Eigil Erbe

Who was Eigil Erbe?

Eigil Erbe was born in Trondheim, Norway. His father Lorentz Erbe was a businessman and he started a candy factory in 1877. Eigil Erbe skipped high school to go to the university early at the age of 20, studying engineering. As an engineer he was only paid 0.10 NOK per hour; he immigrated to the US in search of better pay. He traveled on the ship Kristiania to the United States. Before he could enter the US he had to submit to a health inspection at Ellis Island. He was suffering from malnutrition so he was not allowed to pass to New York. He stayed at Ellis Island for some time, but eventually became healthy enough to be allowed to pass to New York. When he and the other immigrants walked off the ship, hundreds of people bombarded them with eggs and rotten tomatoes. He obtained a job and stayed in the US until he found a job on a ship to South America.

In South America, Erbe worked in both Argentina and Uruguay. After that he went to Paraguay to lead the building of the railroads through the jungle. He hunted crocodiles in the Amazon River in addition to his occupation as an engineer. Erbe and his workers stayed in tents in the jungle at night. After some years in South America, he decided to travel back to Trondheim in Norway.