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THE PROCESS OF SMELTING IRON.

ered with a considerable quantity of charcoal, which was brought, ready burned, from the woods. Over this was laid a stratum of iron-stone, and then another of charcoal, and so on, until the fur. nace was quite full. The fire was applied through one of the tubes, and blown for some time with bellows made of goats' skins. "The operation," says Park, "went on very slowly at first, and it was some hours before the flames appeared above the furnace; but after this it burned with great vio. lence all the first night; and the people who attended put in at times more charcoal. On the day following the fire was not so fierce, and on the second night some of the tubes were withdrawn, and the air allowed to have freer access to the furnace; but the heat was still very great, and a bluish flame rose some feet above the top of the furnace. On the third day from the commencement of the operation all the tubes were taken out, the ends of many of them being vitrefied with the heat; but the metal was not removed until some days afterward, when the whole was perfectly cool. Part of the furnace was then taken down, and the iron appeared in the form of a large irregular mass, with pieces of charcoal adhering to it. It was sonorous; and when any portion was broken off, the fracture exhibited a granulated appearance like broken steel. The owner informed me that many parts of this cake were useless, but still there was good iron enough to repay him for his trouble. This iron, or, rather, steel, is formed into various instruments by being repeatedly heated in a forge, the heat of which is urged by a pair of double bellows, of a very simple construction, being made of two goats' skins, the

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tubes from which unite before they enter the forge, and supply a constant and very regular blast. The hammer, forceps, and anvil are all very simple, and the workmanship (particularly in the formation of knives and spears) is not destitute of merit. The iron, indeed, is hard and brittle,* and requires much labour before it can be made to answer the purpose."

CHAPTER XII.

Slavery in Africa.-Different Kinds of Slaves.-Sources of Slavery.-Modes of African Warfare.-Famine, and other Causes of Slavery.-Mode of collecting Gold-dust.-Process of washing it.-Great Value of Salt in Manding.-Mode of procuring Ivory.-Manner of hunting the Elephant.

[1797-1798.]

A LARGE numoer of the inhabitants of the coun. tries which were visited by Park existed in a state of slavery. He himself supposes that "the slaves in Africa are nearly in the proportion of three to one to the freemen.' Two classes of slaves are distinguished; namely, first, the domestic slaves, or such as are born in a man's own house, of ensla ved mothers; and, secondly, such as are acquired by purchase, or other means. All these slaves re

*This is doubtless owing to its being kept so long in a state of fusion in the furnace, whereby it becomes highly oxygenated. In countries where the arts are better understood, the liquid metal is drawn off at short intervals by means of an aperture near the bottom of the furnace.-Am. Ed.

M

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DIFFERENT KINDS OF SLAVES.

ceive only food and clothing for their services, and are treated with kindness or severity, according to the good or bad disposition of their masters. Custom, however, has established, in favour of domes. tic slaves, certain rules which do not apply to the others. Except in certain emergencies, the domestic slave cannot be sold, unless some misconduct or demerit of his own be proved at a public trial before the chief men of the place. The emergencies are these: the existence of a famine, when a master is permitted to sell one or more of his domestic slaves, to purchase provisions for his family; and the insolvency of the master, in which case the domestic slaves are sometimes seized by his creditors, and, if he cannot redeem them, are liable to be sold for the payment of his debts.

Slaves of the second description are wholly at the disposal of their masters, who may sell them at his pleasure. There are, indeed, regular markets for slaves of this description; and we are told that the value of a slave, in the eye of an African purchaser, increases in proportion to his distance from his native kingdom. The reason is this; that when slaves are only a few days' journey from the place of their nativity, they frequently effect their escape; but when one or more kingdoms intervene, escape being more difficult, they are more readily reconciled to their situation. On this account, a slave is frequently transferred from one dealer to another, until he has lost all hope of returning to his native country.

Slaves of the second class may be regarded as of two kinds: first, there are those who were once do. mestic slaves, but who have passed out of the hands

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of their original owners; and, secondly, those who were born free, but who have since, by whatever means, become slaves. It has been already stated, that in certain cases domestic slaves may be sold; and, of course, their position, in regard to their purchaser, becomes different from that in which they stood with regard to their original owner, in whose house they were born. But it is the fortune of war which most frequently changes the condition of a domestic slave by rendering him a captive. From the relative numbers of the free and enslaved population, it is natural that slaves should constitute a large proportion of the prisoners taken in battle; and this proportion is farther increased by the inequality in the means of escape which the free man and the slave respectively possess, the former being in general mounted, and better armed. Of 900 prisoners taken upon one occasion, only 70 were free men. Moreover, the friends of a captive free man will sometimes ransom him by giving two slaves in exchange; but the slave has no such hopes of redemption.

The causes by which a free man may become a slave are distinguished by Park into four 1st. Captivity; 2d. Famine; 3d. Insolvency; 4th. Crimes. The first operates to by far the greatest extent. Prisoners of war are the slaves of the conquerors; "and when the weak and unsuccessful warrior begs for mercy beneath the uplifted spear of his opponent, he gives up, at the same time, his claim to liberty, and purchases his life at the expense of his freedom." The wars of Africa, which frequently originate in very frivolous disputes, are of two kinds; that species which bears

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MODES OF AFRICAN WARFARE.

66

the greatest resemblance to our European contests is denominated killi, a word signifying "to call out," because such wars are openly avowed and previously declared. Wars of this discription commonly terminate in the course of a single campaign. A battle is fought, the vanquished seldom think of rallying again; the whole inhabitants become panic-striken; and the conquerors have only to bind the slaves, and carry off their plunder and their victims. Such of the prisoners as, through age or infirmity, are unable to endure fatigue, or are found unfit for sale, are considered useless; and I have no doubt," says Park, " are frequently put to death. The same fate commonly awaits a chief, or any other person who has taken a very distinguished part in the war. And here it may be observed, that, notwithstanding this exterminating system, it is surprising to behold how soon an Af rican town is rebuilt and repeopled. The circumstance arises probably from this; their pitched battles are few; the weakest know their own situation, and seek safety in flight. When their country has been desolated, and their ruined towns and villages deserted by the enemy, such of the inhabi. tants as have escaped the sword and the chain generally return, though with cautious steps, to the place of their nativity; for it seems to be the universal wish of mankind to spend the evening of their days where they passed their infancy. The poor negro feels this desire in its full force. To him no water is sweet but what is drawn from his own well; and no tree has so cool or pleasant a shade as the tabba-tree* of his native village.

*This is a large spreading tree (a species of sterculia) under which the bentang is commonly placed.