“Among the Kaffirs, a blacksmith is a man of considerable importance, and is much respected by the tribe.  He will not profane the mystery of his craft by allowing uninitiated eyes to inspect his various processes, and therefore carries on his operations at some distance from the kraal.  His first care is to prepare the bellows.  The form which he uses prevails over a very large portion of Africa, and is seen, with some few modifications, even among the many islands of Polynesia.  It consists of two leathern sacks, at the upper end of which is a handle.  To the lower end of each sack is attached the hollow horns of some animal, that of the cow or eland being most commonly used; and when the bags are alternately inflated and compressed, the air passes out through the two horns.

“Of course the heat of the fire would destroy the horns if they were allowed to come in contact with it; and they are therefore inserted, not into the fire, but into an earthenware tube which communicates with the fire.  The use of valves is unknown; but as the two horns do not open into the fire, but into the tube, the fire is not drawn into the bellows as would otherwise be the case.  This arrangement, however, causes considerable waste of air, so that the bellows-blower is obliged to work much harder than would be the case if he were provided with an instrument that could conduct the blast directly to its destination.  The ancient Egyptians used a bellows of precisely similar construction, except that they did not work them entirely by hand.  They stood with one foot on each sack, and blew the fire by alternately pressing on them with the feet, and raising them by means of a cord fastened to their upper ends.

“When the blacksmith is about to set to work, he digs a hole in the ground, in which the fire is placed; and then sinks the earthenware tube in a sloping direction, so that the lower end opens at the bottom of the hole, while the upper end projects above the level of the ground.  The two horns are next inserted into the upper end of the earthenware tube; and the bellows are then fastened in their places, so that the sacks are conveniently disposed for the hands of the operator, who sits between them.  A charcoal-fire is then laid in the hole, and is soon brought to a powerful heat by means of the bellows.  A larger stone serves the purpose of an anvil, and a smaller stone does duty for a hammer.  Sometimes the hammer is made of a conical piece of iron, but in most cases a stone is considered sufficient.  The rough work of hammering the iron into shape is generally done by the chief blacksmith’s assistants, of whom he has several, all of whom will pound away at the iron in regular succession.  The shaping and finishing the article is reserved by the smith for himself.  The other tools are few and simple, and consist of punches and rude pinchers made of two rods of iron.

“With these instruments the Kaffir