damped, and kept rolled up for some time; the hair is then scraped off with the hand, or a blunt knife; each skin is then turned face downwards to the ground, where it is fixed firmly with wooden pegs; with the help of a wedge-shaped piece of iron, or a scraper made on purpose and called a “pala,” or, in cases where the hide is very thick, with a sort of brush made of ten or twenty nails some five or six inches long, every particle of flesh or sinew is cleared away, after which some oily substance is rubbed thoroughly in upon both sides. The process is finally completed by the men, who, in time to a tune, apply the friction of their hands till the skin is quite dry and supple.
The handkerchiefs and sheets that I have mentioned must rank amongst the best specimens of the industrial skill of the country; without being in any degree coarse, the texture is substantial, and dark stripes are often woven with very good effect upon a lighter ground.
For agricultural work there is hardly any other implement except the mattock, which however is a much more efficient tool than is generally met with to the south. The hatchet employed for cutting wood is very similar in shape to the battle-axe; it is made of very good iron, and is sometimes ornamented with raised patterns; the handle is quite straight, and about two feet long. In hollowing out canoes and wooden bowls, and in preparing planks, the people use hatchets of various sizes, nearly all of them made in the same shape as the “pala.” Their hammers are made of iron of superior quality, and are better than any used by the Bechuanas. The chisels, both the hard chisels
