and independent than the titled nobility. They rule the country
+with an iron hand, regard it simply as a field for gathering in enormous
+salaries, and after twenty-five years' service they return to England
+with a grand India pension. The English look down upon the lower classes
+with haughty contempt, chiefly because the latter try to insinuate
+themselves into favor with the former by means of all kinds of flattery.
+Nobody is of any account in India unless he is an officer, either civil
+or military; hence all the best talent is circumscribed within narrow
+office routine limits, and nothing is left for the peaceful industrial
+pursuits except what the government may undertake to do, and that is
+usually confined to railroad and canal improvements. England wants India
+for a market, therefore nothing is done to encourage manufactures, but
+rather to cripple them. With the cheapest and most skilled labor in the
+world, the natives of India are compelled to buy even the cotton
+garments they wear from England though they raise the cotton themselves,
+and England is very careful not to establish a protective tariff 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.
+
+
+I shall now invite my reader to accompany me to the city of Burdwan,
+which is situated about seventy miles north of Calcutta, for the purpose
+of attending an Indian fete to which I was invited shortly after my
+arrival at Calcutta. Burdwan is the name of an old principality (as
+well as of its capital) situated on the great Indian railway. The
+principality of Burdwan is now under the English government, but it has
+its own maharajah, or prince, to whom the English government grants
+certain rights over the people and property of this principality.
+The ruling prince during my stay in India was a young man of about
+twenty-two years. He had a good European education, spoke English well,
+and had, to a great extent, adopted European manners and customs. His
+name was Aftab Chand Muhtab Bahadur. In the beginning of December, 1881,
+he was installed as maharajah of Burdwan by Sir Ashley Eden, at which
+time he came into actual possession of his inherited rights; and this
+event was celebrated by great festivities in the palace and city of
+Burdwan.
+
+The fete which commenced December fifth and closed December tenth was
+celebrated according to a well-chosen program for each day. About fifty
+English civil and military officers with their families were invited as
+guests to the palace. Some of them occupied rooms in the palace, others
+lived in tents pitched in military order in the palace garden, and about
+three hundred Indian guests were lodged in private houses in the city. I
+was the only foreign guest, and was assigned a neat pavilion, built
+partly over an artificial lake in the garden, and the second place of
+honor at all ceremonies--an honor which was, of course, due to the
+republic which I represented.
+
+The palace consisted of several large buildings two or three stories
+high, and several small pavilions, all in Italian style, situated in a
+park or garden of some forty acres, and surrounded by a stone wall
+twelve feet high, with two beautiful porticos. The largest building
+contained the private apartments of the prince, two large parlors, two
+dining halls, a ball room, a billiard room, a library, several picture
+galleries and a large armory,--all of them furnished in the most
+expensive and magnificent style. The floors and stairways were of
+Italian marble, and the walls of the large parlors adorned by huge
+mirrors set in frames inlaid with emeralds, rubies, and other precious
+stones. Sculptures of marble from Italy, of porphyry and alabaster from
+Egypt, and porcelain vases from China, etc., adorned the corridors and
+niches of the halls of the main building.
+
+Another large building was inhabited by the women, among whom the mother
+of the prince is the mistress; but they themselves, as well as the
+interior of their palace, remain concealed from the gaze of the guests.
+Elegant carriages with drivers, servants and grooms in oriental livery,
+caparisoned horses, saddles and bridles shining with gold and silver
+trimmings, were day and night at the disposition of the guests, and at
+his arrival every guest received a small blank book with fifty leaves on
+which to write his name and the kind of refreshment he wished, and
+hundreds of servants dressed in white were always ready to fetch it to
+him in the palace garden, at the race courses, or in the summer houses.
+
+[Illustration: NAUTCH DANCER.]
+
+The festivities and merriments were arranged so that every guest had
+perfect liberty and sufficient time to follow his own taste. The
+following may serve as an illustration:
+
+On Wednesday, December 7th, at half-past seven o'clock, a high school
+was inspected, and the governor of Bengal distributed prizes among the
+scholars; at ten breakfast in the large dining hall; at twelve the
+instalment of the young prince; at two luncheon; at three the opening of
+the races; at half-past seven illumination and pyrotechnics; at eight
+grand dinner; at ten a ball in the palace for the Europeans; and nautch
+dancing and music by native women in a pavilion in the garden.
+
+One day a canal was opened and dedicated. It was twenty miles long, and
+built for the purpose of supplying several cities and country districts
+with an abundance of water. All the streets and roads in and around
+Burdwan were in a splendid condition, wide and macadamized with crushed
+brick. From the railroad station to the palace and two miles beyond to
+two villas, as well as along the principal streets in the city, and
+along all paths and roads in the palace garden, bamboo poles forty feet
+long were erected on both sides, and about forty feet apart. These poles
+were all wrapped in red and white glazed paper, and had flags at the
+top. The poles were connected by lines along which colored glass lamps
+were suspended six inches apart, and these were all lighted at six
+o'clock. I was told that there were over forty thousand such lamps, and
+that it took five hundred men to fill, light, and attend to them. From
+nine to twelve o'clock every night an electric light was beaming from
+one of the palace towers, and Wednesday evening there was a magnificent,
+display of pyrotechnics around an artificial lake about a mile from the
+palace. The latter cost about twenty-five thousand dollars. Its effect
+on men, animals, and the tropical plants was such that a man from the
+North found it difficult to realize that he was still on this earth of
+ours, and not far away in the fairy world of fiction.
+
+[Illustration: COLLEGE BUILDING.]
+
+Reality is so wonderful in India that I have hardly dared to tell the
+following without gradually preparing my reader for it. This young
+prince, whose guest I was and with whom I talked a good deal, is a poor
+foundling, having been adopted by the old prince, who died childless,
+and by the consent of the English government he was made his sole heir.
+His landed estates were so large that he paid two million two hundred
+thousand dollars to the English government in annual taxes on the income
+from his lands! How large his total income is, nobody knows. Inside the
+palace walls, which were protected by a strong body-guard night and day,
+were deep subterranean vaults with secret entrances, where gold and
+jewels were concealed in such quantities as may be imagined only when it
+is remembered that during a period of three hundred years the family has
+been accustomed to accumulate these treasures by at least three "lacs
+rupees," or one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, a year. But during
+the same time millions upon millions of people have starved to death in
+the principality of Burdwan, and even now it is safe to say that
+nine-tenths of the people who cultivate the soil and live on the estates
+of the maharajah and pay him tribute are so poor that they could
+scarcely sustain their life a single month in case of drought or
+inundations.
+
+To describe the whole fete would require a whole book, and I therefore
+select the installation ceremony, which, by the way, was the most
+important of the festivities. It took place in a small mango forest,
+about a mile from the palace. A pleasant country road, decorated with
+banners and spanned by triumphal arches covered with flowers, led to the
+place. A tent pavilion sixty feet long and forty feet wide was erected
+about a hundred yards from the road. The tent was supported by forty
+pillars covered with silver tinsel paper, and the canvas consisted of
+heavy linen woven in many-colored squares, which were about three feet
+each way. The sides of the tent were open, and between each of the outer
+pillars was stationed a Hindoo soldier dressed in shoes, gray stockings,
+black knee breeches, and a red coat, one half of which was embroidered
+with gold and silver, while the head was covered by a red turban richly
+adorned with gold ornaments. These soldiers were gigantic, dark figures,
+armed with curved sabres and long lances. They stood immovable as
+statues, and only the rolling of their flashing eye-balls showed that
+they were living men. At the upper end of the tent was an elevated
+platform with a gilt chair for the governor, and behind this, chairs for
+the European ladies. From the platform to the entrance at the opposite
+end was an aisle, on each side of which were four rows of chairs for the
+guests, all numbered and placed according to their rank. The aisle and
+the walk to the country road were covered with expensive Persian rugs,
+and chamberlains in dazzling costumes conducted the guests from the
+carriages to the seats assigned to them in the tent. The European
+officers were seated on the first row to the right, and the Hindoo
+princes and noblemen on the first row to the left, with the young
+maharajah next to the platform. The other chairs were occupied by Hindoo
+and Mohammedan zemindars (proprietors of landed estates), scholars, and
+dignitaries.
+
+A most splendid display of costumes in satin and velvet in all possible
+colors and fashions, all of them richly adorned with gold and silver
+trimming and embroideries, besides glittering necklaces and diamond
+rings, added brilliantly to the scene. All the natives kept their
+headdresses on, most of them wearing low turbans of colored or white
+silk, ornamented with gold, pearls and gems.
+
+Only the prince of Burdwan and the young prince of Kutch Behar were
+armed, and these only with Damascus cimeters. The prince of Burdwan wore
+a purple satin garment, red silk shoes and a high cap in the shape of a
+crown. His breast, neck, headdress and hands glittered with diamonds and
+rubies. Over this garment he wore a mantle of dark yellow cloth, which
+was very artistically woven, and cost about ten thousand dollars. Most
+of the native nobles distinguished themselves by a stately, military
+bearing, looking both handsome and intelligent. Some of them were very
+dark, but most had about the same complexion as the Spaniards. Jet black
+hair and black, flashing eyes were universal, only a single one having
+dark red hair and beard.
+
+When all had been seated the governor, accompanied by two adjutants and
+several servants, arrived. A guard of honor, consisting of one hundred
+Sepoys, was stationed in front of the tent, and saluted the governor by
+presenting arms, during which the military band played an English
+national tune. Eight huge elephants were arranged in a row between the
+road and the tent; these were covered by rich caparisons adorned with
+heavy gold and silver embroideries, and carrying on their backs small
+pavilions in which richly dressed drivers walked a few steps back and
+forth. At the door of the tent the governor was received by eight
+artistically uniformed aids-de-camp carrying marshal's staffs, silver
+horns, lances and perfumes.
+
+The act of installation was now in order, and was performed in the
+following manner: The maharajah stepped up before the governor and
+received from his hand a parchment roll, by which the queen conferred
+authority. Having read this in a loud and solemn voice, the governor
+hung a chain of diamonds and rubies around the neck of the prince, and
+made a short congratulatory address to him. The minister of finance
+brought a silver basin filled with Indian gold coins, which he handed to
+the governor as an emblem of tribute to the English government. The
+prince now resumed his seat, and two chamberlains brought gold vessels
+on silver trays containing attar of roses, and two others brought spices
+in similar receptacles. The attar of roses was sprinkled over the
+audience, and each one of the native guests received a small quantity of
+spices wrapped in a palm leaf. Finally the band struck up a march, and
+the whole retinue returned to the carriages by the road side and drove
+back to the palace. One of the carriages of the procession was loaded
+with silver coins, which were thrown right and left to the thousands of
+poor and beggars, who crowded the road on both sides. In the evening,
+again, provisions and clothing were distributed to about fifteen
+thousand poor, who had flocked in from all parts of Burdwan, but who had
+not been allowed to enter the city.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+Allahabad--Sacred Places--Kumbh Mela--Pilgrimages--Bathing in the
+  Ganges--Fakirs and Penitents--Sacred Rites--Superstitions.
+
+
+Allahabad means the dwelling of God, and the Hindoos regard it as one of
+the most sacred places of India. It is a city of one hundred and fifty
+thousand inhabitants, and has a strong fortress with an English
+garrison. It is the seat of the government of the north-western
+provinces, and is situated on a point of land between the rivers Ganges
+and Jumna, on the great Indian railroad, about five hundred and
+sixty-five miles from Calcutta, and about the same distance from the Bay
+of Persia.
+
+In a tropical climate where rain seldom falls during nine months of the
+year, it is quite natural that the people regard streams and rivers as
+their greatest benefactors, and by means of the vivid imagination of the
+South this sentiment has occasionally been developed into religious
+worship and idolatry. In this manner the great Ganges, which flows
+nearly through the entire length of India, has, since time immemorial,
+been regarded as sacred, as have also all places where three rivers
+meet. At Allahabad the Jumna meets the sacred Ganges, thus affording two
+of the necessary conditions to make the place sacred, and it was easy
+for the fertile imagination of the Brahmins to create the third, which
+is said to consist in a spiritual current from above, pouring down
+continually at the point where the Jumna and the Ganges meet and
+mingle. It is claimed that this invisible river is very abundant,
+especially in the month of Magh, from the middle of January to the
+middle of February, but the most favorable period in this respect is
+under the astronomical cycle Yuga, which occurs every twelfth year in
+the month of Magh, and is called "Kumbh." This occurred in 1882, which
+was therefore a very important year for the Hindoos.
+
+To bathe in the Ganges always means a spiritual purification, and to
+bathe there where the three rivers meet at Allahabad in the month of
+Magh is a very sacred rite. Every good Hindoo endeavors, if possible, to
+bathe at this place at least once during his lifetime; but to bathe
+there during the Kumbh Mela, or the twelfth year's cycle, is the most
+sacred act a Hindoo can perform, and such a bath is said to atone for
+the greatest sins both of the bather and his nearest relatives, be they
+living or dead. Out of the immense population of India, one hundred and
+ninety millions profess the above faith. Being a very religious people
+in their way, and testifying to their faith by their works, it is no
+great wonder that Allahabad in the course of four weeks was visited by
+nearly two million pilgrims, who came there only for the purpose of
+bathing in the sacred river. Partly from curiosity and partly in order
+to obtain reliable information, I also made a short pilgrimage to this
+place.
+
+[Illustration: INDIAN CART.]
+
+I said that nearly two million people visited Allahabad during the Kumbh
+Mela, which I attended. They came from all parts of India, men and
+women, young and old, but especially the old, of all classes from the
+beggar to the prince, of all castes from the despised coolie to the
+haughty Brahmin. They came on crowded railroad trains, or on elephants,
+camels, horses, asses, in ox-carts and in boats on the rivers, but most
+of them on foot along roads and pathways, across fields and meadows, the
+living ones carrying the ashes of the cremated bodies of their dead
+relatives to throw them in the holy river. Many of them had traveled
+great distances and been on the journey for months. Old men who did not
+expect to return to their homes, but were in hopes of finding a grave in
+the sacred waters, and had said good-bye to everything which bound them
+to life; cripples and invalids expecting to be cured on the banks of the
+Ganges, congregated in large numbers at this sacred place. Fanatical
+penitents came crawling on hands and feet; holy Fakirs had measured the
+way by the length of their own bodies for scores of miles. The penitent
+Fakir who travels in this manner lies down on the ground with his head
+toward the place of destination, makes a mark in the ground in front of
+his head, and crawls forward the length of his body and lies down again
+with the feet where he had his head before; a new mark, another movement
+ahead, etc., and so he keeps on, one length of his body at a time, until
+he reaches the holy river. During this journey the Fakir is surrounded
+and followed by a large concourse of people who furnish him with food
+and drink, and regard him as a saint. There are instances of men having
+traveled over five hundred miles in this manner. Every day and hour the
+crowd was increased by new arrivals, until the river banks, the fields
+and roads swarmed with countless masses,--a most wonderful gathering.
+Thousands of Brahmins offered their services to guide and bless the
+pilgrims, most always for a valuable consideration; thousands of
+peddlers sold small idols, flower wreaths, rosaries, and other sacred
+objects at high prices; others peddled rice, fruit, thin bread and other
+provisions, and thousands of barbers cut the hair and shaved the temples
+of the pilgrims. There, in the shade of some mango trees a Hindoo prince
+had gone into camp with his elephants, horses, soldiers and servants,
+the retinue consisting of about two hundred people; and yonder in the
+shadeless valley is a camp of a thousand or more Fakirs huddled
+together. Many are entirely naked, others are protected by a few yards
+of dirty cotton cloth, most of them sprinkled with ashes or dry clay,
+their faces streaked in gray, red or yellow colors, and the hair done up
+in the shape of a chignon and held together with wet clay; but although
+presenting a picture of dire want in their persons they have in the camp
+a large herd of costly elephants richly adorned with covers of satin and
+velvet embroidered in gold, silver, precious stones and gems, proving
+that their begging has not been in vain.
+
+[Illustration: FAKIRS.]
+
+On the river bank is the headquarters of the pilgrims from one of the
+Southern provinces, and over yonder that of those from the North or
+East. Everywhere is heard the noise of trading and bargaining, of
+greeting and ecstacy, of laughter and astonishment, and of the moaning
+and cries of the sick and suffering--indeed a regular pandemonium.
+
+The February sun already shone scorchingly hot upon the low, shadeless
+valley, the thermometer rising to 90 deg.. In the night, however, it was
+unusually cold for that country, and most of the pilgrims being poor and
+their clothing and food wretched, dangerous diseases began to break out
+among the weak and exhausted. The terrible cholera claimed numerous
+victims every day, many died from weakness and negligence, others again
+perished through accidents on land and water, for nobody seemed to be
+very particular about human life, since death just there was considered
+so very desirable. Along the shores of the river flickered hundreds of
+fires, at which the remains of the dead are burned to ashes and
+scattered into the river by the officiating Brahmins, to the infinite
+edification of the relatives of the dead.
+
+The Hindoos are a very peaceful and loyal people, and willingly submit
+to order and discipline. Thus designated groups were conducted to the
+water at certain times and places, which was highly necessary, as
+otherwise the strong would have trampled down and crushed the weak.
+
+The first ceremony consists in shaving the head, or at least the front
+part of it; the hair which is cut off ought to be offered to the Ganges,
+but the barber smuggles most of it out of the way, to be sold in more
+civilized countries. From the barber the pilgrim is turned over to the
+care of the Brahmin, who leads him down into the river, under the
+following ceremonies: The Brahmin repeats a Sanscrit formula which is
+called "Sankalpa," and which states that "the pilgrim N. N. on the day
+X. of the month Y., and in the year Z., takes his bath in the sacred
+water for the purpose and intention of cleansing himself from all sins
+and frailties," after which the pilgrim immerses himself several times
+under the water and rinses his mouth with a handful of it, after a few
+minutes returning to the shore where he is at once surrounded by
+peddlers who offer him flowers, milk and lean cows or goats for sale at
+an exorbitant price. He always buys the flowers and the milk and offers
+them to the river, and, if he has sufficient money, he buys a cow or a
+goat and offers it to the Brahmin; but if his means are too limited the
+latter must be content with the few coins the pilgrim can spare. Most of
+them, however, have brought a handsome offering to the Brahmin, because
+they regard the duty toward him just as important as the duty toward the
+river god.
+
+Then follows the "Shiadda" ceremony, consisting of an offering of cake,
+sugar, plums and dainties to the ghosts of their deceased relatives;
+next a banquet is spread before the Brahmins, the sacred places of the
+vicinity are visited, offerings are made at most of these, and a present
+called "vidagi" is made to the Brahmin who has attended to the spiritual
+wants of the giver.
+
+And now the object of the long and arduous journey is accomplished, the
+pilgrimage, "tisthayatra," is successfully performed, and the cleansed
+sinner stands ready to begin a new record of sin. He has been plundered
+of his last penny, and, if he succeeds in reaching his distant home,
+his neighbors and friends will look up to him as an exceptionally happy
+being, and his own soul is filled with the hope of temporal and eternal
+bliss.
+
+Those who have reaped the pecuniary benefits of the pilgrimage are the
+Brahmins and Fakirs, the former through offerings and the latter through
+begging. They have filled their coffers and collected large herds of
+cattle, and now they can lead a gay and happy life until the next Mela,
+when they will again try to fan the dying embers of enthusiasm into a
+flame by sending emissaries all over India for the purpose of convincing
+the credulous populace that it is greatly to be feared that the Ganges
+will soon lose its power of salvation, and that therefore as many as
+possible ought to come next time, which may be the last chance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+Benares, the Holy City of the Hindoos--Its Temples and Worshipers--The
+  Sacred Monkeys.
+
+
+Returning from Allahabad I visited Benares, the holy city of India and
+the centre of Hindooism or Brahminism, its religion, art and literature.
+It is situated on an elevation on the east bank of the Ganges about four
+hundred and seventy-six miles from Calcutta. Benares is to the Hindoos
+what Jerusalem was to the Jews, Rome to the mediaeval Christians, and
+what Mecca is to the Mohammedans, and it is visited by thousands of
+pilgrims and penitents every year. The learned men or Pundits of India
+have their academies and gatherings there, and many of its princes and
+nobles have their costly palaces in which they usually spend a few weeks
+every year.
+
+The whole city seems abandoned to sacrificing priests and idolatry in
+its most disgusting forms. There are one thousand four hundred temples
+for idols, and nearly three hundred mosques, besides hundreds of
+shrines, holy graves, wells, trees and other objects of Hindoo worship.
