Philadelphia, Chicago, (and finally) Minnesota

"We docked in Philadephia and stayed there that day. Our baggage was weighed and examined, and I had to pay a good deal in overweight. That evening at ten o'clock we boarded the train and rode all night, arriving in Chicago the following morning. Here we were divided into different groups and put on the various trains that were to take us to our final destinations. 

The morning of May 26 we came to the end of our journey, which was Kasson, Minnesota. There was no one there to meet us. There was nothing for us to do but wait. A funny looking fellow came and asked us if we were going to Lars Lillehaugen. Yes, that was our plan! Well, he said, it was "early yet," and "there will be someone coming from there later," he thought. About noon some farmers came and talked to us as though they knew us. One said he supposed we were hungry and invited us downtown to get some dinner. But I answered, "Me har mat sjaal." (We have our own food.) I often got to hear that later, as this man happened to be Lars' neighbor, and he knew they were expecting us that day, so we rode home with him. It was a nice warm day when we came to the farm."

Excerpt from Sigrid's account of her journey to America, written in 1919.