310 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
ever, may still be regarded as but in its infancy among 
them. In some parts of the island the smiths reside in 
different villages, and mingle promiscuously with the other 
portions of the community; but near the capital, where 
many hundreds are the servants of government, they 
sometimes congregate together, and form the majority 
of the inhabitants of a village. When this is the case, 
they sometimes erect one or more sheds, in convenient 
spots adjacent to their dwellings, and pursue their work 
together; but in general, the forge of the native smith 
is fixed in his house, usually at the south end of the 
building. The whole apparatus is exceedingly simple. 
The fire, which is kindled on the floor, is surrounded by 
three or four stones, through one of which a hole is per¬ 
forated, to admit the end of the bamboos, fixed in the 
cylinders, that answers the purpose of bellows. These are 
smaller, but in other respects resemble those used in 
smelting the ore. The pistons are worked by an assistant 
or a slave. The anvil, which is about the size of a sledge¬ 
hammer, is either fixed in the ground near the. fire, or 
fastened to a thick and heavy board. The water-trough 
is placed near, and the smith, when at work, sits or squats 
on a piece of board on the ground; his assistants some¬ 
times sit, but more frequently stand, on the opposite side 
of the anvil, ready to strike with larger hammers, according 
to his directions. 
Until the arrival of the artisans who accompanied the 
Missionaries to the capital in 1822, the articles in iron 
manufactured by the people were exceedingly few, and 
the workmanship clumsy and unfinished; they consisted 
chiefly of spears and javelins, knives, hatchets, and spades, 
chisels and hammers, a rude sort of plane-irons, and files, 
pots, spoons, and lamps. Shortly before the arrival of the 