+Benares is a very old city; great and renowned when Babylon and Nineveh
+were competing with each other; when Tyre sent out her colonists; when
+Athens was in her infancy; before Rome existed, and long before
+Nebuchadnezzar had carried the Israelites into captivity.
+
+We are accustomed to look at hoary ruins with reverent interest, and it
+is no wonder that the first sight of the historical monuments of Benares
+made a profound impression on my mind. I felt almost as if transported
+to a time far back in the misty past, and found it difficult to realize
+that I walked the same streets, lanes and market places where the
+Babylonian heralds of war and the ambassadors of Alexander the Great
+were received by the same people whose descendants still inhabit the
+same city, and have retained the same civilization and the same
+institutions through all the intervening centuries.
+
+[Illustration: HINDOO TEMPLES.]
+
+The sun cast its last rays over the memorable city when I had the
+pleasure of seeing it for the first time. At a distance of two miles I
+could see the palaces and temples with their domes, cupolas, and
+minarets merged into a confused mass, and on the summit of the hill
+towered the renowned mosque of Emperor Arungzebes with two minarets, the
+spires of which rise two hundred and fifty feet above the level of the
+Ganges. It was a beautiful oriental picture, the most beautiful I had
+yet seen.
+
+The next morning at sunrise a Mohammedan dragoman or interpreter took me
+down the river in a boat, and in the course of an hour we passed,
+according to the estimate of the interpreter, over twenty thousand
+bathing Hindoos. Every two miles are built ghats, or broad flights of
+steps down to river, some of these being eighty feet high. Along the
+edge of the water Brahmins are squatting about twenty feet apart under
+large sun shades made of palm leaves in the form of an umbrella. These
+Brahmins have a certain inherited right to these little spots where they
+have thus raised their sun shades for the purpose of collecting an
+offering from every bather. Men and women bathe side by side. They all
+go into the water in their thin cotton suits, and everything is
+conducted with order and decorum.
+
+After the bath flowers are offered to the river, and oils and fruits to
+the Brahmin.
+
+A short distance above the edge of the water is an open place for the
+cremation of the bodies of the dead, and on the river close by are
+scores of boats and barges loaded with wood which is cut into small
+sticks and is used for the funeral-pyres. We stopped a few minutes here
+while three corpses were brought on biers. They were covered by a white
+cloth with a red dye-stuff scattered over the chest. The body was first
+immersed in the river and then placed on its pyre, which was kindled by
+the nearest relative of the deceased. After the cremation the ashes were
+scattered on the river by the Brahmin, who, of course, charged a round
+sum for these highly important services.
+
+We next went up the high steps and visited several temples and other
+objects of interest of which I shall give a brief description.
+
+The Hindoo temples are not so large as our churches, but only from
+fifteen to forty feet square, and their style of architecture is
+frequently very pleasing to the eye. They contain no seats or pulpits,
+and the ceremonies consist exclusively of offerings, prayers, and signs.
+People come and go incessantly, there is no silence or devotion, but all
+is noise and turmoil. The Brahmins glide quietly around everywhere and
+watch closely so that no one escapes until he or she has parted with as
+much loose change as possible, and it frequently happens that the
+Brahmin and the worshiper get into a loud quarrel about the fee which
+the latter is to pay for the benediction.
+
+We ascended an eight-foot-wide street paved with large flag stones,
+which were crowded with endless rows of people coming out or going into
+the temples on either side. To some of these a few steps led downward,
+to others upward.
+
+In some of the nooks and niches formed by the outer walls of the temple
+sat peddlers selling ornaments, flowers, fruit, boiled rice, popcorn,
+confectioneries, and small idols, of stone, porcelain, or metal.
+
+[Illustration: DYING BRAHMIN.]
+
+We stepped into the so-called golden temple, dedicated to Bishashar, or
+Shiva, the most prominent deity of Benares. Like most of the temples it
+is built of brick, and has a gray coat of plastering on the outside. It
+has three domes which are covered with colored metal, and the interior
+is divided into three rooms, in each of which is a stone image
+representing the creative principle. The worshipers throw rice and
+flowers at these images, and officiating Brahmins continually pour over
+them water from the Ganges. Within a separate inclosure is a sacred well
+called "Gyan-Bapi," or the well of knowledge, into which the rice and
+the flowers from the images are washed by a continual stream of water.
+Out of this well rises an intolerable stench from the putrefying mass
+which poisons the air in and around the temple, for it is not permitted
+to take these offerings out of the well. Around the well is a colonnade
+of small beautiful pillars, back of which, on the east side, is a
+seven-foot-high stone statue of a bull consecrated to the god of
+Mahadeva.
+
+Another temple is divided into stalls which contain well-fed sacred
+animals, such as bulls, cows, goats and birds, all of which are objects
+of worship of the faithful. This temple was kept more clean than the
+former, but the bellowing of the animals and the jostling and crowding
+of the worshipers made the visit to those deities intolerable.
+
+One of the finest temples in Benares is called "Durga Kund," and is
+devoted to the goddess Durga. It is a large and beautiful pyramidal
+structure with a number of towers and steeples of different sizes, and
+the whole building is adorned with fine works of sculpture, representing
+the sacred animals of Hindoo mythology. Inside the temple, facing a wide
+entrance, stands a large stone statue of Durga with the face of an ape,
+and in front of this is a well into which the faithful throw flowers.
+But the most interesting feature about this temple is the great number
+of monkeys which are kept there. A large, square court surrounds the
+temple, and in this as well as on the steps, floors, pillars, roof and
+walls, inside and outside of the temple itself and in the neighboring
+houses, in the trees, on the streets, in the gardens, in short, wherever
+they can find a footing, there are thousands of gray, yellow, black,
+white and brown monkeys, with all possible monkey physiognomies and
+monkey natures, sitting, lying, jumping, hanging and climbing. They are
+considered sacred and must not be killed, consequently they are
+increasing so fast that if no interdicts are fulminated against them
+they will soon become the ruling element in Benares. And so assiduously
+is this temple visited by well-to-do and generous worshipers that both
+the Brahmins and the monkeys live in affluence and luxury. Incredible as
+it may seem, I have myself seen one crowd of people after another enter
+this temple and prostrate themselves in worshiping the living monkeys as
+well as the ape-faced stone image, and then return home rejoicing
+because the Brahmins have assured them that their worship and offerings
+have opened for them the gates of heaven.
+
+[Illustration: MONKEY TEMPLE IN BENARES.]
+
+In some temples domestic animals are sacrificed by the servants of the
+priests, the blood and the meat being distributed among the priests, the
+intestines and other offal among the poor. In others, butter, oils,
+sweetmeats and rice are offered by first giving the idols a taste in the
+same manner as our children feed their dolls, whereupon the rest is
+consumed by the priests and the people. In several temples are Fakirs or
+saints sitting in unnatural positions with lean limbs and vacant looks,
+and these are also objects of the worship and offerings of the people.
+In other temples are even lewd women, who, by their dancing and singing,
+act as mediators between the people and their angry gods.
+
+As far as these descriptions go, they may be applied to all temples and
+ceremonies, and the chief and absolute universal feature is the question
+of money and other offerings to the Brahmins. All the temples are
+surrounded with beggars who are as importunate as the Brahmins
+themselves, and the whole of it makes the European wish to get away from
+the sacred places of the Orient as soon as possible.
+
+Man Modir, is the name of a remarkable astronomical observatory which
+towers above the temples on the Ganges, close to the place where the
+dead bodies are cremated. It was built two hundred years ago by the
+emperor, Jai Sing, and still remains in well-preserved condition as an
+evidence of the deep astronomical knowledge of the Hindoos at that
+period. It is a large stone building with a flat roof, on which are
+constructed astronomical instruments and figures of brick and mortar of
+gigantic proportions. As examples I shall mention a quadrant which is
+eleven feet high and nine feet wide in the direction of the meridian,
+and is made for calculating the altitude of the sun, and another
+instrument, thirty-six feet long and four and one-half feet high which
+is used in calculating the altitude and distance of a planet or a star
+from the meridian.
+
+Descending from the observatory my attention was called to a large crowd
+of people on a knoll near the river bank. Going over there I found what
+might be called a religious circus attended by thousands of people, in
+the midst of which was a group of Fakirs. Most of them were squatting
+with crossed legs, one arm extended toward the river, and the eyes fixed
+on a certain spot in the water or on the sky. One was squatting on a
+plank through which long sharp nails were driven with their points
+projecting upward over an inch. I counted eight such nails about an inch
+long under each foot. The nails had not caused bleeding wounds, but
+simply made deep indentures in the flesh which must have been very
+painful, at least in the beginning. One Fakir had suspended himself on
+an eight-foot-tall cross, with the head downward, by tieing one of his
+feet to the top of the cross by a cord. Formerly they used to suspend
+themselves by a big iron hook penetrating their muscles, thus swinging
+their bodies back and forth for hours; but this practice is now
+prohibited by the English government. An acrobatic Fakir was turning
+sommersets on a grass mat, and was considered very holy because he could
+twist his limbs as if they had been without bones. Another carried an
+iron cage which was forged around his neck, and which he had carried
+thus for years in order to mortify his flesh. A loathsome dwarf, kept
+in an iron cage, was blessing the admiring crowd, several dancing girls
+gave animation to the scene by singing and dancing, some Brahmins were
+exhibiting a sacred bull, others sacred monkeys, and liberal offerings
+were made everywhere by the enraptured pilgrims. Such are the religious
+ceremonies in the sacred city of India.
+
+[Illustration: FAKIR WITH IRON CAGE.]
+
+During my stay in Benares I visited one of the most remarkable ruins in
+the world, situated six miles from the sacred city. It is the remnants
+of two large and tall towers built of brick and cut stone, about three
+thousand years ago. These towers were closely connected with the history
+of Buddha, one of them, according to tradition, being his dwelling and
+the other his place of worship. This was formerly the site of a great
+city, called Sarnath.
+
+[Illustration: TOWER OF SARNATH.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+Nimtoolaghat--Cremation in India--Parsee Funeral Rites.
+
+
+India is the only country in the world where the civilization of the
+East and that of the West are found side by side with equal rights and
+equal chances of a free and full development. For, although the English
+have conquered, and at present rule the country, they have respected the
+peculiar customs and manners of the Hindoos, and guaranteed them liberty
+to practice the same and to develop their social and religious
+institutions in so far as they do not conflict with the generally
+acknowledged principles of humanity.
+
+Accordingly in Calcutta and other cities in India we frequently find a
+stately Christian church side by side with a Hindoo temple with its
+officiating priests. On one side of the street we may see a fine
+European residence filled with guests around the dinner-table, eating,
+chatting, and toasting just as at home, and on the other a Hindoo villa,
+where turbaned Brahmins, in a squatting posture, eat their rice or smoke
+their hokah, while extolling the merits of their juggernaut. At popular
+meetings and fetes European lords, bishops, officials, and ladies are
+often seen engaged in a friendly conversation with Hindoo princes, or
+learned pundits, Mohammedan warriors, Persian, Armenian or Jewish
+merchants. On the streets and promenades the European carriage and the
+Hindoo palanquin are seen side by side; in Calcutta there are scores of
+high schools and academies on the European plan, and close to these
+again others where young students in oriental costumes and turbaned
+heads, squat before a half-naked Brahmin, seeking wisdom and knowledge
+from the works of the Vedas or Shastras.
+
+It is therefore not surprising that in the very harbor where American
+and European flags are waving from hundreds of mast-heads lies
+Nimtoolaghat, a Hindoo place of cremation, from which the whole day long
+dense clouds of smoke arise, scattering the vapors of burning human
+bodies. It is a large brick building which is divided into two
+apartments by a brick wall. The apartment which is next to the street is
+covered by a roof, but the one next to the harbor is open at the top.
+The floor is made of clay, excepting the spots under the funeral pyres,
+where it consists of large flagstones. I have often stood at this place,
+and it always seemed to me that our cemeteries with their monuments,
+grass plots, trees, and flowers are dear places which, to some extent,
+reconcile man to stern death, while here everything seemed dead and
+hopeless. I will describe for the reader what I saw at one of my visits
+to this place of desolation. On the flagstones in the roofless apartment
+were six separate pyres, two of which were already reduced to ashes when
+I entered, two others were about half consumed by the fire, only a few
+bones being visible among the fire-brands; but on each of the other two
+was a naked corpse, the outside of which was scorched by the flames,
+while blood and water were slowly oozing out of mouth and nostrils,
+while the burning flesh hissed and sputtered where the heat was most
+intense, so that the whole presented a shocking sight. A score of
+half-naked Brahmins were busy around the pyres muttering prayers and
+making signs over the dead, while the nearest relatives walked around
+the corpses uttering cries of lamentation. Particularly violent was the
+grief of a young woman whose mother had just been laid upon the pyre,
+deep sorrow and heart-rending lamentations testifying to the love she
+had borne the deceased.
+
+[Illustration: NIMTOOLAGHAT--PLACE OF CREMATION.]
+
+Now the fine-split wood is piled up into a new pyre about six feet long,
+two feet wide, and two and one-half feet high, and four men bring the
+corpse of a man on a bier. It is covered with a white sheet, which is
+taken away, so as to leave only a small piece of cloth covering the
+corpse. This is the body of a Fakir, a stately man with fine features,
+and past the prime of life. As soon as the body is placed on the pyre,
+two Brahmins pile fine-split wood around and over it so that only the
+face is visible. Then comes the eldest son of the deceased and rubbing
+the face with fresh butter lays several lumps of it on the pyre. He then
+walks three times around the corpse and lights with a fire-brand a whisk
+of straw in his father's pyre. The fire spreads rapidly through the dry
+wood. The melting butter flows through it, the flames roar and crackle,
+and the dead body makes writhing muscular motions under the influence of
+the fire, the skin bursting open in several places, and a thin fluid
+trickling out which adds fuel to the flames. The face shrinks and
+vanishes under our eyes, an unpleasant smell of burnt flesh permeates
+the air, and in a little while all is over, and the Brahmins gather the
+ashes and scatter them on the waters of the sacred Ganges.
+
+Who can wonder that a stranger, witnessing such a ceremony, experiences
+in his own breast questions and surmises such as these: Is this, then,
+all? Where is the Fakir who mortified his body by all kinds of torture,
+who struggled and suffered in order to become acceptable to the gods?
+Was there nothing more than that shell, consumed before our eyes? Is the
+man who spent half of his life-time gazing into the boundless realm of
+space and yearning and longing for the unknown, the infinite, no longer
+in existence? Was his longing only a mockery, or was it a foreshadowing
+of that which is to come? What would life be if all terminated in the
+pyre or in the grave? To what purpose, then, all noble endeavors, whose
+aim and object only relate to the uncertain future? The deepest
+premonitions of the human soul, and the most beautiful hopes of the
+heart, how far are these from the thought that all our feelings, our
+loftiest ambitions,--in one word the best part of our being,--can be
+annihilated in a crematory! The Fakir whose body was now reduced to
+ashes had lived in the faith of his immortality, had worshiped the
+deities of his people, because he knew no better, but was he on that
+account less welcome in the everlasting mansions?
+
+Formerly the wife was burned alive on the pyre of her husband, but this
+practice has been abolished by the English government, although it is
+still said to be adhered to secretly in the interior of the country.
+That woman is considered very fortunate who can enjoy the privilege of
+"sati," that is, be burned alive on the funeral pyre of her husband, for
+thereby she secures unquestionable happiness in the next world. So
+strongly can religious enthusiasm, even in our days, influence a
+sensible and civilized people. We generally suppose cremation in India
+to be an imposing ceremony, such as a great pyre, intense heat, which
+keeps a devout congregation at a proper distance, etc. Such is not the
+case, however; for, leaving out the mourning relatives, it may better be
+compared with the hilarious soldiers around the camp-fire roasting the
+booty of a nightly raid,--a shote or a quarter of beef.
+
+An entirely different mode of burial is used among the Parsees, who are
+descendants of the ancient Persians, and live in the western part of
+India where they were driven from Iran by the Mohammedans. They profess
+the religion of Zoroaster and are fire-worshipers. They regard the
+earth, air, water and fire as sacred objects, but a corpse, on the
+contrary, as something unclean, and therefore they would not pollute the
+fire by burning the dead, nor soil the earth or the sea by burying them.
+In place of this they expose the dead bodies in the open air to be
+devoured by birds of prey. For this purpose are erected towers of stone,
+on the top of which are iron grates to put the bodies on. In one of the
+suburbs of Bombay are three such towers on Malabar hill. They are called
+"The Towers of Silence." Each of them has only one entrance, and they
+are about twenty feet high. Large flocks of ravens and vultures surround
+them sitting on branches of the palm trees in the vicinity. As soon as a
+corpse is exposed there is a fierce rush for it, and within an hour the
+birds have consumed everything except, of course, the bones, which drop
+down into a vault under the tower, or are thrown there by means of tongs
+held by gloved servants, who afterward clean themselves by bathing and
+change of clothing.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Having given a sketch of the divine worship, religious rites and
+sacrificial feasts of the Hindoos, I shall now call the attention of the
+reader to a brief description of their religion and spiritual culture in
+general.
+
+"In the hoary past India had mighty religious leaders and authors who
+laid claim to divine authority. Religious systems were announced, and
+voluminous, erudite verses were published for the guidance of the
+people, or rather the Brahmins or priests, which writings are still the
+Bibles of the Hindoos. The most important of these books are called
+'Vedas,' 'Shastras,' and 'Puranas.' The lively imagination of the
+authors and the religious enthusiasm of the people were not content with
+a few deities, therefore their number has been increased from time to
+time, until they now amount to thirty-three million gods and goddesses.
+The most important of the former are Brahma, Visnu and Shiva, and of the
+latter Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. The former are worshiped as the
+creating, preserving and destroying powers, and from these three all the
+others have originated; at first considered as representatives of
+certain attributes and principals of the three chief deities, but later
+as independent, individual deities. Many of these gods are represented
+by images and pictures, which originally the whole people, but at
+present only the learned, regard merely as representations of certain
+divine principals and attributes. Later on these were put in the place
+of the things which they represented, so that the stone image, the
+river, the tree, or the animal is regarded as the god himself by the
+ignorant multitude.
+
+"According to the Hindoo doctrine of creation the earth rests on the
+back of a tortoise, and the human race was originally created members of
+four different classes or castes. Thus the class or caste distinction of
+India is closely incorporated with its religion, and shows that the
+priests have been very shrewd in founding a religious system which
+secured for themselves not only salvation after death, but, above all,
+an abundance of the good things of this world. Brahma was from the
+beginning, and from him emanated Vishnu and Shiva. Thereafter Brahma
+created first water, then the earth, then from out of his head a man who
+was the _Brahmin_, and became the chief of the caste of priests, or the
+highest class. After this he let a _Kshatriya_ issue from out of his
+arms, a _Vaisya_ from his loins and a _Sudra_ from his feet, and which
+became respectively the progenitors of the three other castes, the
+warriors, the craftsmen and merchants, and the common laborers. These
+castes have gradually been divided into many subdivisions, but the four
+principal ones still remain with all their rigid distinctions. Through
+certain misdemeanors, which may be very insignificant, a person
+belonging to a higher may be degraded to a lower caste, but one of a
+lower caste can never rise to a higher, not even by the most meritorious
+achievements."
