HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
311 
Missionaries, they had begun to make nails; but of the 
methods of making hinges, screws, and nails, excepting 
those of a simple round form, they were ignorant. In con¬ 
nexion with this subject, Mr. Jones, one of the first Mis¬ 
sionaries in the island, mentions an occurrence, which 
places in a striking point of view the advantage which a 
Missionary may derive from even a slight acquaintance 
with some of the most common and useful arts of his 
native land. 
Speaking of their nails, Mr. Jones remarks, “ They 
made nails, but they were round, and not square. I was 
the first, I think, that taught them to make a square nail. 
Towards the end of 1820, a favourite horse, sent to Ra- 
dama by Sir R. T. Farquhar, in the charge of Mr. Hastie, 
in the previous year, lost one of his shoes, and there w r as 
no person in the capital who knew how to shoe a horse. 
Seeing the anxiety of the king, I said to him, If you will 
trust me, I will nail on the old shoe. The king was 
exceedingly pleased, and wished me to do it. I made a 
model of a horse-shoe nail, and the native smiths made 
some nails exactly like the model. The horse was brought 
into one of the royal houses; and the king, his officers, 
smiths, &c. assembled, to witness the novel transaction. 
While I was driving the nails into the animal’s hoof, the 
king frequently cried out, Take care, take care, don’t hurt 
the horse—don’t hurt the horse ! I continued driving the 
nails, clinched them, rasped the foot, &c., and the horse was 
led out unhurt, to the great astonishment and delight of all 
present, who appeared, from this trifling circumstance, to 
attach increased importance to our residence among them. 
I should not have attempted it, had I not often nailed 
on old shoes when I used to take my father’s horses to 
the blacksmith’s shop in Wales. After this, the Malagasy 
