The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 62, July 1958 - April, 1959 Page: 65

Notes and Documents

In due time, on the 14th we went abroad the steamer Hero
which would take us from Gothenburg to Hull, England. We
said farewell to many friends who had accompanied us to Gothen-
burg and shortly before sundown the S.S. Hero lifted its anchor
and steered out into the Kattegat. We were all on deck as long
as we could catch a glimpse of our beloved fatherland, which
many of us would never see again. The next morning we were
in the North Sea. There was a cold wind and high waves; with
few exceptions all were seasick. From all quarters one heard
groans, "I am so sick I believe I shall die-would that I had stayed
at home instead of dying in this misery." And other similar ex-
pressions. As stated, the waves were running high, but the Hero
was a good little steamer and made progress in spite of the waves.
On the afternoon of the 16th we caught a glimpse of the
English coast and in a couple of hours we were in the harbor of
Hull and went ashore. Here an emigrant agent met us and we
were stowed in a hotel. I say "stowed" as it lacked ordinary con-
veniences. It was Saturday when we landed in Hull and our
trunks and other luggage remained aboard the steamer until
Monday. On Sunday most of us looked over the city and early
Monday morning we were on the steamer's deck to see to that our
belongings were in good order and to arrange for the transfer to
the railroad train which would take us to Liverpool. It was a
special train, exclusively for emigrants.
The countryside around Hull had great natural beauty in its
summer attire, a more glorious picture one could not ask to see,
but it did not last long and when we approached Liverpool the
entire stretch was that of a huge factory town-high chimneys,
low chimneys and from all dense smoke columns rose to the sky.
Finally we arrived in Liverpool and after leaving the train, the
three baggage cars were switched to another track and we were
hustled off to an emigrant hotel with Mr. Lyon and Mr. Heard
at the head, a policeman on either side and one in the rear so that
no one would get lost. The emigrant agent who met us was a half-
blood Negro. There was a frightful commotion when our luggage
was to be transferred from the railway to the S.S. City of Balti-
more as a carload had disappeared and could not be located.
What should we do? All our possessions were in these freight cars