The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-12-09
The Story of Fire.

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The Story of Fire.
Today the world in which we live
is a veritable paradise, to which each
days advance brings new develop
ment for our betterment, education
and comfort; it might seem we were
becoming too civilized as compared
4 to our rugged and uncultured for
bears, who lived and prospered with
out the luxuries we have come to
need. One of mans earliest and most
important discoveries was fire, the
story o fthe finding, the gaining of
knowledge and the preservation of
which is uniquely shown by a collec-
ton of objects and implements assem-
7 bled and arranged by the National
Museum, and now on display in the
Smithsonian exhibit at The Panama
Pacific international exposition, in
San Francisco.
70 appreciate the true value of fire
to the world it, is necessary to inn
agine an existence without fire, and
light and heat, it's accompanying fea-
s lures, as well as the industries, arts
and sciences dependent thereon. We
would at once drop back to the stone
age in our daily occupations and So
cial life; our houses would be unlit
] at night, our food uncooked, our
communication with the rest of the
world would be broken, and only by
foot or On the back Of domesticated
animals could we journey abroad.
{ Not only this, but we would be unable
to renew our existing stock of tools,
apparatus, supplies and everything
made or fashioned BY the assistance
sof heat, and thus we would be car
ried back to the early, days of the
world by the loss of fire alone.
No one really knows just how prim-
sitiye man; came to discover fire and
utilize it.; but at, some far distant
period he certainly found that fire ex-
listed in nature, derived from the vol
cano, lightning or friction, though
he seems to have made no use of it
for long time He may have come
to know that it could be transported
Sor transferred through having seen
red-hot volcanic rock ignite dry
grass, leaves or wood, or possibly by
having seen the lightning strike and
set fire to tree. He may even have
secured a light, as it were from one
of these sources and carefully pre-
served it for years by keeping some
thing constantly burning. 1t became
Invaluable to him, since it cooked his
food and kept him warm, as well as
gave him light at night. But it was
at least a long time before he realiz-
ed that he could himself create or
make fire by rubbing two dry sticks
together. Once discovered, this pro-
cess alone was. used for. centuries be-
fore it was found that by knocking
flint and pyrites together sparks capa-
bic Of igniting tinder might be struck.
Somewhat later, in the iron age, flint
s and steel were substituted, a common
method employed in fire-making un-
til late in the seventeenth century.
A, little later there came chemical in
ventions which eventually gave way
to matches.
The use of fire also marks the be-
ginning of artificial illumination, de-
veloped successfully through the bon
fire, torch, lamps and candles, to the
gas and electric lights of today, To
fire as we'll the beginnings of metal
lurgy, ceramics and other arts which
have attained high degree of per-
lection in this century owe their orr
gin.
The specimens exhibited by the
United States National Museum show
the implements used in making fire
by the friction of wood, percussion of
minerals, compression of air, focus
ing the suns rays, and through chem
istry, and terminate with the electric
lighter. The series itself is preceded
by three drawings; the first illustrat-
ing volcanic action, the hot lava set
ting fire to forest, the second shows