Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 2.djvu/95

Rh In the little book—in German—of about four hundred pages above alluded to, Doctor Keil was severely criticised by Carl Koch, who was originally a member of his society. But it would seem upon investigation that the most of the criticism was without foundation. For instance, it was stated by Mr. Koch that in about the year 1870, with a population of three hundred and twenty, the property of the Aurora Colony in Marion County was assessed at $80,000, and in Clackamas County at $40,000, and that this was considered as the private property of Doctor Keil. But that Doctor Keil considered himself simply a trustee was shown by the action of his family upon his death in 1877, when the entire property was distributed equitably among the members of the community.

Besides this book of Carl Koch, the Aurora community has been the subject of investigation by other writers, among whom was the popular author Charles Nordhoff, who composed the history of the communal associations of the United States, and visited Oregon in order to see the Aurora Colony; and also in the sociological work, "Principia," an intelligent account is given of Doctor Keil's community.

Some of the surviving members of the Aurora community have been visited, and their recollections have been secured. It is from the point of view of the settlement of our state that they have the most interest, though as sociological data, the value of the statistics is apparent.

Michael Rapps, a member of the Aurora Colony, who crossed the plains with Doctor Keil in 1855, was born in Bavaria, Germany, in the year 1829, crossed the water in 1839, and went thence to Saint Louis, and afterwards to Iowa. In 1844, a brother went to Shelbyville, Shelby