[This fascinating and tragic account of the earliest German immigrants to Texas, history of Ft. Mason, cattle trails and drovers, Indian atrocities, is from J. Marvin Hunter's Frontier Times Magazine, November, 1928 - a gold mine of TX history...

BLOGGER'S NOTE: We find the institution of slavery personally odious and unquestionably revolting. It is painful to read of persons created in God's image as property, or "title." Personal liberty and freedom are among the highest of gifts for all men regardless of race, color or creed. Mr. Hunter was recording the facts of history as he does so well, even when those facts are bold, brutal, heinous or shameful. We present this narrative as written, while endorsing the axiom that "those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."]

In the year 1849, under the administration of President Taylor, the government, with the view of encouraging the settling of the southwestern border in Texas, established a line of forts from the Red river to the mouth of the Rio Grande at a distance of forty or fifty miles apart.

An expedition in charge of Captain Mason was sent out to choose locations for these posts. He recognized the natural advantages of a hill just south of the present town of Mason and marked it for a fort, which was called Fort Mason in his honor. The land upon which the fort was built was purchased in a hundred and sixty acre tract from Mr. Hick, the father-inlaw of Mason's present-day resident, Mr. Jacob Schuessler.

The next year, 1850, Major Merril and four companies of soldiers began working on the much desired fort, but it was not completed for two long years. From the time of the arrival of the contingent under Major Merril until the outbreak of the Civil War, the fort was constantly garrisoned by from two to eight companies of soldiers, depending upon the ever-changing hostility of the savage hordes about it. Before the soldiers came into this frontier country, no known white man had visited it. The Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche Indians, and the buffalo, antelope, and deer had been the only inhabitants. The tribes resented the intrusion of the white-men and very soon they took the war-path against them. Their natural ferocity, strengthened by an intense hatred of their new enemy, kept all but the most daring away; even the most zealous and fearless frontiersmen kept at a distance. The nearest settlement to Fort Mason was Ferdericksburg, where the Fisher & Miller Emigration Company founded a colonly of German emigrants, who had left their crowded Fatherland for a more prosperous life in America. Many of these emigrants were revolutionists who were forced to leave Germany because of their apparentl y radical views. Their descendants fought "Kaiserism and Kulture" during the World War and were among the best soldiers our country possessed in the Civil War. One soldier, of whom all Texans are proud. Louis Jordan, was the first Texas officer to fall in action in France and was among the first eighty picked men to be sent from Texas to the front lines.

To each settlement in this southwestern borderland the State of Texas gave a grant of six hundred and forty acres, and well did they deserve it, for the dangers, privations and hardships these poor settlers endured were almost inconceivable. Some died of starvation, others were slaughtered by the Indians, and a great many died of disease produced by lack of nourishment and other terrible privations. To some fourteen or fifteen families an assignment of land was made in the southern portion of Mason county, then under the jurisdiction of Gillespie county, but these people were compelled to wait until the soldiers had arrived before they could take possession. In 1865 and 1856 the Kothmanns, Leifesters, Jordans, Lemburgs, Simons, Kneeses, Hasses, Beherns, Ellebrachts, and others, whose descendants are filling Mason County today, comprised the small band of settlers in that untamed land. They faced their uncertain future bravely and tried to live as normally as possible, erecting homes and producing what foods they could in their new environment. Henry Hoerster, now a cattleman and one of the most prominent citizens of Mason, Texas, claims to be the first white child born in Mason County. The hardships and discouragements which awaited them were many for, in spite of the vigilance of the soldiers, the Indians would destroy the fruits of many day's toil in a twinkling and sweep away to safety with bands of stolen horses and cattle. Above all, their lives were in constant danger. Nevertheless, they were determined to found permanent homes for themselves and their posterity. They trusted in God, being devout Christian men and women. As soon as they became settled they created an altar to their God. It consisted not in an ordinary church as we have today—building materials were too scarce for a real church to be had so, each family made a little altar in their log cabin and each cabin served as a church. The meetings were held in a cycle, and the entire populace attended them. At the conclusion of each meeting the good folk remained and ate dinner with the host. They were Methodists, and I suppose it would be safe to say that their voices were the first to utter praises in this country. God has been very good to them, and their seed has inherited a goodly portion of this fertile land and have become some of the most prominent ministers, lawyers, bankers, doctors, and business men in Texas and other states. Reverend C. A. Grote, father of the venerable Fritz Grote of Mason couty, was the first pastor, and his son has done much toward furthering Christianity in his life. Furthermore, Fritz Grote was an ardent advocate of prohibition who worked unceasingly his cause triumphed. Mr. Pluennecke was another of the pioneer ministers. Both he and Reverend Grote have long since crossed the river of death to receive the rewards in the great beyond for all the hardships they endured upon this earth for Christ's sake.

About the year 1853, several American and German families took up homesteads around Fort Mason. The names of the men were: William Greenwood, Henry Lemburg, Isaac Jones, Tommie Cox, Milligan Sick, Lee W. Todd, Peters, Louis Martin, and the Gamels, and Vandevers.

Mason county had no regular mail service until 1857 when two post offices were established, one being placed at Hedwig's Hill in charge of Charles Martin and the other three miles from the fort at the home of G. W. Todd, the postmaster. Later Todd's post office was moved to Mason where Miss Maria Crosby acted as postmaster with W. C. Lewis as deputy. Miss Crosby became the wife of William Wheeler.

In the year of 1858 Mason county was organized by G. W. Todd, commissioned by Governor Sam Houston. The first county officers were: John McSween, chief justice; G. W. Todd, county clerk; T. Milligan, Sheriff; Commissioners, William Greenwood, Stephen Peters, Henry Houston, and Fritz Kneese; treasurer, Leopold Burgdorf; assessor and collector, R. Biberstien; and W. C. Lewis, district clerk. The first marriage license was issued to W. C. Lewis and Mrs. Celia Head, the parents of Perry J. Lewis of San Antonio, Texas. The first deed transferred a slave, old Sam Peters, from Major J. S. Peters to G. W. Todd.

During the years 1850 to 1880, Fort Mason was commanded by very noted officers. Among these men were the generals Robert E. Lee, Albert Sidney Johnston, and Thomas; the majors Van Dorn and Crosby; and several others. General Robert E. Lee was a Captain in the United States Army at the time he was stationed at Fort Mason. Nothing remains to mark the spot where the old fort once stood on its eminence, the old sandstone barracks and officers' quarters having long since crumbled down and the stone carted away to be used in buildings in the town of Mason, which sprang up near the fort a few years after its establishment. At the base of the hill, on the north side, a wonderful spring, from which the garrison secured water, still gurgles forth, and is a fountain which supplies water for the pupils of the grammar school located nearby. Thus from a chance location of a camp on an eminence and the subsequent erection of a fort, grew the present inviting city of Mason, Texas, surrounded by the fertile farms and ranches of one of the best counties in the State.

