| CHAPTER I. |
| THE SEA VOYAGE. |
| The embarkation—First taste of salt water—Sea-sickness—Intestine dissensions—The passengers—Alsatians—The Oldenburghers and their wooden shoes—A calm—Fate of the wooden shoes—A child overboard—Capture of a shark—A storm—Effects of the storm—Death of a passenger—The storm abates—Complaints against the committee—The remonstrance—The committee's vindication—Indolence of the Oldenburghers—A stratagem—Approach to the American coast—"Ashore! Ashore!"—Negro robbers—Termination of the voyage [p. 1-43] |
| CHAPTER II. |
| A WEEK IN NEW YORK. |
| The "Switzer's home"—Wonders of New York—"Five hundred journeymen wanted!"—A civil countryman—The future settlement—An adventure on the Quay—"The Switzer's home"—A night's "rest"—The "striped pig"—A natural curiosity maker—The "striped pig" explained—Yankee dodges—Mr. Becher's address—The promised land—The purchase completed—A Methodist ranter—The tailor's adventure—Letters of introduction—Suspicions against Dr. Normann—Dr. Normann's "smartness"—The separation [44-83] |
| CHAPTER III. |
| THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE SETTLEMENT. |
| Scenery of the Hudson—The haunted island—A night on the Hudson—Utica—A "railway hotel" repast—The Erie canal—A name for the future town—The canal bridges—The first death—The Falls of Niagara—American fences—Abandonment of luggage—Difficulties in the treasury—The subscription—Cincinnati—Adventures in Cincinnati—An old settler—The Negro barber—German-American politics—Political spouting—Daybreak on the Ohio—Normann's love suit—The Cincinnati "Museum"—First impressions of the Mississippi—Arrival at the Big Halchee—The home in the wilderness [84-133] |
| CHAPTER IV. |
| THE SETTLEMENT. |
| A night in a shanty—The watchman's horn—The woodsman's hut—Death in the woods—The forest burial-place—A clearing on the Mississippi—A desolate scene—The "river" and the "town"—The floods of the Mississippi—A journey in the woods—Unpleasant forebodings—A town in the backwoods—A "camp out"—The "dead clearing"—The "lot" identified—The disappointment—Forest lodgings—Use of the axe—Deer-stalking—Perils of hunting in the backwoods—Progress of settlement—A plot and a counter-plot [134-174] |
| CHAPTER V. |
| EXCURSIONS HITHER AND THITHER. |
| Plans for the future—How to "get along" in America—Philadelphia—The Quaker City—Points of the compass—Letters of introduction—Steam-voyage to New Orleans—Approach to the city—"Yellow Jack"—A New Orleans school—American school-system—Pleasant anticipations [175-194] |
| CHAPTER VI. |
| THE SETTLEMENT—AN UNEXPECTED VISIT. |
| A "herd" of wild turkeys—Turkey-buzzards—A startling apparition—Dr. Normann—The doctor's accomplice—The reconciliation—Sinister speculations—Plans for abduction—"Bear-tracking" [195-210] |
| CHAPTER VII. |
| THE FLIGHT. |
| Purchase of horses and cattle—Backwoods hospitality—The wolf and the sheep—"Salting" cattle—Elbow-room in the woods—"Westward Ho!"—Farming in the Backwoods—"Chicken fixings"—Rail-fence making—Mutual secrets—The deer-calf—Success of the ruse—The arrival of the cattle—Treachery discovered—Bertha's fears—The Mulatto's sudden appearance—The abduction completed—The Serpentine water-course—Narrow escape from discovery—The pursuers at fault—The last gleam of hope [211-249] |
| CHAPTER VIII. |
| THE MOUTH OF THE BIG HALCHEE. |
| The shores of the Mississippi—Girdling—Settlers' errors—New mode of banking—Settlements by communities—Schwarz's plans—Wood-carrying on the "go-ahead" principle—A backwoods "river"—A Mississippi steamer captain—American hospitality—The landing—An unexpected discovery [250-268] |
| CHAPTER IX. |
| TREACHERY WITHIN TREACHERY. |
| Normann's suspicions awakened—The Yankee's escape—The pursuit—The deliverance—Suspense—Bertha restored to her father—An unpleasant recognition—The mulatto's escape—Death struggle on the Mississippi—The return to the settlement [269-290] |
| CHAPTER X. |
| THE MIGRATION. |
| A new home—The old bachelor—A ride through the woods—The deserted pastor—The break up of the colony—The pastor's removal—Bringing home the bride—Two households arranged—The fortunes of some of the colonists—Conclusion [291-310] |
THE
WANDERINGS AND FORTUNES
OF SOME
GERMAN EMIGRANTS.