Who’s who
- Carl Aamodt (Amoth), writing the letters. Pete Amoth’s grandfather, and great-grandfather and namesake of Carl Christian Amoth, who keeps this site. In these pages, “Carl” is always Carl Aamodt, the letter-writer.
- Mina, “Minnie”, his wife, born Pederson, waiting in Fairfax, Minnesota.
- Guy, their first son, too small to travel and often sick.
- Torval (Thorvald, “Tom”), Carl’s brother, who went with him.
- Martin, another brother, with his wife Emelie and their children Grace and Henry. Left in Minnesota in 1895; farming near Langdon by 1896.
- Peter Melhus, who was already in Alberta and talked them into coming.
- Ed, who wants to come too: probably Edward Pederson, Minnie’s brother.
The letters
Found in Pete’s files: four typed pages summarizing Carl’s letters home, quoting him in places. Who typed them, and when, isn’t known. They are given here as typed. Words in [square brackets] are ours.
About the first of Sept. 1895, Carl and Torval shipped carload of 6 horses and necessary farm machinery to Wilaskewan, Alta. Canada. [Wetaskiwin, Alberta]
The three brothers, Carl, Torval and Martin had pooled their savings and started farming, but three crop failures in a row depleted their savings and they had to borrow money on notes bearing 10% compound interest.
Being hopeless to continue they shipped to Canada upon the advise of Peter Melhus who already was located there.
The farm they had rented from the Ottos was not a very pleasant place to live as Mr. Otto had been murdered, and by public opinion his widow was blamed. She would wander around at night like an evil spirit to the dread of the Amoths.
The murder was never legally solved.
Martin and wife Emelie and daughter Grace and son Henry were left in Minnesota as was also Carl’s wife Minnie and son Guy. Also two colts “Bell and Kernel”, Torval’s and Carl’s. A few cows and heifers, a few sacks of grain, etc., and the intention was that Martin was to ship out in another car in the spring.
Carl’s homestead description: SE¼ of Section 4, Twp., 47, Range 20, West of 4th Meridian. “All minerals, excepting stone existing on or under the lands described are reserved to her Majesty.”
It appears that Henry Halvorson must have also been with them. Expenses of trip including miscellaneous was a total of $123.50.
They crossed at Gretna and went by way of Winnipeg. [Gretna, Manitoba, on the border]
An itemized list of their living expenses from Oct. 14, to March 26, 160 days, showed a cost of $24.25 or 15¢ per day or 7½ cents per day per person.
Carl and Torval shipped out 6 horses and complete farm machinery and household goods.
Duhamel, Alberta, Feb. 10, 1896
Letter written to Mina with a stock of wood as pen was broken.
Emigrant rates on train 1¢ per mile.
P. Melhus was expecting an inheritance and would buy one team of their horses and pay back a loan to them also.
Many people were very poor. Government an officer to Witorkerion every month to divide out free flour to the needy. [Wetaskiwin]
Some neighbor had 30 horses and had just sold 2 teams, and another that had $3000.00 in the bank, horses and machinery, 25 sacks flour, 150 lbs. tobacco, coffee, sugar, barrel of syrup and barrel of kerosine, from U. States. Still was in ________ got sacks of flour. They came home drunk as hogs, hollering and racing. Very disgusting.
Seed will be shipped in free by the railroad for the government for those who need it and must be paid bushel for bushel after harvest.
4 year old steers sell for 40 dollars. Cows $30 to $40.00. Good horses were high as there was a flood of Canadian ponies.
Had helped Pete Melhus haul barley bundles to Grue (a neighbor) to thresh and Torval helped another neighbor. Feb. 10.
When it gets to lonesome they go over to neighbors and play with children.
Red Deer, May 18, 1896
Stopped near town here for dinner. We left home Monday and have had 2 snowstorms on way. Have traveled only 75 miles.
We are 6 wagons in company. Received your letter and $20.00.
Got money from Norway and will send some from Calgary.
Next address Lethbridge where we will come thru in about 2 or 3 weeks.
Carl one wagon, Torval one wagon, Melhus, Norman.
Pine Creek, May 25, 1896
Now 15 miles south of Calgary. Have covered 200 miles. Nicest country they have ever seen. Cattle country. Too cold and dry for grain farming. Herds up to 10000 head. Rocky Mts. to west, some peaks silver color, some copper colored. Very impressive.
May 30, 1896
Sunday and have baked bread and had dinner. Are camped near a ferry on Old Man River. [the Oldman River] Tent is raised on rivers edge, surrounded by trees. Wagons and horses higher, and very good rich grass. To the east the river has formed an island with forest of all kinds, to the south the river and to the west police station, and to the north green hillsides all very nice. Chair is a feed box, and desk, the spring seat. Wagon box and cover makes floor, walls and roof, and which also serves as bedroom and living room. Use the tent only on Sunday when they bake bread, when cook stove is set up and all take turns baking bread in only stove. On the morrow they will arrive at Lethbridge. Next address is uncertain as they may go to Idaho where a new Reservation is opened for homestead, about 800 miles from here, Lethbridge. Have now traveled 300 miles. Will be in Shelby J. C. Montana in 10 or 12 days. [Shelby Junction]
If we go to Idaho we must go SW and if to Minnesota, East.
