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orm overland
Starting member
Norway
22 Posts |
 Posted - 04/05/2009 : 08:05:16
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Anders Conradsen Hereid from Eidfjord in Bergen was among the passengers on this ship and he wrote about his voyage to his parents from Pleasant Springs, Dane County, Wisconsin on July 6, 1857. The letter is in Fra Amerika til Norge I, 140. The following is a translation of the paragraphs on the voyage:
With this I will send you a few words so that you may hear how I now am in the distant West or America that has been spoken about for so long. As I hope you know, we went from Bergen April 28. We began to heave up anchor at five thirty in the morning and at nine thirty we passed Nordnes with our proud and gigantic ship hauled by a steam boat and with many well wishes that followed us out on the great ocean. We progressed with a good northern breeze so that at five in the afternoon we saw Old Norway drawn out along the horizon like a bank of clouds at night and then the thought arose in my soul that also so many dear memories and so many dear crying mothers are for always lost. And then we had a somewhat heavy sea and many of the passengers had to get rid of some of their cargo – and it went to the crabs as sailors say. With such and other partly entertaining and partly revolting scenes we sailed until we on the morning of May 1 we sighted the Shetland Islands and had an unruffled sea with a shining sun and a dead calm. Today we were boarded by fishermen from the Shetlands who offered us fish, eggs, socks, mittens and caps in exchange for brandy and pork. Actually, they were not all that particular about what they were given in exchange and they made up for this with a series of jokes.
We had nice weather every day until May 9 when we had a raging gale so that the proud ship merely had a hard struggle with the waves and only with her lower topsails. Down in the hold chests, bails and kegs were sliding among the passengers of whom some cried, others laughed and again some cursed both America and their notion of going there. I and my good friends, some boys from Eidfjord, had great fun admiring the tumult in the hold. The sea did not bother me and I was quite well all the time and it was no more disagreeable than sitting up in Alsgaardslien. But there were not many with such a constitution and for this I must thank Providence. And from today it went on in this manner until May 12 when we had an accident. A man from Sogn named Ole fell overboard when he was out on the anchor to rid himself of some excrements and so he fell against the bow headfirst into the sea but was saved by the cleverness of the captain and his crew who threw a so-called life buoy to him. And as he was somewhat used to swimming he was able to grab it and get in the boat with the mate and some sailors, and all of this happened as we sailed at a speed of 10 miles on a watch (4 hours).
On May 17 we saw icebergs of which one was quite close to us. I assumed it was about 45 to 40 feet below the surface and both before [meeting it] and now the cold was so piercing that I thought we had come to Iceland instead of going to America. Next morning we saw ships at anchor fishing and boats rowing around on the ocean. Our captain also fished some big cod. On Ascension Day, May 21 we had nice weather and as the sailors and passengers attended a prayer service led by the captain, something done every Sunday, the ship sailed for a gentle easterly wind. At three thirty in the afternoon we sighted land to the west and the north, which lifted all hearts as we for so long had not seen anything but sea and sky. The day was concluded with dance and fun, something that led to dancing on board whenever the weather permitted and which made a good show as we had 50 young girls on board.
On May 24 a young boy from Bergen died of the measles that raged on board almost for the entire voyage but that did not have other victims than this one. But on the 25th we saw the American mainland with fine forests and mountains above the horizon and as the rays of the sun shone through scattered showers it was a picturesque vision to see the great mountains rise as old giants and this was continued by the beautiful fields and nice houses that continued until we anchored in the quarantine harbor about 28 English miles from Quebec at three thirty in the afternoon of Wednesday May 27. Probably because of the infectious disease we had to remain there for two and a half days and also wash and dry all our clothes.
We came to Quebec at noon on Whitsun, May 31 and anchored with a canon salute from the ship and loud hurrahs from the passengers. We left Quebec June 4 and our ship was then towed the 180 miles to Montreal by a steamboat and we arrived June 6. On June 8 our baggage was transported from our ship to a steamboat and now began our journey through enormously large stretches of land and then we went on another steamboat where we were about 700 passengers, but you may imaginethat a ship that has a breadth of 35 alen [about 70 feet] and is correspondingly long and has three stories above deck could easily take more.
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Ship Hebe from Bergen to Quebec 1857
