Wood presented two African chieftains with a walking stick, a hat and an umbrella. Twenty-two years later, later his eldest son was also in Ashanti. While there, he saw a native carrying a stick which the man would not sell, saying it belonged to his chief. On closer inspection, Wood Junior read an inscription; 'Presented to Chief Andoo by Colonel Evelyn Wood, 1874.' He was promoted in permanent rank from major and brevet lieutenant-colonel to brevet colonel on 1 April 1874. A man of relatively modest means for much of his life, Wood took his profession very seriously – like many who had served under Garnet Wolseley in the Ashanti War he was a member of the reforming "Wolseley ring", although the two men were never on particularly good terms.