The Bretz Register

The character of the journey undertaken by the immigrant from High Germany to America is known from several sources, chief among which is the narrative of Gottlieb Mittelberger. He came to America in 1750 and returned in 1754, and his quaint observations were written soon afterward. He states that his chief reason for writing is to warn the intended immigrants of the "wretched and grievous condition of those who travel from Germany to this new land, and the outrageous and merciless proceedings of the Dutch man-handlers . . . ." He states that before he left America, he was implored "with tears and uplifted hands, and even in the name of God, to make this misery and sorrow known in Germany so that . . . the common people . . . might learn how they fared, to prevent other innocent souls from leaving their fatherland, persuaded thereto by the Newlanders, and from being sold into slavery. And so I vowed to the great God, and promised those people, to reveal to the people of Germany the pure truth about it, to the best of my knowledge and ability." Mittelberger obviously believed that the Devil of continued living in Germany was preferable to the deep blue sea of callous greed spawning from the opportunity offered by this push toward a Promised Land. Penn appears to have had no control over this vicious exploitation by the ship masters, if indeed he was aware of it.

Mittelberger followed the same route that the great mass of Germans took in coming to Pennsylvania during the migratory movement. They all took boat at earliest opportunity, and journeyed down the Rhine to reach Holland. The trip from Heilbronn to Holland is estimated by Mittelberger to have required 200 hours for a continuous passage. But the presence of 36 custom houses en route and the leisurely examination of baggage aboard the Rhine boats lengthened the trip to four, five and even six weeks. At Rotterdam, at the mouth of the Rhine, the emigrants embarked on the ships which were to carry them to Pennsylvania. From eight days to four weeks where consumed in reaching Crowes, in England, across the North Sea. Eight to fourteen days were spent here, loading cargo, then the ships headed for America. With most favoring winds, the German immigrants were seven weeks en route between Crowes and Philadelphia. With head winds the trip might be lengthened to ten or twelve weeks.

Quarters on board these early sailing ships were amazingly restricted. "One receives a place of scarcely two feet width and six feet length in the Bedstead." Everyone, sick and well alike, slept in his clothes, wrapped in his own blankets, in the common bed. People died, and babes were born, in this bed. There was no privacy whatever. Herding is the only fit word for these accommodations.

Warm food was served but three times a week. The provisions were old and spoiled, very salty and almost impossible to eat, even though people had exhausted their own stock of provisions and were suffering from hunger. "In a whole biscuit there was scarcely a piece the size of a dollar which was not full of worms and red spider nests. The water which is served out of these ships if often very black, thick and full of worms, so that one cannot drink it without loathing, even with the greatest thirst."

The long voyage down the Rhine and the long stay in England in many cases exhausted the small store of money which the immigrant had bought. On those ships where food was sold only for cash, not included in the fare, the poor immigrant without money and at the end of his own supply of provisions faced a most critical situation. Many actually died en route, of starvation!

Crowded quarters, wretched food and polluted water inevitably bred sickness. Mittelberger says that 32 children died on the ship he was aboard, and that children from one to seven years of age rarely survived the journey. Childbirth on board usually meant death for the mother and babe alike. From the "Hoch Deutsche Pennsylvanische Berichte" of Philadelphia, dated February 16, 1745, the following note is taken. "Another ship reached Philadelphia with 400 Germans aboard, it is said that not many of 50 remain alive. They received their bread ration every two weeks and many ate it in four, five or six days. And when they get no cooked food for eight days, their bread is so much the sooner (gone)." "...Another man who had eaten all his weeks bread asked his captain for a little bread, but in vain. He then came to the captain and requested him to throw them (himself and his wife) overboard at once, rather than allow them to die by inches. He brought his meal sack to the captain and asked him to put a small quantity in it. The captain took the bag, put in some sand and stones and returned it to the man. The latter shed some tears, laid down and died, together with his wife."

The voyage of the Mayflower has been sung as the acme of fortitude and endurance for the sake of liberty. Song and story have magnified the heroism of these English immigrants. But the trail was not so severe by far as many of the German immigrant ships. No one died on board the Mayflower, and the physical sufferings did not exceed, if indeed they equaled, the fearful experiences which German immigrants underwent. If we look for the severest test of human character in submission to hardships for liberty's sake, we will find it in the experiences of thousands of Palatinate Germans who braved the known terrors of that ocean voyage.

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