354 
THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN REVIEW 
Sept. 18, 1748. In Philadelphia. 
“To-day we visited several of the Swedish people who have set- 
tied here and lead an enjoyable life. One of them, by the name of 
Anders Rambo, had a fine stone house, two stories, and a large garden 
alongside. We were well received everywhere and stayed over night 
with Mr. Rambo.—The frogs ‘barked’ all night in the swamps and 
streams, and the crickets and grasshoppers carried on such a racket 
that we could hardly hear each other talk. 
Jan. 21,1749. In Racoon, New Jersey. 
“Although I was so far south, the temperature was almost as 
low as in old^Sweden. My Centigrade thermometer read 22° below 
the freezing point. Since rooms and houses were unprovided with 
dampers or filling in the ceilings, were often without moss in the 
cracks of the walls, in fact, sometimes without either stove oi fiie- 
place, the winter could not but seem a little disagreeable to any one 
accustomed to our own warm winter quarters. However, the best 
consolation was that it did not last so long in this country. For 
several days this month my own room was so cold that I could write 
only a few lines before the ink froze on my pen. I could not keep the 
inkwell on the table or in the window while writing because the ink 
would freeze. As soon as I had finished writing, I was obliged either 
to put the inkwell in the stove or carry it about my person. Despite 
the temperature and snow, all livestock had to remain outdoois, night 
and day; for nobody, either Swedish [in emulation of the English] 
or English had any cattle shed, sheep pen, or stall. But the Germans 
and Dutch had preserved the customs of their fatherlands and housed 
their domestic animals in barns during the winter time. 
March 27, 1749. In Racoon, New Jersey . 
“In the morning I left town to interview a previously mentioned 
Swedish gentleman by the name of Nils Gostafsson, 91 years old, 
concerning former conditions in New Sweden, and to leam fiom him 
whatever he might remember of it.—This old man still appealed to be 
quite healthy and vigorous. He was able to walk without the help 
of a cane, but complained that during the last years he had felt some 
pain in his back and joints, and that it was difficult to keep his feet 
warm in winter unless he sat by the stove. He said he remembered 
very well the times when the Dutch were the lords of this territory, 
and the general circumstances prior to the advent of the English. He 
added that he had transported large quantities of lumber to Phila¬ 
delphia when that city was being built, and recollected fully the 
time when the site of Philadelphia was one large forest. The nono- 
o'enarian’s father was one of the Swedes sent over here to settle and 
& 
cultivate this land.” 
