"Mischlich to Basel"

A letter on the practical economics of Adele. He writes that there is very little food to be bought - a lot of the Adele people themselves earn their living in the rubber trade and there is little surplus. Meat is hard to obtain - you see some cows, but he estimates that there are no more than 15-20 in the whole of the country, and if you want to buy a hen or a sheep or goat, then you can only do this as a great favour on the part of the owner. He reports sheep and horse caravans passing to Krakye 'now and again' from Tsantso and Gurme. To buy provisions not available in Adele you have to travel to Fasogu (2 days) or Tsantso (5 days). There are it seems many hens, cows and sheep in Basari and Bafilo - you can buy butter and cheese on the market there. In that this information may seem detrimental to his case that a European station should be opened in Adele he argues that the food position is no better in Buem, and that in any case he is convinced that they should not retreat from the district. The people are beginning to learn to trust him, and he is especially busy with medical work. Martin in a marginal comment notes that the food position is not all that much worse than in Anum. For a month it has been extremely difficult to get food in Anum because the Ada traders have taken most of it. And if they want a hen they often have to send as much as 3-5 hours away for one. Müller in a subscript notes that the food scarcity is a great change since he was in Buem in 1884, and puts it down to the impact of the rubber trade.

20.06.1896

20.06.1896

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