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\par \b Reminiscences of Hans J. Zobell\b0
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\par Our Journey from Copenhagen to Utah
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\par . . . In July, 1869, there were gathered together somewhere around 400 emigrants at the "Bolles" Hotel in Copenhagen. The greater part of them were Mormons. They were Scandinavians. We paid for and received a contract or ticket, which would take us right to Utah. It cost each one of us 300 "kroner" or about $75 in American money. The contract we were to show when we went aboard the ship that was to take us across the Atlantic Ocean. In this "Bolles Hotel" was a regular melting pot, everything was in an uproar-people talked and gabbed, some were very happy and glad, some howled and cried, while others went through the milling crowd, begging and praying for money, that they may also be taken along. One J. P. Hansen, got on my sympathy and I let him have 100 "kroner" so he came along too. I especially noticed a young sister who continued to bother a rich farmer to pay her way over, he was stubborn, but the last moment he gave in and she came along.
\par We were to go from Copenhagen to Hull and there the boat to take us overseas would meet us, so all was in readiness and we then marched from the Hotel and down to the dock, it was surely some sight to behold-all those 400 people marching down the street, carrying their trinkets, and belongings, gabbing and talking about this and that, both young and old, hobbling along, but we were all merry for we were looking forward to something better. Yea! the land of Zion, the gathering place of God's chosen people!
\par When we arrived at the dock we were ushered aboard a small steamship. This was something new for me as I had never been on a steamship before. This troop of people were mostly farm folk, common, sturdy people who had come from the rural districts of the Scandinavian countries. Dependable men and women who were to become the mainstay of the community wherein they were to dwell and a great support spiritually to their Church and to their God.
\par Everyone of us carried along his individual utensils, consisting of: a tin cup and plate, a knife, fork and spoon, also of tin. I, myself, trotted along, lugging two small casks, one of butter, and one of anchovies, my Mother and three sisters were all decorated in a like manner, as we carried a full portion of food, knickknacks, and of course our tinware. It almost reminded one of a tribe of Indians, who were on the move, the clanging and jingling, and at times we would hear a voice above the clamor, singing: "Think not when you come to Zion that your trials are at an end, etc."
\par I began looking around in the company for the young sister, who had been begging the farmer at the Hotel, for a passage to Utah, and evidently his heart had soften for she was along. This well to do farmer, I found out, had loaned all his money to the poor Saints. I could not get this young sister out of my mind, and I never did or shall, as you shall see.
\par We were soon at the gangplank of the ship and were soon to lift our feet off of Denmark's soil, which was dear to us. Many scenes were very touching at the dock. In particular, I noticed a Mother giving three small girls a last farewell embrace and a kiss, as she turned them over to a young woman to take them to Zion. Oh what faith and trust one must have to do this, send your own girls to a people whose reputation is that of desiring more women for more wives for a lot of unholy men. She held one of them to her breast right up to the very last moment and then let it go along with the others. I thought, how can a Mother do this? It must be faith and trust in God. I had to leave off my thoughts and looking, for I had also my own to look after and find a place for them on the ship.
\par I will just give a short description of the accommodations on board this ship in which we went to Hull. On the bottom of the ship was a deep [p.52] layer of sand. We were to spread our bedding on this and make ourselves comfortable in our sand pile. We had only to cross the North Sea, however, in this condition. It was sometime afternoon before I found a suitable place for Mother and sisters. I hollowed out a hole in the sand and there placed the bedding. This hole would prevent them from being thrown from side to side when the boat rolled upon the waves of the sea. When some of the other emigrants saw what I was doing, they also followed suit, for they noticed that I went at it like I knew what I was doing, and knew what was to be expected on the trip. The whole thing reminded one of a herd of hogs making their wallow, preparatory to going to bed for the night.
\par When I was through with our "wallow" I went up on deck to look around, and there I spied the young sister who had begged so hard to come along in our company. She stood there by the side of her little trunk, all of her earthly belongings and I noticed she was somewhat bewildered and needed some directing as everything was new to her and she was evidently alone.
\par I went over and asked her if I could not help her get located, and she was not slow in accepting my proffer and thanked me kindly. I noticed, at once that she was more or less refined, even if she had begged her way over. She at once placed herself in my charge, that gave me another to look after. I first had to get a rope to tie up her trunk, and told her in the meantime she could go down and dig her a "wallow" in the sand where she could lay with the other Brothers and Sisters.
\par She gave me a blank look and said: "What are you trying to do, make a fool or an ass out of me at my expense? If you are, you have picked the wrong party this time." Her curt retort both amused and pleased me: "Why no, of course not," I replied. "But," she insisted, "Didn't you say that I should go down and dig me a hole in the sand at the bottom of the ship and then lay in it. What kind of crazy talk is that anyway?" "Yes, that is just what you have to do, so you go down and get busy," I somewhat commanded. "While I fix up your trunk." The young sister was soon back and asked me for the loan of my knife so she could cut her initials in her trunk. I told her I would help her with it and asked her the letters she wanted. She said, "MM."
\par "Oh, so your name is Mormon to the Mormons" said I in jest, to this she came back with "Now forget your jesting and put the "MM" on the trunk, it stands for Marie Madsen, if you must know. (We will hear more of the trunk when we get on the Atlantic Ocean.)
\par The sailors now began to loosen the ropes that tied the ship fast to the dock and the whistle blew once-the warning signal-a commotion and a scramble is seen and a few stragglers hurry up the gangplank, for the command was given by the Captain to "hawl in", meaning the gangplank must be taken on board, and the ship made ready to leave the dock. The pilot stands in his place on the bridge of the boat and shouts a sharp command, "Cut loose" and the propellers begin to groan and labor and as one looks back "abaft" the ship, you would almost think a tidal wave had hit the harbor, and the boat begins to move in the water, we are off and our nose is headed toward Zion, heeding the call and obeying the command of our God "to get us up out of Babylon" and up into the tops of the Mountains. Something seems to tug at one's heart, as you stand there on the deck of the ship and look down at the multitude who has gathered to say a last farewell not only to a dear one, maybe a father or mother, but also to the land of your birth and what the future has in store for you is only the faith you have. And now fellow believers begin singing the song that brings a tear in every emigrant's heart. "When Shall We See Each Other Again, Who Is a Brother And Who Is a Friend" and to this comes the emigrants loved song from on deck: "Farewell, Farewell, The Land of My Birth, I Now Bid Thee Farewell." The ship moves away from the dock-our former home and our friends to take us [p.53] to a place we know but little about, but our faith is still strong [SIC] and our faith is still strong and our trust is all in our God, who called us to Zion: Gather ye, O my people, go ye out of Babylon, Gather ye together with my Church," so says the call and we obey. The thoughts of going to something better gave us strength to hold up under the ordeal of leaving father, mother, brother, sister, friends, lands, homes, and all behind. It was dark night before we came down to Hilsinger, but it was summertime and the weather was pleasant, so most of the emigrants stayed on deck and sang songs, mostly songs of Zion, all night long and all went well.
\par By the next morning a lot of pep had gone out of the emigrants as the ship began to get into deeper water and of course roll more for some of the waves began to go right over the ship and they had to go below. Some had already become seasick. By evening we had entered the "Skakeraket," and there showed on the ship's barometer a storm brewing and also headwind, I soon became very busy looking after my family and I got but very little rest.
