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and we all followed. The professor’s nephew worked his way through the noisy crowd to see what was happening.
    In the middle of the ring of people, two men were wrestling around on the ground. Back and forth they went. The crowd shouted to them in different languages. As the fight went on, one of the men broke free and picked up a rock that had been in the dirt road. The noisy crowd went silent. Everyone realized that the argument had turned very dangerous.
    The fighters circled each other cautiously. The man with the rock held it above his head, ready to strike. Then, something amazing happened. A woman in a dirty apron pushed her way through the crowd and walked right up to the man with the rock. I couldn’t understand what she said to him, but she grabbed his ear and twisted it. The man dropped the rock instantly, and everyone laughed as the woman led him away by his ear.
    Professor Tuesday smiled broadly. “As you can see, immigrants didn’t always get along with each other. Different customs and ways of life caused problems.” The professor stopped and looked directly at Owen and Rachel. “Sooner or later we all have to learn to get along.”
    As we walked we saw some strange looking buildings. There were warehouses, homes, and stores right next to each other.
    It seemed like Professor Tuesday knew what I was thinking. “Homes, stores, and hotels were often built right next door to each other. They didn’t have malls back then.”
    â€œAnimals wandering around all over the place and no malls,” Rachel said. “I’m glad I didn’t live in Michigan in 1837.”
    â€œBusiness was booming in Detroit back then,” said the professor. “There were also hotels and boarding houses in Detroit in 1837. With so many immigrants coming to and through Detroit, they needed places to stay while they conducted their business.”
    â€œWhat kind of business did people do in Detroit?” Rachel asked.
    â€œWell,” answered the professor, “People would go to deposit money at the banks. These deposits were usually used to purchase land at a later date. Plus, the land office was a very popular place for people who wanted to settle in Michigan.”
    â€œDidn’t the native people own the land?” Rachel asked.
    â€œIt would seem so,” said Professor Tuesday. “However, treaties and agreements were made with tribes throughout the territory to purchase land.
    â€œI’m surprised to see all those farms outside of town and around the capitol building. That’s strange,” Owen noted.
    â€œMany farms in and around Detroit in the early 1800s were owned by the French,” said Professor Tuesday. “Some of the early French men married Native American women. Those marriages often helped them establish good relationships with local Native Americans. That way, they could farm or trade furs in peace.”
    â€œProfessor, can we visit some immigrant settlements now?” I asked
    â€œYes we can,” the professor answered. “I think we should visit the settlements of the Franconians.”
    â€œI thought we were going to visit a settlement of Germans,” Rachel said. “Who are the Franconians?”
    â€œWe shall see,” said the professor with a smile, “we shall see.”
    As we headed back to the Tuesday Teleporter, Mister Adams took off after a chicken that was wandering around in the street. The chicken ran in circles with the professor’s nephew close behind. Mister Adams was fast, but the chicken was faster. It was a very funny sight.
    We took a look around Detroit in 1837 one last time before we stepped back through the teleporter.

The Franconians
Frankenmuth—July 1855
    O nce we got back to the professor’s office, he took cheese sticks out of his desk and offered one to each of us. Then he set to work programming our next trip into his computer. “We will be visiting Frankenmuth