254 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. 



quantities on the plains surrounding the Jombeni 

 range — mostly in the dried watercourses. The sand 

 or bits of stone impregnated with the iron are gathered 

 and carried to the mountains, where they are sold to 

 the smiths. There is no coal found upon the moun- 

 tains ; so they use charcoal for smelting purposes. The 

 tools of the smith consist of a rude iron hammer, 

 pincers, and bellows, — the latter being clumsily made 

 from skins. In each district there are to be found 

 several smiths ; these are kept busy from day to day, 

 welding spears, swords, arrow heads, and arrow tips. 

 The spears and swords are well made, but very poorly 

 tempered. They have no files, and their weapons are 

 sharpened by whetting upon a stone. 



The women are very proficient in weaving bags. 

 The stitch which they use in weaving appears most 

 complicated, but an excellent article is the result of 

 their work. The bags are made in several sizes, — 

 some large enough to contain a bushel. The fibre 

 used in weaving is taken from the inner bark of a 

 tree growing upon the mountains. 



The bows of the warriors consist of straight sticks, 

 the ends of which are not curved backward, as in the 

 so-called Asiatic bow. The arrows are not more than 

 two feet in length, but are very well made, — the tips 

 being carefully inserted and the ends skilfully feathered. 



The natives reported that their plantations were 

 often visited by elephants and rhinoceroses. As a 

 safeguard against the inroads of these beasts, the 

 frontier of the country was skirted with deep pits, at 

 the bottoms of which sharp, poisoned sticks were 

 placed in an upright position. 



