Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad. 1907. Pope County The first Norwegian settlers in this county were John Johnson Sandvig† and Greger Halvorsen, both from Telemarken, as well as Salve Olsen Gakkestad from Sætersdalen. They came from Scandinavia, Wis. and settled in the vicinity of a lake, that they gave the name of Lake Johanna, a name it still bears. This was in 1860. Later in the year came Olaus Olsen† from Kragerø and Ole Kittelsen Evretvet from Sætersdalen. And next after them came Ole Reina† and Halvor Hjelstad† from Telemarken, Iver O. Rønning† and Hans Engebretsen from Gudbrandsdalen, Torger Vesteland, Knut Torgersen, And. Torgersen, Gunder Olsen† and Knut Wisnæs†, all from Sætersdalen, Ole Livdalen† from Hallingdal, Ole Pedersen† from Valders, Nils N. Barsness, O. N. Barsness and E. N. Barsness from Sogn and later a number of Telemarkings, namely Knut Simon†, Børre Olsen†, Aslak Swensen† and Aslak Ovesen, as well as Martin Ranvig from Kongsvinger and the brothers Wollan, Anton Holte and Andreas Schey, all from Stod, near Trondhjem. They spread out in various directions, Gilchrist, Barsness, Starbuck and Glenwood. The first in the vicinity of Lowry was Nils Mikkelsen from Røraas. He settled there in 1864. Torsten Hovde from Gjerdahls parish, who came there the year after Mikkelsen, says that the crane fly was their worst enemy, they were so bad that had they not diminished in the first two years, he would have been necessary to move from there. The first at Cyrus was Christian Johnson. He came from Iowa and slept under open skies for two months. The new settlers' main source of income was wheat and cattle raising. In addition they trapped muskrats for which there was a good price. There was no nearer marketplaces than St. Cloud and Sauk Center and to these places it was 50 to 75 miles from the farmers' respective homes. In Pope County, as in many other places, they had to live in dugouts and log cabins the first years, and for plowing and driving they had nothing else but oxen. The following poem come from the veteran A. Torguson of Glenwood: "Glenwood, beautiful Glenwood, that lovely little place, Like a crown it lies in a charming vale, On the lovely shore of Minnewaska's waters, Like a mirror it gives a reflection from heaven!" Halvor Ericksen from Nordre Aurdal, Valders, who was one of the first settlers in Pope County, now living at Thief River Falls, Minn., writes, "Much could be told of our pioneer days but what stands out clearest in my recollection is an event that took place the10th July 1875. We went out as usual that day to break new land. Suddenly we became aware of a group of riders on the way at an uncommon speed and who spread out in various directions to the farmers in the neighbourhood One of them rode up to us and shouted that we must unhitch our oxen from the plow, for this was a matter of life and death. The White Earth Indians had broken out of their reservation and were coming southward, killing and plundering what they could! He also gave the order that all the settlers should assemble at Ole Ericksen's where there was much forest and where there was a good defensive position, since it lay between two lakes. There was a good room on the isthmus (between these two lakes) for both people and livestock and we set up a strong guard. 'Take what you have of weapons and ammunition,' he added. Then he rode on as fast as his frothing horse could stand. And we hurried and packed our most important possessions and then went to the aforementioned gathering place, where several hundred people had already gathered and where they had fortified themselves with wagons,boxes, sacks, furniture etc. They also had a good supply of shotguns and rifles, yes even axes and hayforks ready for use, if necessary. But luckily - we avoided our fears. The Indians did not get far that time." Three whit settlers (not Norwegians) had been killed in Pope County by the Indians (during the first immgration here) and the rest of the pioneers had been chased away, but they came back. Daniel Anderson from Ibestad, Nordland, one of the old settlers at Lake Johanna, tells, "I was one of those who emigrated by sailship. It took us 17 weeks from Bodø to Quebec, there was plague and other diseases aboard, and many a corpse was buried in the sea. There was also starvation among us, since the trip was so long and because we were so many - - ca. 900 people, mostly from Helgeland and Namdalen. - - - The first winter, we lived in our little dugouts, we had Indians and half-breeds for neighbours, and in the summer there were swarms of them; their boats, that were made of birch bark, they carried on their heads. One of the worst nuisances was the mosquitoes, in the afternoons the mosquito swarms could be so thick that one could not see the sun through them." At that time we paid $17.00 to $18.00 for a barrel of flour, $45.00 to $50.00 for a cow, about $300.00 for a pair of draft oxen, $6.00 for an ox chain of 8 feet, #1.50 for an axe, $1.00 for a milk pail etc." In Pope County there are 24 Norwegian congregations and 19 churches, 14 belong to The Norwegian Synod, 6 to The United Church and 4 to The Lutheran Free Church. Andrew Torguson (Vesteland) was the first Norwegian to hold public office in the county, he was elected Coroner in 1866. Isaac Thorson was the first Norwegian legislator from here, he represented Pope County in the State Legislature by 1869. In Glenwood, there is a Norwegian High School, started in 1894. 'Fakkelen' is the name of a Norwegian newspaper that was published in Pope County for a short time in the 90s. Places with Norwegian names; Barsness, Eggen, Hoff, Hoverud, Langhei, Scandiaville, Trysil, Fron, Thorsen and Nora.