They all had a very pleasant trip which took its course from le Havre to the Azores, where they passed on March 12, through the West Indies, and from thence to New Orleans. Here the Nuremberg stopped and the colonists and materials were loaded on to another ship bound for Galveston. On April 25, Dr. Nicolas, one of the leaders, and ten others left for Galveston because they could not any longer endure the stifling heat at New Orleans. Savardan and the other colonists tarried a few days longer in order to purchase supplies for the party for the remainder of the trip. The purchase consisted of:

The total weight amounted to 7000 pounds and cost, including freight charges to Dallas, $1,000.[5]

The party embarked from New Orleans on May 3 with five women and one young man, Christopher, added to the party. Savardan had been advised that Considerant and his family would join his group at New Orleans, but they did not arrive. However, they joined them later at Galveston. Considerant brought with him his wife, a small child, M. Cesar Daly, and two other Frenchmen from the North American Phalanx named Maguet and Willemet. Galveston was reached May 5, and from here they sailed on a small steamboat, the L’Eclipse, up Buffalo Bayou to Houston. Here additional wagons and horses were purchased and teamsters were hired to take the provisions, some of which had been sent from New York, Cincinnati, and New Orleans, to La Réunion.

On May 18, the French wagon train, guided by a farmer who lived near Dallas and who had come to Houston to sell two bales of cotton, moved out through the woods toward Dallas. Some of the colonists were riding horses, two or three riding in carriages, and some were walking. A few of the men who had been drafted as teamsters were laboring with oxen, trying to get them to move along. Poorly built wagons and the absence of roads greatly hindered progress. They camped at night all together for protection against Indians, the women and children sleeping in the wagons and the men and boys on the ground. Eggs, milk, and poultry were purchased at farm houses as the caravan traversed the sparsely settled districts; some stealing was done, but, generally speaking, the colonists conducted themselves well on the entire trip.

All the way from Houston to La Réunion Savardan reports the colonists were expecting welcoming groups from La Réunion to come out and meet them. This, of course, never occurred because the people already at camp were finding it difficult to keep things going. They arrived at La Réunion June 16, 1855.[6]

Several other groups and individuals arrived at La Réunion during the following eighteen months. In fact, many arrived just in time to see the colony disband, leaving them to shift for themselves. Philip Goetsel, a Belgian, had a ranch of seventeen sections on Mountain Creek, twelve miles west of Dallas, on which he established a colony of Belgians. Several cabins were built on low lands which were subject to overflow; other improvements were made, but the colony never did become more than a dependency of La Réunion. Goetsel, however, planned to build a huge city upon the land, which he proposed to name Louvain in honor of his home city in Belgium. He had invested thirty thousand francs in La Réunion and when he noticed that it was going to pieces, he demanded his money with the intention of investing it in the “Louvain scheme.” The directors of La Réunion refused him his share on the grounds that he was building Louvain in opposition to La Réunion and that it would draw all the trade away from the community stores of the colony.[7] Still another party, time of arrival uncertain, was the one led by M. M. Raizant composed of nine people. These apparently came by New Orleans and Galveston, perhaps preceding Savardan’s party.

La Réunion was made up of high class, well educated and cultured people. A brief biography of the founders of the colony has already been given in the first chapter of this book, but a short sketch concerning several will here serve to give the reader a better comprehension of the colonists as a group.

Dr. Augustin Savardan had already helped to establish phalansteries in France before coming to Texas. He had also organized and supervised an orphans’ home in Paris which Napoleon III had helped to sustain. He was one of the first men Considerant and his colleagues called into conference in Brussels when they began the organization of the European-American Colonization Society, and they asked him to act as chairman in one of their first meetings. In his report of his practice as a physician at La Réunion, he stated that he treated 226 patients and served in many other capacities during his stay here.[8]

Julien Reverchon came from a distinguished family in France.