\par The second night out a hard wind arose and the waves began to be as high as mountains, a great many of them almost buried the ship at times, some of the emigrants began losing their belongings, they washed overboard. Two girls, in particular, had brought up their bedding on deck to sleep in the cool of the night. I had appointed myself to kind of look after things for I had plenty of experiences in the ten years I have been sailing around in all kinds of weather and knew the pranks that the sea would play on one if you were not on your guard all the time and so I kept an eye on these young women that had brought their beds up on the deck. I realized that a big wave was liable to come at any moment and sweep everything off the deck. I had not long to wait, for sure enough a mountainous wave came but I was on my guard, right near by, so made a quick dash for the girls and grabbed them and also tried to save their bedding but was only lucky in saving one fine feather bed, the rest of it went sailing out to sea. These two young ladies were undoubtedly saved from drowning, because they would have not been missed for possibly several hours. This wave took everything that was not fastened or tied down on the deck, we all got a good soaking of salty sea water the and the girls a great deal of experience and a thrill that they never wanted to go through again.
\par Right after this, in one of my walks around the ship, I was too impatient to stand still, but was always nosing about, I heard some of the sailors talking that the captain had given orders that they would seek shelter in the lee of the "Skagen" until the storm had subsided somewhat-I knew by this that the elements were up to some of their worst destructions so the sooner a ship can get to shelter the better. I noticed the course of the ship was soon changed, and I paid particular attention to the maneuver of the ship and as soon as we reached the lee of the "Skagen" I knew we would be out of the fury of the storm and under the banks of "Skagen". I knew these waters very well for I had sailed them many times before, it was just like coming back to the old farm or the little village one used to live in.
\par I had not had any sleep up until now so as soon as the ship became a little more calm, and my body began to relax I began to realize that I must follow the laws of nature and get some rest. So I hunted up my Mother and sisters in their "wallow" to see how they were getting along. I found them somewhat satisfied with their condition, but oh my, what a rotten mess I beheld. I have seen how dirty the Russians and how filthy the Turks love to be, but this scene climaxed anything I have ever looked at and this too, my own people, I did not think that any mortals could live in so much filth. They were just plain dirty, everybody had vomited over everything-they [p.54] would vomit and then lay right down in it and never as much as flinch. It was sure hard on Mother to lay in all this muck, she who had always been so trim and neat both in body and also in her house.
\par I was quite amused, but did not dare show it, when the ballast had shifted and things had gotten more mixed up than ever, that two farmer boys had rolled right into Mother's sand bed and onto her nice feather bed that she valued so highly. To say she was angry is putting it lightly. Her eyes were as balls of fire but she could not do a thing, and when she saw me she complained bitterly, and well she had a right, for it was a mess, something she was not used to. I soon got the big hunks out of Mother's berth, and in no kind way either.
\par After I had gotten the girls taken care of and had them safely down below again it was time that I began looking after myself for I was as wet as if I had been dipped in the ocean. I had to get some dry clothes and find a place to change them, which was a most difficult task. Nearly all the emigrants kept the same clothes on all the way over and some of them did not change them until they reached Zion, I am quite sure. It is to be understood that we were altogether down in the bottom of the ship, both men, women, and children, and there was no way one could undress or change clothes without making a public display of it. We were all in one pen like a herd of cattle at the Chicago stockyards. But I having some foreknowledge of this had provided myself a place, being somewhat acquainted on a ship, I had placed my little steamer trunk under one of the coal bunkers of the ship, there I had plenty of room to make my change which I did. I also hid out here when I wanted to be alone and away from the rest.
\par While I was in Alexandria, Egypt, I bought a regulation Egyptian suit of clothes, or uniform. This I dug out of my trunk and put it on and it was some uniform, believe it or not. Think of it, a red whiskered Dane being dressed up like a Turk. I at once became the main attraction of the whole ship. But few people on board ship had ever seen an outfit like it. The goods were of the finest material. It was of a fine black and white stripe weave. The trousers were knicker style. That is, just to the knees. I used a belt to hold them up. This belt was one of the decorated kind with an anchor design all around it. I did not wear a vest, but wore a violet blue shirt and a black silk handkerchief around my neck, tied in sailor fashion and a jacket of light gray, and for a hat I wore a Turkish red "fez." This cap had a black silk tassel fastened on its top that hung down to my shoulders. When I came among my fellow passengers in this lay out no one recognized me.
\par I was dead tired and needed some sleep badly, so laid down and got a couple of hours of sound sleep, which greatly refreshed me and when I awoke it was daylight again. The wind had gone down so the ship began to steam toward England. I had become very hungry, so went to my little trunk and fixed myself a good breakfast, consisting of rye bread, butter and anchovies. It tasted so good that I figured that my folks who had had such an emptying out would be in need of some nourishment to fill up the empty spaces. I therefore prepared several sandwiches of the same as I had eaten and took them to Mother and the rest of them down there in the bottom of the boat, where they were all laying in their "wallows".
\par "But my! what a mess, one would think that the Angel of death had executed her spell upon them all. Here they lay, big strong men and women, prostrated, just twenty-four hours before full of life and vim singing: "Farewell, the land of my birth" at the top of their voices, and now they reminded you of a catch of dead fish in a net. They were laying over and under one another, could hardly tell who was who and why they were indeed [p.55] more dead than alive. What a terrible stench; the odor was enough to knock one over and there was no fresh air to be had at all, for all the vent holes were closed tight because of the storm the night before. If cleanliness is one of the first laws of God than He must be a long way from here. I offered some of my nice bread and butter sandwiches to my Mother and the girls, but they only stuck up their noses and would not even as much as look at them. It just made them sicker to think of food. They sure insulted my nice sandwiches I had gone to so much trouble to make.
\par While walking among this pile of humanity, I ran across the young sister who had come a aboard the last minute in Copenhagen. Here the poor creature lay pinned down by a big clumsy farmer boy who was lying right over her feet so she could not move. There he was ejecting the contents of his stomach-food he had eaten before we left Copenhagen. The poor little woman could not move or get away from him. I got mad right away and grabbed the big lummox by the hair of his head and told him to get himself off from the poor girl's legs, or I would soon move him. Peter (that was his name) gave me an angry look, but began to lift himself and as he did so I noticed his mouth was getting ready to unload another consignment right on the young girl who he had pinned down under his big body. This never happened for I grabbed a better hold of him and gave him a good yank and told him to get up and be quick about it. He complained that he was so awful sick.
\par Well, its lucky for you, Peter, that I am here, for I am a doctor and have had a great deal of experience with seasickness. I have studied it for the past ten years, but hurry now and get up on deck and you will feel much better.
\par "Oh, I am so sick," said Peter. "No excuses get up, get up, for I am the Doctor," I said. He finally got up and found himself another place and did not bother the sister anymore.
\par I thereupon offered some of my nice sandwiches to Miss MM as I called her, but she thanked me kindly and said she could not eat any of them for she was also seasick. She then told me what had transpired that night and also part of her past life and promised to tell me more of herself when I had more time to listen. ( ) (Father drew a picture of an anchor here in his writeup. We all know that the "anchor" was his trademark or insignia, an emblem that he dearly loved throughout his life. In fact he cut it in all his tools and implements and anyone of his neighbors who saw the sign of the anchor on anything knew that it belonged to Hans J. Zobelle***ALZ)
\par Our little talk filled me with such desire to hear and see more of this little woman, that I could hardly wait for the next opportunity to hear more of her. It seems that some kind of magnetic power had hold of me to draw me near to her. I had never experienced the like of such a feeling before. I have been a great many places and talked with many kinds of people, both of high and low rank, and had opportunities to associate myself with some of the elite of the countries I had been in, and here I was taking a fancy and a liking to this poor emigrant girl laying here in this wallow that is worse than any pig pen I had ever seen in my own country.