Postscript after receiving mail at Lethbridge and mention Towner, which they have decided to be destination. (wonder if that was what landmark of windmill tower of Towner west of Langdon.)
Glasgow, 18 June 1896
Glasgow, Montana] Intend to be in Minot in 2 weeks. Was now more satisfied than had been for over a year, looking forward to a home.
Minot, July 5, 1896
Got here Friday noon and shall leave tomorrow. Horses were tired and needed food and rest. Had not had oats for 600 miles as oats was 40¢ per bushel. Now in Minot it was 20¢, so now they bot feed. Nearly eaten up by mosquitoes. Horse racing and riding for entertainment on the 4th. See by letter Guy was sick again. Too bad the little “Stakkelstakkel "Poor thing": Danish, and so the Dano-Norwegian written in Carl's day. Norwegian now says stakkar. Carl's word for little Guy, sick again. All the words” shall be sick so much of time. “When I see him and dance with him he will be better.”
In about 2 weeks we should be at Martins.
Will put up hay before we go threshing. If can get house want you and Guy to come at once as it is soon a year since we saw each other. “We must live in hope, like the cat near the cupboard.”
Indian War Dance thru night. Worried.
Langdon, July 16, 1896
Got to Martin’s place last Saturday evening. Looked over the land available and today Torval and I have filed on land in the same township as Martin. I contested a tree claimtree claim A claim to 160 acres of public land under the Timber Culture Act of 1873, earned by planting and keeping trees on part of it: 40 acres at first, 10 after 1878. New claims ended in 1891, which is why in 1896 Carl was contesting an existing one: challenging it, so the land could be taken up again. All the words. We will be about 13 miles from town. Here are 6 elevators, a flour mill, courthouse. Crop looks fair. Wages are 2 to 2.50 per day threshing.
Langdon, July 25, 1896
Last night we finished Martin’s house. Martin’s house is 22X28 outside measure, and 14X20 inside.
I have all I brot to Canada, except bed and cupboard.
Our land is 100 acres crop land and 60 acres good hay land. Soil is good. There is some land left here. South of Torval’s is a nice 1/4 that could be taken as homestead and also some quarters to the Northwest, so there is land for Ed if he comes.
Langdon, Aug. 1, 1896
A week ago I wrote for you to leave Fairfax yesterday and by that you should have been here today, but as you are not and no letter, you must not have rec’d my letter or else not have had a chance to start. You can imagine my disappointment. Am well and busy with the hay.
Fairfox, Minn., Oct. 18, 1896
Fairfax] Excerpt from letter Torval to Carl and Martin. Had just been over for Bell and Kernel. They had grown.
Am now feeding at thresh machine. Don’t know whether it was good or bad, but as I see it was best I could do as Ed wants to come, too. 3 week threshing left, but we will leave before. Will you send my wagon cover. Ed wants it.
How we know
- The source is the typed summary itself: four numbered pages and one unnumbered sheet, found among Pete Amoth’s papers. The last page carries the letterhead of Traynor & Traynor, Attorneys & Counselors, Devils Lake, North Dakota; whoever typed it may simply have used that paper. Whether the letters themselves survive isn’t known.
- Pete’s memoir says Carl and Tom “went first to Calgary, Canada to homestead.” The letters put them near Wetaskiwin, at Duhamel, 60 miles south of Edmonton. Both are shown; the letters are closer to the events. But in 1895 the railway to Wetaskiwin ran north from Calgary, so they probably came through Calgary on the train going in, as well as by wagon coming out, which may be where Pete’s “Calgary” comes from. That part is our reasoning, not the letters’.
- Carl’s Alberta homestead. The quarter section on page 1, with its line reserving minerals “to her Majesty,” is the wording of a Canadian homestead entry: he filed on land in Alberta. Worked out on the survey grid, it lies at the south edge of today’s Camrose, a few miles from Duhamel. He left after one winter, so he can’t have earned the title, which took about three years’ residence; the entry would have been cancelled. Alberta’s homestead records would show the dates. Not yet checked.
- The land office. Pete wrote that they came to Wales and filed a claim; the letters say they filed at Langdon, the county seat, on July 16, 1896, for land in the township where Martin already was. The farm was near Wales. Carl adds, “I contested a tree claim,” so his own quarter may have come by way of a contested tree claim rather than a homestead entry; Pete wrote “homesteaded.” The land office file would say.
- Ed is not given a surname in the letters. Edward Pederson, Minnie’s brother, born 1874, fits.
- Two keying slips corrected: an opening quotation mark typed as a W before Bell, and “reservedto”. Nothing else is changed.
The typed pages