+
+Of all the cruel chains by which tyrants have fettered men, none has
+been a more formidable enemy of liberty or a greater impediment to human
+progress than this dreadful system of caste. It has stifled all noble
+efforts, all brotherly love and humane feelings; it has plunged the
+people into superstition, indifference and ignorance; it has doomed
+ninety-nine hundredths of the myriads of India to the most cruel
+slavery, in body and in soul; it has placed locks and fetters on the
+human mind and branded the infant in its mother's womb to infamy and
+execration; and, the worst of all, it has stifled all incentive to
+progress and development. It has smothered many noble feelings, and
+taught men to hate and despise each other; and so strong is the class
+distinction of this system that a good Hindoo of our day would a
+thousand times rather die of thirst or hunger than take a glass of water
+or a piece of bread from a person of a lower caste. Like other evils it
+has also been a curse to its authors, the Brahmins themselves, by
+lulling the great majority of them into ignorance and indifference. For
+why should they take the trouble to study or work when the whole world
+with its joys, pleasures and honors is open to them anyway? Space does
+not allow discussing this matter more fully, hence I will simply cite
+some of the doctrines which the Brahmins claim to have found in the
+divine books, and which the people still regard as sacred:
+
+"Whoever disturbs a Brahmin during his religious contemplations shall
+lose his life; if a person of a lower caste sits down on the mat of a
+Brahmin, his back shall be burned with red-hot irons; if he touches the
+hair, beard or neck of a Brahmin, the judge shall order both his hands
+to be cut off; if he listens to evil reports about the Brahmins, molten
+lead shall be poured into his ears; if he does not arise when a Brahmin
+approaches, he will be changed into a tree after death; if he casts an
+angry look at a Brahmin the god Yama shall pluck out his eyes. The
+Shastras teach that a gift to a Brahmin is of incalculable value to the
+giver. Whoever gives a Brahmin a cow shall gain a million years of bliss
+in heaven, and whoever wishes success in anything must fete the
+Brahmins and wash their feet. Whoever bequeathes land or other valuable
+property to the Brahmins on his death-bed immediately receives
+forgiveness of sins and the greatest bliss in heaven. To drink the water
+in which a Brahmin has washed his feet and to lick the dust from under a
+Brahmin's feet are works of great merit for the life which is to come.
+No one but a Brahmin is allowed to give religious instruction, and all
+offerings to the gods must be brought to the Brahmin, because no
+ceremony will avail anything unless it is accompanied by an offering to
+them. Therefore a multitude of ceremonies have been introduced by the
+Brahmins in order that their coffers may be well filled. I will name a
+few of those ceremonies which relate to everybody's life and death, and
+which cannot, therefore, be neglected.
+
+"As soon as a mother knows she has conceived, a Brahmin must be sent for
+to read certain formulas; when the child is born a Brahmin must be
+called for the same purpose, also when it is a week, six months, two
+years and eight years old, and again when the young people are to be
+married; in all cases of sickness, at the death-bed, at the cremation of
+the body, and every month the first year after a person's death; and at
+each one of these visits the Brahmin is entitled to money or other
+gifts. Also if a family is subject to any misfortune the Brahmin must be
+called to conjure the evil powers; if a bird of prey alights on the
+roof, the owner of the house must call a Brahmin to purify the house by
+his blessing; when he moves into a new house the Brahmin must bless it
+beforehand; when a man dies on an _unlucky day_ his son must pay the
+Brahmin money to ward off a similar calamity from him; when a well is
+dug a Brahmin must bless it before its water can be used; during
+eclipses of the sun and the moon everybody sends gifts to the Brahmins;
+at every change of the moon the Brahmin is entitled to gifts as well as
+on forty regular holidays every year; during small-pox or cholera
+ravages he is called to ward off the plague; the farmer cannot reap his
+grain, the fisherman cannot go to sea, the merchant cannot make a
+bargain unless he has bought the blessing of the Brahmin and paid for
+the same."
+
+And still the Hindoos possess a high culture, and their civilization is
+one of the oldest in the world. They are endowed with a strong religious
+feeling. They are profound, peaceful, diligent, economical and law
+abiding; many of them have become distinguished in learning, art and
+science; they have been the teachers of the philosophers and scholars of
+other nations, and for thousands of years they have pondered deeply on
+questions pertaining to the human soul, immortality and the life to
+come, and endeavored to satisfy their craving and yearning for a closer
+union with the infinite by a devotion and self sacrifices which can well
+be compared with the sufferings of the Christian martyrs. Accordingly if
+any people could attain a higher development and a happy condition by
+other means than the influence of the Christian religion, that people
+ought to be the Hindoos. Yet, after all their struggles, we now find
+them on a lower level than they were thousands of years ago. What a
+picture! All these millions of civilized, peaceful, diligent, sensible
+people bend their knees before thirty-three millions of disgusting
+images and pictures, and among all this people, in all their thirty
+thousand cities there was not a hospital for the sick, not an asylum for
+the blind or deaf, not a home for lepers or insane, not one voice saying
+to the lowly and the poor: "Thou art my brother."
+
+Then came Buddha, the great reformer, preaching the religion of self
+denial and human love. The old petrified social fabric and religion were
+shaken to their foundation, and the system of caste was on the verge of
+dissolution. Under the first wave of enthusiasm caused by the teachings
+of Buddha, hospitals for the sick and asylums for the poor were
+established. Every fifth year the Buddhistic kings gave away their
+riches, not only to the monks but also to the poor, to the orphans and
+outcasts, and even asylums for sick animals were established. But
+Brahminism soon avenged itself by bloody wars, Buddhism was to a large
+extent driven out of India, and gradually its noble principles were
+forgotten. Nearly the same condition as that which prevailed before the
+Buddhistic reformation again prevailed, until the Christian civilization
+quite recently began to make itself felt through the practical measures
+introduced by the English government. Woman without liberty, without
+human worth, and almost without virtue; the countless many oppressed and
+despised by the privileged few, and not even allowed to read a religious
+book at the risk of eternal damnation; one of the greatest and mightiest
+nations on earth, discordant within itself, divided into different
+hostile classes; the one suspicious, envious, and full of hate toward
+the other, all of them humiliated, conquered, and ruled by a few
+strangers,--the English,--whose forefathers were savages a thousand
+years after the period when the Hindoos possessed the highest
+civilization of antiquity.
+
+The cause of this deplorable condition is clear enough to those who have
+grown up under the influence of Christian civilization. With all its
+studies, all its wisdom, all its genius, and all its religious
+contemplation, this people have neglected or spurned the simple truths
+on which the Christian civilization is founded,--love and charity: "Thou
+shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."--"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto
+one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me,"--these
+beautiful principles are not found in the Hindoo Bibles, and,
+consequently, not in their acts and lives.
+
+But a happier day has dawned on India. The star of Bethlehem is seen at
+the horizon. A new light is kindled which shall soon lead the people out
+of the ancient darkness to a true and happy condition. And, strange
+enough, the youngest of the nations,--America,--is foremost in
+missionary work among the oldest, and next to the Americans are the
+Scotch, the English, the French, the Germans, the Belgians; and even
+good old Sweden has one or two mission fields there where the results
+are as yet rather meager; but in the course of time this work, too, will
+undoubtedly bear golden fruits, for just as surely as people and races
+are to continue, just as surely shall the simple doctrine which the
+great Master taught be spread and accepted among them all, because it is
+the only one by which the nations can reach their true destiny.
+
+[Illustration: KESHUB-CHUNDER-SEN.]
+
+A remarkable attempt at reformation in the spirit of Christianity has
+been made in our day by a native Hindoo, the late Keshub-Chunder-Sen,
+the founder of the society, Brahmo Somaj in Calcutta, whose object was
+to introduce the Christian civilization in all its better forms. One day
+I went to hear a lecture by this renowned Hindoo prophet and teacher,
+which afforded me one of the most pleasant and instructive hours in my
+life. The great hall contained an audience of nearly three thousand
+people, consisting chiefly of persons of influence and high rank, among
+the cultured Hindoos of the capital. The speaker was listened to with
+the greatest attention and respect, and the impression he made could not
+but be beneficial and lasting. I sat very close to the speaker, and took
+pains to notice his ways and manners while speaking to the large
+audience. His bearing in the pulpit made a remarkable impression,
+especially when, under the influence of some absorbing and transporting
+thought, his body was stretched out to its full height, and seemed to
+grow by the glow of inspiration. He was at that time a man of about
+forty-five years of age, of robust health, of symmetrical proportions,
+and with a face which beamed with intelligence and enthusiasm. The fame
+of this man is not limited to his native land, for even in Great
+Britain, where he spent several months a few years ago, he is very
+highly respected by thinking men and women of all classes who are
+devoted to the progress and improvement of mankind, and in his own
+country he is almost idolized. His faith, as far as formulated in
+definite language, coincides with that of the Unitarians of America,
+although he called it unitrinitarian, _i.e._, he believed in one God,
+the Creator of the world and the father of all men; and also in Christ
+and the Holy Spirit as revelations of the divine, which is one but not
+as three different persons in the deity. He believed that the
+propagation of true religion in the world has been greatly impeded by
+what he called the idolatry which in Christian countries has grown up
+around the human person of Jesus Christ, manifested as in the flesh, and
+he begged the missionaries who came to India not to confuse the minds of
+the Hindoos by any such idea as a deity consisting of three different
+persons; polytheism had been the curse of India from time immemorial.
+
+Such are the main features of the teaching of this reformer which seem
+to promise a better time for the oppressed people of India. Later I
+became more intimately acquainted with him, and he had intended to visit
+America in my company, but was taken sick shortly before I left India,
+and died a couple of months thereafter.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Having received all its tributaries on its course from the Himalaya
+Mountains through Central Hindustan, the Ganges has now swelled to such
+vast proportions that it cannot keep its volume of water within one
+regular channel through the level, soft soil of the Hindoo Peninsula,
+but flows into the ocean by several independent channels. One of these
+which is called the Hoogley, and has been mentioned already, is at
+Calcutta, about eighty miles from the sea, as broad as the united
+Missouri and Mississippi at St. Louis, and still the eastern half of it,
+close to the city, is so crowded with ships, barges and boats for a
+distance of six miles that it requires great care and skill at the helm
+to navigate safely.
+
+On Jan. 2, 1882, the Calcutta rowing club had arranged a race between
+Barrackpoor and Serampoor, to which four hundred guests, including
+myself had been invited. Two large and ten smaller river steamers, all
+adorned with flowers and waving flags, lay around the pier between the
+Hoogley and the Nimtoolaghat waiting for us. Other steamers packed with
+natives, and Indian river boats with their half-naked rowers, crowded
+around the little flotilla, partly from curiosity, partly in order to
+sell flowers, garlands and fruits to the guests. On the river bank were
+thousands of Hindoos and Mohammedans sitting or standing, in white
+clothes. Here and there was a penitent Fakir, bareheaded, his half-naked
+body partly covered with ashes, his eyes riveted on a point at the
+horizon or on the water, without being in the least disturbed by the
+noise and the festivity. From Nimtoolaghat a dozen small clouds of smoke
+were seen ascending uniting into one column of smoke, above the roofless
+building. A number of unkempt, half-naked Brahmins were carrying ashes
+and bones of cremated bodies from the crematory down to the river.
+Stately carriages with murky coachmen and fore-runners in white garments
+arrived in long lines at the pier with the guests of the day. When all
+were on board, the steamers whistled, the band struck up "God save the
+Queen," and the little flotilla steamed up the river amid merry chatting
+and deafening hurrahs.
+
+[Illustration: STEAMER ON THE GANGES.]
+
+We first passed hundreds of Indian river boats from twenty-five to
+seventy-five feet long, with roofs supported by bamboo poles and loaded
+with grain, cotton, fruit, jute, goats, etc. The crews consisted of men,
+women and children who live on these river boats for years. They take
+advantage of the tides in going up or down the river, and also use a
+broad oar in the prow of the boat.
+
+[Illustration: RIVER BOAT.]
+
+On the west side of the river lies the manufacturing city Howrah, with
+the largest railroad depot in India, and dock-yards extending about two
+miles. On the east bank, a short distance above Calcutta are immense
+warehouses and hydraulic presses for preparing jute, a kind of hemp. The
+largest of these employs three thousand workmen day and night, and
+belongs to a Greek firm, Rally Brothers, who are said to have the
+greatest mercantile establishment existing. They own branch houses in
+thirty-six of the largest commercial cities of the world.
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE ON THE RIVER BANK.]
+
+[Illustration: WATER CARRIER.]
+
+Amid the happy strains of music we passed up the river. Stately palm
+trees in small groups rose above the surrounding groves, villages,
+temples and houses, while the dense foliage of other kinds of trees hung
+down the river banks wherever they were allowed to grow. Many of these
+bore flowers resembling tulips, acacias, jasmines, etc. Birds of the
+most gorgeous colors, but poor songsters, were flitting and hopping
+about among the branches; vast numbers of small, white cows and oxen
+were being herded by children on the meadows between the rice fields
+along the river, and at intervals of about two miles were temples
+consecrated to Hindoo gods. These temples were of a beautiful style and
+of perfect symmetry. Toward the river was an open portico. From this a
+flight of steps led down to the water. This was a Hindoo bathing place,
+where the holy water was taken. Just then a number of women were seen on
+the steps fetching water in clay jars, somewhat similar to the one
+Rebecca used at the well. These jars are carried either on the head or
+on the left hip. On either side of the portico, but from fifty to a
+hundred feet to the rear, stood the temples proper, in rows, facing the
+river, generally six on either side, with an eight to twelve-foot-wide
+path between each temple. The temples are about sixteen feet square,
+with a pointed roof surmounted by a round cupola. They are made of
+brick, with a coating of white plaster on the outside; there are no
+windows, and only one door, opening on the river side. Inside this door
+is a niche in which the idol is placed. Only the Brahmins are allowed to
+enter these temples; wherefore the common heathen has to content himself
+with simply looking at the god from the outside; the Christians also are
+generally kept at a respectful distance.
+
+Here and there along the banks of the river nestle rustic villages, the
+houses of which are generally square, and from sixteen to twenty feet on
+the sides, with pointed thatched roofs. The walls are of bamboo poles,
+interwoven with grass mats or plastered with mortar. There are no
+wooden floors, no furniture, and the only utensils are a few bowls of
+clay for cooking, baking vessels of brass, some straw mats spread on the
+clay floor to sleep on during the night. The country is low and flat,
+and during the wet season, which lasts from July to October, destructive
+inundations are quite frequent.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE HOUSES.]
+
+Our steamers soon approached Barrackpoor, a garrisoned city on the east
+bank of the river. This place, which is one of the summer residences of
+the viceroy, has a very beautiful park, where there are several samples
+of the remarkable banyan or sacred fig-tree. From the branches of the
+tree certain shoots grow downward, and when they reach the ground they
+strike root and grow into new trunks, so that one and the same tree
+finally covers a vast space of ground, and looks like a pillared hall.
+In the park at Barrackpoor may be seen one of these trees, large enough
+to cover one thousand men. On the west side of the river, directly
+opposite, lies the old city of Serampoor, which formerly belonged to
+Denmark, but was taken by the English in the beginning of this century,
+and now has only a few inscriptions and documents which remind us of the
+Danish period.
+
+[Illustration: BANYAN TREE.]
+
+In the river, midway between these cities, a gigantic government barge
+was anchored. On this occasion it was covered with canvas, and served as
+a dining room where a tiffin, or lunch, for four hundred persons was
+served. Our steamers anchored, and we sat down at the sumptuous tables.
+A band of forty pieces from a Sepoy regiment garrisoned at Barrackpoor
+struck up an English march, the champagne bottles popped, and all was
+life and joy. After lunch we witnessed six different boat races, all
+between Englishmen, and, the prizes having been awarded, the whole
+company walked on foot about a mile through a fine park to the railway
+station, whence a special train carried the excursionists back to
+Calcutta.
+
+After a summer of eight months in the Bengal lowlands with a constant
+temperature of 90 deg. to 100 deg. Fahrenheit in the shade, fresh breezes and
+cool air become luxuries more keenly enjoyed than those who live in a
+more temperate climate can conceive. To benefit by both I made a short
+journey in October, 1882, to the celebrated Himalaya mountains, among
+which the city of Darjieling is situated. The train on the Bengal
+railroad carried us about three hundred miles in a northerly direction
+through a level lowland teeming with gardens, palm groves and rice
+fields, to Siligori, at the foot of the mountains, where we arrived in
+the morning at sunrise. Having enjoyed a good breakfast and a bottle of
+Norwegian export beer at the railway eating house, we were transferred
+to a train on the Darjieling & Himalaya railroad to be carried up seven
+thousand feet high in a distance of forty-two miles.
+
+This mountain railroad is so different from all other railroads that it
+deserves a special description. It is narrow gauged in the fullest sense
+of the word, the distance between the rails being only two feet. The
+cars are very small and low, and the wheels are about twelve inches in
+diameter. The car is ten feet long and six feet wide, and contains four
+seats, each of which accommodates four persons; it is open on the sides
+so that passengers can get on and off easily and have an open view. The
+locomotive is no larger than the cars, but powerful enough to pull ten
+or twelve of them up the mountain at the rate of eight or ten miles an
+hour. Nowhere is the track straight even for a distance of a couple of
+hundred yards, but it winds right and left in the most fantastic manner,
+and reminded me strikingly of the lines described in one of the old
+country dances.
+
+The signal is given, the pigmy locomotive puffs and sputters, the train
+with its load of humanity rolls away up hills and mountains and across
+awful chasms, up, up, up; hour after hour, with a grade of one to
+eighteen and twenty-eight, or on an average of twenty-three feet. It
+winds along the rugged mountain side, over awful chasms, and with such
+short curves that one's hair stands on end when looking down or up the
+steep cliffs, the summits of which tower above the clouds. A loose stone
+rolling down, a broken rail, or a derailment would immediately hurl the
+iron horse with its cars and human lives thousands of feet down to the
+bottom of the abyss, and reduce the whole to an unrecognizable wreck.
+Beautiful trees, grass, flowers, creeping plants adorn hills and vales
+except in the ravines and cliffs, where foaming creeks and cataracts
+have torn away the vegetation by tumultuously tossing themselves from
+rock to rock, from cliff to cliff, from valley to valley, gradually
+uniting in the rivers that continually feed the mighty Ganges.
+
+The track follows a twenty-five-foot-wide driveway, the most part of
+which is hewn out of the solid rock, and on this highway may be seen the
+mountaineers from Nepaul and Thibet driving large numbers of pack
+animals (ponies and cattle) carrying products of Europe and America into
+and beyond the mountains to the peoples of northern Asia. Here and there
+on the green hills are the best tea plantations of India. These long,
+low, white buildings are the residences and factories of the planters,
+and close by are the dwellings of the native laborers, consisting of
+long rows of thatched huts, and in terraces along the steep hills are
+endless rows of tea bushes, among which laborers dressed in picturesque
+costumes of gay colors are busy picking tea, advancing in irregular
+lines--resembling the skirmish lines of an army. This picture is at
+first seen against the horizon, so far up that the men can scarcely be
+distinguished from the bushes, and a couple of hours later the same
+picture may be viewed far down in a deep valley.
+
+After awhile at the head of a long valley appear lofty, white objects
+whose summits rise far up above the mist and the clouds; it is the
+highest peaks of the Himalaya mountains, from sixty to one hundred miles
+distant. Thus the journey is continued up the mountains until the train
+finally stops at Darjieling, which is one of the most noteworthy places
+in the world. It is a sanitarium, and the summer residence of the
+government of Bengal, and during the hot season makes a favorite resort
+for many of the Hindoo nobles and princes as well as Europeans. The city
+has a few thousand inhabitants, the majority of whom are Thibetan and
+Nepaul mountaineers. There we see the Christian church, the Mohammedan
+mosque and the Hindoo temple in close proximity to each other, and on
+the streets one may often meet Catholic monks carrying the crucifix,
+and Llamas or Thibetan priests in long, brown felt mantles, turning
+their praying-wheel, which consists of an artistically made machine of
+silver, in which are engraved the following words: "Rum mahnee padme
+hang," which means, "Hail thee, jewel and lotus flower," or "Glory to
+God."
+
+[Illustration: PALACE AND TEMPLE IN THE HIMALAYAS.]
+
+Residences, churches, hotels and all public and private buildings lie in
+a semi-circle on the western slope of one of the mountains, offering a
+very fine picture. Excellent roads are built in zigzag form up and down
+over hills and mountains. There are scarcely any carriages but a kind of
+palanquin called dandies, and small ponies which are so sure-footed that
+they can climb up and down the mountains like goats. Both men and women
+ride these or are carried by three strong bearers from Thibet.
+Darjieling is elevated eight thousand feet above the level of the sea,
+and at this place black clouds may often be seen sweeping along the
+western side far below one's feet. The air is so clear, fresh and
+salubrious that it seems to infuse new strength, vitality and almost new
+life. It impels either to activity or to sleep; it is impossible to sit
+still or be mentally inactive. The view of the landscape below is
+claimed to be the most beautiful in the whole world. Beneath the
+terraces on which we walk are seen smiling valleys, one below another,
+away down far into the plains of Bengal, variegated by rivers, forests,
+cities and many-colored fields, and far away to the distant north
+against the blue horizon, one great mountain rises above and beyond
+another, capped with eternal crowns of snow high up among the restless
+clouds--twenty thousand feet higher than Darjieling, and twenty-nine
+thousand feet above the sea,--over five miles in height.
