THE EARLY HISTORY OF FIRE. 



19 



to slide rapidly to and fro upon a piece of dry, soft wood laid upon the 

 ground (in Tahiti, the Sandwich Islands, New Zealand, Timor, etc.). 

 This process Tylor denominates the stick-and-groove (Fig. 1), but the 

 fire-drill (Figs. 2 and 4) is more generally used. In its simplest form, 

 the fire-drill consists of a stick, one extremity of which is inserted in 



Fig. 1. The Stick-and-Groove. (Tylor.) 



Fig. 2. The Fiee-Drill. (Tylor.) 



a hole bored in a piece of dry wood, while the stick itself is twirled 

 between the hands and pressed downward {see Fig. 2). 



This instrument occurs not only in Australia, Sumatra, the Caro- 

 line Islands, and Kamtchatka, but also in China, South Africa, and 

 North and South America. It was employed by the ancient Mexicans, 

 and is still in use among the Yenadis of Southern India, and the 

 Veddas of Ceylon (Fig. 3). 



^l^^T^^^^ 



Fig. 3. Ancient Mexican Fire-Drill. (Tylor.) 



It is still further modified by causing the stick to whirl by means 

 of a thong wound round it, the ends of which are pulled in opposite 

 directions alternately. This is the instrument described in the Ve- 

 das, and it is still employed by the Brahmans of our own day for 

 lighting the sacred fire. For, as Tylor well observes, we very often 

 see fire obtained for use in religious rites by the ancient processes, 



