Page:John O. Meusebach - Answer to Interragatories.djvu/24

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amongst the Comanches, driving the Indians to other hunting grounds.

Report after report was sent to Europe to urge the immediate sending of sufficient funds for further operations. No answer and no funds appearing, I went to New Orleans to try whether the banker of the Company would advance some money. He declined, and, returning to Galveston (about the 11th or 12th of February, 1846), our agent Klaener stated to me, that he was at the end of his wits; that he had pawned his store and everything he had, but could do nothing more. I told him that our last remedy would be the public press in Germany; that I could not do it in my capacity as trustee of the Company, but that he might make a correct statement of the sufferings of the emigrants on account of the failure of the Company to come up to their promises. He did so, and that action had the desired effect. Then, and not until then, extraordinary efforts were made to raise money on a larger scale. A credit of $60,000 was opened at once, and the notice was brought over to me by an extraordinary messenger, Mr. Cappes.

See letter of Count Castell, dated 10th of June 1846: "The letter of Mr. Klaener, addressed in the mayor of Bremen, Mr. Schmidt (published to the papers), has made the worst impression. It has been communicated to the governments who now call for an explanation. It states that sickness and death prevail in Indianola and New Braunfels, and that the Company does not come up to their promise to remove the emigrants upwards. We would have risked everything if we could not say we have acted immediately as soon as we heard how matters stood." (As if they had not heard of it by my reports?)

The letter of advice of the banker in Germany of this credit of sixty thousand dollars, was dated 14th July, 1846; the letter of advice of our New Orleans