"Pfisterer's Report on the Problem should an Additional Mission be built in Buem"

Mohr's recommendation of Tapa as a European Station was not widely backed - even before he landed at Accra Pfisterer met the veteran Rottmann en route for Europe who expressed himself strongly against Tapa and wanted to know why they were not setting up straight away in Tsantso. The main point against Tapa seems to have been that the two settlements there were small, and that in any case the people spent a lot of their time scattered on farms. The chances of getting food easily to feed missionaries and boarding pupils were slim. Also Pfisterer was most unimpressed with the Tapa peoples’ reaction to his preaching. He spoke about life, death, and judgement - they listened as if they had never heard before, and at the end promised all sorts of things. But Clerk was there, and he knew they had been preach to many times, and had made many promises. Another point against them was that they had bad relations with the rest of Buem, including the chief in Borada, so that it would be difficult to get scholars. Akpafo is preferable (Worawora ruled out because of the water supply) especially on account of being larger and a settlement where people worked the whole time. But Pfisterer would like to look at Tschantscho before making up his mind, or before the Mission commits itself. In a subscript Clerk writes that Akpafo is no better and no worse than Tapa from the point of view of communications with the rest of Buem - there is a road from Tapa to Aka. Müller argues that Pfisterer has not studied the situation long enough.

14.07.1897

14.07.1897

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