Newburg, Wis. 6 April 1875
Dear Father, Brothers & Sister-in-Law!
I received your letter with great pleasure and in the
best of health and hope that this letter also finds you in good health. I would have written sooner
but did not get a chance to also send the Welzkorn. The people I worked for this winter, did not have Welzkorn. I have earned $ 1010.--dollars
and 85 Cents and since there is not as good an income to be made in the Summer as there is in Winter,
I traveled back to Newburg and arrived here on April 3rd. I have to mention, though, that it is not
the custom here for a person to stay put in one place. People move from one place to the other, often
from one state to the other, from place to place. Whether I will be staying in Newburg this Summer,
I cannot tell at this time. I always inform you on my earnings, and I am sure you must be thinking
that I am rich by now. But one cannot invest everything. Clothing is very expensive, and in general,
everything is much more expensive here than it is for you. A pair of Sunday-boots cost approx.
8-10 Dollars here. Also, traveling from place to place is rather expensive. But the trains and
carriages are more elegant than yours. There is only first class here and everyone , from the highest
to the lowest, uses first class, because this is a free country and a poor man is the equal of a rich
man. It is also not the custom here that a lesser man carries his hat under his arm when he encounters
a gentleman. He does not even need to remove his hat when he meets the president of the United States.
I also was not able to write sooner, because I wanted to know first how things went at the consul’s
office. I was not able to meet with him until I returned to Newburg, since it is only 30 miles
(10 hrs) from here to Milwaukee, where the Consul lives. It was 200 miles from where I was this
winter, and I am sending it together with this letter to the respective official. When I asked the
consul how much it would cost me, he told me that he would not charge an old soldier like me anything
at all, because he had also been a soldier.
As to the Welzkorn, you need to plant it just after
May 10th, not sooner because it tends to freeze easily. I believe I mentioned before, that you
ought to plant it roughly at the same time as the buckwheat. But I think that might be a bit too late
and it would not be ready to harvest in the fall. You also have to plant where it gets plenty of sun,
never in the shade. It loves heat and dryness. You must not plant it too close, 3 feet distance
on all sites is better than less space between. It should also not be planted too deep, but solidly
in the ground. Please write to me if this costs you anything. Put three and not more than four
kernels in the soil and just cover it, else it will stand too close. You have to plant it real well
and rake it, as I have written to you before. Make sure that no leaves get raked under into the soil,
because this will impede the growth. Also, do not rake or clean the plants when wet, or it will
yellow. Here, the bushes will grow as tall as I am and maybe 1-2 feet longer. The blossoms are
on the very top but the fruit grows 2-3 feet from the ground. If the corn were to grow further
up on the shrub, it would collapse under its own weight. The ears, as they call it here, grow to
about 1 foot in length and longer, but some only 6 inches. What is near the bottom of the
ear has 12 rows all around, as you will see. There are 8 rows on the top, and I am sure
both ripen at the same time. The color does not make a difference, and the black corn is as good as
the white and the yellow. I think I have given you sufficient information now, but if you need to
know more, you have to mention it in a letter. As I can see from your letter, you intend to re-build
the house this summer. What can I say but “get to work.” Once it’s done, one cannot change much.
You build a house only once. I also have to mention that Ludwig Esselmann had 18 piglets
from his two sows, and the third on will have offspring within days. Please give my greetings to
your carpenter and mason B.U. and H.S. Greetings also to the Struffert family,
Theodore Schultebein and Heinrich Buenger aus Dernekamp. Please tell them that I received
their letters. As I learned from Gerhard Heinrich Winkelmann from Minnesota, his cousin
Franz Brambrink is thinking of coming to the States. Please let me know if there is any truth to
it. According to his letter, Franz Brambrink would be willing to leave as soon as March or
April. Theodore Vogt in Dubuyne is also still in pretty good health. I had a letter from him
just two days ago. He owns an inn together with someone else. I almost forget: they plant pumpkin
here in between the Welzkorn, but not much. The seeds are planted at the same time as the Welzkorn,
but not in each hole. Perhaps 2-3 seeds/granules in every second or third hole. Pumpkins make
fabulous fodder for the cows here and stimulate milk production. The pumpkins are fed raw to the cows.
I enclose a couple of seeds, just in case you want to give it a try. Ludwig and Gertrud Esselmann,
as well as their five children are still in good health and send their greetings. Ludwig Esselmann
has bought himself two young, gray and white, horses. One is four, the other two years old. Both
together cost $ 2010.--.
Many greetings also from the remaining Esselmen and
their families. The paper does not allow me to go on, and I will conclude my letter with many
heartfelt greetings to you all, as well as relatives and friends,
Your son, brother and brother-in-law,
Clemens.
Please, write again soon.Translated by Dori