His father, J. Maximilien Reverchon, was born at Lyons in 1810, and died at Dallas in 1879; and his mother (born Mlle. Florine Pete) was the daughter of a distinguished Lyonnaise advocate. Julien’s grandfather, Jacques Reverchon (1746-1829), was a Jacobin member of the National Convention (1792-95), as well as the Council of Five Hundred and of the Council of Elders. This Jacques Reverchon the revolutionnaire is that same citizen-representative from Saone et Loire, Rhone-et-Ain, whose reports on the rapacity of the Maratists at Lyons have been quoted in Taine’s Les Origines de la France Contemporaine.[9]

Julien and his father came to La Réunion as members of a colony arriving there in December, 1856. The father was a trained agriculturist and attempted to direct the colonists in scientific farming. He told them that if they would plow and stir the land deep in the fall and plant early in the spring, good crops would be produced. The men, however, were inexperienced in farming and Reverchon had little success. Nevertheless, in spite of the most severe drought that Texas had experienced in a long time, Reverchon grew crops, planted fruit trees, and introduced advanced methods in Dallas County farming.[10]

One of the most interesting names is that of François Santerre, farmer and ex-soldier, who remained with his wife and children near the colony site, engaged in sheep raising and farming when the colony disbanded. His varied interests included a love of books, particularly of the sixteenth century edition of Ovid’s Metamorphoses which he took with him on six business trips he made to France.[11]

This book, among others, was in the possession of his son, Gustave, former owner of the La Réunion Fruit Farm. His eldest son, Germain, was one of two surviving immigrants in 1930, the other being M. Guilbot, who lived near Alvarado.[12]

There is partial information concerning several others who were outstanding in the colony. Madame Clarisse Vigoureaux, mother-in-law of Considerant, was author of several books, and also intensely interested in Fourierism. Emile Rémond was a scientific farmer and writer on soils. A recent writer in explaining what Rémond did in Dallas County says,

The clay resources of Dallas County very early attracted the attention of the pioneers, particularly the French, who settled the French town of La Réunion west of Dallas in 1854. Prof. E. Remond (1840-1906) of this colony was particularly active in his investigation and experiments with the clays of the county. He made successfully brick, vitri-brick, and sewer pipe. Prof. Remond was the first to import a plastic brick machine. He was also first to use the lime and shale for making concrete and instigated the founding of the Iola Cement Plant. Remond made brick in South, East, and West Dallas, at Dawdy’s Ferry and Mountain Creek.[13]

Allyre Bureau, a director of the colony, was a trained musician who had been director in the Odeon, a national theater in Paris. He tried to revive the dying colony in 1856, but failed, and started to return to France toward the close of the Civil War in the United States. He contracted yellow fever near Houston and died in a sanitarium located about fifty miles north of that city. Several architects were in the group, among whom may be mentioned Ureidag, Flemish, who submitted plans for the Dallas County Court House, and John B. Louchx, who was later alderman and one of the fourteen bachelors who came to build houses and prepare the ground for the coming of other colonists. Ben Long came from Zurich, Switzerland, and later introduced a group of Swiss colonists in Dallas. Before his death, killed while serving as a Dallas officer, Long served as United States Commissioner, as Mayor of Dallas, and as an officer in the Sheriff’s office.[14]

Texas and Dallas were very fortunate in having a group of men and women possessed of such attainments settle in their midst. Generally speaking, Considerant was correct when he estimated that the French colonists who were planning to come to La Réunion were far ahead in culture and learning of the average Texas settlers in the state at that time.

On February 10, 1855, however, the Texas State Gazette expressed in an editorial a feeling of uneasiness when it announced that

According to a recent letter from Strausburg, which is published in the National Gazette of Switzerland, the Socialist Party in Alsace is about to emigrate en masse to Texas, where one of their chiefs, the well known Victor Considerant, has purchased a large quantity of land. The departure of emigrants is to take place during the ensuing year.[15]

As far as can be determined, there is no roll of the colony in existence, and thus statements of the survivors and descendants of those in the colony must be taken as authority on the number who made up the colony. One writer refers to a roll containing over three hundred names formerly in the possession of the colonists. This roll, however, has been lost and the writer had to depend upon the memory of the colonists and lists given in various articles. Some of the survivors stated that there were as many as 550 people in La Réunion, but it appears, through a process of checking and rechecking, that the above-mentioned roll was perhaps the complete roll of the members, and therefore there were no more than three hundred in the colony at any one time—perhaps that number included all that ever lived in the colony during its existence.[16]

