Iron smelting

Having mingled near the mouth of the St. John, they then ventured eastward to Rivercess and westward as far as the Mesurado River.

They claim to have learned canoe building from the Klao only after relocating near the coast. After moving to their present location, they continued smelting iron using ore from Mt. Finley. One Bassa tradition claims that their ancestors encountered Europeans when they first reached the Atlantic Ocean.

Footnote: Schröder and Seibel, 1974, p. 22; Siegmann, 1969, p. 4, 7-8; Martin, 1968, p. 42; Person, 1966, p. 491; Martin, 1968, p. 48; “Tour two hundred miles interior,” African Repository, Vol. 45, Vol. 5 (May 1869), pp. 153-154; “Missionary exploration by a native, African Repository, Vol. 45, Vol. 10 (October 1869), pp. 308-313; Massing, 1970-71, p. 177, citing J. Nma, History of the Gbeta-Tribe,” unpublished ms.; Johnson, “Traditions,” p. 46.