Book 2 - Nathan, Amy, Madison and Ethan Berga

in the periphery of the storm.
A boy died on the Atlantic, and another was born.
I will never forget the funeral. The ship’s carpenter
made a coffin of rough planks, and filled it with sand
in the bottom. Then he bored holes in the side to make
it sink faster. But it did not sink fast, and as the wood
in the coffin had a pale color we could watch it for a
long time as it was slowly sinking.
It was an experience to watch the huge icebergs passing
by. On a distance it would
look as a white thunder sky,
but as we came closer we
could see that it was actually
a mountain of ice.
We had a smooth journey
after the storm, all the way
until we were off Quebec. It
was a narrow entrance and
unfavorable wind. The Captain
then hired a steamer to
take us into the shore. After
that it took some time to unload
the entire luggage, and
to have it transported over to
the railway station. I believe
it took about 2 days to get the
job done. The weather was
warm, and it felt lovely to
have solid ground under our
feet.” 17
First Stop, Grosse Île, Canada
Twenty days had passed since the Anna Delius
left her port in Norway. The first site of land the
immigrants would see was Grosse Île in the center of
the St. Lawrence River. A mandatory quarantine stop,
along with health inspections, would take place before
the ship was allowed entrance into Canada. 18
It is unknown the exact route the Nordrums took from
Grosse-Île, the site of mass tragedy when
Typhoid ravaged hopeful immigrants, ending
the journy abruptly. It is a small island
about 30 miles east of Quebec city, and
Canada’s poignant and visible link with Ireland’s
Great Famine of 1845 -1849. In 1832
the island was designated as a quarantine
stop-over for European immigrants to the
New World. It is estimated there were over
3,226 Irish emigrants who died at Grosse-Île
and a further 2,198 who died on board the
ships. Statistics show a total of 5,424 Irish
people are buried in this place and many
thousands more dying at sea. 18
13
Quebec to Eau Galle, Wisconsin. Mrs. Ole Torgersen,
a pioneer woman from Menomonie wrote of her journey,
“I left Kristiania the 11 th of April 1868, on the
sail-ship “Hanna Par” (Hannah Parr) and sailed for
three weeks, but then a hurricane blew up. The mainmast
and one of the other masts broke right at the deck.
Then a pilot came and conducted us into Limerick, Ireland,
where we remained for 6 weeks while the ship was
repaired. We ate up our traveling food and the captain
had to buy provisions for us before we set to sea again.
Arriving in Quebec, we had to
wait for a while again before
we could go further. The trip
continued partly by train,
which resembled the cattle
cars of our day, and partly by
boat. We landed in La Crosse,
Wisconsin, and continued the
trip up the Mississippi River
to Reed’s Landing, Minnesota.
From there, up the Chippewa
River to Goose Lake, where
Mrs. Torger Oleson and Mrs.
Tore Lund came to lead me to
my destination.” 9
Another pioneer followed a
similar route with this to say
about the train, “This happened
long before the railway
was built down to Menomonie
and long before Menomonie was
a city. There was a mixed train, carrying both people
and cattle and all the goods one needed.” 9 Another,
more probable route was through Muskego. The Nordrums
would have sailed through the Great Lakes,
from Quebec, to Muskego, Wisconsin. Muskego was
the largest, most successful, Norwegian settlement.
Though it was settled on poor soil, it became a rendezvous
point for many immigrants. From Muskego,
many immigrants re-supplied, rested and received
valuable information for the journey ahead. 9