The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 80, July 1976 - April, 1977 Page: 72
492 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
you never ask: "Where is the next inn? Where can you get good beer,
etc.?" You ask: "Where is the next watering place?" In the vicinity of
the water there was an American, who had come from the East with
seventy-five Negroes, and who was busy now putting up a house and
clearing the land for a farm. He had selected a good location, and his cattle
were already grazing on the meadows. The Negroes were cutting down trees
for the house, but he himself was taking it easy in his tent. He did not use
carpenters or stone masons either.*
The American had us pay half a dollar for a crock (several quarts) of
milk.
The people in our camp are not as happy as usual because several of
them are suffering from dysentery. Our teamsters tell us that this is a
dangerous ailment in Texas, especially on a trip.
Tomorrow I plan to continue my trip faster in order to get to New
Braunfels a few days earlier.
New Braunfels, June 4
I arrived here safely this morning, two days later than I had intended.
On account of the cholera that is prevalent in the city, I took up temporary
residence in the home of Wilke I [the elder Wilke].25 This place is three
miles from town. On Thursday, May 31, I left the others in order to reach
Gonzales, thirty-five miles distant, on the same day. The road led alter-
nately through meadows, woods, valleys, and hills. There was no longer the
monotony of the prairie land. I saw several farms by the road, usually with
an abundance of cattle. At one of these farms there was a schoolhouse.
Since there was also a creek here, I stopped for my noon meal. The school-
house was a small hut made of boards, and the schoolmaster was an elderly
*I keep coming back to the carpenters and stone masons on purpose because in the
many books on Texas, carpenters and stone masons are always mentioned as artisans
that are much in demand. (Steinert's note)
25"Wilke I" was Ludwig (Louis) Willke (Steinert always spelled the surname with
one "1"), a former Prussian officer who came to Texas in 1843. He was appointed an
official and overseer of a depot at Indianola. Steinert says below (June 6 entry) that
he served at first at Nassau Farm (see notes 85 and 91) and then at Indian Point
(Indianola), and this seems to be correct. Then he moved to New Braunfels in 1845,
where Steinert stayed at his house. "Wilke II" was Ludwig Willke's brother, Hermann
Willke. He was a land surveyor for the Society and lived and worked at the Soph-
ienburg in New Braunfels. (See notes 35 and 54). Both of the Willkes were founding
colonists of New Braunfels. See the June 5 entry; Geue, New Land, 49, 162; Haas,
New Braunfels, 51; Gillespie County Historical Society, Pioneers in God's Hills: A
History of Fredericksburg and Gillespie County People and Events (2 vols., Austin,
x960-x974), 235-236.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 80, July 1976 - April, 1977, periodical, 1976/1977; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101204/m1/90/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.