st. And, the world becoming too narrow for me
on the farm, I availed myself of the first opportunity to trade away my
land for some property in Red Wing, which was a booming little town at
that time. We moved from the plain log cabin on the old farm into a
house in town, where I engaged in a successful mercantile business. But
speculation was in the air, and before the spring of 1857 my entire
stock of merchandize was exchanged for town lots in Wasioja and Geneva,
two paper cities further west. Meanwhile my friend Mr. Eustrom, with his
young wife and baby, had arrived from Boston, and both of us, with our
families and a few friends, moved out to Geneva early in the summer,
with the intention of building up a city and acquiring riches in a
hurry. But at that time the waves of speculation began to subside, and
nine-tenths of the cities and towns which were mapped out, and the great
enterprises which were inaugurated by enthusiasts like myself suddenly
collapsed into a mere nothing. Among these was also Geneva, which is not
larger to-day than when we left it, and it was about all I could do to
raise enough money to get back to Vasa with my wife. My friend Eustrom
pre-empted a claim near Geneva and remained there.

Making an inventory of my property after the return to Vasa in 1857, I
found that the principal thing I had was a debt of $2,000, bearing an
interest of five per cent. a month. In order to pay this debt we sold
everything we had, even our furniture and my wife's gold watch. This was
the great crisis of 1857. It stirred up everybody and everything in the
country, and it was no wonder that I, being an inexperienced and
enthusiastic young man, had to suffer with so many others. But now the
question was, what should I do? I could not return to the farm, for I
had none; that is, it was encumbered for about twice its value.

In the midst of these difficulties I went to Red Wing one day to consult
a prominent lawyer in regard to some business matters. During my
conversation with him he said: "You have nothing to do now, you have had
enough of speculation, you know the English language, you are tolerably
well acquainted with our laws, well educated, young and ambitious, why
not study law, then? This state and this county is just the place for
you to make a splendid beginning in that profession. Come to me, and
within a year you can be admitted to the bar, after which you will find
it easy to get along."

I returned to