Among the first residents of the town of Mason were James E. Ranck, today referred to as "the father of Mason," Major David Doole, William Koock, Christie Crosby, Wilson Hey, and many others, all of whom have passed on to their eternal abode. In this sketch of the early history of Mason it will be impossible to make even brief mention of all of these pioneers, but it is my purpose to mention the names of all that can be obtained, and give as much of their history and the part they had in the establishment of civilization here as it is possible to do so. To give the history of Mason county in detail, recording every incident of historical value would be a stupendous task, and would require several large volumes to contain it. It is not my purpose in this article to give events in chronological order, but to record them wherever they may fit into the best advantage.

Along about the time Mason county was organized a settlement sprang up in the southeastern part of the county and J. O. von Meusebach laid out a town which was called Loyal Valley. For a number of years this was the largest town in Mason county, but today it is but a memory, with the exception of three or four old buildings of the early day remaining. Among these old time dwellings are the Buchmier hotel, the Christian Keyser home, the Hans Marschall dwelling and the little rock school house which is still in use. The old von Meusebach house and the store have all been torn down, and one or two filling stations on the highway, and a cotton gin, are all that remains of a prosperous, happy village, at one time boasting a population of 300 or 400 souls. Some of the leading citizens there in the seventies and eighties, were the Christian and Henry Keyser, William Kidd, Harve Putman, Ship Martin, Dan Martin, Henry Dye, Fred Ottens, William Puryear, Bob Moseley, William Cooper, Aunt Ann Schultz, Mrs. Buchmier, August Jones, Wiley Haynes, and others.

When the Civil War came on in 1869 and the call to arms was sounded, the troops stationed at Fort Mason were needed at more important points, and the settlers were left at the mercy of the hostile Indians, who lost no time in taking advantage of the unprotected palefaces and began harassing and killing them. The settlers responded by organizing companies of Minute Men, whose duty it was, as the name indicates, to be prepared at a minute's notice to pursue and fight the Indians. Some time before this however, a Ranger company had been organized and was kept in the field. This ranger company was composed of men from Llano, San Saba, Burnet and Mason counties, and among its members were W. T. Linn, John O'Hair, James Crosby, Robert Cavaness, Lewis Mulkey, Charles Vandever, Wilson Hey and others. For a time this company was in camp at Hall's Ranch, three miles from the present town of Richland Springs, in San Saba county. They afterwards went into camp at old Camp San Saba between Mason and Brady. They furnished their own mounts and fighting equipment, and the company was mustered into the Confederate Army in 1863.

The Minute Men kept the Indians at bay and saved their homes through those four long years of internecine strife, even though they were always at a disadvantage against the more consolidated and swift striking savages. Each time an atrocity occurred a runner was sent to each cabin to give the alarm, and the men would mount their horses and strike out in swift pursuit of the fleeing savages. But organizing pursuit in this fashion took so much time that the marauders often escaped with droves of horses and scalps of unfortunate settlers.

The year of 1863 and 1864 were the most trying and worst of all, as the Indians were particularly active. The horrors these settlers lived through in those years can never be fully realized by the present generation. How the wives and mothers felt each time the men were compelled to ride away from home to punish the Indians is left for the reader to imagine.

Among the tragedies of those early days was the killing of Mrs. Todd, wife of George W. Todd, near Todd Mountain five miles southeast of Mason, and the carrying off by the Indians of Alice Todd, a little girl, the killing of Jim Biddie by Indians; the capture of the two Lehmann boys, Herman and Willie. These boys were 8 and 10 years old respectively; Willie Lehmann managed to escape from his captors and returned home, but Herman was held captive for nine years. He became to all intents and purposes, an Indian, and when he was restored to his people he had to be guarded and restrained from going back to the Indians. He finally became reconciled to civilization's ways and is now living in Oklahoma. It was the writer's privilege a few months ago to write the story of his life and it was published in a book under the title of "Nine Years with the Indians." Adolph Korn was captured by Comanches in Mason county, when he was a small boy, and was held in captivity several years. He was finally returned to his people and made a good citizen, his death occurring a few years ago.

In 1866 the government again sent troops to Fort Mason, and new settlers came pouring into the county. However, Fort Mason was abandoned for the last time two years later, even though the Indians had not ceased their depredations. Raids by the savages continued as late as 1872 and 1873.

In 1866 a tri weekly mail service was established which continued until 1869 when it was supplanted by a daily mail running from San Antonio to El Paso. Fine old Concord stage coaches arrived at Mason from the various forts to the west, Fort McKavett, Fort Concho, and other posts. They helped to break the monotony of the lonely life of the frontier, and they brought sunshine into many a poor settler's heart. What a thrill these people received from the sound of the stage driver's bugel as he would drive into town with his coach drawn by four prancing broncos!

About this time, the Bridgers brothers, Van, S. F. (Lace) and Joe, Lockhart, Taylor, William Koock, and Major J. M. Hunter settled in Mason, and when the soldiers departed in 1869 Major Doole, who had been sutler for the garrison, remained to make his home in Mason. From that time onward many came, some to stay and others to leave again, and for many years the population of Mason was very unstable. The original county seat was located three miles from Fort Mason, but a vote was taken to move the county seat to the fort, and James E. Branck, the owner of the land adjoining the fort, became particularly active in a campaign to draw settlers to Mason. He had the land platted into lots and streets, and slowly Fort Mason began to grow. In 1869 John Schuessler and John Gamel erected the first stone residences, which were followed by those of J. D. Bridges and Ben F. Gooch. The whole community was proud of these stone structures. In 1875 James E. Banck built the first stone store house, which still stands. Other early stone structures were the store buildings of D. Doole, in the western part of town, and William Koock , at Koocksville, one mile from Mason.

In 1861 the Block House, some 18 miles from Mason, near the San Saba river was built by W. G. Lewis and Oliver Merrill. Major Peters' negroes (afterwards G. W. Todd's slaves) cut and hewed the timber for this building. It was built for a ranch house, with the view to ranching William Greenwood's cattle. Greenwood at that time lived near Koocksviller In 1864, when Mrs. Todd was killed by the Indians, W. C. Lewis abandoned the ranching project. A few rangers were quartered at the Block House for a while and after they left travelers often sheltered there. It is now owned by Max Martin of Mason.

In 1872 the Lutherans built a little church for themselves which was also used as a school house. Jacob Schuessler donated the lots upon which it was placed. He was one of the charter members of the little church and is at present worshipping there with a large congregation in a beautiful now church building which was erected within recent years. R. Roehm was the first pastor. The citizens of Beaver Creek built the first real school house in the county, which is still standing. Mr. Bierschwale was the first schoolmaster of this school.

The first court house was finished in 1875 and was burned in 1877. Another court house was then built, a picture of which appears herewith. We believe that Whitmill Holland was the contractor who erected the second court house. This structure was torn down some fifteen or eighteen years ago, to be replaced by the present magnificent modern court house. A picture is also shown of the county jail which stood on the public square near the court house for many years. In 1894 this jail was torn down and a new jail was built on the south side of the public square.

