82 Fontane Blätter 110 Unveröffentlichtes und wenig Bekanntes David Goerz, ca. 1895 poor Mennonites with migration expenses. Crucially his immigration in­volvements came to include newspaper publishing. He launched a newspa­per, Zur Heimath, in 1875. A notice in the main German Mennonite newspa­per, the Mennonitische Blätter, announced the new paper. The editor noted they had received many free copies and were including them with their own edition»so weit der Vorrath reicht.« 11 In 1877 Goerz dropped the mission report portion of his newspaper in order to start a new venture that would focus exclusively on mission work. Nachrichten aus der Heidenwelt was still published by his Western Publish­ing Company in Halstead although there was a different editor, C. J. van der Smissen. In 1882 both papers were merged with an eastern Mennonite pa­per, Mennonitische Friedensbote, to create the Christlicher Bundesbote. Da­vid Goerz was the first editor of this paper until 1885. Fontane got in touch with Heinrich Gottlieb Mannhardt, the Mennonite pastor of the Danzig Mennonite Church, seeking mission reports sometime after August 2, 1885, when he wrote to thank his son Friedrich for finding him that connection. Fontane developed his conception of the novel in 1885 and wrote the first draft in 1886. Whether Fontane was given copies of Mennonitische Blätter or the south German Mennonite paper, Gemeindeblatt der Mennoniten, they were simply reprinting material from papers edited or published by Goerz, making him a key, but unknown, Fontane informant. 12