St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-07-29
WAYS OF MAKING FIRE


Ing . Dlase By Sawing-OtAeR
| Methods.
The boy or girl brought up In IA
miliarity with safety matches, electric
lighting, etc, will smile the smilesf su-
periority when he reads II. l.. Jerome'a
description of tine methods our anceS'
tors employed for lighting fire. and
that many of our uncivilized contempo-
raries still employ.
Fire-making, by saving. he says, was
perhaps suggested to the Malays by ma
ture. 1t is said that jungle fires are
often started by the rubbing of the bam-
boo stocks together in high wind
storms. ''The creaking of the bamboo
is indescribable; the noise of the rasp-
ing and grinding of the horny stems
is almost uncomfortable" during these
storms, say travellers.
However the method may have been
suggested to them, it is a very simple
one. A piece of bamboo having a sharp
edge is rubbed across rounded piece
in which a notch has been cut. The
Malay saws across until the hollow con-
vcx piece is pierced. The heated par
ticles fall below and ignite. Some
Malays ''have improved on this by
striking a piece of china, tinder being
held with it. against the outside of .
piece of bamboo, the silicious coating
of the latter yielding spark. like
flint" but the saving knife is more
commonly used. Sand is sometimes
added to increase the friction. In some
places, when the particles fall they
are gathered in a dry leaf and swung
around the head until the leaf blazes.
The blowing method seems to have
sprung wholly from the Pacific island.
ers. 1t is closely connected with the
saving method. A soft, corky bit Of
wood is picked up near by, and a small,
pointed stick Of hard wood is found.
Kneeling on the hearth or soft stick,
the man holds the pencil-like plow be-
tween his clasped hands, somewhat as
one takes a pen, and forces it forward
at an angle of about 40 degrees, slow
ly at first and then with increasing
rapidity until the wood is ground on
and forms in a small heap at the end of
the groove he has so made. The groove
is about six inches long. Mr.. Darwin
found it difficult to make fire in this
way, but at last succeeded. The Sa-
moan can get fire in 40 seconds, and
some can make the wood burst into
fame by this method
The fourth method of obtaining fire
that of striking" a lights one IA
miliar, in degree, to all. Before steel
was obtainable, flint and pyrites were
used. Eskimos of the Mackenzie river
tinder-pocket, which contains tinder
made of down from the willow cat
kins mixed with charcoal, or soaked in
gunpowder and water, rough bar of
flint, and half-sphere of pyrites, evil
IDENTIFY . round stone broken in two
for greater convenience.
The tinder-bag is made of reindeer
skin. A little bag hanging from the
larger one contains tinder to use in
case that in the larger one becomes
accidentally useless; but the little bag
also acts as a toggle. 1t is passed un-
der the belt when the tinder-bag II
carried by the squaw, much as our
women wear their chatelaine-bags.
The cover of the bag is an oblong pad
held on the forefinger under the pyrites
to protect the hand when a spark 10
being struck OF into the tinder in the
bag.
With the iron age came the use Of
the flint and steel, and the most ancient
specimens of these fire-making tools
are so nearly like those found in many
an old garret to-day that description
seems unnecessary.
The Chinese strike-a-lights show .
very ingenious way of combining the
steel with pouch in which to carry the
flint and tinder. In Tibet the pouches
are often elaborately trimmed with in-
crusted silver set with costly jewels.
The japanese still use flint and steel.
Their tinder-boxes have two compart-
ments. The smaller one il for the tim
der and has a damper. The larger one
is for the flint and steel. They mount
the steel in wood. Until matches were
invented the most convenient hre-mak-
ing tools in the world were those used
in Japan.
Our North American Indians were
slow to acknowledge civilized arts and
methods rs superior to their own; but
fire-making with flint and steel ap-
pealed to them At once, and was
promptly adopted. Buckskin pouches
were made in which to carry the flint
and steel. and hung from the belt beside
the tomahawk. They have many Curl
GUS beliefs concerning fire and its ori-
gin. The Alaskan Indians will tell you
that ''Yetl," the Great Raven, who Gre
ated man and gave him all blessings,
after obtaining light and fresh water.
stole q burning brand from fire island
(volcano) in the sea, and started back
to earth holding it in his beak. But
the journey was 30 long that the brand
burned shorter and shorter. Swiftly
and more swiftly Yeti piled his magic
wings; but the brand burned his bill.
and then dropped to the ground and
scattered in all directions. And be-
cause the divine power, dropped from
Yetl's beak, entered into every rock
and every dry bit Of wood lying on the
surface Of the earth. they say one can
always call fire out of the rocks BY
striking them with steel, or out of wood
by rubbing It with other wood.
This is the Alaskan explanation Of
the mystery known to us n fre-mak-
| ing.-St. Nicholas.
011ghtea.
Lizzie-Tm as mad as can be with
Tom.
Bessie-Why. what has Tom being do
! ing now?