In 1873 steps were taken to build a Catholic church in the western part of Mason. Until then the priest had made only occasional visits to Fort Mason to look after his flock. but through the earnest efforts of Mrs. Kate Gamel, the Kellers, the Crosbys, and the Koocks, the building wa s completed in 1876. Father Perrier was their pastor, and it was from the tower of the Catholic church that the bells first rang in Mason county to invite the faithful to worship. In 1877 the Methodist Episcopal church was built. This was located in the eastern part of town, and is now the Baptist church. In 1897 the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, erected a modern building about two blocks north of the public square. Rev. Peterson began the building of the first Methodist church mentioned, but died before it was finished. Soon after it was built the Christian church, a block further east, was erected, and in this undertaking Messrs Ben F. Gooch and Whitmill Holland were the chief workers. Later the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches were built. The The Presbyterian church owes its existence largely to the efforts of Major D. Doole, while the Episcopal church building movement was sponsored by Major H. M. Holmes and wife, but the building was never completed, and the property, after Major Holmes' death in 1896, was sold. A few years ago the building was torn down, and the property is now included in the business district.

For a number of years the public school building occupied a location in the eastern part of town, near the Methodist church, and Prof. Dunlap and Miss Annie Loring were the teachers. In 1886 Mason incorporated for school purposes and the present day grammar school was built. The names of the trustees were William Koock, D. Doole, C. C. Smith and Ben F. Gooch. In 1923 the old school building was remodeled, and a new $60,000 high school building was erected a half mile to the east.

F. W. Henderson opened the first bank in Mason, and conducted it for many years. Mr. Henderson recently died in Brady. Mason now has three substantial, solid banks, the Commercial, the Mason National, and the First State Bank.

During the period immediately following the Civil War the principal industry followed in Mason county was the raising of cattle. Among the cowmen of that day we mention Major Seth Maberry, John W. Gamel, Charles Lemburg, C. C. Smith, George Bird, William Wheeler, and many others. Great herds of cattle were driven "up the trail" from Mason county to Kansas and the northern markets before railroads penetrated Texas, and many of the drovers became wealthy during their operations. It was during this cattle driving period that a bloody feud broke out in Mason county between certain factions, during which a number of citizens were killed. This feud is often referred to as the "Hoo Doo War," and is still fresh in the minds of some of the older citizens. An account of the trouble will be given further on in this article.

The writer is a native of Mason county; he first saw the light of day at Loyal Valley, March 18, 1880. His father, John Warren Hunter, was a pioneer school teacher, and taught school at Loyal Valley first in 1878 or 1879. Old timers remember the great drouth of that year, 1879, and the hard times that followed. The writer's father, when his school was out, resorted to freighting with a wagon and team for a livelihood. He would haul a load of bones from Loyal Valley to Austin, which he sold for $6 or $8 per ton, and then load his wagon with freight to haul to Mason, a distance of 130 miles. In 1884 he moved his family to Mason. Although only four years old at that time I remember some things about the town. I remember that a man named Lockhart had a store there, as did also Dave Garner. The Garner store was located on the east side of the public square about where Leniburg's store is now. And a negro, old Ed Taylor, had a barber shop close by. We moved to Menardville, but moved back to Mason in 1888. At this time the following business houses were located on the public square: Wm. Geistweidt's store, the Mason House, John Wilson's furniture store, L. H. King's grocery, Wm. Sands' grocery and market, Dr. Grandstaff's office, Dodd's drug store, J. E. Ranck's store; these were on the north side. Up on High Street was the Southern Hotel and D. Doole's store, as well as August Arhelger's blacksmith shop and a saloon. On the west side of the square was the Tood & Mebus store, a blacksmith shop. South of the square on the creek was a mill and gin which belonged to J. E. Ranck. This mill and ginned burned in 1890. I well remember the old John Lemburg homestead which stood on the south side of the square; this home was razed only a few weeks ago to make room for a modern 35-room hotel which is now under construction. On the east side of the square were the John Simmons saloon, W. N. Morrow's drug store, and Archie Camel's residence. On the street leading east from the public square was the old Mason House livery stable and John Schaeg's saddle shop. Mason's only newspaper, the Mason County News, was located in the second story of the Ranck building, and V. M. Loring was the publisher.

After living in Mason two years, we moved back to Menardville, where Father was again employed to teach the Menardville school. After spending many years in the school room he decided to forsake that profession, so a short time after moving to Menardville he purchased the Menardville Record, a weekly newspaper, and a year or two later moved his plant to Mason to establish the Mason Herald, the first issue of which came from the press June 26, 1892. For fifteen years he edited the Herald, and I dare say, there was never another newspaper just like the old Mason Herald. He was a free-lance writer and whatever he saw fit to print in his paper it went into type. He always carried a chip on his shoulder, and woe unto him who dared to knock that chip off. It was about that time that silver was demonetized, and the tariff was removed from wool, and Texas was hit hard by the money stringency that followed. The Herald and its editor had hard sledding for many months; the Populist party was organized and the Herald came out boldly for Populism, or as the editor averred, "it was in the middle of the road." The two newspapers, the Herald and the News, were always lambasting each other, and on several occasions the editors tried to settle their differences in a fistic encounter, but bystanders always interfered and they could never reach each other. If living expenses had been as great then as they are now I am confident we wolud all have starved to death. As it was we managed somehow to get along, but many is the time we sat down to our dinner table with nothing on the bill of fare but bread and coffee. And we were not the only ones who lacked grub. I have seen farmers bring in their cotton and sell it on the streets of Mason for three and four cents per pound and turn the money over,to the grocery store where they traded to pay u p past due accounts. Flour was only $1.60 per 100 pounds, eggs were five cents per dozen, bacon was eight cents per pound Arbuckle's coffee was fifteen cents a pound and you got a redeemable coupon with the package; sugar was 25 pounds for a dollar; good sorghum molasses sold for 40 cents per gallon; shoes were $1.00 to $2.50 per pair; calico was four cents per yard, and other things were in proportion. But there was no money in the country. Everybody was "broke." This condition continued for a year or two, when times began to get better.

In 1892 James E. Ranck, the founder of Mason, was found dead in bed by a clerk in his store, Will Lemburg. The Ranck estate was later sold off, and a number of substantial buildings were erected on the Ranck lots on the north side of the square. Charlie Gowan put up a saloon building, Marshall Fulton, a lawyer, erected a two story building, the Hoffmann Dry Goods Co. erected a two story building. Some years later a fire destroyed a number of frame buildings on the north side of the public square, and now all of the buildings on that side are substantial stone structures. I recall many of the firms that were doing business in Mason in the 90's. Among them were H. Zork & Co., dry goods and groceries; H. Bierschwale, furniture and hardware; H. C. Fellmore, hardware; J. W. Leslie, groceries, Wm. Geistweidt, dry goods and groceries; D. Doole, general merchandise; Schmidt & Moran, saloon; Charlie Gowan, saloon; G. W. Todd, general merchandise; L. H. King, groceries; Dan Bickenbach, grocery and market; F. Lonsdale, confectionery; Fred Stengel, bakery and groceries; H. Puckey, barber; J. L. Traweek, barber; Dr. J. D. Beck, physician; Dr. J. D. Granstaff, physician; Dr. R. J. Haze, physician and drug store; H. C. Boyd, book store; C. Holmberg, jeweler; J. W. Williamson, photographer; Herman Schmidt, blacksmith; A. Arhelger, blacksmith; Samp Garner, livery stable; Rudolph Doell, livery stable; John Schaeg, saddle shop; T. A. Christianus, shoe shop; R. McKinney, shoe shop; Ed Lemburg, Tin shop; E. Lange, tinner; Holmes & Bierschwale, real estate; R. Runge, attorney; M. Fulton, attorney; Stapleton & Meek, attorneys.

