Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-08-08
FROM FOREIGN SHORES.
THE TIDE WHICH SWEEPS INTO
THE FAR NORTHWEST.

Castle Garden Arrivals as They Appear
In st. Paul. Minn.-Swedes and Nor
wegians-A Big Family--New Corners
| Greeted by Friends.
| The tide of immigration into Northern
Minnesota, Dakota and the far Northwest
| flows through St Paul The immigration as
| TO Its character may be broadly divided into
two classes-foreign immigration and imni-
| grafton from Hankeedom Each branch ia
handled differently, and is kept distinct. The
| incoming representatives of the monarchies
oi Europe journey along together, and the
| migratory people from the eastern states
| travel similarly by themselves. And so they
seldom fall in with each other 1t almost
might be said that there are two streams of
immigration but tins would be hardly cor
rect, as they are all going in the same direc
tion, ami will probably mingle at their
| destination.
| The Castle Garden arrivals are to be found
at the Emigrant house at the Union depot
VI the half hundred or more men, women
and children who were waiting about the
place for trains to take them further west
| there was not single person-it NAV seem
| strange, but 1t Is a faCt--not single one that
l unarmed would hesitate to meet in the
street on a dark night. The faces were all
| intelligent; not a really bad face in tho
lot. They are worthy Scandinavians and
Germans.
| An emlgrant house is necessary institu-
tion at point like this where there are lerpa
numbers Of emgrants changing trains The
| foreigners must be kept TO themselves for
various reasons, and one reason is that very
| few of them speak English, and therefore to
Keep on the right track all the time they
| must hang together and keep in constant
| communication with the polyglot emiglant
| passenger agents as they 60 along from place
TO place. Furthermore, they have to he pro
tected against sharks of various species, and
| particularly against the boarding house
sharks who would like to get them outside.
hll them with aqua FORTS, and work them
down to their last hard earned nickel.
BIG FAMILIES
| lhe emigrant room is in the long brick
annex at the MON depot, at the north Of the
| sheds. Here Is an array of old country COS
TUNES and characteristics bright colors and
| odd cuts OF garments-quite bewildering TO
| the senses The agent who is skjppInq ahout
the room reading the tickets of the immi-
grants fer them, and answering questions in
| five or SIX different languages at the rate of
1900 minute, pauses long enough to inform
me that family Of nine and ten children
may he found waiting iu the emigrant room
almost any day
The run is higher than that sometimes =
he said, with a nod, but tnev verv seldom
| go beyond fifteen. There was one man
| through here with thirty-two children in his
| train last season. One wife, Oh, no: it was
his third wife he had with him: but then. Won
see, with three wives the average was ten and
| two-thirds children each"
The majority of the immigrants tperbans
It would be more proper To call them transi-
| grants IN the room are Swejles and Norwe-
| glans The young men are of the peasant
and farmer class-lusty young fellows, with
| broad shoulders ard finely devaloped limbs
most OF them wearing hig boots and shiny
| black huckSkin pea jackets Some of them
| have families along with them. but the ma
| Jority are single young ChaTt, The agent
| says they all have place to go to- secured
| for them in advance by friends already SET
| tied III the west 4 few Of the Norwecians
are going to " Nashington territory to encacs
! IN the fisheries, and the whole crowd will he
widely scattered by the time the long Journey
| is at an end
EApEN-rp