The Washington herald., 1907-03-17

staf OF Office. But he always brings a
present. Putting his hand in his pocket,
he will generally produce two or three
eggs and perhaps will also bring chick
en-. That the eggs, though deiicacy,
are extremely small, you may easily I'M
agine. from the fact that one easily eats
two OF their little chickens at a meal.
Must Garry Many Presents.
THE present means. of course, that the
presidente expects something in return
something. in fact, Of many times the
value he gives. They have no use for
money there, but many commodities are
greatly valued 10y them. I carried guam
titles o. brass wire. which they use in
the manufacture of many of their articles
besides cotton cloth, beads, matches, and
many other things. They make a very
good cloth themselves out Of fiber, a good
many specimens of which you may see
! here, but they value the cotton cloth
much more highly
! THE present they bring is often tobacco
or some Of their extremely well made and
ornamented pipes made from brass or
wood. a large number of which ] brought
! back Once a presidente took a present
or fish from his pocket hat for me-"
/ one Of the great needs among all races
of men and at all times has been fire, and
even the most densely ignorant and help
+ less among savages Of every period OF the
worlds history have found some method
Of producing Il when required And the
particular way in which any race has met
the difficulty, the ingenuity they have
displayed in producing the initial spark.
/ has always been considered a good index
! $ of hot
| pie. Methods have varied greatly. and the
stuGy Of the subject has long interested
/ the scientist These many different meth
/ ods. however, have all been more or less
variations OF the flint and steel process,
| used By the most civilized until not very
/ long ago, or the Indian manner OF rub
/ bling two dry sticks.
A Novel Fire Maker.
But Mr.. Simms brings from these Igorots
| or Luzon a specimen of their aremaking
apparatus which. II would seem. must be
admitted the most ingenious ever in
vented by any race. and aside from the
lucifer match OF civilization the most
effective. 1t is really a marvellous con-
trivance, though simplicity itself in the
| use.
] II consists Of what may be called
small plunger Of about the size and shape
/ Of lead pencil. with the addition of a
/ knob OF handle at the top. The other
end IS bound around with a fine. nbr0ug
/ thread for about half an inch. which at
/ the extreme end has a very small cavity.
/ into which is stuffed "A little piece OF
! charred cotton. This plunger is thrust
into a little case or sheath. also OF wood,
Z into which IL its Ike a glove But one
motion is now necessary to produce the
spark. The plunger is drawn quickly
from the sheath and as the end appears
spark flies from the little wad OF
charred cotton. This is caught by a larg-
/ er piece Of t.nder held ready at the open
ing apd d breath produces the fame. It
is air done like lightning, with the single
motion Of the hands
Mr.. Simms talked on the subject with
DR. Hough. OF the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, who is the great authority on fire
making. and the doctor was much as
tonished al the discovery. He had never
heard Of such a method before.
Igorot Puzzle Marvel.
Another extremely interesting speci-
men Of the wonderful ingenuity Of these
savages IS seen In a little puzzle which
Mr.. Simms brought back with him. Il is
small bamboo rod. TO which a short
piece Of string Is tied at each end and In
the middle. thus forming two distinct
loops. Upon each Of the loops has been
strung small bamboo ring. The trick
is TO transfer one of these rings 10 the
other loop. so that upon one loop there
VIII be two rings and on the other none
at all. Il seems an lmp0ssibiuty, but the
IgOrOt can do fl.
But probably the most striking example
Of the skill and intelligence Of the Igorot
is found in the irrigation systems above
referred 10.
81 have been in Japan" said Mr.. Simms.
"and observed their methods and the ex-
tent Of their irrigation. But In some re-
gions over which I travelled i'm Luzon the
stretches there irrigated would make the
work Of the japanese look in comparison
like q flower garden beside a Dakota
farm. They show great engineering ability
IN the work.
Their method in brief. is to lead one
Of the mountain streams 10 Couvcn-
lent location at the top. Here they form
a dam. from which small streams are led
In channels downward as required The
hill-Or mountain, as 10 often isis formed
into series Of terraces. AT the edge Of
each terrace dixie IS formed of stone
plastered with mud OF course. rice re
quires q great deal OF moisture This is
insured by the dikeS The overflow fails
10 the next terrace below, where a suf-
ficient quantity is held in the same way.
and so on to the foot of the hill. They
are really "a great agricultural people,
and We have certainly underestimated
their arts and industries 10 say nothing
of their wonderful agricultural Instincts