The railroad reached Llano in 1892, and that town had quite a boom. Mason is thirty-five miles from Llano, and was served with daily mail from that place. Old Bob Cuenton was the mail carrier for a long time, but one night he was caught in a blizzard and came near freezing to death . He was an old man and I do not think he ever recovered from his harrowing experience; at least he quit carrying the mail.

In 1892 a revolting tragedy took place a few miles north of Mason, when Adele Kaufman, a beautiful school girl, was brutally murdered while on her way home from school. The murderer was never apprehended.

John Butler was sheriff of Mason county many years. He left Mason in 1894, and some time later was killed in Oklahoma when he fell from a load of hay and was crushed by the heavy wagon passing over his body.

VERY EARLIEST SETTLERS OF MASON COUNTY

Fritz Hoerster, Charlie Eckert, Louis Kettner and Jim Milligan are authorities on the early history of Mason county. There are other authorities, but these four gentlemen were the ones called upon by Don H. Biggers for the names of the early settlers. It is generally supposed that there were no settlers in Mason county prior to the coming of the soldiers to establish Fort Mason, but Uncle Billie Cox, who died some years ago, settled in Mason county in 1846, and we believe to him belongs the distinction of being the first actual settler in the county.

The first German settlers, according to Messrs. Hoester, Eckert and Kettner were Louis Martin and Christopher Voges, who located at Hedwig's Hill, on the Fredericksburg and Fort Mason road, in 1853; Peter Birk, who located about a mile west of Mason, and Henry Hick, who located three miles from Mason on the Fredericksburg and Fort Mason road. Birk and Hick came into this section prior to 1854.

Willow Creek settlement is probably the oldest settlement in the county. The men who located in that section prior to 1860, most of them about 1854, were: Blaylock, Henry Hoerster, Henry Kothmann, Ernest Jordan, ,Ernest Danheim, Mecheer Bauer, Henry Hoerster, Conrad Pluenneke, Fritz Leifeste, Christopher Leifeste, and Julius Lehmberg. Blaylock was an eccentric old bachelor, and when other settlers began to come in he pulled out, and nobody seems to know where he went. The settlers on Willow Creek were scattered along each side of the creek for a distance of eight or ten miles.

The first settlers in the Simonville community were: Paul Bast, Mitchell Thomas, Phillip Simons, Friederich Schmidt, William Dangers, Robert Zesch, Francis Kettner, John Keller, L. Bergsdorff, and Felix vander Stucken. It is not known which one of these came first, but some of them located there prior to 1855, and all of them prior to 1856.

The earliest settlers in the Beaver Creek community were Gottlieb Brandenberger , William Geistweidt, John Anderegg (Anderegg was a Swiss), Charlie and Phillip Eckert, George Ischar, Theodore Weidemann, August Brockmann, Friedrich Ellebracht, Carl Lehmann, Moritz Lehmann, Fritz Kneese, Charlie Lemberg, Fritz Brandenberger, and Henry Kensing. Kensing and his wife were killed by the Indians before the Civil War.

In the Castell settlement, but in what is now Mason county, two of the first settlers were Henry Durst and August Leifeste. The very first settlers in the Loyal Valley section were Henry Keyser, Christian Keyser, and a Mr. Gersdorff. Other very early settlers in this section, comprising what is now Mason county, were Frederick Koenig, who settled near King Mountain on the line of Llano and Mason counties, about 1855, and Henry Keller, who settled near the mouth of Schepp Creek about 1855. Ludwig Eckert settled about a mile south of James river perhaps in 1856.

During the early part of 1855 and the early part of 1856 four Martin brothers, nephews of Louis Martin, and Alvin Mebus, a brother-in-law of Louis Martin, settled in this section. Charlie Martin and his wife, Mrs. Anna Martin, daughter of Mrs. Mebus, settled on the north side of the Llano river, on the Fredericksburg and Fort Mason road, in 1856. Here Martin opened a little store, and this little store was the foundation of the present Martin fortune. Charlie Martin was an invalid and died in 1880. Before his death the management of the little business and the care of the family devolved on the shoulders of Mrs. Anna Martin, and she demonstrated her capacity in energy and brain power. As a business woman she had no superior; she ran the little store, bought cattle, hogs sheep and land, at first buying on commision for such people as Charles Schreiner, and for big concerns in San Antonio. When the country began to settle up and barbed wire came into use she was the first in Mason county to foresee that it was only a matter of time until fencing would be general, and she gold barbed wire to the ranchmen. She dealt on the square with everyone and her judgment seldom erred. She trained her sons, Charles and Max Martin to follow her business methods. The Martins, mother and sons, would take a long chance, or what seemed a long chance, but back of every long chance was sound business judgment and calculation. There are many interesting stories of big achievements in this section of the country, particularly among the German settlers, but nothing that equals the achievements of Mrs. Anna Martin. During her last years she had the distinction of being the only woman president of a bank in Texas. She died in Mason July 10, 1925, at the age of 82 years.

Ernest Martin first located near the mouth of James River, but later moved to a place near the Fredericksburg road, and still later moved to another place further down the road.

August Martin and Otto Martin located near the mouth of James river, and both of them died on the place they first settled. Mr. Mebus settled near the Francis Kettner home and Mrs. Mebus taught the first school ever taught in that community. She had two pupils, Otto Mebus and Louis Kettner. Otto Mebus, who is the only member of the Mebus family now living, resides in Port Arthur, Texas.

Oliver Murrell came with the first soldiers stationed at Fort Mason. A short time later he finished his enlistment and retired from the army, locating on a place a short distance north of Mason. This place he later sold to Mat Allen, a brother in-law of Tom Milligan. Milligan came to Mason on December 5, 1865, and Allen probably about the same time. Allen bought the place that Murrell settled, and the next year he sold it to Milligan, and located another place. Murrel was a good mechanic. He built the Block House for W. C. Louis, and also built several other houses in Mason and adjoining counties, some of which are still standing in perfect preservation. He died in Mason county many years ago, leaving no descendants. Allen lived in Mason several years, moved to Llano county and died there in the early eighties. He left relatives, but no descendants in Mason county.

