Part 2

I came finally to the city of Roros, where many of my family lived, and to whom I bore my testimony. At last I reached Trondhjem where I secured work again in the rope factory, and where I worked during two weeks, in order to earn enough to buy a steamer ticket to the place assigned to me for my missionary labors. At that time, the missionaries were sent out without purse or scrip, and depended entirely upon the promises of the Lord.

IV. MISSIONARY LABORS IN NORDLAND AND FINMARKEN.

The 27th of May, 1863, I took passage with the steamship _Prince Gustaf_, and with God's mercy of eternal salvation before me, I bade my dear mother goodbye. With joy in my heart I went out to carry the message of the everlasting covenant, to preach the gospel and to battle for the cause of truth.

The first island I visited was Degoe. It lies off Helgeland. There I bore my testimony to the people, and distributed books and tracts wherever I went. I then traveled to Harstad, from there to Qvarfjorden where there was a family who belonged to the Church, and then along Kadsfjorden where there also was a family belonging to the Church.

Then came numerous long visits among the many deep fjords and sounds of which Nordland mainly consists, and upon the islands, most of which are thickly peopled. I traveled by boat, sailship or steamship, as opportunity offered. I tramped from island to island, over mountains and valleys, visited houses and fishing districts, and had opportunity to bear my testimony before many people. I visited nearly all of the inhabited islands, fjords and sounds in Nordland. There I met many kinds of people,--priests and school teachers, and many people well versed in the Bible. The people in Nordland seemed to me to be better posted on the Bible than in any other place in Norway. The few Saints whom I found scattered on the different islands were visited, but, soon after I reached there, two families who belonged to the Church emigrated to Zion, namely Pollov Israelsen, and Peter Hartvigsen. My greatest interest and joy was my mission work; this I can truthfully say.

Nordland begins several miles north of Trondhjem, where the Atlantic ocean crowds in and follows the Norwegian coastline northward and washes the old steep rocks of the shore, until the famous North Cape is reached, a few miles from the widely known city of Hammerfest. Hundreds of tourists from various nations visit this place every summer. Here they may see the midnight sun circle around the horizon, through two long months of summer. After we leave North Cape the coast line draws north-east and east to south, until the great Atlantic ocean surrounds Norway's northern, barren and fjord-furrowed coast. This part of Norway is called Finmarken. The country is here very barren. No vegetation, excepting grass, is found, and the population, chiefly Finns and Lapps, live on the mountains and care for their great herds of reindeer, or, they live on the islands and fish from season to season. Fishing, as is well known, is the life-blood of Norway's industrial existence. I give these facts because this great mission field is little known, even now, in our Church history.

I was called to go on a mission to Nordland, which includes many cities such as Namsos, Bodo, Harstad, and Tromso. The last mentioned city lies 875 miles north of Trondhjem, and Vardo, the most distant of the cities lies 1,400 miles north of Trondhjem. This vast territory was, therefore, my mission field. In this field only ten souls belonged to the Church at the time I came there. These few had been baptized by Elder Ola Orstend who was the captain of a trading ship, and who later became postmaster in Cottonwood, Utah.

The people in that part of the land did not always deem it proper for me to preach "Mormonism" and to administer the ordinances of the Church. Consequently, during the time I spent in that country, I was arrested seven times, carried over land and sea in boats and steamers as a prisoner, tried in various places, and was sentenced to imprisonment six times. The first time I was given six days imprisonment with only bread and water for food. This was in the city of Tromso. In the prison I had to mingle with thieves and murderers. I was assigned a little room in the attic with a tiny window in the east, and a hard bed hanging by hinges on the wall so that it might be dropped down when it was to be used and lifted again when not in use, so that there would be some room for me in which to move about. A tiny table and a tiny bench constituted the furniture. I had a small piece of sour, coarse bread, and all the water I desired, every twenty-four hours. The cause of my sentence was illegal religious activity.

When I had earned my freedom, and was let out of the prison, I began again to bear my testimony among the people and to distribute books and to hold meetings, and to baptize those who were converted to the saving message.

The tracts that I distributed found their way to many of the honest in heart. I heard at one time of a man far away in Finmarken who desired much to see and speak with an elder. He had read something in some of our books that had reached him. I had then just come out of the prison in Tromso. I bought a ticket on a steamer to a station known as Hasvig, on the east side of the great island of Soro. He who desired to meet an elder of the Church lived in Ofjorden, west of the island, nearly thirty-five miles away, over great mountains and morasses. Since I had never been in this place, I wondered if I could find my way to it. The only road was that made by the goats as they traveled back and forth between the watering and feeding places. The steamship was to arrive in Hasvig at two o'clock in the morning. It was the 16th day of September. I was the only deck passenger on the ship. As the night went on I became very anxious about the manner of my reaching my destination, and when all was quiet on board I went forward on the ship, bowed before the Lord and prayed to him, in whose service I was traveling, to guide my footsteps and to care for me on this particular task. I became surrounded by a great light and a voice said to me, "Be of good courage. You are not alone. Whatever is necessary will be given you." I cannot describe how happy I felt.