CHAPTER VI
LA RÉUNION, THE COLONY

La Réunion was located three to four miles west of the Dallas county court house near what is generally termed the “Old Fort Worth-Dallas Pike,” on the south bank of the Trinity River. The ground is now occupied by a small settlement, Cement City, and several farms. The soil is poor as compared with other lands surrounding Dallas, but the location is very attractive as to scenery. The hills and valleys are still partly wooded with elm and blackjack, and must have been more so eighty years ago.[1]

The Dallas site was really second choice as the original plan was to settle in Cooke County. However, arriving in Cooke County several months after the first visit, the agents for the colony found all the land already occupied or claimed by speculators, railroad companies, and American colonists. This forced the selection of another location, since the company did not feel justified in paying a large sum for land that could be obtained elsewhere more reasonably. Victor Prosper Considerant, founder of the colony, had spent two weeks near the Dallas location in 1853 in the home of Mr. Gouhenans and was favorably disposed toward accepting it as the site for his future colony. Roger, another leader of the colony, later joined Considerant in insisting on the choice. Allen, Cantagrel, and other members wanted to settle at Fort Worth, at Belknap, and even farther west, but upon the insistence of a few of the colonists, supported by Considerant, the Dallas site was chosen and further search was abandoned.[2]

The ground occupied in Dallas County consisted of various surveys from time to time, but the actual ownership never surpassed a few thousand acres. On January 7, 1855, James Knight of Fort Bend County conveyed to Considerant one league and labor of land, which was probably the first land purchased at the price of one hundred dollars for 320 acres. Finally, during the following year, a map of the proposed La Réunion with a description of its survey was placed on record in the Dallas County courthouse.[3]

This land was at first controlled by Considerant and was listed in Dallas County records as his personal property. Such an arrangement was in full accord with the agreement made between Considerant and the company in Belgium before he came to the United States as an agent with full power, acting for the European-American Colonization Company. In fact, he agreed with the company that any and all purchases of whatever nature made by him while in America would become the property of the company.[4] This was done so that no one would be able to accuse him of using the funds of the company or his official position for his own personal advancement.

There were some advantages in the choice of land, but the disadvantages were far greater than the advantages, the colonists later learned. For water the settlers had to depend largely upon fissure springs coming from the Austin Chalk formation.

In these springs the water which collects along certain of the more porous layers of the chalk rock is permitted to come to the surface along the more or less open fissures between the faulty blocks. Sometimes wells were dug in draws and low drain ways, which wells were often unsanitary as was shown by the number of cases of fever amongst the colonists during their stay in La Réunion.[5]

Savardan hints in several places in his book that Considerant did not want to develop this land—this, however, appears unwarranted. The facts seem to be that the French colonists were not able financially or otherwise to develop the phalanstery or the land as it should have been developed.[6] Inexperience, lack of capital, and the climate all contributed to the lackadaisical policy which was followed.

Considerant had explained in his Au Texas, to those who contemplated investing in the company, that La Réunion was to serve as a center from which would radiate numerous lines leading to other counties, or even to other states. Not only were there to be other colonies growing out of the central foundation, but there was to be continual in-coming and out-pouring of individuals. These individuals, having lived in the colony and having imbibed of its policies, would go out and settle nearby on new ground, but would retain their connection with the establishment in a cultural and commercial way.

