264 VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. chap, x. 



for cutting fuel and some large knives for use on the journey- 

 were also purchased in the market, and were not only credita- 

 ble to the native workmen, so far as appearance and finish were 

 concerned, but wore remarkably well. Every time I passed 

 through the market, I had noticed the numerous articles of 

 ironware exhibited, and the reasonable prices at which they 

 were sold, as a hopeful sign of advancing civilisation. Besides 

 weapons of war, implements of husbandry, lamps and other 

 articles of household use, the last time I passed through the 

 market, I was so struck with their several kinds of tools, and 

 handsaw files, that I made a small purchase for the sake of 

 encouraging the workmen. 



Iron of excellent quality abounds in the central provinces, 

 around the capital, where it is found near the surface, and so 

 rich is the ore in one of the mountains, Ambohimiangavo, that 

 it is called the iron mountain. The ore is so abundant at 

 the surface, that the soil has seldom been penetrated more than 

 a few feet in depth, so that at present no idea can be formed 

 of the riches of the country in this valuable metal. The na- 

 tives have been for many generations accustomed to the use of 

 iron. Their smelting furnaces, which are primitive and rude, 

 are always fixed near a stream, and the ore when gathered in 

 large pieces is broken small, and the earth or other extraneous 

 substances removed by frequent washings. The sides of the 

 furnaces, usually sunk two or three feet in the ground, are 

 made of stones, covered outside with clay, a small quantity of 

 fuel at the bottom is kindled, and the furnace filled with ore, 

 either mixed with charcoal or in alternate layers, and then 

 covered at the top with a thick coating of clay. The blast is 

 supplied by two pairs of pistons, working in wooden cylinders, 

 generally a part of a small tree hollowed out. From the 

 bottom of each cylinder a tube formed by a bamboo or an old 

 gun-barrel is inserted into a hole through the stones round 

 the furnace. After the contents of the furnace have been 



