Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-11-07
Beginning of Illumination.

The use of fire also marks the be-
ginning of artificial illumination, de-
veloped successfully through bonfire.
torch. lamps and candles, to the gas
and electric lights of today. To fire
as well the beginnings of metallurgy
ceramics and other arts. which have
attained a high degree of perfection in
this country. owe their origin
The specimens exhibited by the Unit
ed States National Museum show the
indictments used in making fire by the
friction Of wood. percussion of miner
ais, compression of air, focusing the
suns rays and through chemistry, and
terminate with the electric lighter. The
series itself is preceded by three draw
ings: tse first illustrating volcanic &C
ton the hot lava setting fire to Tor
est; the second shows a forest fre lg-
nited by the lightning. while the thlrd
illustrates the primitive campfire and
the method of conveying IRE from one
camp 10 another, the first two being
presumptive natural sources from
which man may have obtained fire be-
fore he knew manner for kindling it
himself :
The progressive steps. of mans &C
quaintance with fire are three; the
knowledge of fire. the means OF utilIZ-
ing il and the means OF preserving II.
The last step, which is one of the most
important in the history of mans de-
veloprnent, is fully illustrated by the
series of different apparatus and mate
rails Many improvements have fol-
lowed the first steps in mans progress.
and each method has been subject to
various notifications by different peo-
pies. What was probably the first
method that of rubbing two sticks to-
gether with the hands, was improved
by reciprocating motion effects; the
twirling of one stick held vertically be-
tween the palms and resting on sec
ond lying horizontally on the ground.
then by the addition of bow and
socket, followed by the weighted stick
as in the pump drill. and finally the
machine with cog wheels and crank as
employed in Sudan
Used Two-Stick Method.
The Indians Of the two Americas.
Amos. SomaIis. Kafirs. Veddahs and
Australians were generally opponents
of the simple two-stick method. The
focr-piece apparatus was used by the
Eskimo. Hindooes, Dyake and some
Atha pascan tribes. an dthe weighted
drill MAS employed by the Iroquois and
tfc Chukchis.
The second method is that of saving
md the apparatus comprised a thin
strip of bamboo which was drawn
eugewise across section of the same
wood IN which q corresponding groove
had been cut across the grain, the
parks created falling through the
groove upon some inhammable sub
stanae lying beneath the large section
This was also accomplished by draw ing
= thong of rattan across stick In which
longitudinal slot had been cut part.
,SSv through, the sparks igniting some
finder placed in the slot. These meth
DDS were used by the Malays and Bur
mese. as well as some other races.
Fire was also made by plowing-that
Is. thin piece of wood was forced
along a narrow slot cut lengthwise in
larger piece until the friction ignited
the finder. This system was evolved by
the Polynesians, the Australians and
the Papuans.
Another and more advanced system OF
striking fire was by percussion, first
employed through the use of flint and
iron pyrites, or stone containing iron
by the Eskimo and northern Indians
and later superseded by flint and steel