In line with such a policy, Considerant began almost immediately to purchase land for such expansion. Savardan severely criticizes him for this, but such action was in full accord with Considerant’s intention as announced in Au Texas. However, Considerant erred greatly, almost criminally, by not waiting until La Réunion, which was to be the center of all activity, was firmly established. The facts are that he never remained at La Réunion a sufficient length of time to establish anything or to become familiar with its problems and possibilities. The first purchase in the expansion move was made, May 17, 1855, which amounted to fifty-one and one-eighth acres near the present city of Houston. This plot was to be used as a way-station, where incoming colonists could rest and become acclimated to the Texas weather.[7]

Some of the prominent leaders at La Réunion wanted to establish several rest camps along the road from Houston to La Réunion, but this was never put in operation. Savardan, the critic, says that A. M. Bussy proposed to establish stores and gardens from which the incoming colonists would receive supplies; Considerant not only opposed this but did not even want a store at La Réunion.[8] On account of the climate and lack of development, this Houston way-station served little good and was soon abandoned. Two men, one of whom was a physician who had been in charge of the camp for a short time, were forced to leave Houston on account of a severe fever epidemic. They arrived at La Réunion weeks later, where Savardan treated the men and brought them to a slow recovery.[9]

The second extension of the central colony was in Uvalde County where a purchase of more than fifty thousand acres was made.[10] Some of the settlers wanted to build the second colony near Fort Belknap. They pointed out that the distance was not more than half of that to Uvalde, and that better land could be secured for less than half the price of Uvalde land. In addition to this, the United States Army would be at hand to protect them from the Indians which would not be the case at Uvalde.[11]

However, Considerant went from Austin, where he had been working with the legislature trying to get a grant of land for his colonists, to San Antonio with a state senator. Considerant was apparently introduced to a land speculator and developer, who borrowed $10,000 from him. Later Considerant was severely criticized for this act but he explained that it was a legitimate business deal. Nevertheless, it appears that he fell into the hands of clever land speculators who had been introduced to him by the senator and that he was stripped of the remaining cash belonging to the company which he had in his possession. The deal caused considerable criticism and disagreement among the men at La Réunion.

Considerant answered the criticism by pointing out the success of the colonists at Castroville, New Braunfels, and Fredericksburg. These colonies had been established about ten years, he claimed, and all were successful. He had visited Belton in 1853, at which time there was no settlement, but in 1855 many stores and brick houses had either been built or were under construction. Hondo also was flourishing and several buildings were under construction there.

Considerant could dream of phalansteries all over Texas, linked together by trade and culture, and talk of a super-race bred from a vigorous and active American people mixed with the cultured French; in fact, he might be classed as a great dreamer and philosopher, but as a manager of commercial affairs or as to meeting the land speculators on even terms, he was a sad failure.[12]

His financial accounts with the company were, apparently, always mixed and his dealings with the individual colonists were never satisfactory. Several men were sent at various times to investigate and audit his accounts, but each time at their departure the old system—rather lack of system—would develop again.

When the colonists reached the location where they expected to find a flourishing colony, buildings, and growing crops and cattle, they were always disappointed in finding everything in confusion and disagreement. This is especially true of those arriving after the first six months; those coming earlier entered the undertaking with faith and hope in the ultimate success of the phalanstery. Both Albert Brisbane and Considerant, chief proponents of the colony, had urged the company agents and prospective colonists not to hurry over until all preparations had been made to receive them. Furthermore, Considerant urged the agents over and over again not to send out men who were not farmers; it was his purpose to form an agricultural colony and introduce industry only as needed. However, both the agents and the people disregarded this advice; no farmers were sent, and the colonists were thrust upon Considerant before any preparations had been made. Becoming discouraged over the prospects, within a few months after the beginning of the establishment, Considerant wrote to France advising that further plans be suspended as the colony would very likely cease operation.[13] Nevertheless, La Réunion was established and those people arriving from Europe set immediately to work constructing houses in which to live. The town which was built on the grounds was nothing like the phalanstery which had been proposed.[14]

The following quotation shows that in addition to the President’s office, in April, 1856, the colony possessed several other important buildings,

... a building for making soap and candles, a laundry, a building for offices, a kitchen, a grocery store, beehives, a chicken house, a smoke house, a forge, a cottage for the Executive Agent, and have begun the construction of two dormitories of eight apartments each, to be given to different households.[15]

Three years later, in 1859, a visitor, after describing the general merchandise store, says, “Réunion contains a fine and commodious store-house, blacksmith shop, hotel, a bootmaker, tailor and mechanic’s shop. Coombs’ steam mill is only one mile distance from La Réunion.”[16] The same writer, in describing the store, said:

