Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-10-25
OLD WAYS OF FIRE MAKING.
Queer Methods of Striking a Light In
Primitive Times.

queer metnodS OF StTikin9 Li9nt W
Primitive Times.
Looking around upon the civilized
races Of mankind today, ones imag-
ination Is sorely taxed to picture 9
time when the ready means Of strik-
is certain that such time must have
been--far back in the dim ages, when
man roamed the wilds and dwelt In
holes and caves of the earth, scarcely
more advanced in his domestic ar
arrangements than the beasts Of the
field, writes Percy Collins in the Scien-
tific American. In what manner the
value Of fire as a servant first dawned
upon the mind of man must ever re-
main mysterious, but at all times there
must have been fires and great con-
hagrations kindled by natural means
and entirely without the aid Of man
Thus, the effect of the lightning stroke
OF friction caused by falling rocks OF
the chafing Of limbs and stems In the
dense forests, or the volcanic overflow
of the smoulde. ing furnaces within the
globe would from time to time display
the properties Of fire before the Won
derlng eyes of primitive mankind.
Probably man first feared fire, then
began to worship it as a god terrible
and omnipotent to destroy. Then, his
fear departing from him, he began to
employ fire to benefit himself and his
tribe, using 1t for cooking and warmth
Notice that he did not at first make
fire. He took 1t from Natures hand
so to speak, just as he gathered fruit
from the forest boughs. There Is d.
rect evidence of this In the traditional
history Of many races. For example
the T'lisngit family Of Indians In
southeastern Alaska say that the ra-
ven gave them fire, and have an elab-
crate folklore descriptive of the bird
and its flight through inky darkness
bearing the divine spark in box
The fire was religiously preserved and
fed, and members of the tribe took OF
| II for their domestic hearths. These
and similar fables Of the preservation
of fire in a box, and its being borne
from tribe to tribe, or family to fam
lily, are reminiscent Of the unquestion-
able fact that man knew. and employed
fire long before he had discovered the
means of making it for himself
Probably the first essays Of man as
fire maker were confined to the fric-
ton of sticks. There are just three
ways in which one piece Of wood may
be rubbed upon another namely, by
moving with the grain, or plough
ing" by moving across the grain, OF
Saving" and by twirling a pointed
stick within a wooden socket, or drill
ing" All these methods have been
used by early man. Neither the first
nor the second method, however, was
brought to a high state Of perfection
or, to be more precise, they both
lreached perfection in rudimentary
form. The fire blow, which was wide
| ly used among the Indo-Pacific races
and sporadically In America, consists
of two parts: first, stout piece ol
thoroughly dried wood perhaps three
feet long and two inches in diameter
which forms the hearth or stationary
part; second. a smaller stick OF the
same kind Of wood about foot long
cut wedge shape at its lower end, the
edge forming a very obtuse angle
This constitutes the working part, OIL
plough. 1t was rubbed violently back
ward and forward on the stationary
piece, cutting a groove running with
the grain for a distance Of some four
inches. Minute shavings were thus
detached, and in the hands of Skill
ful manipulator these were soon heat
ed above the point Of ignition.
Fire making by saving was Malay
device and has never perhaps beer
successfully employed save In coun-
tries where the bamboo fiourishes, the
reason being that bamboo is the only
really suitable wood. Two pieces are
taken, one with sharp edge, the 9TH
er with a notch cut in 1t nearly, bu'
not quite severing the substance. Al
ter saving for a time the floor OF the
notch is completely pierced and the
heated particles fall below and ignite.
But the most important method ol
primitive fire making Is that or drill
ing. In its most simple form a stici
of dry wood Is twirled vertically be-
tween the hands upon a very dry anc
partially decayed lower platform.
10 extremely difficult to obtain fire II
this way, as modern experimenter:
NAV prove for themselves. Yet there
Is q certain knack about the operation
and this once being mastered smould'
ering wood dust may be created witt
comparatively little labor.
It is clear, however, that the fir'
drill could be made more effective anC
rapid in action in several ways. ON
such way calls for the cooperation o
two individuals, one Of whom supports
the vertical spindle by means or
socketed rod, while the other wraps
cord about the spindle and pulls
backward and forward as rapidly a.
possible.
A further complication Of the mr.
drill was the application Of the bow
string-similar to the drilling appli
ance used by the jeweler. The socket
ed rest for the vertical shaft was thel
held by one hand, while the thont
was alternately pulled and slackene'
with the other Thus a saving OF la
lbor was attained.
The forerunners Of the comparative
LIZ modern flint and steel as mean
OF striking a light were flint and py
rites, or two pieces Of pyrites. Thes
were struck together and the spark
thus generated were caught among
little dry moss. The Esquimaux from
Smith Sound to Bering Strait use thi
method. A very complete strike-a
light. set. including flint, pyrites AM
tinder in little bags and a leather pa
in dainty little bags and leather pa'