\par There was surely something about her more than outward appearances that caused me to have this kindly feeling toward this Daughter of Denmark. I have always had a dislike for filth and the more common things in life, but always did appreciate the finer things, those that were really uplifting and edifying, and have always sought after those things. While standing here talking to her I noticed a lady's hat, right by the side of her and saw also that it was full to the brim with vomit, so I at once became very curious at this strange sight for I had never seen anything like it before so asked: "Who does this hat belong to, I see it has about its full cargo [p.56 ] and is about to sail off to sea." "That is my hat and if you must know, I have loaded it myself," said my friend with just a little heat. "But why did you do this, you have surely ruined a good hat" said I. "Well, I did not want to get my fellow passengers filthy with my mess, so I used my hat to catch it in." "Oh, I understand you now," I said.
\par That remark of hers 'that she did not want to get her filth on others' struck me so forcible that I wanted to learn all I could of her character and become acquainted with this little woman, who was as yet to me only Miss MM.
\par After this I hunted up my Mother and sisters and found them very seasick too, they were laying down in the bottom of their wollows I had made for them, they did not want to be bothered but left alone and there die in their mess, as all seasick folks want to do. I got them cleaned up a little, however, which was a hard job.
\par I began to take note that the emigrants did not consider me as an ordinary or common emigrant, but looked upon me as a leader or example to the rest of them. This, I presume, was partly because of my strange costume and my red "fez" that I wore and then again of my activity among them in helping them in their distressed condition. I, at all times, tried to cheer them up and be of some assistance in any way I could, at times I had to get a little harsh with them in order to get them to try and help themselves, both in keeping clean and keeping up their morale.
\par I would often hear them talk among themselves saying: "Who is that fellow with the red hat on, and, look there he comes now. Let's get fixed up a little so he will not scold us. Then they would cover up their vomit. It reminded one of a cat in a sand pile. Thus many of them began to straighten themselves up and try to look a little respectable, all because of my odd looking costume. Little did I think I would get as much good out of this Turkish outfit when I bought it.
\par I hunted around and found the sister who had the four little children in her charge, she was terribly seasick and the children too, so I helped her get fixed up some, which pleased her greatly. She had a sweetheart (beau) along who was to have helped her with the children, but he was always seasick and nearly buried himself in a wollow in the sand. I had noticed him several times as I was making my rounds to see if I could be of any assistance to my fellow travelers, who always looked upon me as one having some authority over them. May I state here that I have had an active life all of my days so this may account for some of my inability just to sit still and look at these poor wretches lay there in their mess. I was not obligated in any way to nurse as I did. I felt that I was serving a brother in distress and trying to act the part of the "Good Samaritan". That is my pay, kind reader.
\par The steamship glided along now at a lively clip, the wind had gone down and the weather was again pleasant, but the sea rolled considerable, and the waves were quite high, this caused all the emigrants to remain and of course remain below until we were in sight of Hull, which was two more days and nights.
\par As we sailed into the harbor at Hull, England, I again prepared a plateful of rye bread, butter, and anchovy sandwiches. I was badly in need of nourishment for I had been on the go nearly all the time ever since we got into that bad storm. As I appeared among the emigrants with a newly made plate full of my sandwiches it nearly caused a stampede among them for everybody was famished and their stomachs had been entirely emptied of all contents and they were indeed "an hungered." I treated them to a bite here and a bite there and as soon as they tasted them they wanted to buy a dozen from me. Even the big clumsy Peter, the big hunk I had told I was a Doctor, came and wanted to buy a half dozen of them. He believed I had put something in them that had cured him of his seasickness. He told me that he had become right well just as soon as he had taken one bite and it was down his stomach. [p.57]
\par It is a fact, however, that those who have had to empty their stomachs because of seasickness, will benefit greatly by eating a sandwich of this kind. I must confess that I did take advantage of Peter at this time and told him if he would take two of my sandwiches and hold them between his teeth that he would never vomit, as long as he would hold them there. It is an old joke we use among the seamen. Peter was too dumb to know that he was being made an ass of and said very seriously to me: "I suppose you get a big fat salary for your services here, and are you going all the way with us to America?" "Yes, I am going all the way to Zion with you, but I am now too busy to talk to you anymore. "So then went to look after things that were more essential. I noticed on the ship's instrument that we were nearing land and the pilot was already at his station on the bridge of the ship. We steamed ahead at a good gate as the captain was trying to get into port before the tide went out. Here at Hull the tide rises and lowers several feet in a time elapse of a few hours, and if a ship does not get into the harbor before the tide goes out it has to stay out in the ocean until the tide rises again, so the ship may sail into port.
\par It is a very odd sensation, especially for a "landlubber" to be here at Hull. If you get into port at high tide, you see nothing but water all round and then get up in the morning and rub your eyes and begin to wonder if the Lord has made up His mind to drive the water to the north while you were asleep, for here you now behold nothing but land or the bottom of the sea for miles around, where all was water when you went to bed.
\par I had to call the attention of the emigrants that they must hurry and get their bedding bundled up and their tinware tied on them so we could make a hasty landing, this was an easy task as everybody was more than willing to get off the ship and their feet on land again. I soon got my mother and sisters ready for landing and also myself, and while doing this I noticed Sister MM was holding a burial in the sand for her hat and its contents.
\par I said: "Now what are you doing?" "Oh, I am just burying my hat." "But why don't you take it to Zion?" I jollied. "It is not clean and nothing unclean must be in Zion." Everything seemed to point toward cleanliness and tidiness with this young sister and I was never able to get the best of her with my wittism for she always had a quick answer for me. I had now to get my own traps and my tinware gathered together ready for a quick exit off the ship. It did not take me long to get my ship's trunk roped and everything in my hands that I needed on the trip over the Atlantic. Otherwise, everything would be placed in the hold of the ship we were to sail on to America and I would not be able to get it again all the way over. I also had along with me a small alcohol stove and a small supply of spirits, that is, fuel for the stove, whereby I could heat water, cook coffee, tea, or warm milk. My little stove, sure came in handy on many occasions on the whole trip even if it was somewhat cumbersome to carry along.
\par We got off the ship toward evening and then were marched in our regular formation, just as we did from the hotel to the harbor in Copenhagen. Here we marched to the railroad station in this quaint city of England,. Wen we arrived we were given some black coffee and English cakes. When we had finished this "repast' we boarded the train immediately that was to wheel us to Liverpool, the third leg of our journey.
\par Before we leave Hull I want to tell you a little about the city. I knew the town quite well for I had been here many times on my sailing trips throughout the world. Hull is a very old city in English history. It dates back to the 13th century and some very old buildings, both church and administrative, stand. The streets in the city are very narrow and it is very hard to find around if one is not well acquainted. Hull has been for years a great fishing center-in fact thousands of tons of fish are brought in [p.58] from the North Sea annually and a great many are cured in various ways and shipped all over the country. It has been a landing place for the emigrants coming from the Scandinavian countries for many years. They go from here across the country to Liverpool as we were doing on this trip today.
\par I want to mention something of our leader that had charge of the company of Saints. He was an Elder [Saamund] Gudmansen [Gundmunsen], from Zion, was of Norwegian birth, a fine man, and a number one leader. But he had been in the same category as nearly all the other Saints while cross the North sea, that is seasick all the way over. He had therefore left everything in my charge and in fact he did not care what happened to him or anybody else on the boat. But when he got his feet on "terra firma" he certainly executed his call with honor. I was of considerable help to him, however, for I was very well acquainted both in the towns we passed through and also of course I was of real value on a ship. So when told by our leader where he wanted to go I led the way and all the company followed after, just like a leader sheep leads the flock where the flock master wants them to go. I still had on my red "fez" so the company could easily keep an eye on me, even if I were a long way in the lead. We all tramped ahead, me with my little butter and anchovy kegs under my arms and the alcohol stove and my tin utensils in my hands. I must have looked like a red headed turkey gobbler among them-they all being clad in a more grayish garb.
