Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-07-27

like flint" but the saving knife is
more commonly used. Sand is some
times 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 Isl
anders. 1t is closely connected with
the saving method. A soft, corky bit
Of wood is picked up near by, and n
small. pointed stick of hard wood is
found. Kneeling on the hearth or
soft stick, the man holds the pencil
like pillow between his clasped hands,
| somewhat as one takes pen, and
forces it forward at an angle of about
forty degrees, slowly at first and then
with increasing rapidity until the
wood is ground off 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 Samoan can
get fire in forty seconds, and some can
make the wood burst into flame by
this method.
The fourth method of obtaining fire
that of Striking" light is one
familiar, in a degree, to all. Before
steel was obtainable flint and pyTites
were used. Eskimos of the Mackenzie
river district use a tire-set composed
of a tinder-pocket, which contains
finder made of down from the willow
catkins mixed with charcoal, or soaked
in gunpowder and water, a rough bar
of flint, and half-sphere of pyrites,
evidently round stone broken IN two
for greater convenience.
The tinder-bag is made of reindeer
skin. A little bag hanging from the
larger ono contains finder to use in
case that in the larger one becomes
accidentally useless; but the little
bag also acts as toggle. 1t is passed
under the belt when the tinder-hag
is carried by the squaw, much as our
women wear their chatelaine-bags.
The cover of the bag is an oblong pad
stuf1'e with deer hair. This pad is
held on the foretingcr under the Ply
rites to protect the hand when Il spark
is being struck of into the finder in
the bag
With the Iron Age came the use of
the flint and steel, and the most an
cieut specimens of these tireworking
tools are so nearly like those found in
many an old garrett today that de
scriptio1 seems unnecessary.
Tho (fh,nOca cf,I Ia lirh+Q chow a
very ingenious way of combining the
steel with pouch in which to carry
the flint aud finder. In Tibet tn
pouches are often deliberately trimmed
with incrusted silver set with costly
jewels The japanese still use flint
and steel. Their finder boxes have
two compartments. The smaller one
is for the finder and has damper.
The larger one is for the flint and
steel. They mount the steel in wood.
Our North American Indians were
slow to acknowledge civilized arts and
methods as superior to their own but
fire making with flint and steel APP
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 be-
side the tomahawk. They have many
curious beliefs concerning fire and its
origin. The Alaskan Indians will tell
you that "Yeu," the Great Raven,
who created man and gave him all
blessings, after obtaining light and
fresh water, stole burning brand
from fire island (volcano) in the sea
and started back to earth holding it in
his beak But the journey was SO
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 because the divine
fire, dropped from Yetl's beak, er-
tered 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 as fire.
making.