 After returning to Germany for a short time, Kunnecke returned to America, passing through Spearfish, South Dakota before settling on a farm in Cottonwood's creeks.Shortly after his arrival, Kunnecke ran into trouble with the law, having been accused, tried and convicted of stealing 300 sheep from James Cox, for which he had to pay $1,350 and spend a month in jail.In due time, he hired a young man named Charles Rohrbecker as a farmhand.