Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-09-26
METHODS OF MAKING FIRE.
Inventions of the Untutored savage fol
kindling Flames.


There are few things more curious,
and which furnish such food for reilec,
ton, MS the ways in which mcivilized
man makes fire. The problem of the
easiest and best way to get a spark
must have been worked ut in the
earliest times, when the human race
realized the need of fire, and the man
who solved the problem is N OF the
worlds great but unknown b~elefactors
1t is not unlikely that various methods
have been invented Us the result of
these attempts, Ii is true Of the begin
ming of our marvellous age OF inven
tons. The modern period furnishes
the most singular ways, for the reason
that chemistry and physics have en-.
larged the field.
For an immense period In mans his
tory the method of kindling fire afresh
was by turning or rubbing one stick
| upon another. In Burlnah a tribe called
the Kakhyens carry for striking a light
a cylinder Of buffalo horn, with a cen
trail bore hree-sixteenths of an inch in
diameter and three inches deep burned
in it. A closely fitting plunger Of iron
wood works in the hole. When the
native wants a light he withdraws the
plunger and puts n bit of finder into a
cavity in the end OF it. The piston is
| then inserted and driven down with a
quick blow. suddenly withdrawn, and
the finder is found to be iynited. The
Dyaks. of Corneo, who were systematic
| head hunters before the advent of Ra-
jah Brooke. also made use of a beslapi.
or fire syringe Of brass, lined with lead.
fitted with a wooden plunger.
This implement was known in this
country under the name Of 'instanta'
neous light giving syringe" before the
invention of matches. but was not gen
orally used, since. NJ best. it gave un
certain results. leading the lecturer 10
saiurate the timber with bisulphide of
carbon 10 minimize the burden Of proof.
IL is an interesting question how the
Dyaks and Burmese came to employ
the acrophorc for fire making. The
Cochin China people strike two pieces
Of bamboo together and ignite finder.
The coating Of %anorphous. sick like
flint on the surface Of the bamboo
yields a spark at a sharp blow. The
traveller Mr.. W. I. Hornady says that
the jungles are frequently fired by the
excessive friction of the bamboos dur
Ing n gale.
The Tungaras. OF British North Dor.
neo. and the Ternate Malays carry at
tached to the girdle a joint of bamboo.
often finely carved. containing finder
and IA fragment of porcelain. The bit
of china with finder is held In one
hand and struck against the bamboo
finder horn he'll in the other, generally
getting "a light st the first blow. The
Aleutians, of Alaska, make fire by dip
ping two pieces OF quartz in sulphur.
which abounds in the islands. and
striking them together over a small
heap of down on which sulphur has
been sprinkled. Some tribes Of Es
quimau use two pieces of iron pyrites
or pyrites and flint in the same way.
Matches have gone everywhere and
supplanted the native fire making pro.
cesses. Holm. the distinguished Dan.
ish arctic explorer, relates that an
Esquimau, on being presented with a
box Of matches. gave away his fire
drill, saying he would have no further
need Of it. The National museum has
a collection of fire making apparatus,
showing the representative methods of
making fire used in various parts Of tie
world. Ii would be impossible to du.
plicate the majority of the pieces now,
since trade has carried matches To the
ends of the earth. Blacksmiths can
start a fire by pounding violently a rod
Of soft iron. first spreading on the anvil
a layer Of powdered coal dust. This is
a good illustration of the conversion
of force into heat. Popular Science
News.