ced to resume the command of the fort, where he has
a mercantile establishment, as well as at Cape Coast. His opportunities
of acquiring popularity have been very favourable, for he has held
several high posts at one and the same time, namely:--

Commissioner of Requests,
Commandant of Annamaboe,
One of H.M. Justices of the Peace for the Gold Coast,
Colonial Secretary of Cape Coast, and
Captain of the Royal Gold Coast Militia.

And I have the satisfaction of adding my personal testimony of his
worth, having found him a most intelligent, hospitable, and friendly
man. In addition to all the kind offices he had rendered me during my
short residence at Cape Coast, he presented me with a hoop
basket-worked ring, richly chased, made of virgin gold from the
Ashantee country, and also an Ashantee stool, which is described by
Bowdich to be made out of a solid piece of wood, called zesso, which is
very light, white, soft, and bearing a high polish. In addition to the
soft nature of the wood, it is said to be well soaked in water to make
it still softer, previous to its undergoing the process of carving.

From its being the custom among the Ashantees for their great men to be
seated on stools, some of them take much pride and pains in having them
highly carved or ornamented. The pattern is generally the same, being a
very low concave seat; the only difference is the manner of ornamenting
them. Bowdich relates, that in one of the grand processions at
Coomassie, the stools of the great men were carried on the heads of
favourites, and he observes that they were laboriously carved, with two
bells attached to each. He also describes the King's stool as being
entirely cased with gold. The word stool also signifies a high place of
office in the King's council, to which his captains are occasionally
raised for any distinguished act of bravery; but this promotion is
attended by a heavy fee to the King's household, being no less than
eight ounces of gold. When a rich man dies, the person that succeeds to
his fortune is said to succeed to his stool. I will conclude the
subject of stools with an observation relating to cushions, which is,
that no subject can sit in public with a cushion on his stool, unless
it has been presented to him by the King, or one of his four principal
captains.

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[20] Nine miles to the westward of the mouth of this river, is the
rock Cestus, where there is a settlement of about seventy Fishm