Tom Milligan was the first sheriff of the county, and was killed by Indians in 1861. He had seven children, six girls and one boy. Four of these children are living, three are dead. One of his daughters, Mrs. M. E. Lindsay, makes her home in Schleicher county, but his two grandsons, John and Walter Lindsay, who live in Mason. Another daughter, Mrs. Lydia Elliott, lives in San Antonio, while another daughter, Mrs. Mary Bird, and his only son, J. E. Milligan, live in Mason. Three daughters of Tom Milligan, Mrs. Belle Murray, Mrs. Martha Frazier and Mrs. Margaret Kuhn, died in Mason, the death of Mrs. Murray occurring only a few months ago. —

J. B. Lindsay located six miles north of Mason on the Brady road, about 1866. He died in Mason county many years ago. He was the father of five children, John A. Buck, Tom, Catharine and Lizzie. The three sons all died in Mason county.

William Greenwood came to Mason county prior to 1856, and located on what is known as the Crosby place, on the present Brady Highway, about one mile north of Mason. Greenwood owned a league or more of land, and had several slaves. He finally moved to Gillespie county and died some years later. His daughter, Mrs. Mattie A. Maddux, lives at 922 West Ninth Street, Dallas, Texas.

George W. Todd arrived in the vicinity of Mason, with his father-in-law, Major Sam Peters, on August 28, 1853. They were accompanied by their families and eighty negro slaves. In 1864 they planted 300 acres of corn on Peters' Creek from which they harvested a bountiful yield. The land was unfenced. In 1855 Todd and Peters operated successfully a mill on Mill Creek, and had a negro miller named Fagan, who ran the mill by water power night and day in order to turn out the grist for the early pioneers. George W. Todd was born in Grayson county, Virginia, January 16, 1827. Coming to Texas in 1850, he first located in Grayson county, where he married Miss Dixenia Peters. His wife was killed by Indians five miles from Mason, and a small daughter, Alice Todd, was carried into captivity, never to be restored. On November 12, 1865, he was married to Miss Bertha Mebus. He helped to organize Mason county from Bexar, and was appointed the first county clerk of this county by Governor Sam Houston. Later he organized Menard county, and was a leading factor in laying on a broad basis the present prosperity of that county. For many years he was a leading merchant of Mason and served several terms as County Judge. He died at Mason in 1899.

B. F. Weatherby, a bachelor, located seven miles south of Mason at a very early date. He later married a comparatively young woman. The place settled by Weatherby is now owned by Louis Kettner.

Dr. John McSween was among the early settlers, and was the first chief justice of the county. He owned a few slaves, and the old negro quarters he built for his slaves are still standing on the place now owned by Charlie Kettner. Dr. McSween moved to Burnet county and died there.

Uncle Billie Gamel located on Bluff Creek, about ten miles from Mason, probably in 1855, his home being about where the village of Streeter now stands. He was an Indian fighter and a real pioneer. Uncle Billie died on his ranch some time in the eighties. Three of his children, Tom Gamel, Mrs. J. F. Milligan and Mrs. F. M. Carter still live in Mason county. Two of his sons, Alf and John died several years ago.

Another early seller of the Bluff Creek community was Jerry Caveness, also his brothers, Ed and Bob Caveness. Jerry and Ed moved to California in the early sixties. Bob Caveness died at his home on Honey Creek many years ago. Two of his sons, Ed and Jim Caveness, still live in Mason county, as does a daughter, Mrs. Jerry Doyle.

Among the other early settlers of this county we should mention, Taylor Vandever, Bate and Jim Bradburg, Matthew Doyle, Charlie Wattenbach, Dedrich Kothmann, Louis Qracebner, Tom Rainey, William Wheeler, Major Seth Mabry, Jess and William Leslie, Dave Garner, Samp Garner, Frank Garner and Rich Garner Mack Leslie, R. A. Howard, Ham Biddy, Jim Biddy, Adam Ritter, Jim Bolt, Paddy Fields, Jimmie Williiams, Wm. Behrens, Wesley Kirkpatrick, Alf Hunter, and many others.

Alf Hunter was another pioneer in the Bluff Creek community. But before the Civil War he moved from Mason to Gillespie county and served two or three terms as sheriff of Gillespie county. He was a brother of John M. Hunter, an early day merchant of Fredericksburg and perhaps the first county clerk of Gillespie county, and also a brother of Major James M. Hunter, suttler at Fort Mason for years before the war, having charge of the suttler's store while Colonel Robert E. Lee was in command, of the fort and when the war broke out. Major James M. Hunter was the father of Mrs. Erv. Hamilton, a resident of Mason. From Mason county Alf Hunter moved to Llano county where he lived a short time, then moved to New Mexico, where he died some years ago. Some of his descendants now live at Alamogordo, New Mexico. Major James M . Hunter served as county judge of Mason county, also ran a hotel in Mason, known as the Southern Hotel, and also as the Hunter Hotel, which is now the Arnold Hotel. He moved to Edwards county and was the first county judge of that county. He was a Texas Ranger and was also a major in the Confederate army. He died in Mason in 1907.

C. C. Woods settled north of Mason in December, 1857. Wood was a noted Indian scout, and was for years employed by the government in that capacity, being with the troops when Fort Worth was only a frontier post, and working out of that place before coming to Fort Mason. He came here as a scout and served in that capacity before and after the Civil War. In the open range era he had many cattle on the range in Mason county. His son, (Kit) Wood, is still a citizen of Mason, and a recognized authority on pioneer history. Another son, T. J. Wood, lives at Brady, and another son, R. L. Wood, lives somewhere in West Texas.

Charlie Wartenbach was also an early citizen of Mason. He was an early day mail carrier, first carrying the mail from Fredericksburg to Burnet, and later to Mason. He is now getting a pension of $50 per quarter for this service. Wartenbach married a Miss Metzger of Fredericksburg, who had been captured by the Indians when one of her sisters was killed. Mrs. Wartenbach died several years ago. This couple raised a large family of children, nearly all of whom are living in Mason county.

Another early day character around Mason was the old darkey, Charlie Mason, who died some years ago at a ripe old age. Charlie was a mulatto, and came to Fort Mason with the troops. He owned a little place up on Comanche Creek, where he had a numerous family of pickaninnies ranging in age and size. His wife, old "Aunt Harriet," was a negress of great size, weighing probably 350 pounds. When she died in 1896, Charlie married her daughter, 'Mat, who was his step-daughter, and by her he had another large crop of pickaninnies. It is claimed that he was the father of twenty-seven children. Old Charlie was a polite negro; and very respectful to his whites. He had the confidence and esteem of everybody, and death was mourned by everyone.