We are indebted to the courteous and gentlemanly proprietor of the La Réunion store for a lot of choice cigars and a jar of delicious brandy pears. They have at La Réunion a well selected stock of new and fashionable goods, which they are prepared to sell at unreasonably low prices.[17]

In 1919 a visitor surveying the ruins wrote:

Some distance from this structure, possibly 200 yards, were the remains of a store and concrete building about thirty feet or more square which was the commissary for the colony; thick walls were still several feet high on the four sides. Between this ruin and the residence were outlines of old fence partitions preserved by indigenous shrubs, prickly pear, hoar hound, etc., with now and then a plum tree survival.[18]

These buildings were constructed of wood and stone. Because of lack of knowledge concerning the climate, the colonists did not realize the necessity of good construction for protection against the “northers” and consequently suffered severely from the cold.

When a sufficiently large group had settled at La Réunion, the people met to form a society which they called “The Society of Réunion.”[19] Objectives of this Society were: acquisition of the domains of La Réunion, Dallas County, the development of agriculture, the construction of industrial establishments, and the formation of a council for making public decisions. The operating or social fund of the society was fixed at $600,000 representing 4800 actions at $125. The Society of Réunion was to act as a local office or clearing house for the business of the colony and to deal directly with the European Colonization Society of Texas. It was not to replace or to usurp the prerogatives of the parent society.

In addition to possessions in the form of buildings, the Society put into cultivation 430 acres of land; purchased 500 head of cattle, some sheep, pigs, and fowls; dug wells, built a few short, shallow canals; bought mowing, reaping, and threshing machines; and secured two half-sections of land near the settlement. A very large garden was planted and developed, one that did not justify the funds invested but excited the curiosity of all who visited the colony.[20]

At first the store was successful and apparently did a very good business, as one report shows an average of $330 a month business, with profits ranging from twenty to thirty per cent. This trade came largely from outside the colony, and seems to have been due to the fact that the store was stocked with better goods more reasonably priced than those in stores farther from the surrounding settlers.

There was a co-operative kitchen in which the majority of the colonists had their meals. During Cantagrel’s directorship the colony had four long tables in the dining room. On each table was a large bowl of pottage and one of meat which were passed around in family style. Quite often, according to Savardan, the bowls reached the last two or three people completely empty, and there was no more food to replenish the dish. The men paid twenty-two sous each day for board; the women eighteen sous; and children from six to twelve paid twelve sous; while children under six paid six sous. Savardan was opposed to the communistic arrangement at the table for he said such arrangements gave privileges and thus made “nobilities of the great eaters and head waiters, while the small eaters had to take what was left.” He suggested a return to the restaurant as the most democratic plan, for then each fellow would get what he paid for. The hotel, or “family style,” serving proved unsatisfactory, and six members were appointed as a commission to investigate the comparative cost of hotel meals and restaurant serving. Cantagrel presided at the meeting. This commission found that the “family style” was not paying expenses, so they decided to establish a sort of cafeteria in which each was given the same portion. However, this arrangement could not be instituted until May 10, 1856, because Considerant would not surrender his house for the purpose. During the first three months of operation the new plan was very successful and was able to improve the meals by serving various foods such as chicken, beef, pork, and mutton. But when Cantagrel left and was succeeded by Dethoya the project disintegrated because the chief waiter or cashier began to steal the money and serve poorer food. When so much trouble arose, Dethoya had twenty people to sign a proof of his honesty. Madame Considerant also sided with him against Guillmet.[21]

The co-operative kitchen broke up into dozens of small ones, one of which was able to have good food at twenty-five sous per day. People withdrew into separate institutions and planted small gardens. Slaves brought them fish for which they paid twenty-five cents for ten or fifteen pounds. Savardan’s group lived there for six months after the breakup of the general colony.

