Anthon L. Skanchy, V–VII

Anthon L. Skanchy A Brief Autobiographical Sketch of the Missionary Labors of a Valiant Soldier for Christ

TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY DR. JOHN A. WIDTSOE

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 releated 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 stew- ard who had my ticket and was supposed to take care of me de- sired to have a little fun with the "Mormon" preacher, but ap- parently he made a wrong calculation, for when he attacked me with improper words, I talked back to him so loudly that the cap- tain 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 re- mained 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 power- fully 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. Thev both greeted

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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 court- house 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 fam- ily 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 doc- trines 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 ac- cordance with the laws of the land. The only judges who were after us were those who wanted to make a reputation for them- selves 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 tes- timony to the truthfulnesss 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 becam<- 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 persecu- tions to which the servants of the Lord have been subjected.

328 IMPROVEMENT ERA 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 popu- lated 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 willsay 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.

continued my work until late into the fall and early winter, I 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 fisher- men gather in the famous fisheries of Lofoten, where thousands of men and boats assembled each winter while the women, chil- dren 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. T 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

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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 becom- ing 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 developd 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 win- ter of my first mission, and the first winter that I spent as a fisher- man 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 joy-

fully 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 preach- ing 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 days' arrested, of course, and on one occasion was given eight confinement with only bread and water to eat. In the solitary fall my means had all been consumed, and the snow water ran in dollars and out of my boots. I succeeded in borrowing about five 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. Captain The second winter came, and I received a letter from preceding winter, Christian Hansen, with whom I had labored the 186b. It was asking me to report at his home the first of January, about" the middle of December that one of the brethren who took whence could walk over a boat and rowed me into Gosfjorden, I

a mountain, about fourteen miles, until I would be opposite the

330 IMPROVEMENT ERA 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 won- derful natural phenomena. I bade my good brother goodby by

the ocean side he gave me explicit instructions for my guidance. ;

1 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 wil- derness. 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 prog- ress 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 cov- ered 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