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collection of real "Amerika breve." For example, I have in my
possession a complete copy of a famous letter written April 22, 1835
by Gjert Greg.Hovland from the Norwegian settlement in western New
York. And I know of many other good letters that might be included
in such a collection. My idea would be to translate them into
English so that they could be read by non-Norwegian Americans as
well as by those of our own blood who (unfortunately) can not
read Norwegian. What do you think of this plan? Is it worth while?
Perhaps you have seen a little article of mine in "The North Star"
under the title "The America Letters." That article will give you
an idea of the importance which, to my mind, these early letters from
the Norse immigrants in America possessed.

I have two other plans in my head, and I am tempted to mention
them to you. As you probably know I am at work on a history of
Norwegian immigration to the United States. In this work I shall
deal with the period from 1821 to 1921, and shall not attempt to
cover the period before 1821, already dealt with by Evjen and others.
This work (which will be an expansion of my doctor's thesis) will
not be ready for a couple of years at least. Now I have been giving
some thought to another preliminary book, and I mention it to you
to get your opinion on it. Perhaps you will not think it worth
while. As you know I have written and published a good many (perhaps
not many, good) articles on Norwegian immigration. Would it be
worth while to gather these together in a volume? Do you think I
could get a publisher. The plan would be as follows:

Cleng Peerson and Other Studies in the History of Norwegian
Immigration

1. Cleng Peerson, the Pathfinder.

2. Ole Rynning and the "America Book."

3. The "America Letters."