Page:John O. Meusebach - Answer to Interragatories.djvu/19

 knowing that the distance from New Braunfels to the colony was 150 miles or more, this time entirely outside of all settlements, and in the Indian country, and that for the safety of the colonists, it was absolutely necessary to make another depot on the nearest road to the colony, I started out on a preliminary reconnaissance. The only available point was found on the waters of the Pedernales river, 70 to 75 miles northwest from New Braunfels, it being about half the distance to the limits of the grant. Returning from reconnaissance, and the treasury being empty as customary, I bought 10,000 acres of headrights on a credit, raised and equipped a surveying party, selected, located, and surveyed a connected body of arable land, well watered and timbered on tributaries of Pedernales river, and had a wagon road made from New Braunfels directly to the future settlement. The whole tract was afterwards laid out in town lots and 10 acres lots, to be divided out gratuitously among the emigrants of 1845 and 1846 as preliminary homesteads, and is now known as the town of Fredericksburg, Gillespie county.

When I came back to New Braunfels, I believe it was end of October or 1st of November, 1845, I found there the first letters from the leading director of the Company, notifying me that they had shipped 4000 emigrants, and that they had opened to me two new credits with banker at New Orleans of $6000 and $18,000, or $24,000 in all. Not a word that they had sent also their debts (part of deposits of emigrants) in checks or orders drawn on the empty colonial treasury.

The Company introduced

1844, 700 emigrants according to p. 79 Tex. handbook, 1846.

1845, 4304 emigrants, according to ship list in hand.