DON BIGGERS' COMMENDABLE WORK

Some months ago the Mason Chamber of Commerce employed Mr. Don H. Biggers of Fredericksburg, a well known writer and author, to compile and prepare for publication a history of Mason County. After spending several months in Mason county Mr. Biggers finished his labors, or rather prepared a collection of material of historic value to be used by the Chamber of Commerce in a History of Mason County. To prepare and write the full and complete history of Mason county would require several years' time and much labor. But Mr. Biggers' work is to be highly commended, for he has certainly arranged his material in splendid style, and has included in his compilation the main historical points, of much value to the future historian who may essay to write the history of Mason county. The Mason Chamber of Commerce very kindly turned the Biggers manuscript over to the publisher of Frontier Times with permission to use all or any part of it that we might wish, and we are using a greater portion of this material in this series of articles, with some changes, corrections and additions. Mr. Biggers recently wrote a history of Gillespie county, which we consider a valuable contribution to the history annals of this section of the state. In writing this book he became thoroughly familiar with the events and incidents of the early colonization of this section, which put him in a good position to write about Mason county's earliest days, for the history of Mason county is linked to that of Gillespie county in an inseparable chain. We quote below Mr. Biggers manuscript the story of old Fort Mason:

OLD FORT MASON

Fort Mason is the focal point around which centers the material history of Mason county. It was the first semblance of civilization's foothold in this part of Texas. It was around and within the protecting area of this old fort that the first settlers in what is now Mason county cast their lot as adventurers or permanent citizens in this part of the State. When Texas became a part of the Union the federal government took complete charge of military affairs, insofar as the army was concerned, and guaranteed to give the citizens of Texas protection against Indian depredations. Immediately following the war between Mexico and the United States the federal government proceeded to establish forts near enough to the settlements to protect them from Indians depredations from the west. That is, to hold the western Indians in check. In this the plan was to a considerable extent a success. While bands of Indians would frequently slip around the forts and make raids into sections east of the frontier line, they were always careful not to get so far east that they could not make their escape west of the danger line when the troops got in pursuit. All federal forts that had not been abandoned before the Civil War were surrendered to the Confederate authorities immediately following the beginning of the war. The state and the Confederate States were unable to give proper protection during the war, being able to furnish only an insufficient number of poorly armed and equipped rangers for frontier service, a condition of which the Indians did not fail to take full advantage. Even under such conditions the communities that had grown up around the old forts, or within a reasonable distance, gave considerable protection to the settlements farther east. These frontier communities had to stand the brunt of Indian depredations, but they rendered valuable service both in defending themselves and their neighbors to the east.

Fort Mason was established July 7, 1851, and continued to be with slight interruptions, one of the most important frontier outposts until March 29, 1861, at which time Fort Mason, together with all forts under his command was surrendered by General David E. Twiggs to the Confederate authorities with headquarters in San only all federal forts in Texas, but nearly three thousand troops and government property to the value of approximately $1,500,000.

During the Civil War Fort Mason was ostensibly under the control of the Confederacy, but it was not during this time used as a fort. The families living in this section congregated in or near the fort as a means of protection in case of attack by the Indians. After the war, and while General Sheridan was military commander of Texas, the old fort was again occupied, but never heavily garrisoned by Federal troops until 1869, when it was permanently abandoned. It was not only one of the most important, but one of the best equipped and most ideally situated of all government posts established in Texas prior to the Civil War. It was built and provided to care for a regiment of soldiers, though perhaps at no one time was that number of soldiers stationed here, but it is of record that at one time six companies were quartered and for some time remained here.

The old fort was on a rather high hill, commanded a view of the country for many miles in all directions, was strategically situated for operations against Indians raids that might be, and frequently were, made into this section. Just north of the high hill on which the fort stood was Centennial Creek, then a flowing, spring fed stream, but now possessing only a few springs to remind old timers of its departed glory. Only a short distance from the fort was Comanche Creek, a tributary to the Llano river. In those days, old timers testify, Comanche Creek contained numerous deep pools of water, and constantly flowed a volume of water almost as great as the Llano river at present, and fishermen did not go to the trouble of going to the Llano river to fish, for they could catch all the fish they wanted in Comanche Creek. Now Comanche Creek is only a dry water course, with a deep sand bottom.

At one time there were more than one hundred buildings on Post hill all the property of the government. Practically all of these buildings were of stone, well floored and properly built throughout. Today only a pile of rock marks the spot where a part of old Fort Mason stood, but most of the buildings have completely disappeared and not even a foundation mark remains.

The federal government never owned the land on which Fort Mason stood, but simply occupied it as a "military necessity." The land was public domain, belonging to the state at the time Fort Mason was established, but later it became the property of the owners of the land when the government should abandon the fort. When the fort was surrendered to the Confederacy in 1861 the property was left without any character of official protection, and the owners were too far from the property to give it personal protection. Immediately following the departure of the troops the public proceeded to take charge not only to the extent of taking possession for protection in case of an Indian attack, but to the extent of appropriating such things as they needed, and in this connection a power of attorney as found in this county's old deed records is of special interest. Here is the power of attorney:

"I, G. Schleicher, part owner of Fort Mason, and attorney in fact for the other owners of Fort Mason lands and all houses and improvements of the post known as Fort Mason, Mason county, do hereby appoint and fully empower Wesley Kirkpatrick, of said county, my true and lawful attorney and agent for me and in my name, to take possession of the property of Fort Mason, of all lands, houses and moveable property, and to do all he thinks proper to expel all parties unlawfully and unauthorizedly living there and occupying any of the houses, and to make contracts of lease or rent with persons for the purpose of protecting the property and to do all he may deem necessary for that purpose. And, whereas, great thefts and robberies have been committed there, without being prohibited or interfered with by the neighbors, he, the said Wesley Kirkpatrick, is hereby especially authorized to take all steps necessary to legally discover and ferret out the perpetrators of such acts of theft and robbery, to take possession wherever he may find them of all articles stolen and removed, and to commence legal prosecutions, both before the grand jury for a criminal trial and punishment of such malefactors, and before the district court or magistrate courts, for damages and restitution. Signed at San Antonio, Texas, October 22, 1862."

Just what success Kirkpatrick had in "recovering" missing property or in preventing further depredations is not of record, but the probabilities are that under wartime conditions and emergencies he did not have any success beyond the deliberate will of the community.

When the federal forces re-occupied the old fort from 1865 until 1869, it was protected, of course, but when the federal forces took charge after the war, some of the buildings had been torn down, the material removed and much other material and property had disappeared. After abandonment in 1869 everything that the federal forces did not take away, such as the old ovens, etc., soon disappeared. Whether carried away deliberately or by purchase from the owners made little difference. Some of the stones and wood work are in buildings now in Mason, and much of the stone was used in building rock fences. For some of the property the owners received compensation, but for the most part people considered the buildings and material abandoned by the government as public property, and when wanted anything that had not already been appropriated they just went and got it.

