The Portland daily press., 1880-07-24


tering, though neither understood a word of
the others language. Finally they crowned
one another with garlands of green leaves.
AS we passed over hilltop l pointed out
against the sky, bet lofrade tdndet-"the
promised land''-shout the Swedes, and
cheer goes along the line.
Late in the afternoon we reached the bridge
over the Aroostook river. A salute of cannon
announced our approach, and a concourse of
five hundred people turned out with brass
band to escort us into the picturesque village
OF. Caribou. Here the Hon. John S. Arnold
delivered an address of welcome, and supper
was served in Arnold's hall, where the settlers
passed the night: At this supper one of the
good ladies of Caribou happened to wait upon
our worthy Land Agent, and getting from him
a reply in language which She understood
exclaimed with delight and commentator
s sw5s you speak very good English for
Next morning the train was early in motion.
A hundred and fifty Americans accompanied
the march. We soon passed beyond the last
c'earings and entered the deep woods. Slowly
the long line of wagons wound among the
trated forest now first opened for the abode
of man. At noon on Saturday, July %, 1870,
just four months after the passage of the act
authorizing this undertaking, and four weeks
after the departure of the immigrants from
Sweden, the first Swedish colony Of our State
arrived in their new home. We called the
spot New Sweden,-a name at once comment
orative Of their past and auspicionS for the fu-
ture. Here in behalf of the State of Maine
babe welcome and God speed to these far
travellers, our future citizens, and here under
camp of bark the colonists ate their first meal
on this township.
AS soon as it appeared from my letters that
Swedish colony would surely come, the
Board of immigration began to make prepare
ton for their reception. Under the direction
of Mr.. Burleigh the township had been re-
lotted, reducing the size of the lots from 16O to
100 acres. A road was cut into the township.
Five acres were felled on each of the % lots,
and % log houses would have been built; but
the Swedes arrived much earlier than was an
ticipated, and only six houses were up, and
only two had glass in the windows. Necessary
supplies and tools had alsU been provided
The next dav was the Sabbath. The first
ma Clase. The services were conducted by
the Rev. James Withee of Caribou.
On Monday afternoon the farms were dis
tributed. The only fair way of distribution
| likely to separate friends from the same prov
| ince who preferred to be neighbors. This diff
| Guilty was finally overcome by dividing the
| settlers into groups of four friends each, and
the farms into clusters of four, and letting
| each group draw cluster, which was after
ward distributed by lot among the members Of
| the group. The division of the farms was
| thus left entirely to chance, and yet friends
and neighbors were kept together, With
| two exceptions every one was satisfied. ard
| these two were Immediately made happy by
exchanging with each other.
1t was determined to set the Swedes at work
| telling trees, cutting out roads AID building
| houses, allowing them one dollar day, pay
able in provisions and tools. Captain n. T.
| Clase, Swede, was placed in charge of the
| storehouse. Every working party was under
| foreman, who reported once week to the
storekeeper. The Swedes thus did the work
| which the State had intended to do for them,
and were paid in the provisions which the
| State would have given them had they ar
| rived later in the season.
| All through the summer and fall there was
busy work in this wilderness. In nearly every
instance the trees were felled on the contigu-
Gus corners of four lots, and square chop
ping of twenty acres was thus made, letting
the largest possible amount OF air and light
into each lot and enabling the settlers to help
one another in the clearing. The houses were
placed in couples on opposite sides of the
roads, so that every household had near
neghbor.
1t was too late for crop, but it seemed best
to give the Swedes ocular proof that something
eatable would grow on this land. So on Tues
day, July 26, the PROSTATE trees on the public
lot were piled; the next day they were burned;
and two acres of land were sowed with Eng
lish turnip seed. The turnip were soon up,
and grew luxuriantly, and in November we
secured large crop Of fair size, some of them
crop raised in New Sweden.
On July 2Sth we exploded an old tote road
running from one of the abandoned American
| farms in Woodland out toward Caribou. This
road was cut off three-quarters of mile. saved
hard hill and long pole bridge, ard was at
once put in repair and used exclusively. The
present turnpike follows this route substan-
TALLY.
On July Doth the first letters arrived from
old Sweden, and the teamster brought word
hot OF 70 hon ov,h ic in,
The next day Anders Westergren came in and
| joined the colony. He was seaman, and had
read an account of the colony in Bangor, and
Immediately decided to join us.
On Sunday July 81 Nils OLSON, the Swed-
ish pastor held public religious services in the
Swedish language.
Tuesday, August 2, the immigrants wrote
joint letter to Sweden, declaring that the State
| of Maine had kept faith with them in every
| particular; that the land was fertile, the eli
mate pleasant, the people friendly; and ad-
| vising their countrymen emigrating to Ameri-
| ca to come to New Sweden in Maine The
letter was published in all the leadins journals
ID Sweden.
On Friday. August 12rene first child was
born in New Swedoa, to Korno, wife of Nils
Person. The youngster is alive to-day. He
rejoiees in the name of William Widgery
Thomas Person, and is happy in the contem-
plation of the constitutional fact that he is
eligible to the Office of President of the United
States.
On Friday, August 49, Andrew Matmqvist
arrived from Sweden ciG Quebec and Portland.
He was a farmer and student, twenty-five
years of age, and the firstimmigrant direct to
us from the old coup Try.
Saturday afternoon, August 81, Jens Pers-
sons was united in marriage to Hannah Pers-
dotten by your. historian, who luckily hap
spoons at the wedding dinner were of solid
silver.
Thus within one month from the arrival of
the colony, it experienced the three great
events in the life of man-birth, marriage,
DEATH
That fall large patches of land were cleared
and sixteen acres were sowed with winter rye
and four acres with winter wheat. The pub
lie building called the capitol was erected.
This building stands on State land and is the
property of the State of Maine. The hall on
the second floor has been used for ten years as
church, schoolhouse and general rallying
place for the colony. In the spring, when the
immigrants hocked in, it served too as a
"Castle Garden where the families were
lodged until they could erect a shelter of their
own.
The State extended helping hand to the
infant colony and guarded it with fostering
care. But the State only helped those who
helped themselves. The passage of the colony
of 1860 cost over $4,000, every dollar of which
was paid by The immigrants themselves. They
also carried into New Sweden over $4,000 in
cash and six tons of baggage. From 1870 I'M
I'll now, Lne OGalo mas never PAID a dollar,
directly or indirectly, for the passage of any
Swede to Maine.
Before the LIST of January, 1871, colony of
ia Swedes-5S men, 20 women and 36 chill
dren-had settled on the wild lands of Maine.
Seven miles of road had been cut through the
forest; 1870 acres of woods had been felled; 100
acres were ready for cultivation; 20 acres were
sowed with winter wheat and rye; 26 dwelling
houses and one public hall had been built.
Early in December, 1870, circular was
printed in Old Sweden, describing the voyage
of the first colonists, their cordial reception,
the attractions of their new home and the ad-
vantages offered to settlers by the State. Capt
G. W. Schroeder was appointed State agent at
Gothenburg. Advertisements were inserted
in the principal Swedish newspapers. Two
columns of an emigrant's paper called Amerika
were bought for six months, and filled every
week with new matter about the Maine colony
A special agent was employed to travel in the
northern provinces of Sweden. Carl Johan
Elk, one of our first colonists, was sent home
with maps, plans and specimens of Aroostook
products. A circular was printed in Swedish
at Portland and distributed by pilots on board
incoming steamers miles away from the land
All these measures bore fruit abundantly
With the opening of navigation Immigrants
began to arrive in few Sweden; first, in little