The German Texas Frontier in 1853: Ferdinand Lindheimer's Newspaper Accounts of the Environment, Gold, and Indians by Daniel J. Gelo and Christopher J. Wickham (review)

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• The German Texas Frontier in 1853: Ferdinand Lindheimer's Newspaper Accounts of the Environment, Gold, and Indians by Daniel J. Gelo and Christopher J. Wickham
• James Bernsen

The German Texas Frontier in 1853: Ferdinand Lindheimer's Newspaper Accounts of the Environment, Gold, and Indians. By Daniel J. Gelo and Christopher J. Wickham. ( Denton: University of North Texas, 2024. Pp. 256. Illustrations, maps, notes bibliography, index.)

The Germans who settled in the Texas Hill Country in the mid-1800s lived [End Page 104] mostly apart and independent of Anglo Texans, forging their own settlements on the frontier, with their own language, customs, and unique perspectives, all of which informed their relations, particularly those with Native Americans. Daniel J. Gelo and Christopher J. Wickham bring into focus this unique intersection of Texan, native, and European cultures through the lens of a keen observer, a newspaper editor who chronicled the struggles, fears and hopes of German settlers as they sought to build a new life on the Texas frontier.

Ferdinand Lindheimer was a German botanist of some repute who had already traveled extensively on the frontier when he settled down to take up the editorship of the New Braunfelser Zeitung (NBZ), the chief newspaper of the German colonists in Texas. In doing so, he became, in the assessment of one historian, the "political barometer of the Germans in Texas." In their work, Gelo and Wickham focus on the crucial first year of Lindheimer's newspaper, and what it says about the atmosphere of the German frontier.

The topics addressed in the newspaper demonstrate how different the Germans truly were from Anglo settlers. When, for instance, rumors of gold and silver deposits in the Hill Country of Texas began to spread in 1853, the German population—as reflected through Lindheimer—was not, or pretended not to be, seduced by the lure of easy riches. Instead, they took pride in a sober, disciplined work ethic. "I'd prefer it if they found a lot of good iron," Lindheimer writes, "[then] there would be mines and factories with a hard-working and honest class of people," rather than rough prospectors.

Environmental factors and their effects on populations—settler and Indian—are recurring themes in Lindheimer's newspaper, providing a scientific glimpse into frontier life that is often lacking in Anglo accounts. Similarly, cultural factors and anthropology are topics that appear far more readily in the NBZ than in Anglo newspapers.

By far, the most important topic is Indian relations. While the NBZ presents stories of atrocities, Lindheimer's newspaper is far more understanding of the Indian need for trade and the impact of white encroachment on their lands. The authors investigate the nature of German peace treaties, particularly with the Penateka (Southern) Comanches. Although some recent historians have argued that the legendary German faithfulness in adhering to their treaties was a myth, a perusal of the evidence from the NBZ seems to uphold the legend. Lindheimer thus "proves to be an invaluable witness to the key period in the relationship between German and Indigenous populations in Texas."

This book is not a comprehensive study of German Texans or the frontier, but a snapshot of a moment in time, one which provides useful insight, depth, and color to the history of Texas' historically third-largest ethnic group, which contributes to deepening the present understanding of the frontier in Texas and the struggle to tame it. [End Page 105]

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