\par We kind of subdivided ourselves into little travel companies, selecting our own companions; along with me in the car of the train were my mother, two sisters, Sister "MM", a family from Copenhagen, and the two Johnson sisters, who had been instrumental in bring me the knowledge of the gospel truths. I always felt so at home in these fine sisters company. Their beautiful songs and gospel conversations were so uplifting to me indeed, and I shall never forget them. Soon after we got started, the call of nature would not be put off longer, for I had had but little sleep since leaving Copenhagen, so dropped off in a deep sleep and slept for about two hours, it being my regular sleep time. While I was in actual service as a sailor on the sea I always took a nap in the afternoon, which did me a lot of good. When I awakened, I received a very pleasant surprise. For I received a service that I was not accustomed to. Here under my head was a nice soft pillow and one of the girls had cast her anchor on my good hope mountain, or my chest, and there slept as snug as could be. Her name was Anna Johnson. It was also her pillow under my head I learned later. While I slept the girls had been having their fun at my expense, in arranging things in the compartment of my car. They had all decided that my lamp, which they had lit, should be a light on the life of Anna's sea of life. All of those in the compartment knew by this time that I was a sea man, also knew that my name was Hans by my mother calling me by that name. So when I awaked one of the girls stood up and saluted me and said: "Good morning, King Hans and Queen Anna, are you now ready to sail?" I said to this "Aye Aye, but I have neither bullets nor ammunition whereby to protect myself." "Oh," said Sister MM "You will always have Anna's will, wind to blow into your commanding sails and your journey will be so rapids that none can overtake you and love's fire will burn in your heart and be so warm that none will dare to come near you to conquer."
\par To this I answered: "There has, before this, been girls in my mind's fountain and they have, with their coquettish eyes, tried to shoot love darts into my heart and set my heart's powder chamber on fire, but I have always been able, with my compassionate eyes, to resist the onslaught and quench the fire before it got a good start. But now, as we have began to outstretch our arms, and set a snare on the limb, as it were, to try and catch a lovely bird, we shall see whether we are using the right kind of bait or not and then when we have snared our victim, nothing but the future [p.59] can determine. If we use the right food in order to maintain the kindled fire burning with love and delight for each other and then hold these virtues throughout life, when trials, hardships, and sickness and many other disagreeable, or agreeable things enter the scene, I repeat, if then we can keep the fire of love burning, then all will be well and the good ship will sail on and on until it reaches its ultimate haven-that is-supreme happiness."
\par I saw I was preaching too much, so immediately changed the subject and directed my conversation to Miss MM and I again reminded here that she had promised to tell me something of her past life, why she was here. "Not now, she said, "but some other time, for, look, we are nearing Liverpool, and there is not time now." And so we were. Sister MM certainly knew how to get me inquisitive about herself.
\par Everybody nearly teased the life out of Anna Johnson for the short sweet sleep she had on my chest. Anna told me one day that Sister MM had told her that she would be the undisputed owner of that little stump of a seaman and Anna had said: "That will be an easy matter for I will help you all I can." Thus they were laying their plans for a catch and it began to look as if I was the bird on the limb that was to be ensnared.
\par It now began to get light in the east and I could see we were nearing Liverpool so I suggested that we prepare ourselves something to eat before we got off the train, which we did. The car we were in was one of the kind that has several compartments, which are entered from the side. There are two benches or long seats that go across the car and there we sit facing each other while traveling, ten people can occupy one of these compartments. Twenty minutes more and we are in Liverpool.
\par This wonderful old city is also one of my stomping grounds, for I have been here a great many times before this visit. Liverpool is situated on the bank of the River Mersey about three miles from the sea. It got its name from a liver plant that grows there in abundance, commonly known as the bullrush or water flag, and the pools, where, in early times they unloaded ships. We began to hear of the town during the Irish wars. In the year 1200 the town received its first charter under King John and in 1632 Lord Molyneux for $2,250. Its first docks were opened in 1715 and from then on its shipping began to grow until it has become one of the largest shipping institutions in the world. It has seven miles of continuous docks and quays. One can see ships of every nation on the earth here at any time of the year. A lot of hauling is done here in Liverpool with one horse carts, they hitch a big horse to one of these carts and it is surprising the load they can pull when they leave the docks toward town. It is all uphill-the horses then begin to seesaw or zig zag until they reach the top of the hill. [p.60]
\par OUR TRIP OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
\par We went direct, after arriving at the station, to the docks here in Liverpool, where the good ship "Arizona" [Minnesota] was laying in waiting for us to convey us over the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was all ready to set sail as soon as got on board, which took some time as there were several hundred of us to be looked after-such as getting our tickets and our luggage on board.
\par I came along in my Turkish uniform and my other traps that I had to have along with me. It had almost become a byword, by this time, among the Saints and in fact all the migrants, as I often heard them say, "Follow the little fellow with the red cap, he knows what to do and where to go."
\par We had but little trouble getting on board ship, at the head of the gangplank stood Elder Gudmansen [S. Gundmunsen] and the captain and here again we had to show our contracts and deliver them to the captain so that he could get his portion for our voyage over the sea. Sister MM was adopted by my little company and was trotting along with the rest of us and when it came her turn to show her contract she had none, and was therefore detained and sent to the captain's cabin for a further hearing. I became very curious and wanted to know just for what reason she had been detained. So, after I found a place for my mother and sisters I hurried back again to try to find out what the trouble was and see if I could be of any assistance. I soon learned that she did not have a contract and of course could not go along on the ship. I felt very sorry for her, and the first thought that came in my mind was some crooked work on the part of the emigration agents, for I had been around considerable and knew much of the unreliable ways of my fellowman and I knew that they could not always be trusted. I also knew that she would be put off the ship and left stranded here in Liverpool and that without friends or money. But I soon found out that my apprehension was entirely unfounded as I learned that she had left her contract in her trunk and that the trunk had been taken to the "hold" of the ship.
\par This had all been brought forward in the interview with the Captain in his cabin and he had taken her word that she really had a contract and therefore had let her pass along with the rest of us. I also learned of a statement that the captain had made in her presence, that he had always found the Scandinavian people to be most trustworthy and truthful and could always depend upon their statements. A thing that pleased me greatly. So he told her that as soon as she got to her trunk for her to get the document and bring it to him at once and all would be well, and for her not to worry as everything depended on her and the contract.
\par All the emigrants were now on board ship and by the time we had all found a suitable location and had gotten settled, it was noon and the call came for the noon day meal and a grand rush it was, for everybody was hungry after the train ride. The food was just plain food, but enough to keep us in good travel condition. It was dished out to us from huge pots from the kitchen. These pots were large enough to scald a pig in. As soon as the meal was over the ship began to move out of Liverpool Harbor, through the English Channel and then out into the Atlantic Ocean and thence on the last leg of our sail, toward Zion, our desired destination.
