4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 60. 



from which man may have obtained fire before he knew the manner 

 of kindling it artificially. The third picture illustrates the primi- 

 tive camp fire, where fire was preserved, and the conveying of fire 

 from one camp to another. 



The steps of man's acquaintance with fire are three — the knowl- 

 edge of fire, the means of utilizing it, and the means of producing it. 

 The last step, which is one of the most important in man's history, 

 is illustrated fully in the series. 



Improvements in the method of producing fire have followed the 

 great steps of man's progress, and, besides, each method has been 

 subject to various modifications by different peoples. To illustrate, 

 the simple method of rubbing out fire from two sticks with the 

 hands has been improved by adding the bow and socket and the 

 weighted stick, as in the pump drill, and finally the machine with 

 cog wheels and crank employed in the Soudan. 



No. 1. Volcano in action; lava setting fire to forest (pi. 1, No. 1) 178,157 



No. 2. Lightning setting a forest on fire (pi. 1, No. 2) 178,157 



No. 3. Camp fire; man borrowing fire (pi. 1, No. 3) 178,159 



No. 4. Fire saw. Strip of bamboo drawn across a section of bamboo. Dyaks 

 of Borneo and other Malays 178,152 



No. 5. Fire thong. Rattan thong drawn over a grooved piece of wood. Dyaks 

 of Borneo 178,152 



No. 6. Fire plow. Blunt stick worked along a groove in a lower stick. Poly- 

 nesians 178,152 



No. 7. Fire drill. Slender rod twirled between the hands upon a lower stick 

 having a cavity with slot. Indians of the United States and widely 

 diffused in the world 176,353 



No. 8. Fire drill. Rod held in a socket and gyrated by means of a cord. The 

 lower piece of wood has a cavity with slot, opening upon a shelf. 

 Eskimos of Alaska 127,644 



No. 9. Fire drill. Rod held in a socket and gyrated with a bow and cord. 

 Lower piece with cavities on a central groove. Eskimos of 

 Alaska 48,078 



No. 10. Fire drill. Pump drill used specially for sacred fire. Iroquois In- 

 dians, Canada. 



No. 11. Strike-alight. Flint and iron pyrites struck together as the ordinary 

 flint and steel. Eskimos of Alaska 178,154 



No. 12. Strike-a-light. Flint and steel and box for holding flint, steel, and 

 tinder. Sulphur-tipped splint ignited from the tinder. England, 



130,436 



No. 13. Strike-a-light. Bamboo tube and striker of pottery used as flint and 

 steel. Two boxes for tinder. Malay. 



No. 14. Tinder pistol. Gunlock adapted for throwing sparks into tinder. 

 England 175,712 



No. 15. Strike-a-light. Combination of flint, steel, tinder, and extinguislier, 

 for carrying in the pocket. Spain 1 178,155 



No. 16. Fire syringe. Cylinder with closely fitting piston bearing tinder. Driv- 

 ing the piston down smartly kindles the tinder. Siamese and 

 Malays -1 176,091 



No. 17. Lens. Used for producing fire by focusing sunlight upon tinder. Ancient 

 Greeks 178,151 



