WITH M. BONN AT IN ABANKOBO. 
63 
Y'ear, for on January the 6th, 1870, a soldier, accompanied 
by a royal messenger, returned from Coomassie, with a 
few articles of clothing from Sokoree — a shirt and trousers 
for K., with a boot and slipper, and much the same for 
my wife. She also received two needles and some thread, 
so that she could now appear dressed as a woman ; and 
Ageana advised her to hold her dress up higher. She 
became the object of universal admiration, and the im- 
proved appearance of our entire party in our new costumes 
gave rise to the boastful exclamation among our com- 
panions, " The king gave it them ! " ^ 
Our stay at this place came to an unexpected termina- 
tion in this way. Salt is rare and expensive in Ashantee, 
a handful costing four pence, and it is not generally 
supplied to slaves. We had found it necessary to enter 
on numerous altercations with Ageana, who wished to force 
us to do without it, which we persistently refused at the 
risk of being starved, and begged to refer the matter to 
the king. Two messengers were thus dispatched to 
court, who after a month re-appeared, bringing not only 
a load of salt and a fine ox, but also bearing a message 
that the king ordered our removal to another village. 
Full of apprehension and wonder we prepared for the 
change, which was most unwelcome to our guards and 
the villagers. The ambassadors however enforced instant 
obedience, and we hastened to depart, Ageana complying 
with the royal command with evident reluctance, in 
which we could not share. 
■* It may be a matter of surprise that we were enabled to keep count 
of time. This is explained by the fact, that the Ashantees reckon with 
weeks of the same duration as ours. We always noted the first Sunday 
in each month, together with other events of importance, by scratching 
memoranda with scissors upon an empty milk can, which was our 
drinking vessel, and the only utensil in our possession. 