+
+The loftiest peaks are Kinchinjunga forty-five miles, and Mount Everest,
+sixty miles distant from Darjieling. It is claimed that these peaks can
+be seen for a distance of three hundred miles in clear weather. There
+these mighty giants stand clad in snowy garbs, like sentinels at the
+portals of infinite space, seemingly belonging more to heaven than to
+earth. No wonder that the Hindoos look at them with solemn awe, for cold
+and insensible to beauty and grandeur must he be, who does not, at this
+sight, feel his own littleness and the inconceivable greatness of the
+creator.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+The cholera has its home proper in India, and breeds in the Bengal
+lowlands after the rainy season, which closes in the fall. Its ravages
+are most pronounced in the month of December, but cases are quite
+frequent the whole year round. During my second year's sojourn in India
+it was very violent in December, but I would scarcely have known of it
+at all if my official duties had not made it incumbent on me to report
+from the board of health of India to that of the United States at
+Washington. Now and then I was reminded of the existence of the malady
+by the sudden deaths of my acquaintances. On three different occasions I
+enjoyed a pleasant evening entertainment in company with a number of
+friends, one of whom was not only dead, but even buried before the next
+morning.
+
+Although India is ravaged by different deadly diseases, especially a
+kind of fever of which people die after one or two days' sickness;
+still, disease and death are scarcely ever mentioned among
+Anglo-Indians. They don't like to talk about such unpleasant things. A
+friend is suddenly and unexpectedly snatched away from social circles,
+but his death is seldom or never mentioned, just as if a secret and
+united agreement of taciturnity had been entered into by the survivors.
+Once I was invited to dine at the table d'hote of the officers at the
+military station Dum-Dum, a few miles from Calcutta. I drove out there
+in the evening, and at eight o'clock I had dinner in company with about
+forty officers, the majority of whom belonged to the Scotch frontier
+regiment. Col. Chapman, one of the party, was a jolly old Scotch warrior
+and Lieut.-Col. Hill was my host. After a splendid dinner such as India
+alone can offer, the company grouped themselves around several
+whist-tables according to the custom in the higher circles among the
+English. Col. Chapman was my partner, and we parted company at one
+o'clock. I accompanied Lieut.-Col. Hill to his villa, and retired for
+the night. At eight o'clock the next morning he entered my room with the
+sad news that he was just returning from the funeral of Col. Chapman.
+The stern old warrior who returned unscathed from twenty battle-fields
+was attacked by the cholera at two o'clock, died at four o'clock, and
+was buried at six o'clock. Such is life in India.
+
+At the foot of the Himalayas is a very extensive territory called Teraj.
+Its soil is very fertile and adapted for tea culture. The whole
+territory is covered with timber, bushes and other plants, which, with
+the exception of certain cultivated portions, form an impenetrable
+jungle, affording a natural resort for tigers, leopards, and other wild
+beasts. The lofty mountains and the dense jungles shut out the sun, and
+the whole region is full of poisonous vapors which are never dispelled.
+It would be almost certain death for an European to live there for any
+length of time, and it is customary even in passing through the country
+on the railway train to take double doses of quinine as a precaution.
+The fever and cholera which are thus generated in the jungles and spread
+through the rice fields cause terrible ravages, not only among the
+Europeans, but also among the natives. Medical science has done a great
+deal to mitigate this evil, and the cholera, at least, has been
+carefully studied and controlled by the medical department of the
+Anglo-Indian army, so at present the malady is not feared so much as
+might be expected. The germs of the disease consist of microbes, which
+are carried in swarms by the wind. If such a pestiferous current of air
+strikes a place where soldiers are stationed, they are immediately
+ordered to break camp, and in a few hours the whole force is marching at
+a right angle with the wind, and after a day's march and a night's
+bivouac the physicians are generally able to tell whether the troops are
+out of the cholera district or not. If not, the march is continued day
+after day, always at a right angle with that of the preceding day, until
+the air contains no more cholera microbes.
+
+Old officers of the army told me that they had seen the cholera pass
+over one part of the camp attacking every fourth man on one side of the
+camp street without touching a single one on the other. It is claimed
+that the fear and anxiety caused by this dreadful malady are even more
+dangerous than the disease itself.
+
+One day while sitting at my breakfast table I received a message from
+the University hospital that an American sailor was very anxious to see
+me before he died. I immediately drove over there and was met at the
+entrance by the president, Dr. J. M. Coates, but when I arrived in the
+cholera apartment the man had just died. A sister of mercy was present
+at his death-bed, and had promised to carry his last message to me,
+which consisted in a greeting of love and a few trinkets to be sent to
+his mother in the state of Maine. There was a large apartment filled
+with cholera patients. Many of the native patients were visited by their
+friends and relatives; for the Hindoos do not entertain any fear of
+death, but rather court it, believing that a death caused by a
+contagious disease or a poisonous snake is simply a dispensation of
+Providence by which they are called away to a better life.
+
+As an illustration of this fact I mention the following incident: One
+day while I was inspecting an American vessel a Hindoo laborer fell
+overboard, and a Norwegian sailor plunged into the water and saved him.
+After being brought safely on the deck the Hindoo became so angry at the
+Norwegian that he could have killed him, simply because he had prevented
+his entering paradise. Such occurrences are quite frequent.
+
+I mentioned that I met a sister of mercy at the death-bed of an American
+cholera patient in the hospital. I cannot neglect this opportunity to
+express my heartfelt gratitude to these noble women, the modern nuns of
+the Catholic church. I have seen them in the dens of degradation and
+wretchedness in the American cities, among the sick, wounded and dying
+soldiers on the battle-fields of the South; I have seen them in an
+Arabian sea-port, searching for poverty-stricken travelers, among the
+cholera patients and among the unfortunate inmates of the prisons of
+India, always performing the same angelic duty, helping the poor,
+tending the sick, and comforting the despondent. Of course I am no
+Catholic, nor is it my intention to defend the Catholic faith; but I
+wish to acknowledge my appreciation of and pay my respect to the noble
+work which the priests and nuns of that church are carrying on among the
+lowly and erring members of our race.
+
+The Hindoos are the most polite and clever people I ever saw. Their
+manners are exquisitely fine; no rudeness, no profanity, no intemperance
+is to be found among them, not even among the lowest classes. As has
+been said already, the higher classes are exceedingly polished and
+cleanly; all treat their parents and old people with marked respect. I
+shall narrate a few incidents to illustrate this: Shortly after my
+arrival in Calcutta I became acquainted with the two Princes Tagore,
+especially the younger of them. They are titled princes, and enormously
+rich. They have many palaces, hundreds of secretaries, workingmen,
+servants, and pensioners, and, as is the custom among the Hindoos, whose
+families are governed according to the principles of patriarchal life,
+they all live together and get their support from the common property. I
+visited them several times, but mostly the younger prince who was at
+that time about forty-five years old, and a great admirer of America.
+Although a man of that age and rank he never talked in the presence of
+his elder brother until the latter had by a word or a nod signified that
+he was allowed to speak. A son is never allowed to talk in the presence
+of his father until the latter has finished. The eldest member of the
+family is its highest ruler, and even the Princes Tagore would never
+take any important steps before obtaining the consent of their aged
+mother.
+
+Many prominent Hindoos and Mohammedans, some of whom were native rulers,
+came and visited me, before they invited me to their great fetes. One of
+the frequent visitors was Dr. L. N. Maitra, a Brahmin of the highest
+class, and one of the most intelligent and clever men I met in India. He
+used to sit with me for hours, telling about the life, history and
+religion of the Hindoos. Having become acquainted with each other by
+several months' intercourse, one day he sat a long while at my house as
+if absorbed in deep thought, and when he was ready to leave he asked if
+I would allow him to recite a Hindoo proverb in Sanskrit. In doing this
+he proved himself to be a fine elocutionist, and it seemed to me that I
+had never heard more music in prose, although I could not, of course,
+understand a single word of it.
+
+[Illustration: DR. MAITRA READING SANSKRIT.]
+
+I asked him for a translation, and the next day he sent me one with the
+assurance that he intended to apply the proverb to me. It reads thus:
+"Do not enter into a very intimate acquaintance with anybody; but if you
+do, see that your friend is not a stranger; but if he is a stranger, see
+to it that he is not an educated man; but if he is educated, never part
+from him; but if fate compels you to part from him, then try to control
+that which we cannot control, that is, die, for death alone can make up
+for the loss of such a good man." I have told this to show not only the
+Hindoo's conception of the happiness of death, but also his exquisite
+politeness and delicacy of feeling.
+
+When a Hindoo wishes to pay an elderly man or woman his respect or in
+some manner honor them, he calls them father or mother, or, if they are
+his equals in age, brother or sister. Even to-day, when my former clerks
+write to me they call me father, and ask me to remember them to their
+dear mother, that is, my wife.
+
+[Illustration: MY CHIEF CLERK.]
+
+On a few occasions some Hindoo princes and nobles would arrange special
+entertainments and fetes for me, or rather in honor of the country
+represented by me, and on such occasions the invitation was not limited
+to me, but was extended to my friends also, so that I could take with me
+of these as many as I pleased.
+
+The Tagore family had a beautiful country house outside the city, where,
+one day shortly after my arrival, a party was given in honor of myself
+as representing the United States. Among the friends who accompanied me
+on this occasion was the Danish traveler, D'Irgens-Bergh, whose
+acquaintance I had made on my journey from Naples to Alexandria. The
+villa might more correctly have been called a palace, for it was on a
+grand scale and a perfect gem of architectural beauty. The floors and
+walls of all apartments were of marble. A beautiful and finely kept park
+surrounded the palace, and here, on the evening of our visit, hundreds
+of Chinese lanterns illuminated the spacious grounds. The most brilliant
+feature of the entertainment was music rendered by a complete orchestra
+of native musicians who used Hindoo instruments entirely different from
+ours; but pianos, guitars and other instruments with which we are
+acquainted, were also used. The younger prince was a great lover of
+music, and maintained, at his own expense, a conservatory of music and a
+large orchestra, giving instruction in music free of charge to any young
+man who was peculiarly gifted in that line. He is also well versed in
+Sanskrit literature, and has written several scientific works in
+Sanskrit. Before I left he presented me with one of these works
+containing his autograph, which is reproduced here as a sample of the
+hand-writing of an educated Hindoo:
+
+[Illustration: (dedication note)]
+
+Our refreshments at the fete consisted of dainties prepared by native
+cooks. Cream, rice, sugar, eggs, fish, flour, and spices were the chief
+ingredients of the different courses. Champagne and other European
+drinks were served with the courses, and after the repast we were
+offered coffee, and the servants brought wash basins and towels. Finally
+the major domo passed an urn-shaped golden goblet, placed on a gold
+tray. In this goblet was a fine sponge soaked with attar of roses, which
+costs about a dollar a drop, and in which the guests dipped the tips of
+their fingers and moistened their foreheads and clothes. The least
+contact with this attar causes a fragrance which lasts for months.
+
+Neither on this occasion nor at any other festivity arranged by native
+Hindoos were any of the women present or visible to us, although we knew
+they were close enough to see us through windows or gratings. The men
+themselves assisted in waiting on us, but tasted nothing in our
+presence. When finally the carriages drove up and the guests parted each
+one of them received a huge bouquet of beautiful, fragrant flowers.
+
+[Illustration: RAJAH TAGORE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+Agriculture, Manufacture and Architecture--Wheat Growing--The
+  Farm Laborer--His Condition, Implements, etc. The
+  Taj-Mahal--Jugglers--Snake Charmers--From My Journal.
+
+
+A large majority of the Hindoos are agriculturists. The staple crops are
+wheat, rice, and different species of pease. The wheat production of
+India exerts a great influence on the grain market of Europe, and is one
+of the most dangerous competitors to our American wheat. Having been
+ordered by the United States government to report on the wheat growing
+of India, I made this a special object of investigation and study, and
+in December, 1882, sent a report to the government in Washington which
+is our first reliable information on that subject; it elicited a great
+deal of attention, and was a source of genuine surprise in this country.
+I submit a few extracts from this report:
+
+  The annual wheat production of India now reaches two hundred and forty
+  million bushels, of which two hundred million may be exported, while
+  the natives make their bread from other kinds of grain. The total area
+  devoted to wheat each year is now a little over twenty million acres,
+  and the best average yield is thirteen and one-half bushels per acre.
+  Wheat growing is now receiving the special attention of the general
+  and local governments, and important works are being made and
+  projected for an extensive system of canal irrigation. One of these,
+  the Sirhind canal in the Punjab, has just been completed; it was built
+  mainly by prison labor, is five hundred and two miles long, and will
+  irrigate seven hundred and eighty thousand acres through two thousand
+  five hundred miles of minor channels.
+
+  The wheat is sown in the autumn and harvested in March or April; it
+  is usually sown in drills or rows, weeded like garden stuff, and in
+  quantities not much larger than garden patches in the United States.
+  The agricultural population numbers nearly two hundred millions; it is
+  the aggregate of innumerable little units which, in agriculture, as in
+  everything else in India, brings the country into importance; and this
+  fact is so closely interwoven with the whole social, industrial and
+  legal network of India, that it bears a strong influence even upon the
+  future question of Indian _versus_ American wheat.
+
+[Illustration: PLOWING IN INDIA.]
+
+  The Indian agriculturist,--"Ryot,"--can in no sense be compared to the
+  American farmer, but rather to the late serf of Russia. He is a tenant
+  on hard conditions, and is by custom and bigotry almost a fixture on
+  the spot of land where he was born; his farming is done on a very
+  small scale and according to old methods, to which he clings with
+  religious veneration; his wants are very few, and he endures poverty
+  and even hunger with patience; he cultivates his patch of five to
+  fifteen acres on shares for the landed proprietor,--"zemindar,"--who
+  holds under rental to the government, and the better half of his gross
+  income generally goes to the zemindar, the priest (Brahmin) and the
+  usurer, in the form of rent, presents, offerings and interest, and if
+  he can net ten cents a day by his hard and hopeless labor, that will
+  suffice for the most pressing wants of his household. His home is a
+  mud, or bamboo-hut, his property a pair of small bullocks, a few cows,
+  calves and goats, a wooden cart, and a few brass and earthen pots, in
+  all worth about fifty dollars, and his implements and tools are of the
+  rudest kind, such as his ancestors used a thousand years ago; and yet
+  he is making some progress under British rule, and finds his wants
+  increasing, and at the same time better outlets for his produce and
+  better recompense for his labor, and on the whole, is so independent
+  on ten cents a day, that he will eat or store his wheat rather than
+  sell it below a certain price. Of course he does not employ machinery
+  in farming, but plows his land with a crooked piece of iron-pointed
+  wood, harrows it with an instrument resembling a common ladder laid
+  flat on the ground and dragged by little bullocks crossways over the
+  field; he sows by hand, reaps with a rude sickle, carries the sheaves
+  home on his back or in the bullock cart, threshes them with a wooden
+  club, or lets the cattle tramp out the grain, and cleans it by
+  hand-winnowing.
+
+[Illustration: LABORERS AT THE INDIGO PRESS.]
+
+India of course yields a great number of other kinds of agricultural
+products, especially the indigo plant, from which the renowned
+dye-stuff is made; rape, mustard and other species of seeds from which
+oils are pressed, the opium plant, etc.
+
+In the cities and towns the people devote themselves to trades and
+handicrafts, in some of which they attain greater perfection than any
+other people. Their beautiful carvings in wood and ivory, their
+exquisite embroideries, their textiles and yarns exceed everything in
+that line. But their ability is not due to any genius or ingenuity, but
+to close observation and patient application. According to their
+religious tenets the sons must learn the trade of their father, and they
+begin to work at his side as soon as they can handle a needle, chisel,
+or other tool, and continue the practice day after day, year after year,
+until they also in turn, have taught their children and grandchildren
+the same trade. Certain places are noted for certain industries, as
+Dakka for its fine muslin; Benares for its embroideries, etc. The muslin
+weavers of Dakka can with their hands spin and weave fabrics which are
+almost as fine as cobweb, and a person who is not accustomed to such
+work would not be able to feel the thread between his fingers; but the
+sensitiveness of the Hindoo spinner in Dakka has been developed to such
+an extraordinary degree during a hundred generations that he is able to
+perform works which would be perfectly impossible for others. I have
+seen a garment presented to a Hindoo king which was so fine in texture
+that, although it was a complete suit, it was folded up and safely
+packed into a mango shell, which is only a little larger than an almond
+shell, and thus presented. I have in my possession a little box two
+inches wide and four inches long, made of sandal-wood and adorned with
+fine carvings; all the edges are inlaid with pieces of ivory, in which
+are again inlaid more than two thousand separate pieces of different
+metals so skilfully put together that the joints can not be detected
+even by using a magnifying glass.
+
+In architecture the Hindoos also distinguished themselves centuries ago
+by the erection of buildings which are still objects of the admiration
+of the world. One of these master works of architecture is regarded as
+the most beautiful ever erected by the hands of men. It is the Taj-Mahal
+at Agra, a mausoleum erected by emperor Shah Jehan over the remains of
+his wife, Bengos Begum, who died in 1630. "During a period of seventeen
+years after her death Shah Jehan collected building material of marble
+and precious stones to be used in the construction of the mausoleum. All
+parts of India contributed to this, as did the different parts of the
+Holy Land to the temple of Solomon, and its estimated cost is
+twenty-five million dollars. It is built in Moorish style, with slender
+pillars, and its majesty and beauty profoundly impress the beholder.
+Many buildings in the world excel this temple in size, but none can
+rival it in ideal beauty and finish. It looks more like a temple of
+thanksgiving and praise than an abode of sorrow, and the spirit of love
+seems to fill its silent chambers, quickening and warming the cold
+marble and transforming the whole building into a dream, into a psalm in
+stone. It is rich in mosaics, and precious stones of different colors
+assume the shape of fresh vines and living flowers. There it stands in
+solemn silence on the banks of the Jumna, like an enchanted vision. It
+seemed to grow in magnificent splendor before my eyes as I approached
+it. The airy dome and the white marble pillars glittered in fabulous,
+mystic beauty, and towered far above the gigantic cypress trees, which
+stood in rows like sentinels around it. One enters the park in front of
+the main building through a pillared archway of colossal dimensions,
+built of red sand-stone and surmounted by twenty-six white cupolas. The
+height of the arches is one hundred and forty feet.
+
+[Illustration: TAJ-MAHAL.]
+
+"Taj-Mahal is erected on a base of red sand-stone nine hundred and
+sixty-four feet long and three hundred and twenty-nine feet wide, one
+side of which is washed by the river Jumna, and on each of the four
+corners is a tower of red sand-stone covered by a white marble kiosk.
+Two mosques take up the east and west sides. From this ground rises a
+fine terrace of white marble, three hundred and thirteen feet square, in
+the center of which is the beautiful main building itself. At each angle
+is an airy marble spire of exquisite style, surmounted by a noble cupola
+resting on eight pillars. They are about one hundred and fifty feet
+high, and a spiral stairway leads to the very top. The ground-plan of
+Taj-Mahal forms a regular octangle. The four sides on which the
+entrances are located are each about one hundred and thirty feet long,
+and turn to the four cardinal points of the compass. The roof is seventy
+feet above the base. Over each corner is a gorgeous spire, and over the
+center towers a marble dome measuring seventy feet in diameter, and
+rising to a height of one hundred and twenty feet. It is covered by a
+gilt vault in the shape of a half-moon about two hundred and sixty feet
+above the floor. All this is of the finest Jaypoor marble, carefully
+polished, and still retaining its pure color.
+
+"Notwithstanding the colossal size of Taj-Mahal, every part of it, from
+the foundation to the dome, is adorned with artistically executed
+designs, and the whole is as carefully wrought as the finest ebony
+ornament. Thus the entire Koran is inscribed on it. Even to-day the
+burial vault of the beautiful queen is filled with the fragrance of
+roses, jasmines and sandal-wood. The graves of the empress and emperor
+constitute sarcophagi of the purest marble, covered with elegant inlays
+of agate, carnelians, lapis lazuli and other precious stones, and
+surrounded by a six-foot-high gallery in the open net-work of which
+lilies, roses and other flowers of gems are inlaid. The dome in
+Taj-Mahal produces an echo which is more pleasant, pure and lasting than
+any other. A single musical sound produced by the human voice seems to
+flow or soar up there like a prolonged, pleasant modulation, which dies
+away so slowly that one seems to hear it after it is silent, just as one
+seems to see a lark after following it with the eyes after it has
+disappeared. Twenty thousand workmen were engaged for twenty-two years
+in erecting this mausoleum."
