The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1889-12-06
MAKING FIRE.
HOW DIFFERENT UNCIVILIZED
RACES ACCOMPLISH 1T.
Flame Produced by Friction Of
Two Pieces of Wood-Na-
ture Probably Sus-
gested the Idea.

In describing to a reporter of the
Washington star, the methods which
different uncivilized races have of max
ing fire, Walter Hough, of the National
Museum at the capital, said The Brah-
mans Of India obtain fire for cooking and
for religious ceremonies by the friction
of two pieces of wood, one about five
inches in diameter, with small, cOnical
hole OF socket in the upper part, into
which die other, shaped like pin, is IN
troduced and whirled backward and for
ward by bow
The Amos Of Japan use flint and steel
for striking light, this method having
supplanted the generation of fire by
sticks The shoe-shaped steelis attached
by piece of sinew TO the cork of
small wooden bottle containing the soft
charcoal used as a finder. The flint Is
small piece of ferruginous sick. With
this set is a piece of the root of plant
that retains fire for a long time. To
strike light the Aino takes out the
cork with the steel attached and stirs up
the finder with the sharp point. He
then holds up the flint IN his hand over
the bottl and strikes a spark down into
it. He then transfers the coal TO his
pipe, or kindling or fire stick, with the
point of the steel. These articles are
kept in a pouch generally woven Of
rushes. A pouch in the museum Is made
of fish skin.
The japanese finder box has two com
partments, one with a damper for the
finder, the other for the tiirt and steel.
Such box is familiar objectin Japan
csc kitchen. The steel is mounted in
wood. The matches are shaYings tipped
at both ends with sulphur, which readily
ignited from the spark. Smokers in
Japan carry small strike-a-lights, the flint,
steel and finder of burnt cotton being
contained in a cloth pouch. The Chinese
also carry similar strike-a-lights. In
Thibet they are made very large and are
finely decorated The Koords of Bhotan,
Eastern Turkey, carry 8 pipe pouch con-
tanning besides flint steel and finder
pipe pricker and pair Of pincers to trans
fer the lighted finder to the pipe.
The method of obtaining fire practiced
among savages Of the Nile region and the
heart Of Africa consists simply in rubbing
together two hard sticks at right angles
to one another till a spark is emitted.
Underneath the sticks IS placed either a
stone or something upon which a little
pile of embers has been laid. The fric-
ton of the upper piece of wood wears
hole in the lower and soon a spark IS
caught by the ashes and is famed into 4
flame with some dry grass.
The Zunis make fire with a drill re-
volviug between the palms Of the hand,
fastening the operation by sprinkling a
little fine sand in the concayity or de-
pression in which the drill works. The
Zunis nzs.,e the sacred fire that burns
always in thsiresIt,fss by friction Of wood.
New fire is made at>tiiv 1es:;aDing of
their new year with great ceremony.
The Apache Indian is probably the
most skillful of the primitive fire makers
in the world 4 set of Apache tire-mak
ing tools was given TO the museum by
Captain John G. Bourke, L. S. A The
hearth is piece of Yucca stem, with one
side dressed, and having holes with
narrow slot cut into them from the side.
Captain Bourke says he has seen an Apache
Indian with his tre-stick make fire in not
quite eight seconds by the watch. The
Indian asserted that under most favorable
circumstances he could make fire in a
number of motion which, on the watch,
occupied exactly two seconds. The ex-
periments, Captain Bourke ODservvvis an
all the way from eight to forty-seyen
seconds. Sand is generally used, as by
the Zunis, but this is not essential to sue
cess. Mr. Hough says he thinks a major
ity of the Indian tribes can make fire in
less than a minute.
The method of making fire practiced
by the Samoans illustrates what Mr..
Hough calls the blowing process. Two
sticks Of wood are used, one pointed and
one with 4 groove The pointed stick is
clasped in both hands and projected for
ward from the body, it always being held
at an angle of forty-fve degrees from the
grooved stick. The man kneels and
forces the drill forward, at first slowly,
with range Of six or seven inches, till
the wood is being ground off and made
to go into little heap at the end of the
groove. Then he gradually accelerates
and moves with a shorter range until,
when he pushes the stick with great
velocity, the brown dust ignites.
-.,.aNb,,fT l. r,-arficaI hr-
Malays, some hill tribes of India and
Burmese tribes. Two pieces of bamboo
are used. A sharp-edged piece like
knife is rubbed across a convex piece.
After saving for while the bamboo is
pierced and the heated particles fall be-
low and ignite The Chittagong hill
tribes of India use sand to increase the
friction. Nature, it is said, suggests
the saving way of getting fire. Many
fires are started in the Jungle by bamboos
rubbing together in high wind storm.
Nordenskiold has given an interesting
description of the fire drill of the Chuk-
CHS and the way it Is used. It consists
of a dry wooden pin, which, by COM
mon bow drill, is made to rub against a
block of dry, half-blackened wood The
upper part of this pin runs in drill
block of wood or bone In the light
stock holes are made to give support to
the pin, and, perhaps, to facilitate the
formation of the half-carbonized wood
meal, which the drilling loosens from the
light stock and in which the red heat
arises. When fire is to be lighted by
means of this implement the lower part
of the drill pin is daubed over with lit
tie train of oil, one foot holds the light
stock firm against the ground, the bow
string is put around the drill pin, the left
hand presses the pin with the drill block
against the light stock and the bow is
carried backward and forward, not very
rapidly, but evenly, steadily and unin-
terruptedly until fire appears. A couple
of minutes are generally required to
complete the process. The women APP
pear to be more accustomed than the men
to the use of this implement. An i'm
proved form Of it consists of wooden
pin on whose lower part lenticular and
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