. . . In the spring of 1863, my father sold his house, having barely money enough to take us to Florence.

On the 27 day of April, early in the morning of 1863 we left our native land, took farewell to all. We was piled on deck of an old steamer bound for Copenhagen where we arrived the following day where we were piled in a little house for the night. We went by rail to Hamburg (Germany), thence to Grimsby, with a large steamer. We stayed in there nearly a month. Rations were very scant. After a short trip through England we reached Liverpool, and got on board an old sailing vessel Antarctic. We was 7 weeks & seven days on the sea: water got very bad. There were 11 deaths, 2 marriages, and 1 birth. We landed safe in New York. It was the time of the Civil War. Our route was then by way of New England, crossing the Niagara Bridge over the Niagara Falls. We had to cross the lakes & on ferries and finally was, we were put in cattle cars from Chicago to St. Joseph. When we got to St. Joseph's we got a steamer and here we was three days and got to Florence Bench about noon where ox teams waited our arrival for over a month. . . . [p. 2]

BIB: Amundsen, Andrew. History of Ole Amundsen, IN Maxine L. Breinholt, Biographies (Ms 8691), reel 4, p. 2. (CHL)
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