\par Toward evening I spied Miss MM and hurried over to ask her what had happened, she soon told me, then asked me if I would help her get to her trunk so she could get the contract. We went to the "hold" of the ship and there soon found the trunk. I knew it well, for I had roped it myself and had cut her initials in it when we were on the other ship. This however, happened the next morning as we arrived in Queenstown, Ireland, for here we were to take on a lot more emigrants, mostly Irish. The ship's crew had to open up the "hold" to get more trunks down so I was on had as soon as [p.61] it was opened and soon found what I was looking for, but had quite a little tussle to get it uncovered from the rest of the things which were piled on top of it. I soon got it up on deck and Sister MM found her valued document. She also got herself some clean linen from the trunk. While she was digging down in her trunk she pulled out a man's shirt, made of very course material, and worked on it was a very pretty initial "HPA", when she looked at the shirt she said: "That's the way it goes when one gets in a big hurry." We both got a good laugh out of it. I soon roped the trunk again and down in the hold it went and there stayed until we would arrive in New York.
\par I heard some of the onlookers say: That fellow with the red cap is a regular Trojan for he can do anything and everything. Sister MM wanted to know what she owed me when I was through but added quickly, Money I have more. "Well then, you will have to do like the Egyptians did when they had no money to pay Joseph for food." "I understand you very well," she said, "And if I only had an assurance that you would deal out justice as wisely as he, one could do no better, I am sure." (Her retorts were always very pointed and both pleased and amused me greatly.) "But now tell me something about Egypt, for you have just come from there." "You will pardon me," I said, "You must first pay off one of your obligations to me, which is getting to be one of long standing. You promised to tell me something of yourself, and until you do I shall tell you nothing." "You will have to excuse me until some other time. Sometime when we have a real pleasant day."
\par The good ship "Arizona" [Minnesota] plowed off through the waves towards the Atlantic, where, in a few hours we would be out of sight of land and be surrounded with nothing but water. As we began to get out in deep water, or away from shelter of the land banks, it being the first night out, a brisk wind came right over us, and the sea became quite high sending waves over the deck. The wind was quite chilly so there were but a few passengers who braved the deck. None of us got but little sleep the first night because of the noise and restlessness of the passengers.
\par I will now tell you a little of the accommodations we had on the ship and how we faired and so on. Right under the deck or the roof of the ship were built a great number of berths made out of the roughest unplained lumber-these berths were of different sizes, some for one, two or three persons and here the emigrants made their beds, those who had bedding along with them were somewhat comfortable, but those who had none had to lie down on the rough boards. These bunks were our home during our sea voyage. We therefore had all our belongings with us in the berths, consisting of tin cups, tin plates, a cuspidor and the many other things we had along and when the ship would begin rolling on the waves, these trinkets would begin pounding from one side to the other of the bunk, until the noise was unbearable and the continuing hammering almost sent one to distraction. All was darkness, there was no light of any kind in the whole room.
\par Many began to get seasick and used their cuspidors freely and when a big wave would hit the ship, as it ofttimes did, it would send those containers flying and it would probably land on you or your neighbor with its contents all over you. Mother was one of the unfortunates, having received a well loaded cargo right on top of her in the dark night. She had a lower bunk with one of the girls. Was Mother angry? She jawed everybody between Copenhagen and Salt Lake City, and wished a hundred times that she was back in her dear home with all her poverty. She gave me a good round scolding before everyone, when she saw me in the morning, for not coming to her when she had called loudly.
\par The reason for me not being in my bunk that night, and not hearing her calls, was that I had been appointed by our leader, Elder [Saamund] Gudmandsen [Gundmunsen],*** to stand guard all night so that no intruder could go down into the room [p.62] and molest the emigrants. There were a great number of young women in the company, so it was thought advisable to use this extra precaution.
\par The next night I made my bed in the bunk right over my Mother so I could be near her. There were many laughable scenes, and many that were not so pleasant for most of us, especially until we became organized and got everybody to take care of their blessed tinware and fasten it at night so we could get a little sleep, which was greatly needed.
\par The first few mornings we had a hard time in getting anybody to come to breakfast. The tables were made of the same rough lumber that the bunks were of, and nailed to the studdings of the ship. The menu consisted of black coffee and wheat rolls, the coffee was sweetened with molasses or brown sugar, a think that went hard against the pride of a Dane for everybody knows how we Danes like good coffee and regular sugar in it, too.
\par It cost the ship company but little for our board at first, as there were few who came to eat. We had to take care of our own dishes and keep them clean, each person was assigned to a certain place for the trip. At noon our meal consisted of a kind of soup made of rice and potatoes. We sailors call it sour soup. It was so seasoned with pepper that no one could hardly eat any of it. I delegated myself, and went right to the ship's cook and told him not to use so much pepper in the soup. Ordinarily a common steerage passenger would have been thrown right out of the kitchen and probably kicked half way up the stairway, but as I have said before, I had been around a lot and knew just how to go about these things, so had prepared myself beforehand. I changed my red cap for a regular sailor's cap of black cloth-it had an anchor on its band and an emblem of the Danish cook's order or fraternity. As I made my complaint, the cook soon recognized my uniform and gave me every consideration thereafter and also put less pepper in the soup after that. I also had access to the kitchen and could get all the hot water I wanted to make some regular Danish coffee for some old ladies who could not drink the ship's coffee. These old sisters praised me to the sky and promised me all kinds of blessings for my kindness toward them. I had a bottle of good old Danish brandy, that I had brought along with me, and gave some of this to the chef, which made me more solid with the kitchen force than ever. When I would show up in the kitchen after that the chef would say: "Help yourself, shorty," and go about his business. I bring this out to show that one has to do what we might call a few underhanded things at times, in order to get on the charitable side of our fellowman to gain a point, and I think I did no wrong for the good it did over balanced the evil many fold. I have learned that nearly all mankind will fall for a little flattery and a token of some kind, though it may have but little value.
\par For supper we were served tea and English cakes. We usually received a good portion of meat for our midday meal, so we would save some of this for supper and breakfast. The food was about the same from day to day, although we got sweet soup and fish one day and on Sunday we were served plum pudding and last but not least, the cook had made a fresh batch of soup.
\par The young woman who had the four children in her charge had more on her hands than she could take care of. She, herself, was seasick and the young man who was to assist her was a total wreck and could not even help himself for five or six days. So I had to act in his stead and rustle milk for the children while Marie (that was her name) would do the washing for the little tots. And in order to get the clothes dry as soon as possible I would climb up the rigging on the ship and hang them there and they were soon dry and all aired out and ready for service again. One day the wind was blowing real hard and the ship was rocking quite badly so one of [p.63] the officers came to me and said: "It is not permissible for unauthorized persons to climb up in the rigging of the ship." To this I said: "Rest assured, sir, that no harm will come to me for I have been climbing up in ship's riggings for the last ten years, making my living thus, but I beg your pardon and will do it no more if you say so." "It is all right," he said, "do as you damn please," and that in English. We now had a few days of quite hard wind and high seas, the waves going over the ship, causing many of the passengers to become seasick again. Still there were many of them who were becoming accustomed to the sea and were at the table at all meals and that with a ravenous appetite, which always happens after one has had a siege of seasickness.
\par When the emigrants became theirselves again, there began to be a lot of growling and discontentment arouse among them on every hand, mostly because of them not being able to understand each other. They were of several tongues and there began to be quite a confusion among them especially at mealtime. One would become envious of the other, complaining that his portion was smaller than his neighbors and would get something the other did not have, and so there was about to be a free for all battle at every meal.
\par So one day the chief chef and our company leader, Elder Gudmansen [Saamund Gundmunsen], called to me and asked me if I could not do something to relieve the tension. "Aye, aye sir, it shall be done", I said in seaman's style, "But first you must give me full power to do as I see fit." "It is granted" they said in unison.
