as the Minnesota
Land Company, shortly afterward was brought to the verge of ruin by
mismanagement, the affairs of this company were intrusted to my hands,
and when the Maxwell Land Grant Company of New Mexico, which also
consisted of Dutch capitalists, got into similar trouble they appointed
me American manager of the affairs of that company, to which I shall
refer further on.

Soon after my return to Sweden in the fall of 1873 I became interested
in an important business enterprise near my old home. A few years
before this a number of Englishmen had organized a stock company for the
purpose of draining a big swamp, and a lake called Hammarsjoe, in the
vicinity of Christianstad. After expending a large sum of money the
company failed to accomplish the undertaking. An officer in the Danish
army, Captain M. Rovsing, who had had experience in that kind of work,
in company with myself bought all the privileges and rights as well as
the plant and material of the English company, and the work was
completed under the supervision of Captain Rovsing in the latter part of
1875. This Captain Rovsing was not only a firstclass engineer, but also
an able and good man in other respects. I cannot tell whether it is luck
or something else, but it is certain that I have always had the good
fortune to enter into close business connections, and to form ties of
intimate friendship, with persons distinguished by the highest sense of
honor and integrity, and of those acquaintances Captain Rovsing occupies
one of the foremost places.

During a part of this time I also contributed some time and work toward
colonizing the province of Manitoba, and thereby gave an impetus to the
establishment of the first Icelandic colony in the Northwest.

In the spring of 1874 we moved to Gothenburg, where we stayed until the
work at Hammersjoe was completed, and in January, 1876, we said good-bye
to Sweden, and arrived in America after a stormy voyage of nineteen days
across the Atlantic. For sixteen days the storm was so violent that the
life-boats and everything which was loose on the deck was swept away by
the waves, and the officers serving during the night had to lash
themselves to the rigging by ropes, not daring to rely on their hands
and feet.

It is strange how easily people in the course of time get used even to
the most unpleasant circumstances. This was illustrated in a striking
manner by the few cabin passengers who sat packed together in the