For a time the colonists were not interested in stocking the land or planting crops. Most of them came fairly well supplied with money and did not find it necessary to work for their daily living until their reserve funds began to dwindle. Then, according to one report, sheep, cows, hogs, and chickens were purchased, even against the advice of Considerant. The cattle numbered about six hundred when the final survey of affairs was made.[22]

It is exceedingly difficult to reconstruct the system of work carried on in La Réunion. In one place it is said that the laborer received one-third of the products of his labor; in another statement it was said that each worker was paid a stipulated sum and that near riots occurred in an attempt to get higher wages. Toward the end of the colony’s existence the “reserves” were apportioned to each man according to his deserts. Just how these reserves were accumulated is not clear; however, they appear to have consisted of money or goods stored up in excess of the actual demands of the colony. In some cases the reserve accumulated from contributions made by incoming colonists and in other instances it was formed from excess production.[23]

Nevertheless, there was some order and plan even in this chaos. There was to be a council of six men, in addition to Considerant, which was to govern locally all of La Réunion. Then, there was the Council of Workmen, supported by all workers, which elected two workers to be added to the council of six. This Council of Workmen was formed by organized groups of laborers who elected one member from each trade group. For example, Mr. Louckx was committeeman of the workers in wood. Dailly was head of metal workers, and other trades were similarly organized.[24]

Men were assigned to certain work; quite often they were changed day by day. This led to waste and inefficiency. On one job six men were employed in marking cattle, and because of their ignorance they often burned the cattle severely, marking only about twenty-five each day. However, in May, 1856, a young veterinarian, M. Louis, took charge of this trade and marked as many as seventy a day. Dr. Savardan tells how he, a trained physician, and several professional men were set to cutting wood. Considerant, noticing that they were destroying the younger trees, called their attention to it, whereupon two of the woodcutters became very angry and contended with him. These same men also built fences, dug wells, and did other odd jobs about the place. In spite of the apparent universality of labor, there was some complaint that all were not showing returns from their labors, and contention arose as to whether all should produce something of general value.

“En réalité, depius l’expérience malheureuse du Texas—et mème bien avant—on ne pouvait plus dire que Victor Considerant était un représentant authentique du socilisme etopique at pacifique.”

Translation

“In reality since his unhappy experience in Texas—and even before—one is able to say only that Victor Considerant was an authentic representative of Utopian and pacific socialism.”

Maurice Dommanget, Victor Considerant, sa Vie, son Oeuvre, p. 218.

CHAPTER VII
THE BREAKUP

La Réunion was a failure from the moment it started; it was never a success. Of course, a historian cannot predict what would have happened under certain given conditions, but it seems reasonable to believe that any other type of colony formed by the same people under the same conditions would also have been a failure.

In the first place, Considerant was not a suitable man to head such an enterprise. His theory of colonization as propounded in Au Texas is reasonable enough and, if followed, could probably succeed under favorable conditions. However, his weaknesses were his personal attitude and his lack of administrative ability. Savardan says that Considerant was a great organizer and promoter but did not possess a sense of continuity or of development. He easily became discouraged and soon lost interest in proposed plans and procedures. When he arrived in New York in 1854 on his return to Texas, he was met by the denunciation of the Know-Nothing Party (American Party.) Tirades against foreigners made by leaders of the party were diplomatically and ably answered by Considerant’s pamphlet, European Colonization in America, but in spite of his confident tone exhibited in this pamphlet, he became discouraged from that moment. His absolute faith in the sense of justice of the American people, as stated in Au Texas, vanished and he was forced to realize the absurd servility of people who will subject themselves to demagogues in time of national hysteria. Considerant never exhibited any sign of vigor, initiative, or enthusiasm after the publication of his address to the American people.

