Chapters 1 through 6 Summary

In "A Ship Unloads Her Cargo," the Charlotta arrives. The ship is a brig and among her passengers are a group of Swedish farmers and their families. The captain of the ship exchanges the money entrusted to him by the passengers for American gold and silver money. The passengers are forced to remain on board for three additional days as New York health officials look for signs of cholera. The captain is worried about an older woman named Fina-Kajsa Andersdotter because she is ill and her husband died during the voyage from Sweden. He fears he will have to pay the hospital bill. Other passengers aboard include Karl Oskar Nilsson, his wife Kristina and their three children. When the captain gives Karl Oskar his money, Karl Oskar tells him that he plans to take his family to Taylors Falls, a settlement...