Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1891-02-14
cur.onS Mcrnuds of ,Inhinr fire.

Curious Methods Of Making Fire.
1lh.r ;r.feN- hnl4s mo % curious, and
which furnish = CHI food for reflection,
as the ways in which uncivilz d man
makes fire. The problem of the easiest
and best way to get a spark must have
been work d at in the earliest times,
when the numan race realiZ 81 the need
of fire, and tn man who solved the
problem is one of the worlds great but
unhnown tenefact Is. 1t is not I'M
likely that various methods hay" been
invented as the result of these attempts;
it i, true of the beginning of our mar
Vicious age Of inventions. The modern
period furnishes the most singular ways,
for the reason that chemistry and
physics have enlarged the field. For
an immense eriod in mans history the
method Of kindlIng fire afresh was by
turning or ru bing one stick upon an"
other In Burma, a tribe called the
kakhyrms carry for striking light
cylinder of utfalo horn, with Il central
bore three-siXteenths of an inch in di-
amelyr and three inches deep burned
into it. \ closely fitting plunGer of
iron wood works in the hole. When the
native wants a light he Withdraws the
piunger and puts a Lit tf finder into u
cavity in the end of it. The piston is
then inserted and driven down with
quick blow, suddenly withdrawn. and
the finder is found to be ignit ID. The
Dgaks of Borneo, who We're systematic
head hunters before the advent of Ra iah
Brooke, vino made use of a besiapl, or
fire -yringe of brass lined with lead,
!i,,e with a !" OGDEN plunger. This inn
PIGMENT Was known in this country
under the name of Instantaneous light
giving syringe, Def re the invention Of
matches, but was not gen rally used,
since, at best, it gave uncertain results
leading the lecturer to saturate the
finder with bisulphid Of carbon to
minimizr the harden of proof. 1t is an
interesting question how the Dyaks and
Burmese came to employ the aero
phore for fire making. The Cochin China
people strike two pieces of bamboo to-
gather and ignite tinder The coating
of amorphous, slick like flint on the
surface of the bamboo yields a spark at
a sharp blow.
The traveller, Mr.. w. 7. Hornaday,
tells me that the jungles are frequently
fired by the excessive friction of the
bamboos during gale The Tungaras
of British North BJrneo and the Ter
nate Malays carry attached to the glrdle
Il Joint of bamboo, often finely carved,
containing finder and a fragment of
porcelain. The bit of china with finder
is held in one hand and struck against
the bamboo finder horn held in the other,
generally getting a light at the first blow
The AleutianS of Alaska made fire by
dipping two pieces of quartz in sulphur,
which abounds in the islands, and stil-
ing them together over small heap of
down on which sulphur has been sprin-
killed.. Somes tribes of Eskimo use two
pieces Of iron pyriteS, or pyrites and
flint, in the same way. Matches have
gone everywhere and supplanted the
native fire making processes. Holm,
the distinguished Danish Arctic explorer,
relates that an Eskimo, on being pre-
scented with a box of matches, gave
away his fire drill, saying he would have
no further need # it. The National
Museum has a cole ction of fire making
apparatus, showing the representative
methods of making fire used in various
parts of the world. 1t would be impos-
sible to duplicate the majority of the
pieces now. since trade has carried
matches to the ends of the earth Black
smiths can Start a fire by pounding vio-
lcntly a rod of soft iron, first spreading
ON the anvil Il layer of powdered coal
dust. This is good illustration of the
conversion of force into heat Walter
Hough, in The Popular Science News.