At two o'clock in the morning the steamboat whistled and we stopped at the station of Hasvig. There was no landing place there at that time, so the postmaster came out with a boat to deliver and receive the mail. I was the only passenger he brought away. He asked me where I came from and where I was going. I told him and he invited me immediately to go with him to his office. He said, "My housekeeper has always a cup of coffee ready for me when I am up at night to get the mail." Afterwards he went down with me to the shore and took me to a freight boat which was about to travel up the fjord the way I was going. The postmaster asked those in the boat to take me with them as far as they went, and told me it was best for me to begin my foot journey at the place the boat would stop. I continued with the boat to Sorvar, which we reached at ten o'clock the next forenoon. Great fishing districts are located there. I had been up all night, and I was very tired. A fisherman whom I met asked me to go with him to his place and he would make some coffee for me, for he understood that I was tired.

As my strength returned to me I began to bear my testimony to them. After an hour's time, one of the many who had gathered to listen to me, invited me to go with him to his house for dinner, after which he took a boat and rowed me across the sound. On this journey our time was occupied in explaining questions which he directed to me. He was very much interested. After we crossed the sound he hired a boat and we rowed up to the head of the fjord. Here we found shelter for the night with a family of Laps. When they heard where I was going, one of the Lap women said she knew the road well and offered to go with me and to show me the road over the mountains, about seven miles.

We reached Ofjorden, my destination, early in the afternoon and was welcomed by the man who had desired to see a "Mormon" elder. This man, for some time, had held a position similar to that of probate judge, but had resigned his position and was now living quietly and was being cared for by a housekeeper. It was peculiar that the man who had heard me speak on the island, and who had rowed me across the sound, had followed me the whole distance. I held a meeting with them and spoke to them the whole day of my arrival and the day after. My friend the fisherman returned, at last. The day afterward I baptized the old probate judge; later his housekeeper was baptized, and at last the Lap woman who had acted as my guide over the mountain was baptized. When this had been accomplished the Lap woman guided me back straight over the mountain, to Hasvig where I had left the steamship early in the night just a week previously. The vision that I had had on the deck of the ship that night had been literally fulfilled. Everything that was necessary had been given me. I felt very grateful to the Lord for his fatherly care and guidance during the week.

Afterward I visited the huts of the Laps on the shore and slept one night with them. They received me with much kindness, invited me to eat with them and desired much to listen to what I had to tell them. I held a meeting with them and sang for them. They all felt well, as did I also.

V. AGAIN BEFORE THE COURTS.

I had a sister five years older than myself who was not in the Church, but was a private teacher in the family of Mr. Miller, a merchant in Kovaaen, about one hundred seventy-five miles south of Tromso. Mrs. Miller was slightly related to the Skanchys. At one time I had been kept in prison in Tromso during twenty-one days, waiting for a session of the court at which I could be tried. At last I was sent by steamship to Kovaaen, where a court was to be held.

We left Tromso about ten o'clock in the evening. There were many passengers on board, especially on the deck. It was one of the mild, beautiful summer nights of Nordland. The steward who had my ticket and was supposed to take care of me desired to have a little fun with the "Mormon" preacher, but apparently he made a wrong calculation, for when he attacked me with improper words, I talked back to him so loudly that the captain on the bridge came running down to the steward and took him by the coat collar and put him under arrest, saying that he had no right to make life disagreeable for a prisoner. The steward remained under deck as a prisoner during the whole day.

At once, as a result of this episode, I was surrounded by all the passengers on the deck, and as I stood on one side of the deck the little ship began to tip. The captain very politely asked me to stand in the middle of the deck. I felt then that I had a good opportunity to preach and to answer the questions that might be put to me. The people again gathered about me, and I stood there and defended the cause of truth from twelve o'clock at night until five o'clock in the morning. At that time a lady of the first class came to me and offered me something to eat. This food strengthened my body. Thus, in my life's experience, I have been occupied a whole night in battling for the cause of truth. On this occasion I felt that I was not alone, but that I was powerfully supported by the Lord and his influence.

At seven o'clock in the morning we reached our destination, and two of the civil authorities came on board. They both greeted me, as I had long been acquainted with them. At eight o'clock we reached the place where the court was to be held. The courthouse was on a little hill rising abruptly from the fjord. Mr. Nordrum, the court clerk, and his deputy went at once into the house which was occupied as a dwelling house, and where the family were eating breakfast. Mr. Nordrum was a liberal-minded man and he said to Mrs. Miller, "Have you a comfortable room that we can have, as we have a prisoner along with us?"