+
+These recollections from India would be incomplete if I should omit to
+describe some of the wonderful tricks which I saw performed by Hindoo
+jugglers. As I was sitting one day in an open place before the hotel in
+Benares, together with some English army officers, an ordinary looking
+Hindoo of the lower classes, accompanied by a small boy, appeared before
+us, and asked permission to show the mango trick. This being granted,
+the boy scraped up some earth on the road before our eyes, and made a
+little mound of it on the floor of the open veranda in front of the
+hotel. The magician, who had no other garment on than a loosely wrapped
+cotton cloth, usually worn by the men, and in his hand a white cloth and
+a little bag containing a few sticks and other small implements, stooped
+down beside the little mound of earth, and, with his eyes fixed on us,
+took a mango kernel about twice the size of a peach stone, which he
+planted in the little mound. Having smoothed the mound with his hands he
+recited several prayers and incantations, and made some motions over the
+mound with a magic wand, carefully assuming an air of expectancy. After
+a minute or two we saw the mound slowly opening at the top and the
+tender shoot of a plant coming up through the crack. The Hindoo sat with
+folded hands, occasionally breathing on the plant, and every now and
+then he would invoke some invisible being. Meanwhile the plant grew
+taller and more solid, until it finally assumed the shape of a dwarf
+tree, which kept growing and sent out branches and leaves. This
+development took place gradually and slowly, until finally a ripe mango
+fruit was seen hanging down from one of the branches. During this
+wonderful performance the magician had only now and then for a moment
+covered the plant with the cloth in his hand.
+
+At another time, when I was on the deck of a large steamer, a Hindoo
+accompanied by a little girl asked the passengers to permit him to
+perform a trick. This being granted, he placed a round wicker basket,
+resembling a paper wastebasket, on the deck, and the little girl sat
+down in it so that her head and feet were flush with the edge of the
+basket, which was thus fairly filled up by the girl. Thereupon the
+Hindoo put the cover on and took a long, straight, double-edged sword
+which he ran through the basket in all directions. It was a shocking
+sight, some of the ladies screamed, others fainted. But when he removed
+the cover from the basket the girl came out alive and without injury.
+The sword was handed to us for inspection, and I am perfectly sure that
+it was a straight, solid, honest infantry weapon. During all this time
+the basket stood on the deck of the ship so that no springs, machinery
+or other contrivance could be concealed under it.
+
+Snake charmers are very common in India. "When one of these is to
+perform a trick he asks for a piece of paper, which he puts in the
+out-stretched hand of the spectator, and begins to play on his flute,
+and stare with his eyes as if he sees something near the hand. His whole
+body seems to be changed; writhing like a worm, he continually plays on
+the instrument and keeps his eyes riveted on the hand. Suddenly he
+rushes forward and points to the same. But the spectator sees nothing,
+and the charmer again plays and contorts his body still more wildly. His
+arms are bare up to the elbows, and he holds the flute with both hands.
+Suddenly he throws his flute away, continues his motions and repeats
+incantations. Again he points to the paper, and while the observer turns
+his eyes in that direction without seeing anything unusual, the charmer
+presses his folded hands down on it and pulls out three large cobras,
+raising their heads and stretching out their poisonous tongues in
+different directions while he holds them in his hand."
+
+[Illustration: SNAKE CHARMERS.]
+
+These and similar tricks are performed daily, yet no one has been able
+to detect how they are done. The theory of hypnotism has recently been
+advanced, and it does not seem improbable.
+
+The following extract from my journal may be of interest:
+
+  Oct. 8, 1882.--Yesterday I witnessed one of the most important
+  expressions of public opinion ever recorded in Asia, in favor of
+  religious liberty. Three thousand prominent persons, mostly Hindoos
+  and Mohammedans, and a few Christians and Parsees, assembled in the
+  city hall of Calcutta, and brilliant speeches were made eliciting most
+  animated applause from the native non-Christian inhabitants as a
+  protest against the police prosecuting the salvation army, lately
+  arrived in Bombay. What do the American and European Christians think
+  of the necessity for Brahmins, Mohammedans, and Parsees to protest
+  against prosecutions by Christians against Christians?
+
+  Darjieling, Oct. 17, 1882.--Here dwells a tribe of mountaineers who
+  are polyandrists, the reverse of polygamists. Each woman has several
+  husbands, who are generally brothers or near relatives. This practice
+  has locally decreased the population, while in all other Hindoo sects
+  it is rapidly increasing.
+
+  The English aristocracy is strongly represented here. The summer
+  residence of the Bengal government, which is located here, as well as
+  the excellent sanitarium, attract thousands of travelers. Excursions,
+  dinners, balls and other festivities follow each other in rapid
+  succession. This afternoon I was present at one of these gatherings,
+  and met the Greek merchant Patochi, and made other interesting
+  acquaintances. This evening shall attend a ball given by the governor
+  of Bengal. At all these parties "simkim," or champagne, flows in
+  streams. Life is gay and luxurious among the aristocracy in India.
+
+  Nov. 23, 1882.--Was present at a quiet and select entertainment with
+  the king of Kutch Behar, in his palace in Calcutta. His wife is a
+  daughter of the great Hindoo reformer Keshub-Chunder-Sen; she is a
+  well educated, beautiful woman, who, together with her husband, the
+  young and elegant king, defies the Hindoo caste restrictions, and
+  appears publicly in company with other ladies and gentlemen.
+
+  Dec. 28, 1882.--Attended the decennial missionary conference; five
+  hundred missionaries from all parts of Asia, Africa and Australia were
+  present, and made it a most interesting religious convention. It was a
+  gathering of highly cultivated, intelligent, courageous men and women,
+  from the gray haired veteran to the young novice fresh from college.
+  The American missionaries took a most prominent part, notable among
+  whom was Dr. Thoburn, since made a bishop in the Methodist church.
+  There were also three Swedes, with whom I formed an
+  acquaintance,--Ungert, Edman and Erikson.
+
+  Jan. 18, 1883.--Attended the great state ball in the palace of the
+  viceroy. Fifteen hundred guests were present, and the throng formed a
+  brilliant picture of beauty, fashion and royal splendor. There were
+  many native nobles, princes and rulers, the most prominent ones being
+  the gawkwar (king) of Baroda, and the Kahn of Khelat. Wherever the
+  gawkwar went he was closely followed by half a dozen turbaned
+  attendants and four body guards armed with daggers and cimeters, or
+  Damascus blades. His garment consisted of blue and green plush and
+  satin, and the many-colored turban was almost covered with diamonds.
+  It was claimed that the jewels he wore that evening on his breast and
+  turban had a value of two million dollars.
+
+  Feb. 10, 1883.--In spite of all efforts to live quietly I am
+  incessantly drawn into the whirl of social life; yesterday I attended
+  one of the most pleasant festivities of the season. It was a
+  magnificent fete given by the Mohammedan prince Raja Rajendra Naryan
+  Bahadur in his gorgeous palace and parks in Shova Bazar in honor of
+  the British victory in Egypt. Three thousand guests were present.
+  All kinds of amusements were arranged, such as dancing, concerts, a
+  circus with uninterrupted performances, nautches or dances performed
+  by native dancing girls, etc. In different parts of the palace
+  refreshments were served, all in the same grand style as the rest of
+  the entertainment. The parks and gardens were illuminated by thousands
+  of Chinese lanterns and many electric lights.
+
+The following is also taken from my journal:
+
+  * * * Received visits from the Reverend Phillips Brooks and Joseph
+  Cook, and from a young Swedish count, Wachtmeister by name, who was on
+  his way through Asia, and also from a young prince from Madagascar, a
+  son of the queen of that country, who, under the guidance of Ludvig
+  Larson, a Norwegian sea captain, made a voyage through the seas of
+  Asia for the purpose of learning practical navigation. The young
+  prince spoke English fluently, and was a very intelligent man.
+
+  Attended a great festival at a masonic lodge where about one hundred
+  and fifty members of the order were present, among whom were men of
+  nearly every nationality and religion. The Master's degree was
+  conferred on three brothers who knelt before the same altar. One was a
+  Christian, and took his obligation with the hand on the Bible; one was
+  a Mohammedan, who took it with the hand on the Koran; the third, a
+  Hindoo, with his hand on the Shastra. The obligation was dictated by
+  an English lord, judge of the supreme court, assisted by the secretary
+  of the Grand Lodge, my friend Rustomji, a Parsee and fire-worshiper.
+  With the religious intolerance in India, where all unite in hating the
+  Christians, it is only among the Free Masons, who know of no
+  nationality, race or other barrier, that such things are possible.
+
+[Illustration: THE GODDESS KALI.]
+
+  Visited the temple of the goddess Kali in a suburb of Calcutta. Kali
+  is the goddess of hate and vengence, and this temple is one of the
+  most celebrated in India. One hundred and fifty Brahmin priests
+  officiate in the same. The chief priest, Roonish-Chunder-Mokerje, was
+  a young man with liberal education. He had spent several years in
+  American mission schools. His office is held by inheritance. He was a
+  most agreeable companion, well versed in western as well as Sanskrit
+  literature. Once upon telling him that I had an intimate friend in
+  Sweden who was a Christian priest, he gave me some pictures of the
+  goddess Kali and other idols to send him with his compliments. In
+  return, I had the pleasure a few months later to present him with a
+  Swedish Bible, with his name in golden letters on the cover, from my
+  friend, the Swedish minister, which present he cherished very highly.
+  This Bible is now kept in the temple of Kali.
+
+  At my request Mokerje prepared a brief extract of the religious
+  doctrine of the Hindoos, which reads as follows:
+
+  "We believe in heaven and hell as temporary abodes of reward and
+  punishment. When a man dies his good and evil deeds are weighed on the
+  scales. First he goes to heaven to receive his reward, then to hell to
+  suffer in proportion to his sins. When everything is squared up he
+  again returns to the world in the form of another being, the same
+  process is repeated again and again, and he can attain perfect bliss
+  only after he has reached such a stage of development that he can do
+  neither good nor evil deeds, but must lose himself in the
+  contemplation of God until he finally ceases to exist as an individual
+  being, and is reunited with God of whom he really constitutes a part."
+
+[Illustration: ABDUL, MY MOHAMMEDAN SERVANT.]
+
+  Was invited to the home of Col. Gordon to see some proofs of
+  occultation, which is very wide-spread in India, and witnessed
+  phenomena, which were so strange, that I hesitate to write them down.
+  I saw heavy objects moving in the air through the room above our
+  heads, and a man with the chair on which he sat rising several feet
+  from the floor without the aid of any visible force whatever. I heard
+  a slate pencil, moved by an invisible power, writing on a slate, and
+  read in plain English what was written. I also saw in the same manner
+  a pen writing on paper with ink, and felt with my hand the moisture of
+  the ink. I know not wherein the invisible power consisted which caused
+  these phenomena, but that such a power does exist I know for certain,
+  for in this case, at least, there was no chance for deception.
+
+  At the home of the prince Tagore I met the renowned Madame Blavatsky,
+  and many Hindoo theosophists. She is a large, corpulent woman, with
+  intelligent, though rather coarse, features. She believes that she is
+  attended by Kut-Humis-Lal-Sing, a Buddhistic hermit who is claimed to
+  be two thousand years old, and have the power of moving his "astral
+  body" as swiftly as thought to the most distant places. For my part I
+  saw nothing remarkable among the theosophists, but it is a common
+  belief among the Hindoos that certain pundits, or learned men, who
+  for years have lived in the mountains as hermits, abstaining from food
+  and all sensual pleasures, thereby attain such a power of mind over
+  matter as to be able to separate the former from the body and let it,
+  untrammeled by the laws of matter, move from place to place, still
+  retaining the same form and ability to speak and act. Whether this is
+  so or not I cannot say, but this I know, that "there are more things
+  in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy."
+
+[Illustration: TYPES OF MOHAMMEDAN SERVANTS.]
+
+[Illustration: SOBULLA, AN IDIOT.]
+
+  What luxuries one may enjoy here in the most pleasant company,--a
+  glorious nature, palatial residences, choice fruits, dishes and wines,
+  pleasures of all kinds, surrounded by a host of servants, who, in
+  snow-white garments and with bare feet, noiselessly and swiftly move
+  about in order to gratify one's desires upon the slightest sign,--and
+  still how I long for the home in the North, with the cool winds and
+  frost and snow which quicken the blood, give appetite, and fill one
+  with a feeling of surging vitality and energy, unknown in the
+  enervating climates of the South.
+
+  From my veranda I see a crowd of people on the street who seem to pay
+  homage to some one. It proves to be an idiotic beggar, Sobulla. The
+  Hindoos believe that when a person has lost his reason he is filled
+  with the spirit of God, and hence they always treat the insane with
+  respect and tender care.
+
+  This April heat makes it easy to realize the Hindoo proverb, which
+  says: "Never run when you may walk, never walk when you may stand
+  still, never stand when you may sit, never sit when you may lie down."
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+From our point of view the social condition of women in India is highly
+deplorable. The women are not regarded as the equals of men, but rather
+as an appendix to them. Their religion teaches that they have no
+acknowledged rights as individuals, and that the only happiness they can
+attain in this world and in the world to come is to become wives and
+mothers of men, and that the more a woman sacrifices herself for man the
+greater will be her reward in the future. If the man to whom she is
+married dies, the remainder of her life is full of sorrow and suffering,
+and it is only in the life hereafter that she can expect any happiness,
+and that by being reunited with him.
+
+This belief gave rise to the so-called "sati," or the custom to burn the
+wife on her deceased husband's pyre in order that she might _at once_ be
+reunited with him and enjoy salvation through him. "Sati" is now
+prohibited by the English government, but every widow in India is still
+doomed to a life of misery and degradation.
+
+When we consider that polygamy is practiced to a very large extent among
+the rich so that a man is allowed to have any number of wives, and
+may keep on taking new wives as long as he lives, it may easily be
+understood what a great number of widows there must be. There is an old
+man, for example, who dies and leaves many widows of different ages,
+some of them only ten or twelve years old, none of whom are allowed to
+marry a second time. They are deprived of all ornaments, and compelled
+to wear a very coarse, plain dress, to live on the plainest food, and
+work hard for the man who inherits the property of the deceased husband,
+and who is generally his brother or his son. This is the reason that
+rich families have a large number of women in all ranks and conditions,
+from the mistress of the house, which position is held by the husband's
+mother, to the humblest servant woman. The education of women is
+prohibited; hence they are very much like children, playing with their
+dolls, jewels and other toys, and having no higher idea of life in
+general than what they have been taught in the nursery. It is rather
+fortunate, therefore, that these lamentable victims of prejudice live in
+ignorance, as long as the present condition exists, for otherwise their
+life would be still more miserable.
+
+In the course of the last few years missionaries from Europe and America
+have opened schools for the education of girls. The most prominent of
+these is located in Calcutta, and has many branches in other parts of
+India. It is called "the American Zenana," or ladies' mission, and
+during my stay in India it was managed by a Miss Hook, a very estimable
+lady of Danish descent, the fruits of whose noble work will be of
+incalculable value to future millions of Hindoo women.
+
+[Illustration: MISSION HOME AND SCHOOL.]
+
+At an examination in this school I had the honor of distributing the
+prizes, consisting of five hundred American dolls sent by Cyrus Field of
+New York. The recipients were the most dainty and pretty little girls
+one could see. I wish I could describe this festivity. I sat on the
+platform in the great hall with Miss Hook to the right, a pundit or
+learned Brahmin to the left, and surrounded by the American and native
+teachers and some American tourists. The immense hall might be compared
+with a beautiful flower terrace alive with different colors, every
+little girl shining like a pretty flower in her red, green, white, blue
+or purple dress, her pretty black hair sparkling with gold and silver
+ornaments or jewels. They were all listening with close attention until
+their names were called, when they modestly, their faces beaming with
+joy, stepped up to receive the pretty dolls sent by the generous
+American.
+
+At first these schools met with bitter opposition on the part of the
+better classes of natives, but these prejudices gradually died away, and
+at present the mission schools are not subject to either persecution or
+ill-will.
+
+One day in February, 1883, I received a visit at my home by a Brahmin of
+the highest class, accompanied by his young wife and her little sister.
+Her name was Annandabai Joshee. Her husband was postmaster in the old
+Danish city Serampoor. He was a highly educated man, about forty years
+of age, with fine, affable manners. His wife was nineteen years old, and
+they had been married nine years. With the exception of the queen of
+Kutch Behar and a few in the Zenana mission, she was the first educated
+Hindoo woman that I had met. Her husband had given her an excellent
+education.
+
+[Illustration: ANNANDABAI JOSHEE.]
+
+Their errand was to consult me and, if possible, obtain my assistance in
+a matter of the greatest importance to the women of India. The young
+woman had reflected somewhat in this manner: "Since I have acquired
+education, and the same amount of knowledge as a man, why may not other
+women in India do the same? In America many women are renowned for their
+great learning, and many of them are doctors of medicine. The women of
+India are not allowed to be visited by any man except their husband, and
+as all our physicians are men, who cannot see and carefully examine
+their female patients, they cannot, of course, prescribe proper
+treatment for them; hence many women in India must suffer and die
+without a remedy, which often could be avoided if women studied
+medicine. If American women can become physicians, then I can, and I
+have decided to go to America and enter the female medical college in
+Philadelphia and study for the degree of doctor of medicine, and then
+return to India and do good among my countrywomen, and disprove the
+false doctrine which keeps Hindoo women in ignorance and degradation."
+Her husband was very enthusiastic for her plan, and, being rich, was
+also able to assist her in carrying it out if I would favor it and
+contribute toward its realization by reason of the influence my official
+position gave.
+
+A few weeks later, the noble minded little Brahmin woman was on her way
+across the great ocean to that country where not only man but also woman
+enjoys a free existence. She carried official letters from me to all
+American authorities with which she might come in contact, also to the
+mayor of Philadelphia, and to the state department at Washington. Before
+leaving Calcutta she delivered an extempore address before a large
+audience at the University of Serampoor, of which address I have made
+the following extracts:
+
+"I am asked hundreds of questions about my going to America. I take this
+opportunity to answer some of them.
+
+"I go to America because I wish to study medicine. I now address the
+ladies present here, who will be the better judges of the importance of
+female medical assistance in India. I never consider this subject
+without being impressed that none of those societies so laudably
+established in India for the promotion of science and female education
+have ever thought of sending one of their female members into the more
+civilized parts of the world to procure thorough medical knowledge, in
+order to open here a college for the instruction of women in medicine.
+The want of female physicians in India is keenly felt in every quarter.
+Ladies, both European and native, are naturally averse to expose
+themselves in cases of emergency to treatment by doctors of the other
+sex. There are some female doctors in India from Europe and America,
+who, being foreigners, and different in manners, customs and language,
+have not been of such use to our women as they might. As it is very
+natural that Hindoo ladies who love their own country and people should
+not feel at home with the natives of the other countries, we Indian
+women absolutely derive no benefit from these foreign ladies. They
+indeed have the appearance of supplying our need, but the appearance is
+delusive. In my humble opinion there is a growing need for Hindoo lady
+doctors in India, and I volunteer to qualify myself for one.
+
+"Are there no means to study in India? I do not mean to say there are
+_no_ means, but the difficulties are many and great. There is one
+college at Madras, and midwifery classes are open in all the
+presidencies; but the education imparted is defective and insufficient,
+as the instructors are conservative, and to some extent jealous. I do
+not find fault with them. That is the character of the male sex. We must
+put up with this inconvenience until we have a class of educated ladies
+to relieve these men. I am neither a Christian nor a Brahmin. To
+continue to live as a Hindoo, and go to school in any part of India, is
+very difficult. A convert who wears an English dress is not so much
+stared at. Native Christian ladies are free from the opposition or
+public scandal which Hindoo ladies like myself have to meet within and
+without the Zenana. If I go alone by train or in the street some people
+come near to stare and ask impertinent questions to annoy me. Example is
+better than precept. Some few years ago, when I was in Bombay, I used to
+go to school. When people saw me going with my books in my hand they had
+the goodness to put their heads out of the window just to have a look at
+me. Some stopped their carriages for the purpose. Others walking in the
+streets stood laughing, and crying out so that I could hear: 'What is
+this? Who is this lady who is going to school with boots and stockings
+on?' Does not this show that the Kali Ugla has stamped its character on
+the minds of the people? Ladies and gentlemen, you can easily imagine
+what effect questions like this would have on your minds if you had been
+in my place!
