Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1898-04-01
N. ?. GETS DUNKARDS.
Eight Hundred Pennsylvania Dunk
ards En- Route to Foster and Adj
joining Counties.
Methods Of the Northern Pacific Inn
migration Department in Getting
These Settlers.
One Hundred and Twenty Carloads Of
Personal Property Accompany
Them to Dakota.
Desirable Immigrants.

OeSlf&Dle Immigrants
Eight hundred Dunkards are en-
route from Pennsylvania to the central
part of North Dakota, particularly Fos-
ter and Wells county, aud will probably
arrive in the state today or tomorrow.
They are bringing their property, house
hold goods, cattle, and all their personal
belongings with them, and 100 freight
cars are required to transport their be-
longings. Their settlement along the
line of the Northern Pacific is due
largely to the efforts of Col. C. w. Mott,
general immigration agent Of the road,
and vas the results of shrewd efforts
and untiring perseverance.
There are already several thousand
Dunkards in the state. While they
are generally known as "Dunkards,"
that term being a corruption of the
word ''dunker" which itself is a corrup-
ton Of ''tunker," the German word to
"dip," they style themselves '.Breth-
rem" in legal documents being denomi-
mated as German Baptist Brethren.
Their origin dates back from 1908, when
at Shwarzenaa, in Germany, eight per-
sons, dissatisfied with the corruption
existing in the church, after a careful
study of the New Testiment, deter
mined to form a church on what they
conceived to be the true apostoli c
principles, and were baptized by INNER
sion in the river Edger, using what is
known as "triune'' immersion, that is to
say, they we're immersed face down
wards, three times. once in the name Of
the Father, a second in the name of the
Son, and a third time in the name of
the Holy Ghost, believing that that was
the baptism practiced by the apostles.
Among their other distinguishing
characteristics may be mentioned the
plainness of their dress, their abstin-
ence from all ordinary forms of worldly
amusement, their strong peace princi-
pies, it being against their tenets to
learn the art of war or to practice it.,
and their refusal to take any sort of
oaths, as we'll as to engage in law suits
with one another. They also practice
certain rites and ceremonies winch are
not observed by other churches, such
as the washing each others feet prev
ious to the celebration Of the commun-
ion, which, by the way, they partake of
as a regular meal in the evening time.
From the eight which they started
this little band has grown and, spread
across the ocean, and now numbers in
this country something like 100000 bap-
tized members, and Of course when the
families connected with the same are
reckoned, the number of adherents is
considerably in excess of this figure.
Originally settling in Pennsylvania,
they have spread westward, and are
found in great numbers in parts of Vir-
ginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, while
more or less of them are settled in al
most all the states.
Perhaps, however, the most notable
movement among them of recent years,
has been toward North Dakota. About 5
years agothe first of the brethren settled
there. at that time locating along the
Great Northern railway, in the vicinity
of Devils Lake and Capdo. Since then
however, a good many have gone farther
south, into Foster, Wells and Eddy
counties, where the 500 and Northern
Pacific intersect each other, and dis
cussion of the methods adopted to Sc.
cure this business forms a very interest
ing chapter in the history of emigration.
When the Northern Pacific entered
into competition with other roads for
the location of colonies of Dunkards
along it's line, Darlington was selected
as the objective point. Some Of the
prominent people in the church were
seen and taken to view the country, and
their Investigations proving entirely sat.
isfactory, a small colony went up in the
spring Of 1896. One of the inducements
held out to them was that if a certain
number would locate in Foster county,
the company would assist them literally
in the erection of a place of worship, 60
they would not be without church
privileges. No sooner were they settled
in their new homes than the project was
actively pushed. In 1896 the grand
army encampment met at st. Paul,
and, Of course, in connection with it
there were extremely favorable rates.
These were taken advantage OF for the
dedication of the new church, and on
the Sunday following the encampment
which was held in st. Paul the first
week in September, the German Baptist
church at Darlington, the first editice Of
it's kind in all the northwestern states,
was dedicated, and the occasion was
made still more memorable by the pres
ence Of some OF the leading men Of the
church, who, accompanied By their
wives, were present, and participated. in