"What?" said the lady, "a nice room for a prisoner?"

"Yes," he answered. "It is no ordinary prisoner. It is the 'Mormon' preacher, Skanchy."

My sister, who was standing by the table, heard this and almost fainted. She left the table and went weeping down to the shore where I was standing, threw her arms about my neck, kissed me, and cried again. All this was done to the great surprise of my fellow passenger, the lady who so kindly gave me a bite to eat earlier in the morning. This lady soon heard that I was her brother. This also brought tears from the lady, who said, "I would give a great deal if I had such a brother, for he has been on the battlefield all night and has won a victory."

All this occurred on Sunday morning. I was given a good breakfast in a large, well-furnished room in the building. The court clerk came to my room, greeted me in a friendly way, and told me that my hearing should be the first one so that I could be released early.

At eight o'clock Monday morning, I was called into the court room where I was examined concerning my great crime against the Norwegian law, namely, that I had freely preached the doctrines of the Bible and performed the ordinances of the gospel which should be done only by the Lutheran priests who were paid for so doing. The court clerk, Mr. Nordrum, of whom I have spoken, felt well towards the "Mormons" and treated them with much respect, but he was obliged, of course, to do his work in accordance with the laws of the land. The only judges who were after us were those who wanted to make a reputation for themselves by persecuting the "Mormons."

This bitter trial was similar to the many others to which I had been subjected. Upon the request of the court, I bore a long testimony to the truthfulness of "Mormonism," all of which was written down in the records of the court. All of it was read to me again, so that I might correct it, if I so desired, before it became a permanent part of the court records. I thought this was not so bad, as my testimony had been written into the official records each time that I had been before the courts. As a result a great deal of "Mormonism" stands recorded in the official records of northern Norway, as a testimony against the unjust persecutions to which the servants of the Lord have been subjected.

My case now went to a superior officer for his consideration, and I was set free until such time as he might pronounce judgment upon me. The day after, the clerk of the court, Mr. Nordrum, offered to take me on my journey with him, in a large row boat which belonged to the city. It would be at least a week before the steamer arrived. The boat had four men as rowers. The clerk and I sat at the back of the boat on a comfortable bench, and during the eight hours of the trip discussed the gospel. We came during the day to a large island which was densely populated and there, in accordance with my wishes, I was set on land. On this island I took up my work with much satisfaction, and continued it from island to island.

I will say here again that my mission work was of greatest interest and joy to me. When I saw the fruits of my work, as I took the honest in heart to the water's edge and there baptized them, I felt that it was the most glorious work any mortal could perform. No sacrifice seemed too great, for I felt as if my whole system was swallowed up in "Mormonism."

The experiences which I won by my work in Nordland, the long journeys by land and water, the sacrifices and the suffering I had to endure, such as hunger and loss of sleep, will always remain in my memory, and they were no doubt for my good. I learned on this mission great lessons, and the Lord be praised therefor.

VI. HOW I SPENT THE WINTER IN NORDLAND.

I continued my work until late into the fall and early winter, as long as I could find the people at home. When winter opened, most of the able-bodied men voyaged to the fishing districts and worked there throughout the winter. Especially did the fishermen gather in the famous fisheries of Lofoten, where thousands of men and boats assembled each winter while the women, children and the aged remained home on the islands. At that season so much snow falls that it is almost impossible to travel from place to place.

I was in considerable distress, for I hardly knew what a poor missionary could do during the winter to perform his duties and to measure up to the responsibilities that had been placed upon him and be true to his call. This great problem filled my thoughts. I presented the matter to Him in whose service I had been called. The result was that I obtained the testimony that I should go wherever I could find people and work with them just as far as I could. Consequently, I started out for the fisheries where the men gathered for the winter.

First I went to the island of Hatsel, and from there to a place near Lofoten, in the midst of the wild ocean, and hired out to one of the fishermen, the owner of a large boat. There were six of us in the boat, and during the winter we fished with all our strength in the great Atlantic Ocean. An old house stood on the shore, at a point known as Qualnes, in which the fishermen lived during the fishing season. Twelve men, six from our boat and six from another, lived in the large, one room of the cabin. Here we cooked and slept; but it went pretty well.