+
+"Once it happened that I was obliged to stay in school for some time,
+and go twice a day for my meals to the house of a relative. Passers-by,
+whenever they saw me going, gathered round me. Some of them made fun and
+were convulsed with laughter. Others, sitting respectably on their
+verandas, made ridiculous remarks, and did not feel ashamed to throw
+pebbles at me. The shop-keepers and venders spit at the sight of me, and
+made gestures too indecent to describe. I leave it to you to imagine
+what was my condition at such time, and how I could gladly have burst
+through the crowd to make my home nearer.
+
+"Yet the boldness of my Bengali brethren cannot be exceded, and is still
+more serious to contemplate than the instances I have given from Bombay.
+Surely it deserves pity. If I go to take a walk on the strand,
+Englishmen are not so bold as to look at me. Even the soldiers are never
+troublesome, but the Baboo boys[6] have their levity by making fun of
+everything. 'Who are you?' 'What caste do you belong to?' 'Whence do you
+come?' 'Where do you go?'--are in my opinion, questions that should not
+be asked by strangers. There are some educated native Christians here in
+Serampoor who are suspicious; they are still wondering whether I am
+married or a widow; a woman of bad character or excommunicated. Dear
+audience, does it become my native and Christian brethren to be so
+uncharitable? Certainly not. I place these unpleasant things before you
+that those whom they concern most may rectify them, and that those who
+have never thought of the difficulties may see that I am not going to
+America through any whim or caprice.
+
+[Footnote 6: Educated Hindoo of the middle class.]
+
+"Shall I not be excommunicated when I return to India? Do you think I
+should be filled with consternation at this threat? I do not fear it in
+the least. Why should I be cast out, when I have determined to live
+there exactly as I do here? I propose to myself to make no change in my
+customs and manners, food or dress. I will go as a Hindoo and come back
+here to live as a Hindoo. I will not increase my wants, but be as plain
+and simple as my forefathers, and as I am now. If my countrymen wish to
+excommunicate me, why do they not do it now? They are at liberty to do
+so."
+
+After my return to America I visited her twice at the medical college in
+Philadelphia, where she became everybody's favorite, being one of the
+best students that ever crossed the threshhold of the institution. She
+did not renounce her religion or her habits of life, but observed all
+of these strictly. After three years of hard study she passed her
+examination with high standing, and practiced a few months in American
+hospitals, but she gradually succumbed to the dread disease, pulmonary
+consumption, and returned to India after an absence of four years, only
+to die in Poonah, the city where her ancestors had lived as highly
+respectable people for two thousand years past. She left India with the
+curse of the Brahmins on her head, but returned as the idol of her
+people. Thousands upon thousands crowded around her home, almost
+worshiping the frail, noble being whose youthful life was slowly ebbing
+away.
+
+Strange are the ways of Providence. When Rev. Dr. Fjellstedt kindled a
+desire to see India in the bosom of the young country boy, who could
+then have guessed that this boy was to become a medium to assist that
+Brahmin woman who was destined to be the first one of the millions of
+India to clear the way to education and liberty for her unfortunate
+sisters!
+
+Besides my report on wheat culture I sent numerous official reports to
+our government on different industries, and other matters in India, such
+as tea culture, the decline of American shipping in Asia, the railroads,
+the population of India, our commercial relations with India, etc. These
+reports attracted such attention in Washington that during the month of
+February, 1883, I received orders from the state department to make a
+tour of inspection to those provinces and cities which belonged to my
+district and report to the government anything of national interest.
+Shortly after receiving this order, which was accompanied by a leave of
+absence for six months, I also received a cablegram from Holland
+offering me the position of managing American director of the Maxwell
+Land Grant Company in New Mexico, whereof more hereafter.
+
+On the 12th of April I turned over all my official affairs to the
+vice-consul, Mr. C. C. Bancroft, and took the steamer Raipatoonah for
+Burmah, where I visited the most important seaports, Rangoon, Mulmain,
+and Akjab. Buddhism is there the prevailing religion, and the caste
+system, such as is found among the Hindoos, is unknown. The people are
+more prosperous. The city of Rangoon has, among other notable objects, a
+celebrated Buddhist pagoda, the great dome of which is covered with
+solid gold plate. The pagoda is situated on a high elevation above the
+city, and the dome is one of the most notable and costly works of
+architecture in the world. It is visible at a great distance out on the
+ocean, and when the tropical sun throws its rays on it, it looks like a
+flame of fire, whose splendor is too dazzling for the eyes to endure.
+
+At a dinner party arranged for me by the American consul at Rangoon, I
+met many of the prominent men in this city. Among these a judge of the
+supreme court, one Mr. Allen, who, late in the evening, at a game of
+whist, informed me that he had on that day been engaged in the trial of
+a Birmese prince accused of murder, and that he should pronounce
+sentence the following day. I could see that he had already made up his
+mind; still he politely asked me a few questions on international law
+with reference to the trial. The next day the prince was sentenced to
+death because he had violated the law of the land, which seems to prove
+that the English administration of justice in Asia is no respecter of
+persons.
+
+In Birmah elephants are used for loading and unloading goods in the
+harbors. In the city of Mulmain I saw some of these wise animals piling
+up heavy timber in a lumber yard. The elephant put his tusks under the
+beam and his trunk over it and handled it with great ease. Having lifted
+the beam on the pile, he looked at it carefully to see if it lay in
+right shape, and if not, he would move it with his trunk. It was
+wonderful to see how well these animals seemed to understand what their
+drivers said. If a very big log could not be moved in the usual manner
+he would roll it with his feet or shove it with his head, or even put a
+chain around it and pull it along, and all this at the command of the
+driver who remained sitting on the head of the animal.
+
+[Illustration: ELEPHANTS PILING TIMBER.]
+
+On April 25 I again embarked, this time on the steamer Asia, sailing
+across the Bay of Bengal, and arrived on the first day of May at the
+seaport, Bimlipatam, on the Madras coast. It was a pleasant city of
+white houses and situated at the foot of a high volcano. Here I saw for
+the first time the notorious car of Juggernaut, in which the image of
+the god is dragged through the streets. The car is of stupendous size,
+and rests on sixteen wheels. Thousands of pilgrims followed the car, and
+formerly many of the worshipers used to throw themselves under the
+wheels in order to be crushed to death; but this barbaric custom has
+been prohibited by the English government. The idol of Juggernaut is
+regarded as very sacred, for according to tradition it contains a bone
+of Krishna, the Hindoo Apollo, one of the ten incarnations or
+manifestations of the god Vishnu. This relic worship, which is otherwise
+unknown to the orthodox Hindoo faith, is a remnant of Buddhism, which
+formerly prevailed throughout the whole province of Orisa.
+
+[Illustration: THE CAR OF JUGGERNAUT.]
+
+On the second day we arrived at Kokonada, where a flotilla of nearly one
+hundred short-masted sailing vessels of native construction after having
+received their cargoes lay waiting for us. Again we steamed away along
+the coast, stopping at the seaports Kalingapatam, Vizagapatam,
+Masulipatam, and finally arrived at Madras, on the fifth of May. This is
+one of the handsomest cities in Asia. It is situated near the equator,
+so that it is very hot there; but the fresh ocean breezes cool the air
+in the afternoon, and make the temperature particularly delightful.
+
+On the 10th of May I left with the steamer Assam for Ceylon, and arrived
+at Colombo, the principal city and harbor on this island, on the 13th.
+Ceylon is called the pearl of Asia, and justly so. I remained there two
+days, in the company of the American consul, and visited the cinnamon
+groves, the Buddhistic temples, and other objects of interest. Along
+the coast south of Colombo is a drive-way for several miles, passing
+through groves of cinnamon and other spice trees which fill the air with
+fragrance. There are also artificial lakes, canals, parks and flower
+gardens in endless profusion; in a word, this place is one of the most
+delightful spots I have ever seen.
+
+[Illustration: BUDDHA TEMPLE AT CEYLON.]
+
+The Egyptian patriot Arabi Pasha was recently banished to this island on
+account of his taking such a prominent part in the late rebellion in
+Egypt. I drove out to his fine residence located near the sea, and found
+him to be a very pleasant and highly educated man, who spoke English
+fluently, and with whom I soon became on friendly terms on account of my
+sympathy for the Egyptian people.
+
+Ceylon is the centre of modern Buddhism in India. The temples of the
+Buddhists are very interesting to see. Many of their priests are men of
+learning and culture. I spent a few hours with them, and received much
+attention on their part on account of my being a representative of
+America. There is an old tradition among the Hindoos that the garden of
+Eden was situated on the island of Ceylon. The Hindoo narrative of the
+fall of man has many features in common with the biblical narrative, but
+with this difference: that Adam, being reproached for his sins, did not,
+according to the Hindoo legend, put the blame on Eve, but took it all on
+himself, and said that he alone was to blame, and that the woman should
+not be cursed. It is further told that when they were expelled from
+paradise they turned their course northward, and when they came to the
+shallow water which separates Ceylon from the main land of Asia, Adam
+took Eve in his arms and carried her across.
+
+Having remained two days at this delightful place we embarked again, and
+on the 20th of May we were steaming along the coast of Arabia, being
+within sight of land the whole morning. In my note-book I find the
+following lines for this day: "Under thick canvass there is a strangely
+mixed crowd of people on the half-deck, gathered for divine worship, and
+when they closed the same by singing:
+
+    'O, hear us as we cry to Thee
+     For those in peril on the sea,'
+
+the voices of Mohammedans, Jews, Buddhists and Brahmins from a dozen
+different countries were blended with those of the Christians."
+
+We spent the 22d of May in the city of Aden, in South Arabia. This place
+is hot and dreary. Accompanied by one of my fellow-passengers I took
+a ride on camel-back through the desert to the celebrated water
+reservoirs. It seldom rains more than once in every three years at this
+place. To preserve the water that falls on these occasions the Arabians
+have built a series of cisterns, or large reservoirs, for the water
+along the foot of a mountain. These cisterns are made with great
+architectural skill; they are built of stone and cement, and are much
+more compact and durable than similar works of modern times. Water is a
+great luxury in Southern Arabia, and it is customary to offer the driver
+a drink of water for his camel or horse as an encouragement to drive a
+little faster or to show him a favor. At the same time the driver does
+not object to a tip, which in oriental countries is called, as in Egypt,
+"backshish," an expression with which every traveler soon becomes
+familiar.
+
+From Aden we had a pleasant voyage up the Red sea to Suez. The cholera
+was, so to speak, in the air, and our steamer was the last one which
+escaped quarantine. From Suez I traveled in company with some other
+passengers by rail to Cairo. We stopped an hour at the little city
+Ismailia, which is situated on the canal, and is a fine place, noted
+especially for the great fete given by Count F. de Lesseps at the
+opening of the Suez canal, for which occasion a fine palace was built
+for the accommodation of Empress Eugenie of France. On the way to Cairo
+we passed through the valley which in the Bible is called Goshen, and
+which Pharaoh gave to the brothers of Joseph to live in, and where the
+brick yards are located in which the Israelites were compelled to make
+brick without straw and oppressed in different ways by their
+task-masters.
+
+During the day I had occasion to see a portion of the canal "Bahr
+Jussuf," or Joseph's canal, a masterwork some four thousand years old,
+which the legend ascribes to Joseph, and which still proves what a
+blessing this man conferred upon the people of Egypt, not only by
+warding off the dread famine, but also by executing many great and
+useful works. The canal began at Siut, on the Nile, and meandered
+through the valley on the west side of the river for a distance of
+nearly two hundred and fifty miles, until its level was so far above
+that of the river that its waters could be carried westward into the
+province of Fajuin, and change its formerly sterile soil into the
+richest and most fertile fields.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+The train has stopped, and we are in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The
+beautiful, the joyous, the memorable Cairo, with its gorgeous mosques,
+its half mystic, half historical monuments, its narrow streets, and a
+life, a commotion and an oriental splendor strongly reminding one of the
+legends "One Thousand and One Nights." In company with a friend from
+America I visited the principal mosques, bazars, parks and other places
+of interest, and the next day we drove out to the great Cheop's pyramid,
+which is located about eight miles from the city. Here I again met with
+a monument of antiquity which filled me with wonder and admiration. The
+pyramid of Cheops was built before the birth of Moses,--yes, before
+Jacob came down with his sons to Egypt,--and it is possible that Joseph
+pointed out the same to his aged father as a proof of the greatness of
+the country and its resources.
+
+[Illustration: MOHAMMEDAN MOSQUE.]
+
+According to Herodotus one hundred and twenty thousand men were occupied
+twenty years in building it. Its base covers about eleven acres, and its
+height is about four hundred and eighty feet. One can get an approximate
+idea of the enormous mass of material in it, when it is calculated that
+it contains stone enough to build a wall one and a-half feet thick and
+ten feet high around all England,--a distance of nearly nine hundred
+miles.
+
+The renowned Sphinx is hewn out of the solid rock. It is in a reclining
+position, and, although partly buried by sand, I could easily trace its
+back for a distance of thirty paces.
+
+At the foot of the pyramid I met an Arabian chief, a gesture from whom
+showed me that he belonged to the mystic brotherhood of Free Masons,
+which gave rise to warm handshaking, and an interesting conversation
+through the aid of my interpreter. In pressing the hand of this son of
+the desert sighing under despotism, and reading the feelings of his
+heart through the wrinkles of his face, while he talked of the great
+country in the West, whence I came, and whose free institutions,
+granting equal rights to all, were to him a heavenly light pointing
+forward and upward, I felt more deeply than ever before what a blessing
+it is to be a citizen of a commonwealth where a man is measured, not by
+his birth or his wealth, but by his own personal merits.
+
+[Illustration: THE PYRAMIDS AND THE SPHINX.]
+
+Returning to Cairo the remainder of the day was spent in the Boulak
+museum, among the most wonderful antiquities of the world. Shortly
+before there had been discovered in the Nubian hills, beneath the temple
+Dayr-el-Baheree, a burial place containing the bodies of the old
+Egyptian kings. These had been brought to Cairo, where a separate wing
+of the museum had been opened for their keeping, and there they lay in
+their coffins in a fine state of preservation, owing to the Egyptian
+method of embalming. There were the very men who built the pyramids;
+there was Amases I., the founder of the new empire, Thotmes III., the
+great Sethi I., and his famous son Ramses II., and that Pharaoh who is
+supposed to have brought up Moses; there was also his daughter Mirrhis,
+who afterward became his queen, the same who found Moses as an infant
+floating in the Nile.
+
+[Illustration: RAMSES II., WHEN YOUNG.]
+
+Their bodies--yes, even their features--were well preserved. They lie in
+coffins of wood, which show skilled workmanship, the corners being
+carefully dovetailed together. Even their shrouds and ornaments of
+flowers and herbs show plainly that the style of dressing the dead among
+the Egyptians four thousand years ago was very much the same as it is
+now with us.
+
+[Illustration: RAMSES II.]
+
+When I stood among the ruins of Pompeii or of the tower Sarnath, the
+home of Buddha, I thought nothing could be more wonderful and
+awe-inspiring than those hoary monuments; but here lay before my eyes
+the very man who for many years was a friend and protector of Moses,
+with his wonderful, commanding features and eagle nose, his long dark
+hair, which lay in thick folds under his neck. The arms, rings, jewels
+and other ornaments worn by those kings and their queens, formed part of
+this wonderful collection, and, by their skillful workmanship, showed
+the high degree of civilization of the ancient Egyptians.
+
+The following day I took the train for Alexandria. The railroad follows
+the river Nile in its general course. The valley is densely populated,
+and wretched mud houses and villages appear in every direction. The
+cholera had now broken out in its most deadly form, and we saw many dead
+and dying at the stations. The steamer Tanjore lay ready to sail for
+Europe, and I was soon comfortably quartered in one of its spacious
+cabins.
+
+[Illustration: NILE BOAT.]
+
+On Sunday, June 3d, a beautiful Italian day, as we were rapidly steaming
+north through the Adriatic sea, we could see the coast of Greece to the
+right and that of Italy to the left. We arrived at Brindisi the same
+afternoon, and at Venice two days later. Surely the beauties of nature
+and of art that meet the eve in this lovely city seem to be the climax
+of everything beautiful on earth, and, quietly gliding forward during
+many hours through numerous canals in a half-dreamy, half-waking
+condition, with two silent gondoliers at the oars, I could scarcely
+realize whether this was a beautiful dream, an illusion, or reality.
+
+[Illustration: RIALTO BRIDGE IN VENICE.]
+
+The next morning, accompanied by an interpreter, I walked through St.
+Mark's square, carefully studying its many wonderful attractions, its
+splendid shops, the clock, the thousands of tame doves, the belfry of
+St. Mark's, the palace of the Doges, the marble pillars of the winged
+lions, and finally, the most remarkable of all, the wonderful church
+with its irregular, yet harmonious, unique and impressive architecture.
+In the church were seen ordinary visitors roaming about under the domes,
+humble worshipers counting their beads and rosaries, closely-shaved
+monks and royal officers with clanging sabres, and artists busy with
+their studies.
+
+With a shudder I crossed the Bridge of Sighs, with its horrid
+associations, and spent a quarter of an hour in the dark dungeons to
+which it leads, and in which so many poor mortals, prisoners often
+without accusers and guiltless of crime, had sighed and suffered through
+the cruelties of man to man, well knowing that when they crossed that
+bridge into the dungeon, they had left all earthly hope behind.
+
+In Venice I parted with my American companion, Mr. Robins, in whose
+company I had traveled all the way from Madras.
+
+Having promised to be in Holland at an early day, I was compelled to
+hurry, and left Venice on the evening of the second day. This time I
+took the route through the St. Gotthard tunnel, which is nine and a half
+miles long, and through which it takes nearly half an hour to pass. The
+beautiful lake Como and the grand Alpine scenery have been so often
+described, that I consider it superfluous to dwell on them in these
+pages.
+
+In Mayennes I left the railroad and took the steamer down the beautiful
+Rhine to Cologne, passing the vine-clad hills and the mediaeval castles,
+in delightful conversation with some American and Swedish tourists just
+returning from the German watering places.
+
+From Cologne I traveled by rail to Rotterdam, where I arrived June 9th,
+and met my old friend, G. P. Ittman, one of the men with whom I
+formerly had business connections concerning railroad matters in
+Minnesota. The following day he accompanied me to the Hague to see Baron
+de Constant Rebeque, one of those European noblemen who would have been
+a nobleman even if he had been born in a hut. He was then chamberlain of
+the king, and one of the directors of the Maxwell Land Grant Company,
+the management of which had been offered to me as already stated.
+
+The next day we all met at the office of the vice-president of the
+company, the banker Mr. W. F. Ziegelar. The board of directors held a
+meeting, at which I was elected business manager for America, and it was
+decided that Messrs. Ziegelar and Rebeque should meet me in America a
+month later, and that all of us should then proceed to New Mexico to
+inspect the property and investigate the economical standing of the
+company, after which I could decide whether I would accept the position
+or not.
+
+A few days later Mr. Ziegelar accompanied me to London, where one of the
+directors and many of the creditors of the Maxwell Company resided. Here
+I also found some friends from India, and in their company spent a
+couple of days at the beautiful country residence of an English
+nobleman, Sir Balfour. Among the prominent and excellent men with whom I
+formed an acquaintance at that place was Maj. Horace Durrant, formerly
+of the queen's hussars, who was also largely interested in the Maxwell
+Company, and one of the men from different countries, nationalities and
+creeds who will always live in my memory like beaming stars on life's
+varied journey.
+
+Soon afterward I renewed my acquaintance with John Ennis in Liverpool,
+an Irishman, and a friend of mine for more than twenty years. He is a
+man who is never happier than when he can do someone a favor, and he has
+had occasion to do me many. In the evening he took me out to see a
+sight, as he called it, and truly a wonderful sight it was. In a vacant
+space among the back streets and alleys of Liverpool, near the shipping,
+stood erected an enormous tent, containing seats for three thousand
+people. My friend Ennis led me through the back entrance onto the
+platform, where a few ladies and gentlemen were already seated. The tent
+was lighted with gas; the people were crowding into it through half a
+dozen different entrances. I have never seen such a crowd before or
+since. There were thieves, pickpockets, beggars, prostitutes, drunkards
+and ragamuffins of both sexes and of all ages, the very slums and filth
+of that great seaport, laughing, shouting, cursing, weeping, and noisy
+in every way.
