The Communistic Societies of the United States | Page 9

were not Communists in Germany; and did not, I was told, when they first emigrated, intend to live in community. Among those who came over in the first year were some families who had been accustomed to labor in factories. To these the agricultural life was unpleasant, and it was thought advisable to set up a woolen factory to give them employment. This was the first difficulty which stared them in the face. They had intended to live simply as a Christian congregation or church, but the necessity which lay upon them of looking to the temporal welfare of all the members forced them presently to think of putting all their means into a common stock.
Seeing that some of the brethren did not take kindly to agricultural labor, and that if they insisted upon a purely agricultural settlement they would lose many of their people, they determined that each should, as far as possible, have employment at the work to which he was accustomed. They began to build workshops, but, to carry these on successfully, they had business tact enough to see that it was necessary to do so by a general contribution of means.
"We were commanded at this time, by inspiration, to put all our means together and live in community," said one to me; "and we soon saw that we could not have got on or kept together on any other plan."
Eben-Ezer is a wide plain; and there, as now in Iowa, they settled their people in villages, which they called "Upper," "Lower," and "Middle" Eben-Ezer. From the large size of many of the houses, I imagine they had there, commonly, several families in one dwelling. At Amana each family has its own house; otherwise their customs were similar to those still retained in Iowa, which I shall describe in their proper place.
In 1854 they were "commanded by inspiration" to remove to the West. They selected Iowa as their new home, because land was cheap there; and in 1855, having made a purchase, they sent out a detachment to prepare the way.
It is a remarkable evidence of the prudence and ability with which they conduct their business affairs, that they were able to sell out the whole of their eight-thousand-acre tract near Buffalo, with all their improvements, without loss. Usually such a sale is extremely difficult, because the buildings of a communistic society have peculiarities which detract from their value for individual uses. The Rappists, who sold out twice, were forced to submit to heavy loss each time. I do not doubt that several of the northern Shaker societies would have removed before this to a better soil and climate but for the difficulty of selling their possessions at a fair price.
The removal from Eben-Ezer to Amana, however, required ten years. As they found purchasers in one place they sent families to the other; meantime they do not appear to have found it difficult to maintain their organization in both.

III.--AMANA--1874.
"The name we took out of the Bible," said one of the officers of the society to me. They put the accent on the first syllable. The name occurs in the Song of Solomon, the fourth chapter and eighth verse: "Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards."
Amana in Iowa, however, is not a mountain, but an extensive plain, upon which they have built seven villages, conveniently placed so as to command the cultivated land, and to form an irregular circle within their possessions. In these villages all the people live, and they are thus divided:
Name Population Business
Amana 450 Woolen-mill, saw and grist mill, and farming East Amana 125 Farming. Middle Amana 350 Woolen-mill and farming. Amana near the Hill 125 Farming, saw-mill, and tannery. West Amana 150 Grist-mill and farming. South Amana 150 Saw-mill and farming Homestead 135 Railroad station, a saw-mill, farming, and general depot.
The villages lie about a mile and a half apart, and each has a store at which the neighboring farmers trade, and a tavern or inn for the accommodation of the general public. Each village has also its shoemakers', carpenters', tailors', and other shops, for they aim to produce and make, as far as possible, all that they use. In Middle Amana there is a printing-office, where their books are made.
The villages consist usually of one straggling street, outside of which lie the barns, and the mills, factories, and workshops. The houses are well built, of brick, stone, or wood, very plain; each with a sufficient garden, but mostly standing immediately on the street. They use no paint, believing that the wood lasts as well without. There is usually a narrow sidewalk of boards or brick; and