"Johannes Müller to Basel"

The greater proportion of the people he judges are pawned - he met one man who has been pawned to three masters for debts of 40, 50, and 100 shillings respectively, and works for each on certain days of the week - he has hardly any time for himself. Most of the report is taken up with information on the war which has broken out in the Ho district between two small tribes the Maze and Tafiewe, and the Peki tribes, supported by Anum and Boso. Miller gives as the background the fact that the Maze and Tafiewe fought with the Asantes against Peki in 1869 - after the war the late Peki king invited both tribes to a peace meeting at which 40 of them were surprised and murdered. The revenge came recently when the Mazes and Tafiewe fell on a Peki village and carried out a cruel slaughter (Müller writes about children being killed in oil-pits) Following this the Peki army was called together (the Anums and Bosos went too, including the Christians) but were eventually persuaded to return home by an English officer called Dalrymple backed by a force of 65 Hausas. Dalrymple then sought to negotiate with the hostile tribes and after making contact with them through the agency of ‘neutral persons' entered their territory, and sought out these guilty of the crime. They were however, ambushed on the way back with the prisoners, and Dalrymple, clubbed to death. The Hausas lost 7, and 3 were wounded. The Peki king is going to war again, and the Anums and Bosos will join him, but since they have not been called by the English Government Müller has held the Christians back from going, for he feels that this is an expedition in pursuit of robbery and plunder. The Anum king is remaining at home, and is concerned to defend his territories from a missionary in Ho (Matthäus Seeger) Müller hears that 3 English Officers and 230 men are expected in Ho. He regrets that the Christians went out on what he describes as the hunt for slaves, though he also admits that the Mazes have a very unsavoury reputation which he evidently half credits.

28.05.1888

28.05.1888

Text