Norwegian emigration, part 8
The Norwegians who first pioneered southeastern Minnesota preferred farm sites near rivers and creeks rather than prairie acreage. When they arrived on wagons, the prairies were easier to cross than more direct routes through marshland and dense undergrowth along the Root River. But for farmsteads, they first sought flowing water and woods, the latter providing both timber for cabins and firewood. And wooded riverbanks and water resembled the familiar topography of their native Norway.
However, trees and their stumps and roots had to be removed before plowing and planting was possible. Clearing trees was back-breaking and time-consuming work, which also delayed their first cash crop. After trees were cut down, pioneers would dig around stumps with shovels and mattocks before oxen helped pull out the stumps.
That particular labor was not as necessary on the nearby prairies, which offered some of the most fertile farm soil. But carrying water to prairie farms was a never-ending task. When Gulbrand Gubberud settled on 160 acres in Wilmington Township, water had to be carried in pails, often by women, about a half-mile or more from a spring. Tales were told of thirsty Indians interrupting the trip to avail themselves of the water.
Cattle had to be driven into a valley to be watered every day. It helped if oxen could be used to haul water home. Holes were dug in the ground to collect rainwater for the livestock. When economic conditions improved enough to build a larger house, rainwater from the roof could be collected into cisterns. Beginning in the 1880s, there was special machinery to drill water wells. Almost every farm would eventually have a well and a windmill.
Building a shelter was one of the first projects. A typical log cabin had one or two rooms and a low, dark attic – accessible by a ladder. Even if there was any money, there was no place to purchase furniture, which therefore would be homemade. A mattress would be filled with straw or hay, and a sheepskin brought from Norway would be a bed covering.
Fireplaces were built for both heating and preparing food. Later, a store-bought stove might be added. For lighting, they made candles or might place lard in a cup with a scrap of linen as a wick.
Photo by Lee Epps
Rasmus Spande told of his cabin construction on Stavanger Prairie in eastern Fillmore County. “There were three of us, and the work went rapidly. The first day, we felled some trees and skidded the logs together. The second day, we raised a house, and the third day, we moved in. The building was 12 feet square, the walls of round aspen logs and the floor of solid and hewed timbers. The roof was also of split logs covered with a sheathing of clapboards and turf. The clapboards were about a quarter of an inch thick, split from oak logs with a special axe. I had never handled a broadaxe and wedge before but soon got used to it.
“In addition, doors, tables, chairs, beds and other household furniture were made of split oak and planed with a broadaxe. For door hinges, we used twigs with knots in them, and there was not a nail in the building.” (Wooden pegs were inserted into holes made with an auger).
After a cabin was built, the property would typically evolve to resemble a Norwegian farm with some small buildings, such as a cow barn, hog house, chicken coop, horse stable, wagon shed, corncrib, hay shed, smokehouse and privy.
Pork was a staple meat while rabbits, wild ducks and fish added variety when available. The diet also included cornmeal mush, either hot or cold with either sweet or sour milk. A simple breakfast might be cream and bread served with syrup or jelly made with local berries. Pork and potatoes might be served for breakfast during harvest time.
During winter, dinner might be fried bacon, potatoes and onions or a stew made with meat, potatoes and milk gravy. Hot milk thickened with flour was a common supper. In hot weather, flatbread soup, made by stirring torn pieces of flatbread into cold sour milk, was a frequent evening meal. There was also cold fruit soup.