The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1873-02-13
A SETTLEMENT OF COMMUNISTS.

| road. twenty eight miles south OF the city
OF Portland, in Oregon, lies the German
colony of Aurora, communist settlement
under the direction Of Doctor William
Keil. In September, 1871, | made Sc
cond journey from San Francisco to Ore
gon, on which occasion found both time
and opportunity to carry out long
cherished desire to visit this colony, al
ready famous the throughout all Oregon,
and to make acquaintance of the still
more famous doctor, the so called King
OF Aurora" He had been described to
me 10 Portland as most inaccessible
| person, showing himself extremely reserv
ed toward strangers, and declining to give
! them the slightest satisfaction as to the
| interior management of the prosperous
community over which he reigned a
| sovereign prince. The initiated main
taincd that this important parsonage had
formerly been tailor in Germany. He
was at ouce the spiritual and secular head
OF the community; he ssolcmnized mar
riages (much against his will. for accord
ing to the rules of the society, he was oh
| ligcd TO provide house for every newly
married couple he was physician and
preacher, judge, law giver, secretary of
state, administrator, and unlimited and
irresponsible minister of finance to the
COLONY and held all very valuable land
ed property of the settlement, with the
| consent of the colonists, in his own name;
aud while he certainly provided for his
voluntarily obedient subjects an excellent
maintenance for life, be reserved TO him
self the entire profits OF the labor of all
and the value of the joint property, not
| withstandIng that the colony was estab-
hshed on the broadest principles as a
communist association. From Portland
where was stayiug, the colony was easi
ly accessible by rail, and before leaving |
made the acquaintance of German lite
| insurance agent OF Chicago company
! korner by name-who. like myself, wish
ed to visit Aurora and in whom | found
very agreeable travelling companion =
! He had procured in Portland letters of
! introduction 10 Doctor X ell, aud had con
ceived the bold plan of doing stroke of
! business in lie insurance with him ; in
| deed his main object 10 going to Aurora
was to induce the doctor to insure the
lives of the entire colony-that it is to
soy, of all his voluntary subjects-in the
| Chicago company; pay, as irresponsible
! treasurer of the accociatlon, the legal pre-
miums, and upon the occurrence of a
death, pocket the amount of the policy.
Upon arriving at our destination, we
inquired for Doctor keil, and were at
once directed to his residence. which
looked, in the distance, like the premises
of well-to do low Dutch farmer. We
found him In his orchard in toilette the
very opposite Of regal, zealously engaged
in gathering his apples. He was stand
ing on a high ladder, in his shirt sleeves,
a cotton apron. straw hat, picking the
rosy checked fruit in hand basket. As
soon as the doctor perceived US he came
down from the ladder, and asked some
what sharply what our business there
might be sly companion handed him
the letters OF Introduction he had with
him, which the doctor read attentively
through he then introduced my humble
self as a literary man and assistant editor
Of well know q n magazine, who had come tc
Oregon for the special purpose of visiting
Doctor Keil, and Of inspecting his colony
| learned from him that his name was
| William keil, aud that be was born al
Bleicherode, in Prussian SaxOny. He
now left the apple gathering to his men-
and offered to show us whatever was IN
terestng about the colony; as to the llfc
insurance project, he said he would tax
some more convenient opportunity tc
y
The doctor, who after this showed him
self somewba loquaeious, was man o.
agreeable appearance, perhaps OF abou
sixty years of age, with white hair, {
broad high forehead, and an Intelligent
coun!enauce Sound as nut, powerful
ly built, of vigorous constitution aud with
an air of authority, he gave the idea of ;
man born to rule He seemed to wisf
to make good impression on as, and
remark ed several times in hin a search
iDg side glance. as though he were try
ing 10 read cur thoughts. lie sustained
the entire conversation himself, and it wal
some what difficult to follow his mean
iug. He spoke in an unctuous. orator.
cal tone, with extreme suayity, 10 yer.
general terms, and evaded all direct ques
tious. When | had listened to him to
ten minutes | was not one whit wise
than before His language was not re
markabIy choice, and he used literally
mixture OF words half English and hal
German, as uneducated German Amerl
cans are apt to DO.
When he first came into this region, Il
, 1856, he found the whole district nos
owned by his Aourishng colony covere
by marsh and forest. lustead, however
: of establishing himself on the pralries ly
ing father south 10 the midst OF io:eig
settlers, he preferred home shared onl
with his German brethren in the prim
tive woods and here, having at that tim
: very small mean, be obtained from tn
! ,ocernmeut. gratis. land enough to pre-