Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad. 1907. Todd County The first Norwegians in this county were Knut Larsen from Helgeland and a Civil War veteran by the name of Andrew Johnson. They settled in the Town of Kandota in 1866. Next after them came Per Eriksen, Steffen Pedersen and Peder O. Jemtvold. Mikal Klukken and Baard Anderson from Værdalen were the first in the Town of West Union, it was '68 or '69 when they settled there. Martin Olson, also from Værdalen, came a little later. The first in the Town of Little Sauk was Sergeant Knut O. Bjerkness from Hevne, Søndre Trondhjems Amt, Nils A. Berg from the same place, Nikolai Nilsen Schotten† from Namsos and Julius Olsen from Kristiania, they settled there in 1869. Next after them came Jens J. Stjørdalsvold and Emanuel Johnson from Meraker and Ole Pedersen†, Lars Jensen, John Olsen and Ole Sørensen. Tosten Nelson, Lars Pedersen, Lars J. Stenmoe and John Pedersen, all from Meraker were the first in Gordon Township, they came there in 1870. Next after them came Ole Kleppen. The first in the vicinity of Eagle Bend was Ole J. Pedersen who settled there a short time after he had been 'beating up the Indians'. These were expensive times for the first settlers in Todd County. A barrel of salt cost $6, a barrel of flour $5, a cow from $40 to $50 and an ox team $200. Luckily for the newcomers here, an American built a saw mill at Little Sauk, where one could get an allocation of forest, and thus they had something to live off. One of the old settlers adds, "Had it not been for the saw mill at the Little Sauk River, we would have starved to death." The following is an extract of an article that Prof. J. Stjørdalsvold wrote for 'Minneapolis Tribune' and 'Decorah-Posten' under the title,'A Tenacious Trønder': "In the deep forest between Osakis and Long Prairie in the middle of Minnesota lives a man, who at various times and in various ways has been, so to say, right in the jaws of death, but today he is in the most excellent physical and mental condition, even though he has begun his sixtieth year. After ten years consideration, I have come to the conclusion that the public is entitled to hear a little about this man's remarkable experiences, and here it comes.- - - - In 1867, Minnesota had a famous flood. At this time Thorsten Nelson (from Stordalsvolden, Øvre Meraker) lived with his wife and two children in a small house, that stood in a narrow valley a little west of the current parish in Goodhue County. It is not my intention to write of this flood here. But it must however, be noted that it came at night and that the onrush of water poured down in a few minutes, so that many a stalwart man and women paled with fear. Thorsten Nelson's house stood on a small height. It was not pleasant to see the torrent split so that the farm became an island. Soon the water reached walls on every side. And it rose, inch by inch, until it began to flow in through the window. The water rose high above the floor and when it reached them, lying in bed, both Mama and Papa understood that this threatened the lives of all four of them. So they each took a child on their shoulders to try to find land where they knew the water was shallowest. The lightning was almost incessant, at times it looked like they were wading through a torrent of flame. In some moments it was so dark that eyes were useless. But it rained without stop, as if it boiled around them. The flow was dangerous. The water reached their hips. It reached their chest. Even deeper! But when the water reached the little ones who sat on Mama's and Papa's shoulders, they agreed that with the mercy of God, they would go back to the house and live or die there. It was not pleasant in there. The water flowed in the door so it was impossible to close it. Everything that lay loose had been swept away by the current - furnishings, clothes, shoes and food. Even though the water reached up to the bed, they had to stay there for, naturally, the water was even deeper on the floor! When it stopped raining, the water fell even faster that it had risen and all four had escaped with their lives. But even now Mama and Papa shudder when they think of that night. The next morning Thorsten Nelson went barefoot to a neighbour, for whom he worked until he got a pair of new boots. They cost 7 dollars, but they were stout and heavy. ON THE ICE Thorsten Nelson and his family have lived in their present home since 1870. In the first newcomer years, Sauk Center was the town where he and his neighbours generally went to, when there was something to be bought or sold. On a return from Sauk Center, he and a group of his comrades decided to save a few steps by crossing over a bay in Sault Lake that was right on their way. It was late fall and the ice was fairly firm along the shore. But they agreed that it was not safe further out. Since Thorsten Nelson had crampons on his boots, it was seen that it was safest to let him go ahead so the others could see how the ice was. When they got about half way out on the bay, it began to creak very ominously under their feet, and just then Thorsten's heel went through the ice. The others leapt back just in time to save themselves. But around Thorsten it was