\par I knew that it was a big undertaking, but I had full confidence in myself that I could do it right. The steward gave me full charge over the tables and told the passengers that what I said or done would be law hereafter and he would back me up in everything that I did. I could of course speak the three Scandinavian languages, as well as German and English. The emigrants were mostly of these five nationalities. I was, therefore, on hand at every meal and when there was any grumbling I would go at once and straighten it out and see to it that everyone got their just due. Let me here say that I had to set down a certain rule and not deviate from it one iota. Neither could I show to anyone a special favor. It was soon taken up by some of the others. This must be done where you have three or four hundred people and they are of so many different nationalities to feed. Everything went smoothly as soon as I got my ironclad rule thoroughly organized. We had no more trouble after this. But I had to keep an eagle eye on everything.
\par We were now about half way across the Atlantic Ocean and the weather held fine so it was very pleasant up on the deck during the day. We had also with us a musician who played the violin and every evening after we had eaten our supper we would go up on the deck and there dance until eight o'clock and at that time we gathered in groups for prayer and there send up our thanksgiving and praise to God for our safe protection and ask him for further guidance during the future.
\par I was always the first one up in the morning so I could get to the kitchen and get the hot water to make coffee for the old Sisters and also get my praise from them, and I was usually the last one to bed at nights because I had so much to do and so many things to look after.
\par One evening when we were amusing ourselves on the deck, one of my sisters, thought of a little deviation that would probably amuse us all. So she and her young man, H. P. Hansen, got married before us all on the deck making a public display of this holy ordinance. Mother and I were quite disgusted with them but we could do nothing to stop them. The ceremony was consummated by one of the elders from Zion. The funniest part of the whole thing probably was the part I played in it, for that night as I was getting into bed or my bunk (everybody had gone to bed) I found to my amusement the bed full of people: my sister, her new husband, and her little son, Peter [p.64] Christoffersen, who had never seen his father, who was killed in the war between Denmark and Germany in 1865. I became somewhat ruffled over my find and began overhauling my sister but she told me she had made a bed for me in another bunk and for me to be as quiet as possible, for there were two young ladies in the bunk next to me, head to head. My mother heard the argument and also became angry for she did not like her new son-in-law at all, but it was now too late so we had to make the best of it.
\par I hunted up my new bed and found everything very comfortable and soon became acquainted with my new neighbors, one of them was Sister MM and her friend Sophie. They had very scant bedding but a very firm friendship toward each other and a true faith in the gospel for which they were more than willing to sacrifice all their former comforts, friends and homes, in fact all for his name's sake. They had ever promised that if the chance would come they would have no objections of marrying the same man in polygamy. My sister Sophie had overheard many of their conversations and also of how they had discussed the stubby sailor, my sister always reported to me as nice sisters always do. I began to believe that my sisters were working in conjunction with MM in order to get old man cupid to throw of one his darts into my heart, or was it just fate. Whatever it was I began to become very much interested in this young woman and thought more of her than just a sister of fellowship in the Church.
\par I had learned that she was well grounded in her new faith, and had taken particular note of her general deportment and character since she left Copenhagen, all of which was beyond reproach. She had always been a lady and a true Saint, and I must confess, that the time had come in my life that I had a strong desire for a companion to sail with me on the sea of matrimony, and had kept my eyes open for such a companion, and I was now looking for one who would meet my requirements and specifications so I had therefore made up my mind that this Sister MM could find a place in my heart. But who was she and where did she come from and who did she belong to if anybody-especially a man. These questions I had to have answered, and resolved to have them cleared up right away.
\par My genuine love for truth and straightforwardness urged me on to find out from this evading maiden just why she always put me off in answering my direct question as pertaining to my wanting to know something about her past life and also of her people, which I believed I was entitled to know and demand. So as I said before, I had fully made up my mind that next time I got in conversation with her I was going to pin her down and find out a least if she belonged to another man in betrothal, for now I had become extremely serious.
\par Nearly all my time was utilized and when I had a little leisure I spent it in reading our Church books, for in them I always found consolation and a desire to learn more of the ways and commands of my God and his dealings toward man. So one day as I was sitting in an isolated place reading the revelation on marriage in the Doctrine and Covenants, I was addressed by a feminine voice in the following manner: "I beg your pardon, but may I have your attention for a moment and ask you a question in order to satisfy my own desire. How far are we from Europe and how far is it to America?" she asked without waiting for my consent. "Oh, it is Sister Marie," I said before I looked up from my book "Why yes, I looked at the ship's log yesterday noon and we are about the same distance from both places, so if all goes well we should be in New York in about four or five days."
\par "But listen," said Marie, "You can read some other time. I want you to fulfill a promise and tell me something about that wonderful land and its ruins, namely Egypt." "Then kindly have a seat here on the bench by the [p.65] side of me and I will both show and tell you some of the things I saw and learned of the ruins of Joseph's time, when he garnered food for the seven good or fat years in the land, and again how he distributed or sold it back to the people in the seven poor or lean years, when the famine was upon them, and thereby brought the whole of the land and its people under subjection, to the then ruling power of the Pharaohs and when the Egyptians no longer had money to pay for food, he placed a tax upon the land and brought the land as well as their very bodies under thralldom to the King. (I had, by the way, some of the masonry that the storehouses were made of and showed this to her. I brought these relics to Utah with me and had them for many years.) We talked together for over an hour, I telling her of the wonderful things I had seen in my travels and in the Land of our Forefathers.
\par At this time, Sophie, Marie's friend came and said to me: Anna's Mother is so awful sick and her children are crying over her, and she herself says if you do not come she will surely die. I excused myself and told Marie to wait until I returned. I found Sister Johnson [Johnsen] (that was her name) in a very bad way, she had not as yet been able to rid herself of seasickness. I still had some rye bread and anchovies left so hurried and made a half dozen sandwiches and got her to take a little Danish brandy and thereafter eat some of the nice bread and butter I had just brought from Copenhagen, as I told her. She forced a piece of bread and two anchovies down and a little after another until she had eaten them all. It was the first food or drink, she said, she had taken for six days. She became better at once and soon regained her strength, and said I had saved her life. Anchovies again saved the day -- I got the praise. Marie and Sophie were still sitting on the bench when I came back, but there was no more time to talk for it was noontime and I had to get at my post to oversee the distribution of the buttermilk soup that we were to have for dinner. I was determined that I was to have my talk with Marie in private, that is without any outside interference, so made her promise to come and awaken me at half past two. I always slept for a couple of hours after dinner, for I was always up so early and late to bed at night that I had to catch up with some sleep, somehow. At the noon table, I noticed to my pleasant surprise, Sister Johnson [Johnsen] and she had her full portion of soup along with the rest. It seems that my remedy has again been successful.
\par After the meal was over and everything was cleared away, I went to my bunk to get my sleep and saw it the time for Marie to come and wake me. I slept but little and just at the appointed time Marie came and of course noticed that I was already awake, so she reached up and pinched my ear and said: "Your time has come, and I suppose you have had very pleasant dreams of sweet Anna." "Yes," I said, "and can you interpret dreams? If so, then I dreamed that Anna was a very good girl but there was yet another one who I had opened my heart to for acceptance, and she would have a place therein, and this other one seemed to be Sister Marie Madsen."
\par We were then very thoughtful for a few moments and then I took the word and said: "Please forgive me, for I talk, and ask, sometime demand and you answer and question, but really Marie, I do love you more than any other woman I have ever known. Tell me truly now, can you measure out the same measurement to me, and give me all your love, your trust, your faithfulness and your loyalty, and in return I will be your true and faithful friend and protector, time without end. So, therefore, if you have not made any promises in this regard and are free to do as your own bidding I ask you, at this time, to make your conclusion and let me know as soon as you can." [p.66]
\par "Why yes," said Marie, "I have long since made a conclusion, and now you had made it so much more easy for me to make up my mind more fully. So therefore, if you will consider myself good enough for you to take me as I am, then I will do the same as you have promised to do, though we know but very little of each other, that is, our past life and ways of living."