+
+Soon the great tent was filled, and could contain no more.
+
+Then a little man appeared on the platform, whom Mr. Ennis introduced to
+me as the Rev. Father Nugent, an Irish Catholic priest, very small in
+stature, but with a countenance beaming with intelligence and
+benevolence. He stepped to the front, and the moment he was seen by the
+vast audience order and perfect silence reigned.
+
+Here was another Keshub-Chunder-Sen, but with no new religion or
+doctrine to advance, only re-echoing what the man of Nazareth had said
+to the same class of people eighteen centuries ago. This priest has done
+much noble work, rescued many from a life of degradation, brought up and
+secured places in America for thousands of street gamins and orphans,
+and his name is better known, especially among the English-speaking
+Catholics, than that of any king or emperor. And who would not rather be
+a Father Nugent than a king?
+
+In the morning of the fourth of July I arrived in New York city, and
+soon found President Chester Arthur, Gen. Garfield's successor,
+occupying rooms near my own in the Fifth Avenue hotel. After breakfast I
+was given an interview with him, and, of course, was pleased to learn
+that he had followed my little work in India with interest, and
+expressed much regret when I informed him of my intention to resign at
+the expiration of my leave of absence.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+On the 8th of July I was again home with family and friends in
+Minneapolis, and found everything pretty much as I had left it nearly
+two years previously; except that my good old father had gone to his
+final rest. A couple of days later I visited my farm, in the Red River
+valley, and my old and faithful friend Capt. H. Eustrom, who lived close
+by and was then holding an important office, and who had faithfully
+attended to my interests at that place during my absence.
+
+My Scandinavian friends had meanwhile arranged a reception for me, and
+on the 11th some eighty of them joined in a banquet at Lyndale Hotel,
+then situated in the suburbs of Minneapolis at Lake Calhoun. The
+afternoon was devoted to a steamboat tour around the beautiful lake, and
+in the evening the party all sat down to a sumptuous banquet, where many
+addresses of welcome and tokens of friendship were spoken, read and
+sung. I had been absent nearly two years, seen and experienced much of
+the world and enjoyed many pleasures, but I found the old saying true;
+"There is no place like home." These two years had been of particular
+importance in the history of the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The
+population had nearly trebled during that time, and such improvements
+had been made that I could hardly recognize them.
+
+A week after my return my friends from Holland arrived, and we proceeded
+to New Mexico, where we found the great Maxwell estate, valued at ten
+million dollars, and containing one and a half million acres of land,
+consisting of coal fields, gold mines, timber and grazing lands, in a
+deplorable condition caused by extravagance and mismanagement. We found
+that there was nearly a million dollars of current debts, while the
+income was not sufficient to buy postage stamps to carry on the
+necessary business correspondence.
+
+An agreement was finally effected whereby the former president and
+American manager relinquished his interest and resigned his position;
+the Holland directors determined to raise the necessary funds in Europe,
+and I agreed to undertake the liquidation of the affairs of the company.
+
+Shortly after I repaired to Washington to report my inspection tour in
+India, and tender my resignation, which was accepted, an unusual
+courtesy being shown me by extending my leave of absence to January the
+next year. The following two years were devoted principally to business
+journeys to New Mexico, England and Holland. I visited the latter
+countries four times during that period. With the powerful aid of Baron
+Rebeque, who had spent several months with me in this country in the
+summer and fall of 1883, a syndicate, backed by several million dollars,
+was at last formed in Holland, and the whole estate was turned over to
+it. Having accomplished this, I voluntarily withdrew from the concern,
+and returned to my own farm and home in Minnesota.
+
+The Maxwell estate is situated within the Rocky mountain region, on an
+elevation of from six thousand to twelve thousand feet above the sea.
+The climate is delightful and the scenery beautiful, but the country is
+not fit for cultivation, except such parts as can be irrigated. Hence
+most of it is devoted to stock raising, and herds of countless cattle
+were roaming over the prairies, the Maxwell Company alone owning at the
+time I left its service nearly twenty thousand head.
+
+In the fall of 1886 I was for the second time elected secretary of state
+by the citizens of Minnesota, re-elected in 1888, and thus made for the
+third time the head of the state department.
+
+In the fall of 1887 the citizens of Minneapolis were honored by a visit
+from a large number of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish military officers,
+non-commissioned officers and soldiers. They arrived by an express train
+from Chicago, and were met at the union depot by thousands of people.
+The Swedish Guard, Normanna Infantry, and the society Dania were paraded
+outside the depot building. The guests were received by a committee, and
+conducted in procession through the illuminated and crowded streets to
+Dania hall, where a splendid banquet was enjoyed, while music was
+discoursed by the Svea and Normanna bands. The city mayor, Dr. Ames,
+made an address of welcome, after which several Scandinavians made
+speeches. I had been elected as the spokesman for the Swedes, and
+expressed myself as follows:
+
+  "_Honored Guests from Sweden, Norway and Denmark_:
+
+  "From the place where we now stand the roar of the St. Anthony falls
+  may be heard through the still night. You are, therefore, far back in
+  the depths of the American West; and yet this is only the modern gate
+  of entrance to the great North-west.
+
+  "A couple of hours ago a half dozen railway trains left our depot over
+  different roads and are now speeding on toward the setting sun, and
+  some of them do not cease their journey until they have passed
+  distances greater than that between London and Rome, through fertile,
+  but, as yet, mostly unsettled regions. Thirty-four years ago I, with a
+  few other of your countrymen, some of the earliest in Minnesota, gazed
+  for the first time at the St. Anthony falls. There was no city, not
+  even a sign of a city, on this side of the river; the red man chased
+  his game in the woods where our churches and school-houses now stand;
+  the country west of us was an unknown wilderness, Minnesota did not
+  exist as a state, and many of our western states, which now contain
+  millions of happy inhabitants, were not even projected.
+
+  "Now, on the contrary, our state alone is a mighty empire, with a
+  population of nearly a million and a half, and with an assessed
+  valuation of six hundred million dollars. Minnesota now produces a
+  hundred million bushels of grain annually on her fertile fields, six
+  hundred and fifty million feet of lumber from her forests, and her
+  infant iron mines already show an annual production of half a million
+  tons of rich ore. The Scandinavians constitute more than one-fourth of
+  the population of the state, and produce at least one-third of our
+  agricultural products on their own lands, as most of them are farmers.
+  The amount of grain which in Minnesota alone is annually produced,
+  would be more than sufficient to furnish the whole population of
+  Sweden with bread from the beginning to the end of each year.
+
+[Illustration: CAPITOL OF MINNESOTA.]
+
+  "Our beautiful city of Minneapolis has already a population of one
+  hundred and sixty thousand, of which at least one-fourth, or forty
+  thousand, are Scandinavians or their descendants.
+
+  "I hope you will all have an opportunity to see our city with your own
+  eyes before you leave us,--its mills, churches, schools and happy
+  homes,--and will therefore not consume the time by referring to these.
+
+  "As to yourselves, gentlemen, we have heard what has been said to you
+  so expressively in Chicago by our friends there, and we join them
+  heartily in their praise.
+
+  "When we heard that the soldiers and representatives of Denmark,
+  Norway and Sweden would honor us with a visit we all rejoiced, and we
+  have come together this evening to express our joy in a cordial
+  welcome.
+
+  "We have intentionally conducted you to this hall where we may, under
+  our own roof, pay you our homage in the plain manner of our sturdy
+  Scandinavian forefathers, and give you an opportunity to see us as we
+  are in our daily life. We are men of the people; we have come here as
+  poor immigrants, ignorant of the language and of the customs of
+  the country. Our sole heritage was our strong arms and our good
+  cheer,--no, excuse me, another heritage of more worth than gold or
+  genius have we brought from our old homesteads,--our share of Northern
+  fidelity, strength, and virtue; and the talent confided to us we have
+  used in all branches of industry, science, fine arts, in the service
+  of the community, the state, and the Union, in peace and in war, and
+  we perform our share in the great national work, the result of which
+  is a new and powerful commonwealth, the foundation of which lies in
+  the individual worth and right of man.
+
+  "I think I can see a Providential dispensation in this, that when the
+  time arrived for the new world to take its place among the nations
+  with a new and powerful cosmopolitan race, the Scandinavian people
+  were also chosen to contribute a part in that grand work, and that it
+  was especially reserved for the 'men of the people' to receive in this
+  country free and equal opportunity for their development. Who can fail
+  to see the stamp of the Scandinavian people on the entire social
+  fabric of the new world?
+
+  "We would be forgetful if we did not gratefully remember the great
+  good which the fatherland has bestowed upon us from tender childhood
+  to the very hour when we bid it farewell; we would be unworthy of the
+  name and fame of our fathers if we did not honor and love as a dear
+  mother the ever memorable land of our birth, and you, its worthy
+  representatives, as our relatives and brothers.
+
+  "Your presence among us is a proud event, and its remembrance shall be
+  cherished as one of the most pleasant. And when you return to those
+  dear places where we took the first steps on life's eventful journey,
+  we wish you to take back cordial greetings from us all, and say to our
+  kindred that we teach our children to love and honor the people and
+  institutions in the Northern lands, although they have never seen
+  them; and say to them that, far out in the wide West by the laughing
+  water of Hiawatha, and hundreds of miles beyond, are friends and
+  brothers whose fidelity and affection neither time nor distance can
+  obliterate."
+
+The address was responded to with much feeling by Col. Liljehoek of
+Sweden. The festivities continued amid addresses, music and song until
+long past midnight. The following day the guests were shown around the
+city, after which they visited St. Paul, where they also received a
+cordial welcome, and were presented to the governor.
+
+The following year, on the 14th of September, an event took place which
+deserves particular mention. It was the celebration of the two hundred
+and fiftieth anniversary of the landing of the first Swedish settlers on
+the Delaware. The Revs. J. Enstam and C. J. Petri, together with myself,
+in the middle of the summer called a meeting of Swedish-American
+citizens to prepare for such celebration. Committees were appointed and
+elaborate preparations made, to which nearly all the Swedes lent a
+willing and helping hand. The great exposition building was given up to
+our use: bands of music were engaged, a choir of one hundred and fifty
+Swedish singers, mostly from the different churches, was trained, and
+eminent orators, statesmen and professors were invited. A souvenir badge
+was sold at the Swedish business places in the city; the net
+proceeds,--amounting to about eight hundred dollars,--were donated to
+the fund for the relief of the sufferers by the great fires in
+Sundsvall, Umea and Lilla Edet in Sweden.
+
+The program of the day included a fine parade with bands of music and
+banners; but a heavy rain came early in the day, and the parade had to
+be abandoned, and the people instructed to assemble at the exposition
+building at their own convenience, _which they also did_, in such great
+numbers that before the hour of opening the exercises every seat and
+standing place in the great auditorium were occupied. Many came from
+distant towns, cities and states; a special train brought nearly one
+thousand from St. Paul, with marshals, music and banners; the general
+council of the Lutheran Church, then assembled in Minneapolis, came in a
+body and occupied seats on the platform to the right of Cappa's Seventh
+New York Regiment Band, while the Swedish chorus of one hundred and
+fifty voices, under Prof. Norman, occupied the platform to the left.
+
+The platforms were decorated with numerous society banners, and the
+colors of Sweden were seen everywhere. The lofty pillars reaching to the
+roof were wrapped in alternate stripes of blue and yellow, the national
+colors of Sweden, and side by side and uppermost were the stars and
+stripes. A large picture of the old Swedes Church in Wilmington,
+Delaware, built in 1698, was hung in front of the speakers' platform,
+and attracted general attention.
+
+As chairman of the committee of arrangements I had the honor to act as
+presiding officer of the day. The government of Sweden was represented
+by Consul Sahlgaard, with other distinguished guests, and the historical
+society of Delaware by Maj. Geo. Q. White. As near as can be estimated
+there were fully fifteen thousand people present, and the interest
+manifested by that vast audience can best be understood from the fact
+that thousands stood upon their feet during the whole proceedings, which
+lasted three hours.
+
+[Illustration: OLD SWEDES CHURCH AT WILMINGTON.]
+
+The festivities commenced at two o'clock in the afternoon with a musical
+selection by Cappa's band, at the close of which the audience was
+welcomed by myself in the following words:
+
+  "The discovery of America was the greatest event which had taken place
+  from the days of Christ till it was made, but the settlement of
+  America by the right kind of people was, in its beneficial effects
+  upon the human race, a matter of still greater importance. It seems
+  like an order of Divine Providence that this new world was left in its
+  natural or savage state during all the dark centuries of schooling and
+  experiments in Asia, Africa and Europe, in order that it might remain
+  a virgin soil for the higher civilization which was to follow.
+
+  "To establish this civilization, based upon true principles of
+  government required not only wisdom and strength, but toleration,
+  brotherhood, justice and exalted virtue. The people chosen for that
+  great work came from different countries and different conditions of
+  life,--the English Pilgrims to New England, the Dutch, the Swedes and
+  the Quakers to the middle country, the English Cavaliers, the Scotch
+  Highlanders and the French Huguenots to the South,--and in them all,
+  combined and intermingled, were found the elements of body and of
+  mind, which have given to the world its best government, its greatest
+  nation, and its highest civilization.
+
+  "Since the English were the largest in number their language became
+  the language of all, and for that reason, perhaps, history has been
+  partial to those who first spoke it. Memorials and anniversaries have
+  often been celebrated over the landing of the Pilgrims and the valor
+  of the knights; their just praise has been written and sung a thousand
+  times, so that their honored names have become precious household
+  words among the generations of our day, while the others have often
+  been forgotten or ignored.
+
+  "Fully recognizing the merits of all, we have assembled here to-day
+  from many parts of the United States to commemorate a great historical
+  event,--in celebrating the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the
+  landing of the Swedes on the Delaware, and to do honor to their memory
+  in prayer, song and speech, and to this intellectual feast I bid you
+  all a hearty welcome."
+
+This celebration was unquestionably the largest and most important
+gathering that ever took place among the Swedes in America; great
+attention was paid to it all over the country, and it contributed
+greatly toward placing the Swedes rightly in the estimation of the
+people, throwing a clearer light on the achievements of the past, and
+emphasizing the importance of the Swedish-Americans of the present.
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+Much has been said on the causes of immigration. These are numerous, but
+the chief cause I have found to be that the people of the old world are
+now being aroused to the fact that the social conditions of Europe, with
+its aristocracy and other inherited privileges, are not founded on just
+principles, but that the way to success ought to be equally open for
+all, and determined, not by privileges of birth, but by the inherent
+worth of man. And here in America is found a civilization which is, to a
+large extent, built on equality and the recognition of personal merit.
+This and the great natural resources of the country, the prospects for
+good wages which a new continent affords, and in many cases greater
+religious liberty, draws the people of Europe, at any rate from Sweden,
+to this country.
+
+Sweden is a very good country, but more especially so for those who are
+fortunate enough to be born to title, honor or riches. To be sure, even
+there instances are known of men from the ordinary walks of life making
+their way to wealth and prominence; but those are exceptions, possible
+only in cases of unusually great personal merit. Here, on the other
+hand, the reverse is the rule; the self-made man accomplishes most, as
+instanced by the history of our presidents, governors, financiers and
+other distinguished men. And this is quite natural, for the prospects
+and possibilities which a man sees before him in this country stimulate
+his ambition, and arouse his energies to surmount the greatest
+difficulties.
+
+The new ideas now permeating society in Europe, and which will gradually
+transform it, have, to a great extent, originated in America, more
+particularly the idea of brotherhood, the sympathy with equals, the
+conviction that it is our duty to better the condition of our
+fellow-men, and not despise them, even if they are unfortunate. In this
+respect, as well as in many others, America exerts a great influence
+over Europe. To me the better situated classes of Sweden seem
+short-sighted in their hostility to emigration, for a man of broad views
+must admit that emigration has been beneficial even to Sweden herself.
+It may not have benefited the higher classes directly, as they cannot
+hire servants and laborers as cheaply as formerly; but the people have
+benefited by it as a whole, their condition being now better than
+formerly, when competition between the laborers was greater.
+
+America also exerts a great influence on the mental and moral
+development of the people of Sweden, although this may not be so
+apparent on the surface. The thousands and hundreds of thousands of
+letters written every year by Swedish-Americans to the people of the
+working classes of Sweden arouse the latter's ambition, and develop
+liberal, political and religious ideas among them. No one can calculate
+the scope of this influence, to say nothing of the eloquent language
+spoken by the millions of crowns which are annually sent home to poor
+relatives and friends, and which either lighten the burden of poverty or
+enable the recipients to prepare a brighter future for themselves in
+this country, and how many a poor, down-trodden fellow, who could
+expect nothing better than the poor-house in his old age in Sweden has
+become an able and useful citizen in this country!
+
+When the poor young laboring man or woman, who in Sweden has felt the
+oppression of poverty and looked forward to a life without hope, arrives
+in this country, the timid, bashful looks give way to hopefulness and
+self-reliance. It is true that this is often carried too far, especially
+in the line of expensive and extravagant dress, which sometimes makes
+the wearer appear ridiculous; but these are trifles, the main thing
+being that those people learn to know their own worth, and are able to
+create a brighter future for themselves.
+
+The tact and manner acquired within a short time by common laborers who
+looked thoughtless and careless while at home, are simply astonishing.
+A Swedish diplomat, who visited Minnesota twenty years ago, and, among
+others, met one of his father's former farm laborers, who was now in
+good circumstances, in an official report to the government of Sweden
+expressed his astonishment at the change which the Swedish people had
+undergone in that respect.
+
+It cannot be denied that many among the higher classes in Sweden feel
+very unfriendly toward the United States, and it was even not long ago
+a common saying among them, "America is the paradise of all rogues and
+rascals."
+
+Many Americans suppose themselves to be better than all others, and
+believe their country and institutions to be perfect. In this they are
+mistaken, for in several respects this country is as yet in its infancy,
+and has many defects which the countries in the north of Europe have
+long since outgrown. As one instance I would mention that the school
+system is altogether too dependent on local influences, so that while
+the common schools in the northern cities and towns are very fine,--in
+some instances perfect,--those in the country rate very low compared
+with the same class in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Northern Germany.
+Another case in point is the system of taxation which notably gives
+unprincipled men of wealth opportunities for escape, while the poorer
+classes are taxed for the full amount of their property, the burden thus
+falling proportionately heaviest where it ought to be lightest, and
+_vice versa_. Again, the laws which make possible rings, monopolies, and
+trusts, to the great prejudice of the people, or permit gambling on the
+produce of the country as carried on in the great commercial marts of
+America, robbing the producer of the fair wages of his toil, and many
+other things which would not be tolerated among the nations of Europe.
+Thus it lies within the power of one man, in this our great state of
+Minnesota and other states, to make or unmake cities, towns, and
+communities, by a single edict locating a railroad, fixing a time-table,
+and in many other ways exercising arbitrary power that no European ruler
+would think of assuming. The execution of our laws, also, in many places
+has proven highly unsatisfactory, often making our much-boasted jury
+system, especially in criminal cases, a farce and a disgrace.
+
+The trouble is that political demagogues and Fourth of July orators
+continually keep pointing out only the best sides of our institutions,
+which undoubtedly are both many and great, while few have the courage to
+speak of the defects and short-comings.
+
+As for the conduct of the native Americans toward the immigrants who
+settle among them, I venture to say that although they consider
+themselves very tolerant, and are so in a general way, they are in many
+respects very intolerant and prejudiced; but this is owing to a lack of
+knowledge concerning other nations. It is true that the immigrant,
+especially from the north of Europe, is bidden welcome, and is generally
+well received, but he is expected to be content with shoveling dirt,
+chopping wood, carrying water, plowing the fields, and doing other
+manual labor, no one disputing his right or his fitness for these
+occupations. But when he begins to compete with the native American for
+honor and emolument in the higher walks of life, he is often met with
+coldness, mingled, perhaps, with a little envy, and although the adopted
+citizen may, in many instances, start on an equal footing with the
+natives in culture, intelligence, and business ability, it is only
+exceptionally that he will be recognized as an equal socially; and there
+is scarcely an adopted citizen of the non-English-speaking nationalities
+who has not deeply realized the truth of this statement.