actually so thin that it billowed around him just like water. In a flash it struck him that if he stopped to turn back, he would certainly go through the ice. Therefore he hunched forward and ran as fast as the swift man was able. The others could see clearly a hollow in the ice where he ran. But he got across and his life was saved. IN THE THRESHING MACHINE Some years later he had a thick scarf around his neck while he threshed in the cold fall. He knew that this sort of clothing was dangerous around threshing machines and therefore he kept it tucked well inside his tightly buttoned coat. But while he was cleaning out some loose material that had piled up in the front of the machine, the scarf fell out. This was one of the old-fashioned machines, that was driven by round iron rods that went from the horses to the machine itself. The scarf began to coil around the drive shaft but Nelson was not aware of it until he was pulled down toward the shaft. He had the presence of mind to shout that the others should cast the rods aside. This was not done. However, the horses were stopped faster than usual in such accidents. In the meantime, however, Nelson was swung around the shaft at such a speed that his feet hit a man, who was feeding the machine, and threw him far out in the field. The board that the man stood on, was struck by Nelson's body so it rang as if he was a mallet. When everything was stopped, Nelson was wrapped around the drive shaft and everyone believed he was dead. Some resolute men stepped up and cut him loose. Then they carried him in as though he was dead. His neck looked awful and distorted. But, they well knew the man's toughness, so they pulled his neck straight and put his body in a natural position. He was extraordinarily heavy clothed. Even so, the skin was torn off across his chest, where the drive shaft had laid. Yes, there is life in him! He is coming to! When he regained his consciousness, he said that he became unconscious as soon as he started to go around the drive shaft. But he felt no pain, neither when he lost nor regained consciousness. He was a 'straggler' for a few days, but in two weeks he began to work. And the involuntary dance around the threshing machine's drive shaft is just a memory among many others. CLUB ON THE HEAD Once Thorsten Nelson and one of his neighbours were setting up fence posts. One held the post and the other hammered it into the ground. They used a wooden mallet with a large iron ring on each end, and the whole thing weighed all of twenty to twenty-five pounds. Just as the neighbour swung the hammer, the head flew off and hit Nelson in the middle of the forehead. 'I dropped like a stone,' tells Nelson, himself. In a few seconds he regained consciousness and then rested for barelt five minutes. But he admits that he had a bad headache for several days after. BLEW THE RIFLE UP Here I will add a little sample of how ingenious Thorsten Nelson was in getting things to work. Once he bought a gun for hunting larger game. It was a real beast of a rifle. It was loaded from the back and the bore was much narrower at the mouth than where the ball was loaded. The ball was ground or compressed quite significantly when it was driven by the powder. When he was hunting some smaller game, Nelson had put in a rather small charge. The consequence was quite comical. There was not enough power to drive the ball out of the rifle and it sat stuck about six inches from the muzzle. Now Nelson attempted to push the ball back from where it had come. But no, that would not work! Instead of taking the rifle to a gunsmith, Nelson put in a new load, and this time he was not sparing of powder. Now Nelson was very careful, he held the rifle over his head when he shot. What a bang that time! But what was it that echoed so strangely in the woods in the direction the rifle pointed? After looking, he noticed that the end of rifle was blown off where the other ball had sat. It was the blown-off piece of the muzzle that had echoed in the forest. IN THE SAWMILL When Thorsten Nelson got a steam-operated saw, he was not one to let others take the most dangerous jobs. When everything was ready to start, he stepped up to the first log that was to be sawn into planks, in the new mill. The saw cut its way through the log such that it was lovely to watch. But on the return, the log had such a speed that Nelson lost his balance. Just as he tottered over, he grasped the log with his right hand, close to the circular saw. The reader will understand that the log now moved backwards while the saw continued its path as before. Therefore, Nelson's hand was carried toward the saw where the teeth were spinning upward. The instant the saw's teeth hit his hand, it was so terribly torn apart that it 'did not show a sign of fingers on it', only a bloody, formless mass. The doctor who took care of the hand must have been skilled in his profession. It was true that no bone was hacked through. But tendons and muscles were torn apart and twisted together and the outer knuckle of the thumb was stripped of flesh and muscles, so that the bone remained, naked and glistening. It was a tough piece of work for the doctor to patch the fingers and hand together, but he did it