\par I then told her that I was now 28 years old, and thought I knew my mind and what I wanted, that I was born in most humble circumstances, but had tried to live a God fearing life, had been a sailor for 10 years, had sailed upon the seas from country to country, had been in 22 different nations of the earth, and had eaten my bread by the toil of my hands. My aspirations and desires had been : to be honest toward my fellowman, myself, and above all, my God; to keep myself unspotted from the sins of the Lord, have designated as my motto, the name of righteousness, and have always striven to follow in its path. Now then, will Marie Madsen give to me her oath of allegiance, then when we come to Zion, we will consummate the agreement between you and me, and become husband and wife throughout eternity, have this ceremony performed by heaven's authority, yes by men who have the right to seal on earth and it shall be sealed in heaven. "What do you say?" Marie said that she would answer my question one word 'yes' and asked me if I would always live up to my part of the contract and be as faithful to her as I have asked her to be to me. To this I answered that our fidelity toward each other should be as an endless ring. "And now, Marie, in order to clear up everything in my mind may I ask if you have ever given such a promise to any other man, or , are you now bound by any obligation to another." (My desire to get this thing cleared up was that a great many of the young women emigrants would make a promise to become second or a third wife to a man if he would pay their passage to Zion. I, of course, knew that Marie had gotten her transportation paid by someone else, hence my wanting to know all the details so as not to cause any trouble when we arrived in Utah, and moreover I did not want to interfere with another man's property). And now I will again assure you that no other woman except you, has ever received such a promise from me.
\par To this Marie answered: "You are wise in your questioning. I am yours forever and no man has ever received such a promise from me. My promise to you is most sacred, and I will seal it with a solemn kiss. I am happy and feel blessed that this thing has come about today. I was all alone on this trip to Zion but now I feel to praise God that he has answered the prayers of one of his handmaidens, that I would not be left alone to make the battle of life. Oh! It has been so hard to always be alone with no one to go to when one really needs a true friend, as I now believe that I have in you. I do so want to so live up to the commandments of the Lord and be sealed to some good man for all eternity by the authority you have spoken of, and then become a Mother in Israel and thereby attain an abode in the celestial kingdom of God forever and you, my lover, will help me bring these wonderful things about. I know now they will soon materialize and now may God be praised for sending you to me." This little talk made me so happy that I almost felt that I was in heaven and I shed tears of joy, and to think that this little romance all happened here in the middle of the ocean, between, one might say, Heaven and Earth. Here we made our promise. The seal had been attached and I was no longer a free man but no man was more happy than I and to think that it had all come about on the high seas and in a ship-two things I have learned to love and respect in my contact with them for the last ten years.
\par After this Marie was in our company, or along with mother and my sister right along and from then on she shared a bed with my sister Sophie. My family took to this now intended, even as one of their own and right off considered her a member of the family. We were a big family here on the ship [p.67] all living together and associating in each others company, we may say, both day and night. I had no need of seeking diversion while on the trip as something was coming up every day, and the leader of the company would always look me up and turn it over to me to try to settle as best I could, and always told me to use my own judgement and would then say: "Brother, it is better than mine." My fellow passengers seemed to have a great deal of confidence in whatever I would say or do, thinking it would always work out for the best, so I could handle them quite easily. One must realize when between three and four hundred people are thrown together in such a small space for ten or twelve days, with nothing to do, and only water to look at for scenery people at times will get quite unruly and hard to manage. More especially so, when there are so many different nationalities-this is so of Europeans. For one nation's people always think themselves a little superior to the other and soon a contention arises and then everybody wants to get into a battle whether they have any grievance against their neighbor or not. We did, however, get along quite well on our trip, everything considered.
\par Our ship was gliding smoothly along toward New York. The weather now being very pleasant, so there was now but little seasickness among the passengers even big ugly Christian could be of some assistance to Marie, the sister who has charge of the four children, and that relieved me greatly. My butter keg was now about empty and the life-saving anchovies had entirely disappeared. While nearing New York, mother again put on her war paint over her new son-in-law. He had, by the way, a terrible appetite for sweets of all kinds and had been snooping around in mother's things and found a jar of preserves she had held on to so faithfully all the way from home. She had been saving them for us to have a good fill on after we got on the train but H.P.H. [H.P. Hansen] had beaten her to them and had eaten them all. He was never forgiven for this as long as mother lived and she lived to be 88.
\par We were nearing New York Harbor and everything was in high spirits-all looking forward to the time when they could again put their feet on Mother Earth. We were all indeed looking in anticipation of seeing something we had never seen before. We landed in New York Harbor after a sail of 12 days upon the ocean from Liverpool and in sailor talk: ALL IS WELL. When the good ship Minnesota was made fast to the dock, we all disembarked at once and were all taken to Castle Garden (now Ellis Island) where we were quartered for two days and nights. We were held here mostly for observation, a kind of a quarantine that is a requirement by the emigration authorities of the United States Government, and everyone is restrained from intercourse with anybody onshore. All must stay at their quarters until released by the proper authorities.
\par Here we had to board ourselves and furnish our own bedding, most of the Saints had this. Nearly all of us had provided ourselves with enough bread that we had taken from the ship, for we were always given plenty of bread and really more than we needed so we had a supply to last us. This so called Castlegarden or Ellis Isle as it is now called, is a round building, and stands on the south end of Manhattan Island, New York, and was originally called Fort Clinton, but is used now to receive and examine European emigrants.
\par We were finally mustered out and permitted to enter into this great country, this wonderful America. It gave us all a thrill as we set foot upon this land. For to many of us this was not just another country, but a land that is decreed by God to be blessed and choice above all others, as long as the inhabitants will not violate His laws and make slaves out of those who are less fortunate, for then will the inhabitants be destroyed and another generation brought forth. This was to me the very outskirts [p.68] of Zion and I now felt that I had fulfilled part of the call that I had received in the land of my birth: "Come ye out of Babylon and gather ye to the place where unto I have prepared a resting place for my people." So I stood for a moment and offered up a secret prayer to my Father in Heaven, thanking him for our safe landing and promised Him that this would be a land of Zion unto me and I would obey His laws and adhere to the statues of the Land as far as my strength would permit.
\par We did not stay in New York only long enough to entrain for the commencement of our journey westward and we were all glad when the engine begin puffing, and our car began to move for then we knew we were on our way toward Zion. We were soon underway and out of sight of the great metropolitan American city and out into open country where men and women were toiling at their profession of tilling the soil. The country was very pretty, especially to me. The rolling hills with their thick foliage of green and also at times we would pass the majestic American pine trees that would stand as a centennial to guard our safe passage as we went gliding along over the steel highway. Out of the hilly country we came to a more flat part and here more farms and pastoral scenes bring to my mind a picture of a contented people.
\par Now, on one side we behold the great inland lakes, whose waters lay out there as calm as can be, without a ripple. We hurry by the awe inspiring falls of the mighty Niagara where the water has a drop of about 175 feet and the noise is deafening to ones ears. There is supposed to be a sheet of water 20 feet in thickness falling over this bank. The average flow of water going over the falls is estimated at 222,400 cubic feet per second.
\par In our car, perhaps for a little diversion, but poor entertainment, I say, a babe was born while we were rambling on. We all helped the poor mother and made her as comfortable as possible, and taking all into consideration, she did quite well.