+
+It may be safely said that it will on an average take two generations
+before the children of the non-English-speaking immigrants shall cease
+to suffer more or less from these prejudices. Certainly the children of
+immigrant parents, although born and brought up in this country, are
+often subjected to sneers and taunts by their more fortunate
+playfellows, even within the walls of the American public schools.
+
+This antipathy is most noticeable in places where the number of
+foreigners is very great, but less where they are few, and may be
+explained and partly excused by the fact that, when a great number of
+foreigners live together they are more apt to maintain their customs,
+language and amusements, which differ from those of the native-born. But
+the chief reason is that when the immigrants, most of whom belong to the
+hard-working classes, arrive directly from a long and exhausting
+journey, they are often poorly dressed, awkward and ignorant of the
+language and customs of the country, and look forlorn and crestfallen.
+The first impression which the native American thus receives remains
+with him, while he does not stop to consider that the same class of
+people coming from America to Europe would not appear to better
+advantage if they should go there as immigrants. Nor does he consider
+the injustice of judging whole nationalities by their less favored
+representatives under such circumstances. There are, of course, many
+noble exceptions among the native Americans; but as to genuine tolerance
+between different nationalities, I have seen far more of it in the great
+cosmopolitan cities of Europe, Asia and Africa, than in America.
+
+But these shortcomings may be easily overlooked for the many noble
+traits of character which all admit him to possess. And most striking and
+beautiful of these is the honor and respect he shows to woman. There is
+no other country in the world where woman is treated with such
+consideration, and where she is as safe and honored as among Americans,
+and if we judge nations by the way their women are treated, as I think
+we should, the American nation has no peer in the world.
+
+But if the Americans have a one-sided and wrong conception of
+foreigners, so have also many foreign people a wrong conception of
+America, and we ought not to blame the former more than the latter. The
+Swedish press, for instance,--with praise-worthy exceptions, of
+course,--has always shown great prejudice or ignorance in its treatment
+of America, and especially of the Swedish-Americans. Thus it has always
+been ready to dwell on the dark sides and keep silent about that which
+is praiseworthy in this country. If, for instance, a lawless deed has
+been perpetrated on the frontier it is pointed to as a sample of
+American civilization, without considering that such things take place
+only in the western cow-boy or mining life, the days of which will
+soon belong to the past. And if an immigrant, who, deservedly or
+undeservedly, has been unsuccessful writes a letter to his old home and
+slanders America, how eager the newspapers are to rush into print with
+it. Even if the man has been here only a few months, and seen only a
+small spot of the country, they are still ready to accept his story as
+reliable testimony, and judge the whole country accordingly. But this
+by no means applies to Sweden and the Swedish press alone; it may with
+equal truth be said of the Europeans and the press of Europe generally.
+
+There is no gainsaying the fact, however, that new-comers as a rule must
+expect adversity and difficulty on account of being strangers, and
+because of their unfamiliarity with the English language. And such as
+are unaccustomed to manual labor and have not learned a trade stand a
+poor chance, especially in the beginning. Book learning is of little use
+at first, for there is no lack of educated people in America. Hence it
+is a great mistake for young men with nothing but an education to depend
+upon to come here with the expectation of making a fortune, for the only
+way to success will at first generally be by taking hold of the spade or
+the axe. Have they the courage to do this? Then let them come, for
+opportunities will open after a while to those who shall deserve them.
+Certificates of character and recommendation are here of little value;
+titles and family connections of still less. One cares not much for what
+you have been; but only for what you are.
+
+In the last civil war a young German officer came to President Lincoln
+and offered his services as a volunteer in the army. The man had high
+recommendations, and talked a great deal about his noble birth, and even
+intimated that royal blood was flowing through his veins. Having
+patiently listened to all this, Lincoln, putting his hand on the young
+man's shoulder, said, encouragingly: "Don't let this trouble you, my
+friend, for I assure you that if you only do your duty well and
+faithfully, these things will be no impediment to your success. We are
+not so unjust in America as to think less of a man on account of his
+European titles. No, I can assure you that you have precisely the same
+chance for advancement and success as if you had been a man of the
+people, provided you prove as competent and meritorious as one of
+them."
+
+I have often heard Europeans wonder how it is that with such a
+democratic spirit so many American heiresses seem anxious to marry
+European noblemen. But it should be remembered in the first place that
+there are not many, but comparatively only a few who manifest this
+desire, and also that those few by no means represent public opinion
+here. On the other hand, is it not quite natural that when European
+gentlemen of the highest classes meet and get acquainted with American
+girls, their social and intellectual equals, that a mutual attachment
+may in most cases be the true motive for such alliances? For, as the
+grand Lincoln remarked, when the European nobleman possesses all other
+requisite qualifications his titles are no barrier to his success,
+either in the army, in business affairs, or with the fair sex. Old names
+and titles are usually a guaranty of good education, culture, and other
+praiseworthy acquisitions.
+
+In my contact with the world and with men of different peoples and
+races, I have found that it is unjust to judge them by nations or
+classes, as if one nation or one class were necessarily better or worse
+than others, for there are both good and bad characters among all, and a
+good man is just as good, and a bad one just as bad, whether he be
+Hindoo, Mohammedan, or Christian, American or Swede, nobleman or
+peasant. Much good may be hidden under a coarse and common exterior, and
+we must not search for virtue only among the accomplished, the rich, and
+the fine-looking. Just as much, indeed, is found among the lowly and
+unobserved; and in the quiet, humble daily walks of life are constantly
+enacted deeds of heroism and virtue which are never known or applauded
+by the world, though fully as deserving as many of those which are given
+an honored place in the annals of history; yes, often much more so.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+REVIEW.
+
+
+A few weeks ago I made a short visit to Vasa, our first home in
+Minnesota. The occasion was the eighty-seventh birthday of my mother,
+who still lives near the old homestead.[7] With spirited horses I drove
+in company with a son and a grandson over the same road which was first
+marked out by our simple ox wagon thirty-eight years before.
+
+[Footnote 7: Since dead.]
+
+What a change! The former wilderness changed into smiling fields dressed
+in the purest green of early summer, and along the whole road are fine
+homes, nearly all of which belong to Swedish-Americans, who commenced
+their career as poor immigrants like myself, or to their children, most
+of whom are to the manor-born.
+
+We stop twelve miles from Red Wing close to our old farm, at a little
+cottage surrounded by tall trees. There, by the window, sits
+greatgrandma, watching eagerly for someone whom she knows always spends
+that day with her.
+
+Close to the quiet home stands the large Lutheran church, one of the
+finest country churches in America, and to the peaceful cemetery
+surrounding it we all soon make a pilgrimage to scatter flowers on the
+graves where my good father and sister, my wife's parents, sister, and
+many other near relatives have found a resting place. The little
+cemetery is clothed in a flowery carpet of nature's own garb, and
+studded with several hundred marble monuments with inscriptions that
+testify to the Swedish ancestry of those who rest under them.
+
+[Illustration: SWEDISH CHURCH IN VASA.]
+
+From this place, which is the most elevated point in Vasa, the
+surrounding country affords a picture of such rural peace and beauty,
+that even a stranger must involuntarily pause to wonder and admire; how
+much more, then, I, who was the first white man that trod this ground!
+Below, toward the south, we see the wooded valley, watered by a little
+creek from Willard's spring, where we came near perishing that cold
+January night in 1854; at the head of the valley, the hill where we
+built the first log cabin; immediately beyond this hill the hospitable
+home of my wife's parents, from which I brought my young bride to our
+own happy little home, which stood on another hill near the same spring,
+and of which a part still remains; here, just below the church, is the
+field I first plowed; over there in the grove where we cut logs and
+fencing material, stands now the orphan home, established by Rev. E.
+Norelius; and on the other side the road is his handsome residence and
+garden, but he himself sits inside, frail and suffering on account of
+the hardships of the first few years.
+
+Close by are the post-office, two stores, a blacksmith shop, a
+school-house, two smaller churches, one Methodist and one Baptist, and
+several other public and private buildings, and a few miles farther
+north, near the Cannon river, are two railroads, running from the
+Mississippi westward, connecting with other roads which span the
+continent, and only terminate on the shores of the Pacific ocean.
+
+All around, so far as the eye can see, are green fields, grazing herds
+of cattle, planted and natural groves, comfortable buildings, and great
+white-painted school-houses. Not a hill, not a valley or a grove but
+they call forth touching recollections, some mingled with sorrow and
+pain, but by far the most bright and cheerful; for here I spent the
+first hopeful years of my manhood; here we lived, the first Swedes in
+Minnesota, in a circle of innocent and faithful friends; here I won the
+wife who tenderly and faithfully has shared the vicissitudes of life
+with me, in sorrow and in joy ever the same; here those of my countrymen
+who followed me when I was yet but a youth, have acquired independence,
+happiness, and such esteem that the settlement of Vasa has a reputation
+among the communities of the state which reflects honor upon the memory
+of the great king whose name it bears.
+
+But this picture of development, culture and progress is not confined to
+this settlement, for countless other Scandinavian settlements in the
+west and northwest have made as great progress within a comparatively
+short time.
+
+On my arrival in 1852 the Mississippi river was the north-western
+boundary line of civilization with the exception of the state of Iowa,
+which then had only a small population. Since that time twelve new
+states further west have been peopled and admitted into the Union. There
+was no railroad west of Chicago; now the immense distance between the
+Mississippi and the Pacific ocean is spanned by four giant railroads,
+while more than a hundred trunk and branch lines intersect the country
+in all directions, and lakes and rivers are navigated by hundreds of
+steamers, which compete with the railroads in carrying the products of
+the West to the Atlantic, whence they are distributed over the whole
+civilized world.
+
+Hundreds of cities that did not exist, even by name, have since sprung
+up as if by magic, and some of them have already become renowned
+throughout the world for their industry, commerce and culture. Among
+them are Minneapolis and St. Paul, already intertwining their arms
+around each other in an embrace that will soon unite them into one. The
+former did not exist when I first gazed on St. Anthony falls, which now
+furnishes motive power for its magnificent mills and factories, and the
+latter was a town of about two thousand inhabitants. Their combined
+population is now one-third of a million. St. Paul contains a large
+number of Scandinavians, but Minneapolis seems to be their favorite
+city, the Swedes alone numbering over forty thousand. They have many
+churches, private schools, academies and other institutions of learning.
+
+[Illustration: FLOUR MILLS IN MINNEAPOLIS.]
+
+The three Scandinavian nationalities agree pretty well in our good
+state, and have united their efforts in several enterprises of some
+magnitude. In Minneapolis there are several banks and other monetary
+institutions owned and controlled by them, not to mention hundreds of
+other important commercial and manufacturing establishments due to the
+enterprise of our countrymen. Having gradually learned the language
+and the ways of this country, a surprisingly large number of the
+Scandinavians who began their career as common laborers have engaged
+successfully in business on their own account, and many have devoted
+themselves to professions demanding a higher education, which is greatly
+facilitated by a number of excellent academies and colleges established
+and supported by them in several of the western states. A great number
+of county offices are filled by the Scandinavian-Americans; in our
+legislature there are generally from thirty to forty members of that
+nationality; many of them have occupied positions of the highest trust
+and honor as officers of the state and of the United States, and no one
+can deny the fact that they have universally proved themselves fully
+equal in ability and trust-worthiness to the native born.
+
+But it is not only in Minneapolis or in Minnesota, but throughout the
+whole country that the Scandinavians have gained such a good name, that
+in all the recent agitation against foreign emigrants, not one voice has
+been heard against them. They learn the English language well and
+quickly, and assimilate readily with the native American element, which
+is natural enough considering that they are to a very large extent of
+the same blood and ancestry as the English people, and that the English
+language is borrowed to no small extent from the Scandinavian.
+
+Americans often express astonishment at the ease and correctness with
+which the Scandinavian immigrants acquire the English language. A little
+study of philology will readily account for it. If we take, for
+instance, the names of household goods, domestic animals, and other
+things appertaining to the common incidents of plain every-day life, we
+find the English words almost identical with the Scandinavian terms,
+only varying in the form of spelling or perhaps pronunciation, as those
+are apt to change with time and locality. For example: English--ox, cow,
+swine, cat, hound, rat, mouse, hen, goose, chicken; Swedish--oxe, ko,
+svin, katt, hund, rotta, mus, hoena, gas, kyckling. Of implements:
+English--wagon, plow, harrow, spade, axe, knife, kettle, pot, pan, cup;
+Swedish--wagn, plog, harf, spada, yxa, knif, kittel, potta, panna, kopp.
+Or the part of our own bodies, such as: English--hair, skin, eyes, nose,
+ears, mouth, lips, teeth, shoulders, arm, hand, finger, nail, foot, toe,
+etc.; Swedish--har, skinn, oegon, naesa, oeron, mun, laepp, tand, skuldra,
+arm, hand, finger, nagel, fot, and ta. Or of the occupations of the
+common people, such as: English--spin, weave, cook, sow, sew;
+Swedish--spinna, vaefva, koka, sa, sy, etc. In this connection it may not
+be out of place to quote one of England's most eminent authors and
+scholars, Edward Bulwer Lytton, who says:
+
+  "A magnificent race of men were those war sons of the old North, whom
+  our popular histories, so superficial in their accounts of this age,
+  include in the common name of the 'Danes.'
+
+  "They replunged into barbarism the nations over which they swept; but
+  from the barbarism they reproduced the noblest element of
+  civilization. Swede, Norwegian and Dane, differing in some minor
+  points, when closely examined, had yet one common character viewed at
+  a distance. They had the same prodigious energy, the same passion for
+  freedom, individual and civil, the same splendid errors in the thirst
+  for fame and the point of honor, and above all, as a main cause of
+  civilization, they were wonderfully pliant and malleable in their
+  adventures with the people they overran.
+
+  "At that time, A.D. 1055, these Northmen, under the common name of
+  Danes, were peaceably settled in no less than fifteen counties in
+  England; their nobles abounded in towns and cities beyond the
+  boundaries of those counties, which bore the distinct appellation of
+  Danelagh. They were numerous in London, in the precincts of which they
+  had their own burial-place, to the chief municipal court of which they
+  gave their own appellation--the Husting."
+
+It is, of course, impossible to ascertain the exact number of
+Scandinavians and their descendants in this country, but we can come
+very near it by studying the statistics of the United States treasury
+department, a recent report from which gives the number of emigrants
+during the last seventy years from Sweden and Norway as 943,330, and
+from Denmark as 146,237, or a total since the year 1820 of 1,089,567;
+while the same report gives the number during the same period from
+Germany as 4,551,719; Ireland, 3,501,683; England, 1,460,054; English
+Colonies, 1,029,083; Austria-Hungaria, 464,435; Italy, 414,513; France,
+370,162; Russia, 356,353; Scotland, 329,192; Switzerland, 174,333.
+
+When we take into consideration the numerous Swedish colonies that
+settled in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the seventeenth
+century, and their descendants, together with the descendants of
+Scandinavian emigrants of the last seventy years, I think it is safe to
+estimate the total population of Scandinavian descent at over four
+millions, or fully one-sixteenth of the entire population of the United
+States. The very fact that the nationality assimilates so readily with
+the native American element causes it to be lost sight of; and it should
+be so, for the only desirable immigrants to this country are those who
+cease to be foreigners, and merge right into the American nation. Such
+are certainly the Scandinavians. They do not bring over any grievances
+from the mother country to correct or avenge, and there are no
+Clan-na-Gael, no Mafia societies among them, nor are there any
+anarchists or revolutionists. They come here to build homes for
+themselves and their children; they are contented and grateful for the
+privileges of American citizenship, and make themselves worthy of it by
+pushing into the front rank in the onward march of education,
+philanthropy and religion, as well as in material progress.
+
+One illustration, among many that might be given, is found in the report
+of a late conference of the Swedish Lutheran Church, from which it
+appears that they have now in Minnesota alone two hundred and forty-five
+parishes, with one hundred and seventy-nine churches, valued at over six
+hundred thousand dollars, and all paid for. The Norwegian Lutheran
+Church would undoubtedly show equal if not better results, though I
+cannot give the exact figures.
+
+It is a great mistake which some make, to think that it is only for
+their brawn and muscle that the Northmen have become a valuable
+acquisition to the American population; on the contrary, they have done
+and are doing as much as any other nationality within the domain of mind
+and heart. Not to speak of the early discovery of America by the
+Scandinavians five hundred years before the time of Columbus, they can
+look back with proud satisfaction on the part they have taken in all
+respects to make this great republic what it is to-day.
+
+The early Swedish colonists in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
+worked as hard for liberty and independence as the English did in New
+England and in the South. There were no tories among them, and when the
+continental congress stood wavering equal in the balance for and against
+the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, it was a Swede, John
+Morton (Mortenson), of the old Delaware stock, who gave the casting vote
+of Pennsylvania in favor of the sacred document.
+
+When nearly a century later the great rebellion burst upon the land, a
+gallant descendant of the Swedes, Gen. Robert Anderson, met its first
+shock at Fort Sumter, and, during the bitter struggle of four years
+which followed, the Scandinavian-Americans were as true and loyal to
+their adopted country as their native-born neighbors, giving their
+unanimous support to the cause of the Union and fighting valiantly for
+it; nor should it be forgotten that it was the Swede John Ericson, who,
+by his inventive genius, saved the navy and the great seaports of the
+United States, and that it was another Swede by descent, Admiral
+Dahlgren, who furnished the model for the finest guns of our artillery.
+Surely love of freedom, valor, genius, patriotism and religious fervor
+was not planted in America by the seeds brought over in the Mayflower
+alone.
+
+Yes, it is verily true that the Scandinavian immigrants, from the early
+colonists of 1638 to the present time, have furnished strong hands,
+clear heads and loyal hearts to the republic. They have caused the
+wilderness to blossom like the rose; they have planted schools and
+churches on the hills and in the valleys; they have honestly and ably
+administered the public affairs of town, county and state; they have
+helped to make wise laws for their respective commonwealths and in the
+halls of congress; they have, with honor and ability, represented their
+adopted country abroad; they have sanctified the American soil by their
+blood, shed in freedom's cause on the battle-fields of the revolution
+and the civil war; and though proud of their Scandinavian ancestry, they
+love America and American institutions as deeply and as truly as do the
+descendants of the Pilgrims, the starry emblem of liberty meaning as
+much to them as to any other citizen.
+
+Therefore, the Scandinavian-American feels a certain sense of ownership
+in the glorious heritage of American soil, with its rivers, lakes,
+mountains, valleys, woods and prairies, and in all its noble
+institutions; and he feels that the blessings which he enjoys are not
+his by favor or sufferance, but by right; by moral as well as civil
+right. For he took possession of the wilderness, endured the hardships
+of the pioneer, contributed his full share toward the grand results
+accomplished, and is in mind and heart a true and loyal American
+citizen.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Amendments:
+
+Page 1: immemmorial amended to immemorial
+Page 1: Skane amended to Skane
+Pages 2, 3: Onnestad amended to Oennestad
+Page 7: amusments amended to amusements
+Page 14: doller amended to dollar
+Page 24: acquaintenances amended to acquaintances
+Page 38: begining amended to beginning
+Page 47: neigh-hood amended to neighborhood
+Page 106: added "be" to "can more easily be imagined"
+Page 140: Amerian amended to American
+Page 154: Pharoah amended to Pharaoh
+Page 159: acknowlege amended to acknowledge
+Page 166: fetes amended to fetes
+Page 168: punka amended to punkah
+Page 187: Wesdnesday amended to Wednesday
+Page 194: astromical amended to astronomical
+Page 197: embroideried amended to embroidered
+Page 200: hundred amended to hundreds
+Page 210: acknoweldged amended to acknowledged
+Page 214: surburbs amended to suburbs
+Page 217: degraged amended to degraded
+Page 237: Fete amended to Fete
+Page 256: methodist amended to Methodist
+Page 256: magnificient amended to magnificent
+Page 256: fete amended to fete
+Page 257: bible amended to Bible
+Page 260: begger amended to beggar
+Page 264: ANNADABAI amended to ANNANDABAI
+Page 266: conntry amended to country
+Page 272: of of amended to of
+Page 275: bible amended to Bible
+Page 279: of of amended to of
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Reminiscences, by Hans Mattson
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