When he joined Savardan’s party in Galveston, a change in his attitude was evident. He was sullen, withdrawn, and sensitive to criticism. Instead of going with the party from Houston to Dallas, he went to Austin and then to La Réunion. However, there is no indication in the records of any initiative on his part to put the colony in shape, or of any plan of unity of development worked out. The moment he reached La Réunion he began to think of leaving it. In a conversation between Cantagrel and Savardan in April, 1856, before all the colonists had arrived, Savardan understood that Considerant had come to the conclusion to disband the colony, to parcel out the land to colonists and others, and to break up the community affairs. Savardan states that not more than ten per cent of the colonists wanted to divide up the land, that most of them felt that they could not exist independently.[1]

Considerant, leader of the whole undertaking, was never in the colony for any length of time. He was alternately at Austin, San Antonio, or Uvalde, and consequently, when he was at La Réunion, he could not make any decision because he was unacquainted with the workings of the organization. Apparently, refusal of the state legislature to grant the lands which Considerant had expected to obtain for the colonists completely destroyed what hope he had left; it was after this refusal that he wrote to France advising that no more colonists be sent.[2] Finally, after an absence of five months, he returned to the colony from a trip into Southwest Texas, and being convinced that the colony was doomed, appointed a successor to himself and suddenly, on July 7, 1856, departed in secret.[3]

Considerant, in his pamphlet Du Texas, assumes all blame for the failure of the La Réunion experiment and confesses that he had a serious lack of confidence in himself. After his plans failed, he became a despairing and broken man, often planning to end all by self-destruction.[4] It is certainly true that this lack of self-confidence prevented success of the colony.

The second reason for its failure was the mismanagement of financial affairs. Considerant reported about 1857 that “During two years, the greater part of the disposable funds were wasted under my own eyes.”[5] But Savardan gives a different story: he lists several funds which he claims Considerant, himself, wasted. His evidence is as follows:

a. $3,000 wasted by an inefficient gardener who, Considerant insisted, should be at the head of the agricultural work.

b. That Considerant paid double price for meat when it could have been raised on the farms of La Réunion. There were no sheep or pigs—$300.

c. That he bought carriages and horses for himself which he did not need, at least they were better than were required, for which he charged the society under the head of personal expense—$300.

d. That he built for himself and family a cottage instead of living in the commodious buildings of the colony with the remainder of the colonists and charged the cost to personal expenses—$1,000.

e. The horses that were lost by theft or death unnecessarily and the carriages and other equipment which soon depreciated in value because of lack of sheds, etc., the poorly constructed houses and other buildings, which would soon have to be replaced—$10,000.

f. The failure of Considerant to pay his own passage and transportation as other colonists had done—$100.

g. Numerous trips from San Antonio to Uvalde for the purchase of land when one or two trips would have been sufficient.

While the above does not convict Considerant of serious mismanagement, it does indicate a lack of system. However, in another place he is charged with using funds without giving any account to the directors, and of entrusting the financial affairs of the colony to dishonest men.[6]

Even though the society owned all its tools, cattle, and other property, there was apparently no method used to check the use of this property until toward the close of 1856, nearly two years after the organization was started. Bussy, who had charge of the equipment, became disgusted and resigned; then Savardan took over the work. He listed all equipment and tools on cards and then numbered each object so he could keep up with all the property belonging to the company. The records of this checking were kept in a large book which he left at La Réunion on his departure therefrom. All the cattle, hogs, and other livestock were also numbered, and a proposal was made that even the colonists themselves should be assigned a number by which their accounts could be checked. All property loaned and assigned to members of the colony had to be checked out and a record of it kept by a young man appointed as caretaker. This scheme apparently worked well and the serious loss of materials which had occurred previously was checked. However, a minor reform such as Savardan made could not revitalize the faulty financial system.[7]

In addition to mismanagement there was downright dishonesty and misapplication of funds. This was especially true in the mismanagement of the restaurant and in the keeping of accounts with individuals of the colony. Savardan stated that Cousin took $98.00 from him which he deposited with the treasurer of the colony for safe-keeping. Others had the same experience. Apparently some one applied to the courts in Dallas for redress, for on July 16, 1857, the Dallas court made inquiry as to the administration. Considerant refused even to attempt a settlement of the accounts and the company sent a Mr. Simonin to La Réunion from New York to audit the accounts. He spent three months in the colony and investigated more than 200 accounts, arranged them satisfactorily, and then turned the business over to another man also sent from New York.