Many of the men, afterwards famous as Union of Confederate generals, were stationed at, or were frequent visitors to old Fort Mason. The list is too long to enumerate, even if all names could be obtained , but among the men of most prominence who were at some time, in some way, connected with Fort Mason, were Albert Sidney Johnston, E. Kirby Smith, James Longstreet, Robert E. Lee, and General George H. Thomas, the famous federal commander at the battle of Chickamauga. Of these distinguished gentlemen the names of Lee and Longstreet are most intimately and imperishably associated with the history of the old fort. General Lee, because of his prominence and the universal esteem in which he is held throughout the world and because he was the last man, prior to the Civil War, in command of the fort; and General Longstreet, both because of his prominence as a Confederate general, and because of the fact that he purchased a two hundred acre tract of land adjoining the tract on which the fort was situated. A son, Major Robert L. Longstreet, of Washington, D. C., still owns an interest in some of this land which his father purchased.

General Lee, at that time a colonel, first visited Fort Mason in March, 1856, at which time Colonel (afterwards General) Albert Sidney Johnston was in command. At that time Colonel Lee was on his way to Camp Cooper, on the Clear Fork of the Brazos, in West Texas, from which point he was immediately sent on an expedition against the Comanche Indians in Northwest Texas. At different times from 1856 to 1860 Colonel Lee visited Fort Mason, generally only for a short stay. December 24, 1860, Colonel Lee was placed in command at Fort Mason and remained stationed here until February 13, 1861, when he was succeeded by Capt. Richard Johnson. Colonel Lee was not aware of the fact that the fort had been surrendered to the Confederacy until he learned it on reaching San Antonio about the 17th of February: Soon thereafter Colonel Lee tendered his resignation as a Union officer, which resignation was accepted, and he was a short time later placed in command of the Confederate forces.

The supplies for Fort Mason were hauled from San Antonio, a distance, as the roads then ran, of about 120 miles. This hauling was done mostly by contract with the settlers, and their means of transportation were ox-teams, usually six to eight yoke to wagon with its trailers. Under fairly favorable conditions the round trip could be made in about twenty days, but when the numerous streams to be crossed were on the rampage and the roads were hub deep in mud, in many instances it required twice that time to make the round trip. For transporting the officers and for emergency purposes the government used mule teams, always six mules to a team, and the cavalry had horses, usually the very best of horses, but the "bullwhackers" always took their time and whatever fate threw in as a side-line. They camped wherever night overtook them, turned their oxen out to graze, rounded up and yoked them up the next morning and went creeping along their way. Winter and summer big "bull teams" were on the road to San Antonio for supplies, or coming from San Antonio loaded with supplies, for the fort was always kept well provisioned, in addition to the supplies sold by the man in charge of the suttler's store to citizens. There were really no public roads, and if one road became impassable, the freighters, blazed out another road, for the country was open and there was no private property along the route to constitute an act of trespassing. Witness the changes that have been made. Today freighting is done by truck from San Antonio to Mason, over a splendid highway, and a round trip easily made in one day.

GERMAN COLONISTS UNDER GERMAN EMIGRATION COMPANY

Mr. Biggers has the following to say about the German Colonization of this part of Texas: The most remarkable and in its final results, the most successful colonization project every attempted in the United States was the German colonies located in Comal and Gillespie counties. A brief history of this colonization scheme is necessary in connection with the history of Mason county, for the reason that it was the overflow from the New Braunfels and Fredericksburg colonies that formed among the first communities or settlements in Mason county. This is not only true of Mason county, but it is in equal degree true of Llano, Kerr, Kendall, and other counties in this part of Texas.

The New Braunfels and Fredericksburg colonies came to the United States under auspices of the German Emigration Company, commonly known as the Adeleverein. This company was organized at Biebrich, Germany, in April, 1842, and was composed entirely of princes and German noblemen, the declared purpose of which was the forming of an association for the purchase of lands in Texas. This company did little other than publicity work, however, until March 24, 1844, at which time a general business meeting was held at Mainz, and the actual colonization work started.

This was an ambitious, but poorly managed and under-financed scheme from the start to the end. At that time, Texas was a republic, burdened with debt, still claimed by Mexico, and at all times in conflict with and threatened by war with Mexico. France, England and Germany desired and planned control of Texas by annexation as a foreign possession, not by military conquest, but by diplomatic negotiation. It has always been common report, if not common history, that Germany planned annexation by planting strong colonies in the Republic of Texas, and thus dominating the policies of the struggling, hard pressed republic. Be that as it may, the annexation of Texas to the United States ended the matter.

The first mistake of the German Emigration Company was its limited capital of only $80,000. With this limited capital it proposed and undertook to acquire land and settle thousands of families in Texas. With this limited capital plus practical business methods the company might have succeeded, at least to the extent of preventing the financial distress, epidemics and other disasters to which the unfortunate colonists were subjected. But the company did everything except use judgment. It was imposed on by land grant sharks and speculators of every kind. The first act of the company was to send two representatives to Texas for the purpose of acquiring the necessary land. These representatives did not seem to agree on anything. Sam Houston was at that time president of Texas. It seems that the representatives of the company approached him in the wrong manner, and as a result got nothing. A few days later one of the company's commissioners bought and paid for 4,800 acres of improved property in Fayette county, together with all slaves on the place, just as though it would be possible to settle any considerable number of immigrants on a 4,800-acre improved property. This necessarily took quite a slice out of the $80,000 capital stock.

Next a Frenchman, one Burgoise d'Orvanne, appeared on the scene and proposed to sell the company a large grant in Texas. He was accompanied to Texas by Prince Solms Braunfels. On reaching Texas and learning the truth of the fraud that had been perpetrated on the company the Prince purchased land script to the amount of about 1400 acres for which he paid $800. This land was located where New Braunfels now stands, and there the first colony of the German Emigration Company was located in November, 1844. This colony consisted of about 700 people. But hundreds of immigrants were on their way to Texas, there was no place to locate them, and the Company was getting into more tangles and financial difficulties.

After the Burgeois affair one Henry Fisher, a Texas consul at Bremen, and a member of the land firm of Fisher & Miller, unloaded a white elephant on the company, and got several thousand dollars of its limited cash. The Fisher & Miller grant Fisher was represented to contain nearly four million acres, embracing a great territory between the San Saba and Llano rivers. Fisher assured the Company that 6,000 families could easily be located on the land covered by his grant and that what had not already been spent out of the original capital of $80,000 would pay for surveying the land, transportation of colonists and provide them with supplies to run them a year. Fisher had lived in Texas for years, and knew that even the full amount of $80,000 would not support 6,000 families for a period of six months. It was after the acquisition of his "castle in the air" that the Company proceeded to put on its big campaign for immigrants. By the terms of its contract the Company agreed to bring the immigrants to Texas, furnish free transportation from the place of landing to the Colony, furnish a small dwelling for each colonist to be built on the land allotted to him, and to furnish necessary farming implements and rations until the first crop had been harvested. Each single man was to receive 160 acres of land, each married man was to receive 320 acres of land, and for all this each single man paid to the company $120 and each married man paid $240.

