Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-17

there be light, and his
"lucifer" lighted.
For century, the way has been
lighted by Johnnie Walkers matches.
And now comes the age Of automatic
lighters. alternating currents, buttons
and switches. Soon Walkers invention
will live only by its memory
How celebrate the centennial of the
match? Man, the supreme match
maker, has married fire to all the ele-
msnts and a million compounds. But
where is a man who can tell a story
of the great romance of human races
and fire?
We went to that fount of knowledge.
the Smithsonian Institution, and asked
FOR fireman" some person who in
playing with fire has suffered burns
and come away with knowledge: some
one who knows the history of fire and
the benefits it has spawned on man.
"A fireman." they repeated. I'VE
have the fire chief himself, Chief Pc
de-ga hi, who was blessed with this
title by the American Indians because
he knows more about its discovery and
kindling than any man living or dead"
His real name Is DR.. Walter Hough
and official title, curator. department
of anthropology. in the United States
National Museum.
Chief Pe-de-ga-hi came to the
Smithsonian Institution 43 years ago
as an assistant His head is turned
silver but he remembers the day, he
said, when his superior showed him a
drawer of weird implements. remark
ing: Now there's something. Indian
ire-making apparatus would make an
interesting study for a young man.
Suppose you try it,
'''That'S how 7 uot Interested in fro
said Chief Pe-de-ga-hi. But found
that making fire like the Indians was
not so easy as all that. I rubbed the
sticks between my hands until they
had no skin left. Finally, I learned
the trick and I sat down to describe
1t, being the first white man to set the
process forth in print.
I've been burned many times since"
the fire chief added with a chuckle.
but I've succeeded in making fire by
every method known to man.
IAN Apache Indian taught me more
about fire-making and the adaptability
OF man than all our inventions
Squatting on the ground and without
moving out of arms length, he made
fire with nothing more than what ma
ture gave. I brought him two rough
branches. They were too rough to twirl
between the palms. He reached out for
two stones, made them into a sand
wich and cleaned of the bark by draw
ing the branches between the hard
surfaces.
He twirled a smooth stick between
his hands and soon the bottom stick
became so hot that 1t sent UP faint
wreath of smoke which he famed with
air from his pulled cheeks.
This is a remarkable operation, and
only skilled fireman could initiate 1t,
but I felt much ashamed of my own
talents, for I would have needed
penknife and a good deal more prepara-
tion.'
WITH his knowledge of woodcraft,
Or. Hough can make a fire out
Of natural substance in about seven
seconds, which is generally considered
a world record. When he described his !
method in the official Boy Scout Man |
ual he had no idea it would be taken |
up as game. That's what happened |
Boy Scouts all over the world engage
in competitive games of flre-making
and thank Chief Pe-de-ga- hi for theis
skill
Ability to make fire is distinguish
u ",
there is a moment in the history of
humanity when it knew nothing of the
benefits of fire: but wherever scientists
find the remains of early man, they
also uncover evidence Of the fire, says
DR.. Hough.
The inscription in Washington's
Union Station tells the story:
Fire, greatest Of discoveries, en-
ab,ing man to live in various climates,
use many foods, and compel the forces
Of nature to do his work
Electricity. carrier of light and
power. devourer of time and space
Bearer of human speech over land and
sea. greatest servant of man, itself
unknown"
''Fire," said Dr. Hough. twas the first
natural phenomenon striking man and
the first natural force he consciously
used. We have had fire so long that
We might ask ourselves whether 1t Is o
human characteristic Shall we also
extend the use of fire to primates other
than man? 1t Is evident that of all
animals the primates are the only
species which could undertake the care
Of fire"
Up and down the length and breadth
OF history, man carried fire as an ally.
On pure hypothesis, We assume that he
suffered through a period without fire.
but saw 1t appear from volcanoes and
lightning strokes. Secondly, man made
use OF fire from some natural source,
and thirdly, turned about and invented
his own source for fire
All the inventions in the Patent
ONCE are not worth the simple dis
coveries of Stone Age men. namely, that
fire can be made. that 1t gives heat and
light, and is contagious. Men whose
apparatus was club and laboratory a
primitive forest put the great questions
to nature and after centuries OF pains
taking research evolved the famous fire
drill, fire saw, bow and suitable finder
material
DR.. Hough expresses the relation of
man and fire by saying that the hypo-
thetical age Of man was the flreless
age. Secondly, man adopted fire.
Thirdly, man developed fire and him.
self Fourthly, man invented the fire.
stick. Filthy, man inherits the earth.
The lower animals as we'll as men
have an appreciation of warmth. In
his globe-trotting. Won Humboldt, the
German philosopher, remarked that
people OF all climates have the same en-
joyment of heat Tropical peoples end
Eskimos enjoy the camp fire.
Mans closest association with domes-
tic animals came from his desire to
keep warm. When stoves were I'M
dreamed-of contraptions, he made a
parlor out of stable. BY bringing
the pig into his living room, he turned
on the heat. The family dog was used
to warm the baby's cradle. "One good,
fat mich cow" remarks DR.. Hough,
was equal to big stove"
X
NIHEN fire was still difficult to make,
" people preserved 1t by carrying it
about. If a man lost his red coal. it
might mean that whole tribe or ma
ton might have to do without heat Or
an expedition might have to be sent to
a volcano and some daring hero risk
his life for a tongue of fame.
Thus in ancient Rome the VeStal