IngunnR

Skal levere brev nr. 1!
September 1891

Beloved parents and brothers!

Seeing that I now have arrived happily to my destination, I will send you a letter from America for the first time. Firstly, I have to tell you about our journey. We arrived in Liverpool at the 7th of May and the old steamship “Wisconsin Queen” was waiting for us in the harbour. Five O’clock in the afternoon the following day, we started the excursion to New York. I am not sure exactly how many passengers there were, but some people reckoned that it was 1000 or thereabouts. There were at least six nationalities aboard; there were Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, Germans, Englishmen and Irishmen! On the second day of sailing, wind started to blow and it kept getting stronger and stronger. There was contrary wind the whole trip and if you were on the deck you would get soaking wet. Halfway there, the wind turned into a hurricane and many of our fellow passengers got sick – actually people said that the diseases on board were more dangerous than shipwreck. There was an Irish wife who became mentally deranged and wanted to jump into the sea. She had to wear a strait jacket and was isolated in a room for several days. I was lucky and only got a mild influenza three days before we reached New York. The fare was poor and little, which made everyone complain, but when we reached the mainland of America we were to find out that meals were fine and delicious, every meal was like wedding cuisine back in our beloved Norway.

Once we arrived in New York, we purchased railway tickets for Chicago. From there, we travelled by horse and cart to Waukesha County, settling on land near Lake Muskego, a village called Durham. The journey went smoothly but we are glad to have settled. We have been in this new country for almost five months now, and it is almost unbelievable how fortunate it has gone for us the whole time in the new world. Both Carl and Ludvig are now working at the farm we live in. The family is called Dreyer and they are so kind, they even hired me as their servant, so now we are all getting paid! The Dreyers possess a high number of cattle, which are very high priced now, and there are also fowls, pigs and sheep. Carl has fallen in love with a peasant girl from a farm not far from here and life is generally looking very bright. All of us are in good health and thriving well.

The scenery here is beautiful and not too different from back home, which I am grateful for. In our area nature is mainly forests and farmland, with many small rivers and lakes. People are generally kind and helpful, but sometimes I find it difficult to communicate because of the differences of our languages. I have picked up quite a few phrases and learn new words every day, but the improvement is not overwhelming… Luckily there is two Norwegian brothers living on a farm nearby; they are from Bergen and are only a few years older than us. It feels very nice to have some Norwegians around me with whom I can speak freely.

If only I could talk to you in person, because there is so much to tell! In a letter I cannot write it all. I hope to hear from you soon and I hope you are happy and in good health. Greetings to you all, and may the good Lord be with you.

Yours sincerely, Ingunn, Carl, and Ludvig.

To my beloved wife

I am sorry that I have not written to you in a long time. I remember that today is November the 15th and that is also your birthday. It hurts me that the best I can do is to write a letter from almost nowhere on earth. For certain I hope that today was a more pleasant day in Chicago. I have spent most of the day listening to raindrops falling on the tent, together with George. He is a cheerful person, though.

The last months have been tough and I am sad to say that I have lost one of my best friends to the Vietcong… It happened in a big combat in the south of Laos where 200 of us fought around one thousand Vietcong soldiers. It all seems so meaningless when you get such a perspective on it. I wish the fighting would stop so no more lives would be lost. Without you here, and with my friend gone, I feel so alone and out of place.

The rain has not stopped falling since the time we got here, but I think this country is beautiful and would have been more beautiful if it was not for the war. Cities are being bombed and large parts of the country are destroyed. No good comes from this! I have not shot a man before and I am dreading the moment when I might have to. I hope God is with me because I cannot do this alone.

The opponents have been moving closer and closer each day. They blew up a bridge a couple of kilometres from here and there have been some heavy fighting in the area. I expect to go out in the field in a few days, but please, do not worry for me. I only have 7 months and 9 days to go here now, and I am counting each minute. The Christmas and New Year holidays are coming up and I am sorry I cannot be there to spend it with you! We will probably celebrate Christmas here in the camp, but there is no guarantee that we don’t need to go out and fight. I have sent you a package with a little something for Christmas, but please promise me not to open it before because I want it to be special.

One thing that is necessary to mention is that in a couple of weeks, all of our letters will be censored, so there is some things I cannot tell you, to conserve both your and my safety.

I hope you will write to me soon, I am curious how you and your family are doing. I hope your father has become well and that you are all in good health. Yours sincerely, Mark Camden.

Ps. I got paid 153 bucks the other day, and I will send some to you in a short while. I don’t need money for other things than tooth paste, soap etc.