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January 4th 1900 I have never written to anyone before, but since Mormor passed away I feel as though I have no one that I can really talk to. There is always my husband Ol¾ but he has been so busy preparing us for Canada that I have been feeling all the lonelier. Therefore I turn to you, my dear friend as a means of company. It is the year 1900, for the past few weeks there have been pamphlets and posters put up around my hometown of Östersund, advertising the “Last, best West”. Ever since Ol¾ and I picked one up, we knew that this was our only chance to have a new, better, more prosperous life. Please don’t get me wrong; I love my home, but Sweden is becoming crowded, land is expensive, and it is very difficult to find any kind of job. Ol¾ wants to go to Canada very badly, he says there is an abundance of forests, and he is sure he will be able to take his trade as a logger and make a life for us there. There isn’t much of a reason for us to stay here either, I no longer have a family, and all of Ol¾‘s family has moved away. We are going to start our own family soon, I want to raise my children where there is a chance for them to have a proper education, and to have a better life then I have had. Canada promises this. Ol¾ and I have been saving our money for quite some time, Ol¾ sold his logging tools, and we sold Mormors possessions. All together we have about $200, I hope it is enough. I must leave you now, the time to leave for Canada is coming close, and we are packing what we need, and selling or leaving everything else. I hope to write you again soon. Yours truly Solveig Lindgren May 18th 1900 Packing our belongings was an easier task than I had thought it out to be, we have not taken much, Ol¾ said it would be better with less to carry and to care for. With our few possessions, and our papers, Ol¾ and I have boarded a very crowed boat called the “Gripsholm”. The ship was divided into first, tourist, and third class; we saved our money and paid $20 for third class. A guard asked us our names and wrote “Ola and Soulvay Lingrin” on a long list. There were so many people traveling to Canada. Men, women, and children were cramped and many suffered from seasickness. It took us three weeks to finally reach Halifax, Nova Scotia. By the end of the trip I wish I had stayed in Sweden. There was hardly any food, and we were surrounded by illness, but as soon as I smelled the fragrance of Canada, two feelings came over me, hope and fear. The Gripsholm docked; a guard with the passengers list arrived followed by a physician and government officials. The ship had to be medically cleared before the passengers could disembark. Our luggage was inspected, and we directed into a large building where families, women with children, and single men and women were sorted into identifiable groups. Following initial examination, everyone was divided two groups, those who would be temporarily detained because of incomplete papers or illness and those to be issued the status of "Landed Immigrant". As stressful as it was did not take more than a few hours. It was then time to purchase a meal and food supplies for the long train trip to Montreal. The building we were in was connected by a ramp to the train station; we purchased tickets, and were soon destined for Vancouver, British Columbia.
Approximate Word count = 2503
Approximate Pages = 10
(250 words per page double spaced)
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