"Eisenschmid's Report for the Second Quarter of 1866"

They have 5 servant-girls, who attend school in the mornings and learn needlework with Mrs Eisenschmid in the afternoons. The school in Kibi stands at 9 boarding boys, 6 boys who are servants of the missionaries, and 9 girls who are servants of the Eisenschmid and Asante families. Their attainments range from people only just learning the letters to those who can sit down and read the New Testament. Eisenschmid’s religious instruction involves the teaching of texts from the “Calwer Spruchbuch”. The most advanced learn English, on which they work very hard. Reporting on the community, he writes a page in praise of Mose Teko, the man who is married to a slave from Kukurantumi. He is 'quiet and modest’. The marriage has broken up following the birth of a child and Teko's refusal to offer the customary gifts to a fetish. The wife became ill with constant sores on her feet, and he was blamed for making the fetish angry. There is also a catechumen who has been a frequent attender at services and street preaching - he is a youngish man. There is another, rather older, who is regarded as a Christian. He is himself a house-slave, but has two slaves of his own. He has been deterred from becoming a Christian because of the need he feels he will have for these when he is old. Now he contemplates giving them back to his master and marrying to take care of the problem of old age. A third man, the brother of Noe Asante, reads his New Testament regularly, and is frequently buying books. But he is the king's drummer; and it is therefore difficult for him. They have good opportunities to preach to a wide range of people from all parts of Akim because there has been a case concerning the Okyenhene's brother Asase which has involved most Akim chiefs. He has also been preaching regularly in Pano and Tete, and clearly had not got to expect any reaction of substance when a man came to him and said that had heard Kromer also preaching on the Fall, accompanied Eisenschmid to the next village in order to hear further preaching, and accompanied him back again. Kukurantumi he describes as a town where the people are always looking for ways to earn themselves money - they have large farms and catch snails. There was an epidemic of guinea-worm which quite closed the school in the second quarter of the year, coinciding as it did with Kromer's taking about half the pupils (his servants) away to Akwapim when he was forced to travel there for his health.

26.05.1866

26.05.1866

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