. Reminiscences; the story of an emigrant. dmitted to the Bar and electedCounty Auditor—Politics in 1860—War is Imminent. We had now commenced a new career, located on our farmclaims in the boundless West, with no end to the prospectsand possibilities before us. We felt that independence andfreedom which are only attained and appreciated in thewestern wilds of the Mississippi river and almost to the Pacific Ocean, was a verdant field forthe industry, energyand enterprise of thesettler. To be sure, ourmeans and resourceswere small, but some-ouR WAGON. how we felt that by hard work
. Reminiscences; the story of an emigrant. dmitted to the Bar and electedCounty Auditor—Politics in 1860—War is Imminent. We had now commenced a new career, located on our farmclaims in the boundless West, with no end to the prospectsand possibilities before us. We felt that independence andfreedom which are only attained and appreciated in thewestern wilds of the Mississippi river and almost to the Pacific Ocean, was a verdant field forthe industry, energyand enterprise of thesettler. To be sure, ourmeans and resourceswere small, but some-ouR WAGON. how we felt that by hard work and good conduct we would some day attain thecomfort, independence and position for which our soulsthirsted. We did not sit down and wait for gold mines toopen up before us, or for roasted pigs to come running bj^ourcabin, but with axe and spade went quietly to work, to doour little part in the building up of new empires. In the beginning of May, my father came from Illinois andbrought us a pair of steers and a milch cow; this made us. ;*^ Story of an Emigrant. 47 rich. We made a wagon with wheels of blocks sawed off anoak log; we also bought a plow, and, joining with ourneighbors of Belle Creek, had a breaking team of two pairof oxen. That breaking team and that truck wagon, withmyself always as the chief ox driver, did all the breaking, andall the hauling and carting of lumber, provisions, building-material and other goods, for all the settlers in that neigh-hood during the first season. Soon others of our party from last year joined us. Someletters which I wrote in Hemlandet describing the countryaround us, attracted much attention and brought settlersfrom different parts of the west, and while the Swedes werepouring into our place, then known as Mattsons Settle-ment, (now well known under the name of Yasa), our friends,the Norwegians, had started a prosperous settlement a fewmiles to the south, many of them coming overland from Wis-consin, bringing cattle, implements an
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