The treaty was one of Meusebach's last acts as an official of the Adelsverein.
Falling ill with fever, Meusebach spent three months recovering at Nassau Farm,
far from the settlers who needed him.
Meusebach did his best to keep the settlers alive as more
and more of them arrived at Indian Point.
Whatever the reason,
the ships full of settlers kept coming, and Meusebach had to find a way to prepare for them.
Meusebach got his first clue soon after he arrived at New Braunfels in May 1845
and had a look at Prince Carl's financial records.
And with contemporary estimates placing the death toll as high as 1,600 people,
the sad truth was that Meusebach now had many fewer mouths to feed.
During these difficult months Meusebach had sent one report after another to the Adelsverein
in Germany describing the situation and begging for money to keep the settlers from starving.
Though Meusebach estimated that he needed at least $120,000 to feed
and house the new settlers, plus pay the debts Prince Carl had racked up, the Society gave him just $24,000.