Sven Lunde was born in Gesdal, Norway on August 26, 1838. He left to try his luck in this country because the government was offering free land to homesteaders.
On the way to America the propeller on the steamer broke and the ship had to be towed to the harbor at St. John by a cattle boat. The journey took them three weeks. They came to North Dakota on June 10, 1881, coming by oxen from Valley City, and filed on the NW quarter of Section 22, Township 145, range 58.
There they built a lot house about 24X14 with a bark roof and sod on the top. They had no floor and just one room. The stove was set up outside under a big oak tree, until the house was ready to move in.
When they went to town to get provisions they had to go to Valley City, about 40 miles, and it took them two days each way. The first winter supplies gave out toward spring and the family was on the verge of starvation. Shorts and bran were procured from the Cooper farm. This was cooked into a mush, which kept the family alive until they could reach a market for supplies. This mush was not a very delicious dish. One of the boys who was big enough to understand the situation made the remark one day, "This mush is very fitting to the occasion being that it takes so little to satisfy our need."
That trip to Valley City was very hard because the river was flooding and it had to be crossed two times to get to the city. He had to hire a boat to take him across the river at Sibbley Crossing. He also had to hire a team and leave his own on this side of the river. Before he returned the children came to their mother and begged for food, but she, heartbroken, had to tell them the sad fact that the pantry was empty and there was nothing to be had. Fortunately, the father returned with food the same day.
The only fuel they used was wood, which they obtained from the timber on the homestead along the river.
Often Indians would come down the Sheyenne River in their canoes. At other times they would come by with wagons and horses and pitch their tents under the trees in the neighborhood. They often came around the farmyard asking for supplies for their families and hay for their horses. Any gun report heard in the distance would scare the folks that the Indians were coming upon them.
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 436