 Noticing many Protestant Yankee settlers from the Northern Tier, Father Pierz began to promote the territory among German-American Catholics.Writing in newspapers such as "Der Wahrheitsfreund" ("The Friend of Truth"), based in Cincinnati, Ohio, he wrote glowing descriptions of Minnesota's climate, its soil, and its large tracts of free land for homesteaders.In May 1855, the first wave of German, Luxembourger, and Slovene settlers began to arrive in large numbers, staking out claims throughout what are today Morrison, Benton, and Stearns counties.