As I was quick, strong, and endured the sea without becoming sick, I felt that I never needed to take a place inferior to any of the other men. My associates were raw, uncultured seamen. I thought to myself, "Here is something for me to do." I went out among the great rocks that littered the coast and had my prayers and communions with the Lord. Soon I acquired influence over the men and began to teach them to refrain from their fearful swearing and cursing, which they continued from morning until evening. They all knew that I was a "Mormon" preacher. Our captain was the first to stop swearing; then the others, and finally they developed a very great respect for me. Whatever I said, they accepted as being right. In the end they developed such a love for me that when the fishing season was ended, and I bade them farewell, tears came into their eyes. This was the first winter of my first mission, and the first winter that I spent as a fisherman on the wild ocean.

From the fisheries I sailed to the island of Hatsel where my winter's captain lived, and visited for a short time with him and his family. I received my $34 for the winter's work, and went joyfully on my way, to continue my mission over the country.

VII. THE LORD SENDS ME MONEY AND MORE FRIENDS.

The second summer of my mission was used chiefly in preaching to the fishermen. I traveled from island to island, from shore to shore, over mountains and valleys, and I won numerous friends. Many were baptized and more were left with a testimony. I was arrested, of course, and on one occasion was given eight days' solitary confinement with only bread and water to eat. In the fall my means had all been consumed, and the snow water ran in and out of my boots. I succeeded in borrowing about five dollars from a friend, who was not in the Church, and that put me in tip-top shape again. On my journey I secured many subscribers for the _Scandinavian Star_, which also helped to spread the gospel.

The second winter came, and I received a letter from Captain Christian Hansen, with whom I had labored the preceding winter, asking me to report at his home the first of January, 1865. It was about the middle of December that one of the brethren who took a boat and rowed me into Gosfjorden, whence I could walk over a mountain, about fourteen miles, until I would be opposite the island which was my destination. The country here was very wild and open, and had great chasms running through it. It was very easy for a person to become hopelessly lost in a maze of wonderful natural phenomena. I bade my good brother goodbye by the ocean side; he gave me explicit instructions for my guidance. I was to go in a straight line southward, and I would reach my destination. As much snow lay on the ground, I took a pair of skis and carried my clothes and books in a satchel on my back.

Within five minutes after starting, the air became filled with snow, so that I could not discover which was south or north. To go back was impossible, for no one lived by the fjord; the boat had gone back, and I stood alone in the solitary, mountainous wilderness. However, this did not frighten me, for I felt that I was directed by the Lord. I turned about to get the direction I had taken in the beginning, and then sighted ahead, as best I could, in the same direction to some bush or other natural object. This I repeated, over and over again, and in that fashion I traveled the whole fourteen miles in the midst of a terrific snow-storm. The snow was so soft that my skis sank down in it until I was in the snow almost up to my knees, and I could hardly see the end of my skis, as I brought them out of the snow. Naturally, my progress was slow.

Night came and darkness overtook me, but for me there was light, nevertheless. At nine o'clock that night I reached the shore. It was joy to take the skis from my feet and walk on the sand among the great rocks. I saw a house on the shore about a mile away. I went in there and asked for lodging. I was so overcome by weakness from the hard journey of the day that I could scarcely speak. The man in the house, however, understood what troubled me, and placed me in a chair by the warm stove; then he took my boots from off my feet, and brought me from the cellar a bowl of home-made malt beer. After I had become warmed, he asked me to sit up to the table and eat. I did this in a great hurry.

This poor fisherman's home was the only house on this side of the island. After I had eaten, the wife made the beds. She put clean sheets and pillow slips over a good straw mattress covered with an old boat sail in the corner of the one room in the house. After prayers, it seemed that they knew who I was. I was then made to sleep in their own bed, while they slept on the straw bed made in the corner.

The next morning we had a modest breakfast, and the man rowed me across the sound to the next island, and would not take the slightest pay for what he had done. I then walked across this island and found a man to ferry me across the next sound. For this service the ferryman demanded twenty-five cents. This was the last money that I had. I gave him the money and he set me ashore on a sand ridge that jutted out from the island into the water. He immediately rowed back to his own island. There I stood, alone, penniless and in a strange place. With a heavy heart I gathered up my satchel and my coat and looked around for my directions. There, as I looked, by my side and on the sand, lay a little pile of money in silver and copper coins, totaling nearly a dollar. I was so affected by this unexpected relief that I sat down on a stone and wept for gratitude.

I wondered how this money had been left, and came to the conclusion that some fishermen had probably been selling fish among the neighboring islands and had placed the money that they received, as is very common, in the bailing dipper of the boat; on their way back they had forgotten that the money was in the bailing dipper, and in bailing out the boat had thrown the money accidentally on the sand-ridge on which I had landed. However, it had happened. It was another testimony to me that there is One high above us, who sees and knows all things. He knew, no doubt, that I had paid out my last money, and therefore guided my boat so that I landed where this money had been lost. I was grateful to the Lord.