A third reason for the failure of La Réunion was the failure of the Americans to participate in its promotion and settlement. Both Brisbane and Considerant had planned to have as many Americans as Frenchmen in the colony, but there were never more than twenty and perhaps less than a dozen. One colonist tells about Pendleton and Newton, two American carpenters, who joined the colony. They knew nothing about Fourierism and had merely heard about socialism. Their wives wore bloomers, being followers of Mrs. Blummer who advocated freedom of women’s dress. Savardan said that he had no objections to bloomers as they were an improvement over the old “hoop skirt” which flew up every time a woman sat down in a carriage. In addition to these four Americans there were only a few others, all of whom had left the colony by September, 1857.

Lack of interest on the part of the Americans might be explained on the grounds of the intense American nationalism of the time, the sad experiences of Peter’s Colony, and the “law of reserve” which had caused a very sudden rise in the price of land in the vicinity of La Réunion. After Brisbane’s visit and the first flush of excitement and investment, very little attention was paid by Americans to the experiment. The attitude of the Texas newspapers and the total lack of interest, even hostility, of the state legislature, certainly contributed to the failure.

The climate might be cited as a fourth reason for the breakup of the colony. The years 1855-1857 seem to have been unusual years judging from reports of the colonists themselves and of other Texas settlers living in various parts of the state. Considerant reports that the winter 1856-1857 was a very cold one, and was considered by old settlers to have been the coldest in their memory. Another colonist says that there were twenty-three days of ice in January and from February 7 to March 2 the temperature measured an average of fifteen degrees above zero inside the cabins. This statement is supported by Bureau who arrived in La Réunion January 17, 1857, and found the temperature fifteen degrees below zero. The cold brought great suffering to the settlers, especially to women and children living in the poorly built cabins.

When spring came there was no relief. Drought took the place of cold. Springs dried up and the obtaining of water became a serious problem. Crops came up only to wither and die under the blast of dry winds. Cattle had to be driven to the river for water, but there was no water available for the gardens. The farmers found it difficult to raise anything, especially since they refused to follow instructions of the scientific farmers in the colony. Thus, cold weather, drought, and discouragement undermined the morale of the group and one by one the settlers began to disperse.

Nevertheless, after these things are taken into consideration, and all due allowances are made for these factors, there remains the pertinent fact that the colonists could never agree. There were racial divisions, Belgians vs. French, and conflicts arising between individual members. The most severe disagreements were between the leaders rather than in the rank and file. Savardan, the most garrulous and troublesome of the whole group, tells numerous stories about these misunderstandings. He states that Considerant, Rogers, and Raizant made every effort in their power to prevent colonists from coming to La Réunion. Barclay, a Swiss, came to the colony in 1855 with twenty others, all healthy and strong, intending to become permanent settlers. However, because of the attitude of the colonists, especially of Considerant, all except one soon left and established themselves elsewhere. He also wrote about the coming of Santerre and his family. Santerre sold his farm in France and with seven children started to America. They were dumped on the shore near a Houston farm without anyone to guide them, finally reaching the farm after much trouble. There Raizant did everything he could to prevent them from continuing their journey to La Réunion, but without success. When the family did arrive at La Réunion, Cousin tried to make them leave by the use of sarcasm.[8]

Once when Savardan accused Cousin of forgery of a document which placed him in control of the colony, Cousin threatened to place Savardan in prison, whereupon Savardan immediately withdrew into the house and challenged Cousin to enter, at the same time reminding him of the American law which gave a man the right to protect his own home. After considerable trouble the two men were quieted and the incident passed without any serious results.

Several times, near riots occurred when the men of the colony met to discuss various complaints, those concerning wages especially. Sometimes these disturbances would be ended by the appointment of a committee to consider the matter, after which very little was done—in fact, nothing could be done, as the company had no resources with which to pay nor to make good losses which had occurred. These continual bickerings would have destroyed the colony had nothing else entered the situation to hasten the end. Finally, no socialistic experiment could have been a success under frontier conditions in Texas. The doctrine of Utopian Socialism is a system which deals with industrial conditions and could hardly be applicable to the agrarian frontier. In addition, the capitalistic system had greater rewards to offer individual efforts than did the Utopian social dream.