so well that the hand became quite natural, and as strong as before. This time it was several weeks before the injured hand could be used for work. SHEEP SHEARS IN THE CHEST Such an innocent thing as sheep shears can also be dangerous, that Thorsten Nelson learned when he was trimming the mane on a horse. This happened in the stable. Just as Thorsten Nelson was clipping, the horse bolted out the door. He tumbled down flat and at the same time he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He fell with a significant speed onto the blade of the sheep shears. One point which was extremely sharp struck a rib just over his heart. The point drilled into the bone, so that his chest was sore for a long time. Had the point struck just a little higher or lower, it would clearly have pierced his heart. WAGON POLE IN THE THIGH It is only a few years since Thorsten Nelson experienced his last serious misadventure. He was on his way home from Long Prairie and drove a buggy with a pair of spirited horses. The horses became frightened when the traces fell out. When the horses had reached a good speed, the wagon pole also fell down. Now they became ten times wilder. In the next moment, the front of the pole stuck into the ground and broke off about three feet in front of the buggy. This event is so strange and difficult to understand that I need to get into some detail and length, although that hardly suits an event that only lasted a few seconds. The wagon pole broke at an angle so the broken ends were thin and sharp.That part of the shaft fastened to the buggy fell down. The front of the broken piece stood at an angle in the ground and the other end stood up in the air in front of the buggy. Just when the pole broke off, in some way or another unexplained manner, the horses broke loose from the buggy. Nelson held firmly to the reins and when the buggy stopped, the horses pulled him out of it. But he did not get far. His right thigh struck the projecting end of the pole. He was literally gored, while the horses ran away. Just now did Nelson and his comrade realize what had happened. The pole had gone through his thigh, a bit closer to his hip than his knee. It had slid past the bone and the end stuck out at least six inches on the other side. His comrade now grabbed Nelson and pulled him off the pole. As soon as Nelson was free from the spear, he helped his comrade pull the bloodied pole out of the ground. It was stuck so hard that it was only with great effort that they got it out. The horses were nowhere to be seen. But the tracks showed where they could be found. And it was Nelson himself who recovered the horses, even though they had run a good distance. Then he borrowed a wagon and drove back to his buggy, which he tied to the wagon and drove home as if nothing had happened to him personally. But now his sons took him to a doctor in Osakis. The first thing he did was pull out four to five inch long piece of wood that was still in the wound. Next he washed the wound thoroughly. And this he did in a very practical manner. There is a saying 'nothing is so bad that it is not good for something'. Here the pole had gone right through his thigh. The doctor stuck an clean wash cloth in one side and out the other and by pulling it back and forth a number of times, it was an easy matter to get the wound clean. On the one side the wound was so large that the doctor could get his hand a good distance into it. The doctor said, 'You must stay overnight'. But the next day, Nelson got up and bought himself a new wagon. He was even prepared to walk the five miles home, but his son came and rented transport for him. Then he stayed in bed for barely a week and in three weeks he went back to his usual work. Now there are only a couple of scars to remind him of this event. THE FAMILY At the age of nineteen, Thorsten Nelson was married to Anne Mikkelsdatter Tjernmo and she has truly been a splendid wife ever since the day she was a bride. They have had four sons and four daughters and five of the children are alive. When you drive from Osakis to Long Prairie, you will see among many lovely homes in the Town of Gordon, none lovelier than theirs. TESTIMONIAL When so much unusual happens to one and the same man, some could doubt the truth of it. But since I have always sought and kept to the truth, I wish to remove such doubt. Therefore, I have asked Nelson himself and later some of his neighbours to read this. And here comes their declaration. We the undersigned, who were born in the same neighbourhood as Thorsten Nelson in the old country and have lived in the same neighbourhood as him for 30 years or more, find that above account is absolutely truthful. Jens Johanssen Størdalstvedt Manuel Jensen Tevedal Lars Pedersen Stenøien" Little Sauk Congregation, that was established in 1872 by Pastor Chr. Saugstad of The Conference, was the first Norwegian congregation in the county. Its church was built in 1873. There are now 15 congregations and 9 churches, 10 belong to The United Church, 2 to The Norwegian Synod, 2 to The Lutheran Free Church and 1 to The Methodist Church. The first Norwegian to hold public office in the county was Henry Ellingsen, he was elected Registrar of Deeds in 1867.