The average specimens of this produce about eighty per cent. of
pure metal, even by the coarse native process of smelting. The
operations are as follows:
Having procured the desired amount of ore, it is rendered as
small as possible by pounding with a hammer.
A platform is then built of clay, about six feet in length by
three feet in height and width.
A small well is formed in the centre of the platform, about
eighteen inches in depth and diameter, egg-shaped.
A few inches from the bottom of this well is an air-passage,
connected with a pipe and bellows.
The well is then filled with alternate layers of charcoal and
pulverized iron ore; the fire is lighted, and the process of
smelting commences.
The bellows are formed of two inflated skins, like a double
"bagpipe." Each foot of the "bellows-blower" is strapped to one
skin, the pipes of the bellows being fixed in the air-hole of the
blast. He then works the skins alternately by moving his feet up
and down, being assisted in this treadmill kind of labor by the
elasticity of two bamboos, of eight or ten feet in length, the
butts of which, being firmly fixed in the ground, enable him to
retain his balance by grasping one with either hand.
