"Schmid's Report on a Journey through Akim"

Report of a visit to Akim with some Akropong schoolboys. It is mainly concerned with the consecration of the church in Kukurantumi; but after that he journeyed further into Akim, and came to Fankyeneko and Begoro. The Begoro people did not leave the town voluntarily on account of fearing that anyone who actually went away would fall under suspicion of having committed the murder. Also that on Good Friday the chief attended service in the church, and was one of the first to come to the place where street preaching was to be held later in the day. Schmid remarks that the Begoro audience was notably attentive - there were few interruptions. Schmid has the jungle beginning after Ahabante. He describes this as involving a thick 'under-wood' of 25'-30' height through which it is very difficult to force a way, but now and again has been cut down and burnt for farms. The Akims do not touch the tall trees, ever to the extent of not artificially making a tree-trunk bridge, then they take benefit from such bridges once they have been made by a storm. Describing the arrival of the groups to celebrate the consecration of the Kukurantumi Chapel Schmid notes that some came singing. One of the Begoro groups was led by a man with a large flag. The Kibi school pupils were singing in 4 parts, and so were the Akropong middle school boys. The collection was 330 Marks, of which the Kukurantumi chief contributed 2 Marks. Commenting on Kibi he writes that the Christian village is 5 minutes away from the old town. This is depopulated - following the imprisonment of Ata the emancipation of slaves has occurred one large scale and the former inhabitants have scattered themselves in farming villages having lost their support. The 'king's palace' of an earlier resort was a 2-storey stone house - not yet completed - since work on it was abandoned the staircases has already collapsed. He is very rude about the inhabitants remaining in Kibi. They are the ex-servants of the ring and live a life of laziness unrivalled in Akim. It is impossible to held a serious conversation with them, warnings are met with derision, and when they lack something they steal it with astounding effrontery.

10.05.1881

10.05.1881

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