Soon after establishing the New Braunfels colony Prince Solms-Braunfels got disgusted and resigned as the commissioner for the Company. He was succeeded by John O. Meusebach, who seems to have been a man of iron will, calm judgment, tireless energy, an unyielding sense of justice, and strong determination. On assuming his duties as commissioner Meusebach discovered a most deplorable condition. The books were in such tangled shape that it was impossible to ascertain the financial condition of the Company, except that it practically had no financial condition other than a big and pressing deficit. To all practical intents and purposes the Company was hopelessly bankrupt, with more than 700 colonists on its hands at New Braunfels, and several thousand on their way to Texas. His next discovery was that it would take more than the amount of the Company's capital stock of $80,000 to survey the Fisher & Miller grant.

Several thousand immigrants were due to arrive in November, 1845. He knew these immigrants could not be quartered and cared for at New Braunfels, they could not be located on the Fisher & Miller grant until it had been surveyed, and the Company had no funds with which to do anything. Accordingly, he purchased land script to the amount of 10,000 acres, and located this land in and around the present town of Fredericksburg.

From October, 1845, to April, 1846, thirty-six ships bringing 5,247 German immigrants reached Galveston. To take care of these people Meusebach had less than $5.00 per capita, and few of the immigrants had more than a few dollars of their own money, many of them had none.

This army of immigrants, with their luggage, must be transported from Galveston to Indianola, a distance of about 100 miles, and from Indianola to the colony site, several hundred miles inland, through a sparsely settled country, without highways; in fact with hardly a dim road for any considerable part of the distance.

After several weeks' strenuous effort Meusebach finally contracted with a Houston concern to haul the immigrants as far as New Braunfels, hoping by some means to be able to get them from there to the Fredericksburg colony site. Not long after 100 wagonloads of the immigrants, only a small portion of the entire lot, had left Indianola, war was declared between the United States and Mexico. The government was in need of every possible means of transportation, for which service it paid a much higher sum than Meusebach could even promise, and this money being certain, while hauling the immigrants was neither so certain nor the profits so great, the firm contracting to do the hauling threw up the contract. That left at least four thousand of the immigrants in miserable tents and shacks at Indianola. They were without respectable shelter, with little food and few clothes. There was an unusual amount of rain and cold weather. An epidemic of fever and scurvy broke out and deaths were numerous. Perhaps five hundred of the young men joined the United States army and went to Mexico. The remainder could not return to Germany, they could not remain in the miserable quarters at Indianola, and they had no means of transportation to the colony site at Fredericksburg. Finally the whole body of immigrants, men, women and children, started afoot, abandoning such of their possessions as they could not carry, on a miserable march across the country to New Braunfels, hoping eventually to reach Fredericksburg. Authorities differ as to the number of deaths resulting from starvation, exposure and resultant epidemic. All told 7,380 immigrants, men, women and children had arrived, including the 700 reaching New Braunfels in the fall of 1844. Meusebach reported the total number of deaths at two-thirds of the total arrivals, or 4,920. Meusebach's report was probably too conservative, Dr. Knapp's estimate perhaps excessive. Another man familiar with the situation estimated the deaths at 3,800. This is more than 51 per cent of the total number of immigrants, and may be accepted as a fair estimate, or compromise between the extreme high and low estimates of Meusebach and Dr. Knapp.

Those of the colonists reaching their destination had few clothes, but little money, no teams, but few tools, and nowhere to turn for assistance. They were in the heart of a wilderness, in the dead of winter, and instead of the land they had been promised, each head of a family got a ten acre tract and a town lot, but these Iots covered practically an entire block, with no provision for alleys, which accounts for the fact that there are but few alleys in the town of Fredericksburg today.

In March, 1860, John Giddings secured a judgment in the district court of Bexar county against the German Emigration Company, the judgment specifically naming the Duke of Lachsen, Duke of Saxe-Gotha, Prince Frederic of Prussia, the Landgrave of Hassen-Hamburg, the Prince of Schwarzenburg-Rudolfstadt, Prince Moritz of Nassen, Prince Charles Leinongen, Prince Solms-Braunfels, And nineteen other German princes and noblemen, comprising the German Emigration Co., for the sum of $7,705.53, and in April, 1851, Franklin L. Paschall obtained a judgment against the German Emigration Co., for $2,400, and at the same term of court Henry Huck secured judgment against the Company for $12,300. The land against which the execution was issued consisted of 4,483 surveys, in tracts of 160 and 320 acres, and comprised a total of approximately 1,189,000 acres. Fisher and Miller claimed to have located more than 3,000 German families in Texas, each single man to receive 160 acres and each married man 320 acres, for which colonizing service Fisher & Miller were to receive an amount equal to the total amount of land awarded to the immigrants. The judgment in describing the lands levied on says, "being the lands contracted for by Henry E. Fisher and B. Miller with the Republic of Texas, September 1, 1843, and subsequently conveyed by Fisher & Miller to the German Emigration Company, said lands situated in Bexar county, Texas." The original Fisher & Miller grant, or rather their colonization contract with the Republic of Texas, contained a little more than 4,000,000 acres, situated in Bexar county, between the Llano and San Saba rivers, but as the Republic of Texas was to award the land only in proportion to the number of immigrants located on the land, they could claim only the acreage corresponding to the number of persons located thereon. In fact, Fisher & Miller nor the German Emigration Company, nor anyone else had ever located a single person on the Fisher & Miller colonization tract.

In 1851, after the judgment had been rendered, and the lands of the German Emigration Company, if they ever in reality owned an acre of land within the Fisher & Miller tract, had been "sold" at sheriff's sale in Bexar county to Isaiah A. Paschall for $5,800, less than one-third of a cent per acre, to satisfy the judgments of Giddings, Paschall and Huck, Fisher and Miller made application for an award of land equal to that for which judgment had been rendered against the German Emigration Company, and as the judgment against the now defunct, bankrupt and hopelessly insolvent German Emigration Company amounted, as stated, to nearly 1,200,000 acres, Fisher & Miller made application to the land commissioner of Texas for an equal amount. The land commissioner flatly refused to make the award. Then Fisher & Miller went before the Legislature. Here the judgment obtained was attacked as a fraud and a frame-up, the fight being led by Hon. Sam Maverick, then a member of the Legislature from Bexar county. The Legislature by an overwhelming majority refused to validate the claims of Fisher & Miller, who then went to court with their claim. Finally, probably about 1854, as a result of court decisions and Legislative acts, Fisher & Miller got their claim legalized, but the same legislative acts and court decisions that legalized and sustained the claims of Fisher & Miller, protected the rights of the German colonists as to the amount of land they had been promised by the terms of their contract with the German Emigration Company.

The total claims of Giddings, Paschall and Huck amounted to only $22,405.53, and most or this was doubtless for cost of surveying the land, and to satisfy this judgment approximately 1,890,000 acres of land had been sold under execution. Adding attorney's fees and court costs, it could not have exceeded $25,000, or just a fraction more than two cents per acre. It was the overflow from the Fredericksburg and New Braunfels colonies that first settled Mason county, or rather, what is now Mason county.

(Continued in next issue. ) This is the first of a series of articles, by J. Marvin Hunter, bearing upon the history of Mason County. The second installment will appear in the December issue of Frontier Times.