In the spring of 1840, these seven men decided to go north in search of homesteads.[136] From Gilderhus and Bolstad they had received information of Koshkonong and they decided also to go there and inspect the locality. About the middle of May, I take it, they started on foot for Wisconsin. The way led by Shabbona Grove, in De Kalb County, through Rockford, Beloit, Janesville, and Milton. They crossed the Rock River at Goodrich's Ferry, now Newville, then pushed on until they reached the southern line of Dane County, stopping in the Town of Albion, near Koshkonong Creek,[137] and about four miles north, slightly by east, of Lake Koshkonong. Here they found country that suited them in every way. Björn Kvelve is said to have exclaimed: "This is indeed the Land of Canaan!" Here woods were plentiful, the soil was rich, a vigorous winding stream teeming with fish, ran near by, and not far off there was a large lake. [136] For these facts I acknowledge indebtedness chiefly to Prof. R. B. Anderson, who is a son of Björn Anderson Kvelve; he gives an account of the journey of these men on pages 347-354 of his book, and a sketch of his parents pages 155-165; see also page 171, and 245. [137] Then a little river; now it is almost dried out. We see that the Stavangerings, as the Vossings, looked for wood and water; they did not realize the superior advantages of the prairie, and that it would yield much quicker returns for their labor. And yet there was good reason for their choice, and we shall find that quite often the early Norwegian pioneers located in a woodland tract near a stream or a lake. It was undoubtedly an inducement to build near a wood, where the timber for the usual log-cabin was near at hand, and it was highly desirable to locate within access of that primary necessity of life, water. In this region, then, our party selected land. Amund Hornefjeld chose the east half of the southeast quarter of section one,[138] and Björn Kvelve, the west half of the same quarter section. [138] So the description reads but the Amund Anderson homestead is the east half of the northwest quarter, and the Kvelve homestead is directly south. Thorsten Bjaaland chose eighty acres immediately north of Kvelve's, consequently in section two, while Lars Dugstad took the east half of the southwest quarter of section one. Having made these selections,[139] they walked to Milwaukee to file their claims and perfect their purchase.[140] This is recorded at the land office under date of June twenty-second, 1840, just one month, therefore, after entry was made of Vindeig's claim in section thirty-four in Christiana, the next township and section north. Amund Rossaland selected a piece of land near that of Björn Kvelve, but he was later informed that it had already been taken;[141] so Rossaland did not settle on Koshkonong, but went to Jefferson Prairie, as did also Lars Scheie, thence again elsewhere.