\par We arriving in the city of Chicago and here we were unloaded to await another train and railroad to take us on westward. We were soon on our way again and out into the plains of Illinois and Iowa. Here it is unlike the country further east. You can see for miles and miles and behold nothing but flat prairie country. We stopped for a short time at Clinton, Iowa, where we cross the might Father of Waters, the Mississippi River. Here I hopped off and bought several things for myself and fellow passengers; I was always the one chosen to do the errands en route because I had a pretty good knowledge of these things and knew how a merchant will short change you, especially when you are in a hurry, and then nearly all the bakeries along the line were German, and I could talk German, and get along quite well in English.
\par At Des Moines I also had to get off and replenish our food supplies. The Saints in the whole car always gave me their money and told me to get whatever I thought best, and were always satisfied with what I purchased, and how I distributed it among them.
\par Our next lap of the journey was to Omaha, Nebraska, where we had to lay over a day and a night. While we were encamped there we had several visits of strange men who told us all kinds of lies and false stories of the Mormons. How the young girls would be taken by the Mormon priests and bishops and become, second, third, fourth, and so on, wives, and the men, meaning us, would be nothing more than slaves to the ruling hierarchy and if any of us had any pretty women selected from among the company they would be taken from us by some old Mormon "buck". This kind of got close to me as I was now engaged to a very pretty young woman, a member of our company. Many other outlandish tales were told to us and these men would [p.69] try to tell our young girls how bad the Mormons were, and for them to try to escape the company and they would be taken care of. Women were scarce out west at that time, so these men wanted them for themselves. They would also try to steal our belongings.
\par I soon got on to their racket and warned all the Saints of their lies and underhandedness. I had been around a great deal and soon figured that they meant no good to us, so we told them in no very polite manner to just withdraw themselves or we would throw them out. They saw that we meant business and soon left us, and they did not get anybody to believe them or follow them anyway. Thus once more the Devil's plans were frustrated because of our alertness and obedience to our leader who had been appointed by the proper authorities from Zion. I had been in the Church long enough by now to know that if we always listen to the counsel of those who are placed in authority that we have no need to fear for our safety, both in spirit and in body. [p.70]
\par The Trip From Omaha to Ogden
\par Our trip from Omaha to Ogden was without mishap or anything going wrong and about all that happened while en route was that our company would hop off the train when it stopped at the many stations and try to get ourselves some food, and then the all-on-board signal was given by the conductor and the engine bell rang, we would make a mad rush to get on our car before the train started to move.
\par We are now traveling over the same route where thousands of pioneers traveled under the great leadership of the sage of all pioneers, namely Brigham Young. Under his guiding mind and influence this very route upon which the railroad is now running was laid out by this great and noble leader that he was , and that with his crude instruments that he had at that time, it is nothing less than a marvel, and now here we are riding along in comparable comfort upon steel rails that the Union Pacific thunders along on at a high rate of speed. It has been some twenty years since these sturdy pioneers preceded us on the same mission. We traveled several hundred miles along this very interesting Platte River and getting further and further from all signs of civilization as we are nearing the Rocky Mountains.
\par We now see several bands of Indians, a very strange sight to all of us, and knowing just who these red skinned men are we could not but have a great deal of respect for them. I believe these Indians were called Pawnees. Our mind goes back to the first pioneer and how they had to fight these strange people. We also see great bands or herds of the mighty king of the prairie, the American bison, buffalo, but they hardly give us a look as we glide along the smooth track.
\par We look for signs of the original pioneer and see plenty of them, markers of various kinds. We are now climbing the eastern slope of the continental divide of the Rockies and soon reach and elevation of 8,000 feet above the sea, the nearest to heaven any of us had ever been before, some of us get dizzy headed at this unusual altitude, we can see snow on the tops of the "everlasting hills" also a new sight for most of us.
\par These stately mountains give us a great deal of reverence for we feel that we were called to go to the tops of the mountains and there worship God our Father and be among his people. We are now leaving the state of Wyoming and entering Utah, our future home, and we all shout out for joy as we see the sign at the side of the railroad. We know that we will soon be in Ogden for we are going down through Weber Canyon and beginning to see some sign of human life again. Our journey on the train is now ended for here is Ogden, and we are all glad and tired so we soon get off the train and make camp and then prepare ourselves for the next leg of our journey.
\par So this is really Zion indeed, but what a reception! no shelter, no brethren, none of the pure in heart to greet us and bid us welcome, but on the other hand we learned that there is a lot of untrustworthy people right here as we soon found out. We consoled ourselves that when we arrive in Salt Lake City things would be different for us.
\par When we were nearing Ogden, the measles broke out among the children in our company and of course they could not be put off the train for there was no place to put them, for they could not be left out in the open prairie for there was as yet no towns or villages along the railroad, so therefore, it was a hard thing to give them the care that they should have with this sickness so as a result of this neglect one of the youngest of the children that Marie had charge of, died, while coming into Ogden, and was buried as soon as we got off the train. We arrived in Ogden on August 7, [p.71] 1869, all well except the measles, as I have stated before.
\par The railroad was not built any further than Ogden toward Salt Lake at this time so we had to lay in camp here for three days and nights, awaiting wagon transportation to Salt Lake City. We made our camp out in open country on the banks of the Weber River. It sure was a good thing that it was summer time and warm or there would have been a lot more suffering among us than there was. We had to do our own rustling here in order to get something to eat. [p.72]
\par The Trip From Ogden to Salt Lake City
\par The much awaited wagons finally arrived from the big city. They were sent to us from Salt Lake City by the church authorities, the wagons being built especially for the transportation of emigrants between the two cities. They used horses for locomotion, and not oxen as many of the previous Saints had used.
\par We again loaded our belongings in these wagons, consisting of our bedding and a few other things that we had along with us. When all was in readiness the driver, sitting on his seat in front, gave us a sharp crack of his long whip and gave the command to the willing steads which were standing ready, and we were off on the last leg of the long and tiresome journey toward Zion, where we may worship "God according to the dictates of our own conscience." We therefore arrived in Salt Lake City on August 11, 1869 and were dumped out in the tithing yard, and made our bed on the ground with high heaven for roof.
\par So this was Zion. We all felt to praise our God for our safe delivery but it seemed that it was Zion in name only, because there were none to welcome or give us a brotherly handshake; no one paid the least bit of attention to us.
\par We soon found out that we were to be more or less upon our own resources and the familiar words of the song came to me when I was pondering over these things, namely: "Think not when to Zion you arrive that your troubles are over" and so on. I realized at once that my troubles had come to an end - the first end, because I had left a goodly home, with a roof over it to shelter me, a nice soft bed to rest myself, and plenty of food to eat; and here I am in Zion, with no home, no bed, and no food. But still I was happy and my very soul went up in praise to my Heavenly Father because I stood here in Zion, under the stars, with empty hands, a mother, two sisters and a betrothed sweetheart to look after, in a strange land, strange people and customs, and no work of the kind that I was trained in. And still I knew within my heart that I had obeyed the voice of the one who had said: "Get ye up out of Babylon and get ye to the tops of the mountains, where you can walk in my paths and keep all of my statues," so I felt an assurance that if God had given me the call to come here, he would not leave me here to starve, and to be without shelter. So I was satisfied with my lot. [p.73]
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\par BIB: Zobell, Hans J. [Reminiscences], pp. 52-73. (Translated from Danish by Albert L. Zobell), copy in possession of Elgarda Zobell Ashliman of Rexburg, Idaho.\cf1\lang1030\f1
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