METALLURGY. 341 



considered as opposed to the whole character of the beast, but 

 in which, nevertheless, they appear to have been very useful. 



The Hottentots of late years not only used iron weapons, 

 but even made such for themselves. The ore was smelted 

 in the following manner :* "They make a hole in a raised 

 ground, large enough to contain a good quantity of iron- 

 stones, which are found here and there in plenty in the 

 Hottentot countries. In this hole they melt out the iron 

 from the ore. About a foot and a half from this hole, upon 

 the descent, they make another, something less. This is the 

 receiver of the melted iron, which runs into it by a narrow 

 channel they cut from one hole to the other. Before they 

 put the ironstones into the hole where the iron is to be 

 smelted out of them, they make a fire in the hole, quite up 

 to the mouth of it, in order to make the earth about it 

 thoroughly hot. When they suppose the earth about it is 

 well heated, they fill the hole almost up with ironstones. 

 They then make a large fire over the stones, which they 

 supply from time to time with fjiel, till the iron is melted 

 and all of it is run into the receiver. As soon as the iron in 

 the receiver is cold, they take it out, and break it to pieces 

 with stones. These pieces the Hottentots, as they have occa- 

 sion, heat in other fires, and with stones beat 'em out and shape 

 'em to weapons. They rarely make anything else of iron." 



I do not describe the Hottentot customs, few of them being 

 fit for publication. They are, however, extremely curious, and 

 are fully described by Thunberg,f Kolben,J Cook, Sparr- 

 man, || and other travellers. The Hottentots can hardly be 

 said to have had any religion,^ [though they seem to have 



* Kolben, I.e. p. 239. IF Thunberg, .0.p.l41, etc.; Kolben, 



f I.e. pp. 141, 142. pp. 37, 93, etc. Beeckman thought 



} Pp. 113, 115, 118, 121, 153, 252. they had no religion at all. Pinker- 



Hawkesworth's Voyages, vol. iii., ton's Voyages, vol. ii., p. 153; so also, 



p. 791. Harris, Wild Sports of Africa, p. 160 ; 



|| Vol. i., p. 357. Span-man, vol. i., p. 207. 



