The sun., 1907-09-29
old WAYS OF FIRE MAKING
QtEER METHODS or STRIkING 4
LIGHT N PRIMITIVE TINES.

! The Friction NJ sticks Gradually Gave WAY
to the Tee of FLINT and steel some
Forms Of TtDsier Boxes The First Prac-
tical Match less Than . Century Old.
! Looking around upon the civilized races Of
mankind to-day. ones imagination ia sorely
taxed 70 picture n time when she ready
/ means of striking light was not available
Yet il 10 certain thai such a time must have
been-far back in the din ages when man
roamed the wilds and dwelt in holes and
caves Of the earth. scarcely more advanced
in his domestic arrangements than tho
beasts of tho field writes Percy Collins in
the Scientific American. In what manner
the value Of fire as a servant first daw ned
uron the mind OF man must ever remain
mysterious. but at all times there must
have been fires and great conhsgrations
kindled by natural means and entirely
without the aid Of man. Thus. the effect
Of the lightning stroke. of friction caused by
falling rocks or the chatting Of limbs and
stems in the dense forests. or the volcanic
overflow OF the smouldering furnaces " thin
the globe would from time to time display
the properties OF fire before the wondering
eyes Of primitive mankind.
Probably man first feared fire. then began
toworshipi il as a god terrible and omnipotent
to destroy. Then, his fear departing
from him. he begnn to employ fire to benefit
himself and his tribe. using il for cooking
and warmth. Notice that he did not at
frat make fire. He took IL from Natures
hand. 40 to speak. just as he gathered fruit
from the forest boughs There is direct
evidence OF this in the traditional history
OF many races. For example. the Tlisngit
family Of Indians in southeastern Alaska
say that the raven gave them fire, and
have an elaborate folklore descriptive
OF the bird and its Night through inky dark
ness bearing the divine spark in a box.
The fire was religiously preserved and fed
and members OF the tribe took of il for their
domestic hearths. These and similar fables
OF the preservat ton OF fire in box, and its
being horne from tribe TO tribe. or family to
family, are reminiscent Of the unquestion-
able fact that man knew and employed fire
long before he had discovered the means OF
making II for himself
Probably the first essays Of man as a fire
maker were confined to the friction OF sticks.
There are lust three ways In which one piece
of wood may be rubbed upon another.
namely. by moving with the grain, or
-ploughing": by moving across the grain, or
saving" and by twirling a pointed stick
within a wooden socket, or drilling" All
those methods have been used by early man.
Neither the first nor the second method.
however. was brought to high state Of per-
fection-or. TO he more precise. they both
reached perfection in rudimentary form
The fire blow. which was widely used among
the do-Pacific races and sporadically in
America, consists OF two parts: first. a stout
niece of thoroughly dried wood perhapa
; feet long and inches In diameter which
forms the hearth or stationary part; second,
a smaller stick OF the same kind OF wood
about a foot long. cut wedge shape at its
lower end. the edge forming a very obtuse
angle. This constitutes the working part,
or plough. II was rubbed violently back
ward and forward on the stationary piece.
a distance OF some inches. Minute shaw
ings were thus detached. and In the hands
Of a skilfull manipulator these were soon
heated above the point Of ignition.
Fire making by sawing was Malay de-
vice and has never perhaps been success
bamboo hourishes, the reason being that
bamboo 10 the only really suitable wood.
Two pieces are taken, one with q sharp
edge. the other with notch cut In II nearly
but not quite severing the substance. After
saving for q time the floor Of the notch 10
completely pierced and the heated particles
fall below and ignite.
But the most important method Of primi-
tive fire making is that Of drilling. In its
most simple form q stick Of dry wood 10
twirled vertically between the hands upon !
very dry and partially decayed lower plat
form. Il 10 extremely dimouk to obtain
n sS: os 10y @RSsn sse.
csrteln knsok about ~ eperaeiea, end this
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