212 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1901. 



The first of these exhibits (Plate 47) illustrates the important art 

 of fire making. The fire drill was in almost universal use. It consists 



essentially of two parts, the vertical drill of hard wood and the hori- 

 zontal socket piece of soft, dry wood. The drill is rotated by the 

 hands, by a strap, or with a bow. The fire is produced by the friction 

 of the drill in the socket piece, the wood dust in which the lire arises 

 falling- out of a notch in the side of the socket and igniting. With a 

 reasonable amount of experience fire ma} r be made by almost anyone 

 using the specimens shown in this series. 



The second exhibit (Plate -48) shows the chief types of bows and 

 arrows for the several culture regions of the American continent, 

 beginning with the Arctic province at the north and ending with the 

 Fuegian at the Straits of Magellan. The eastern Eskimo, on account 

 of the poverty of material, make a compound bow of whale's rib, for- 

 merly lashed together with sinew, but now riveted and wrapped. The 

 western Eskimo bow is backed with sinew, and in many examples is 

 indistinguishable in shape from the Tartar bow on the Asiatic side. 

 Sinew backing continues down the Pacific side of the continent to the 

 Pueblo region, where the material is shredded and mixed with glue. 

 Over all other parts of America the bow is a simple piece of wood in 

 various forms, according to locality. 



The arrow furnishes one of the best bases for classifying peoples, 

 its feathering, shaft, and head being subject to modifications of mate- 

 rial, size, number of parts, and shape of parts in endless variety. 



The third exhibit (Plate 49) shows the distribution of the projec- 

 tile apparatus called "atlatl" by the ancient Mexicans, and throw- 

 ing stick, or dart thrower, in ethnological literature. The apparatus 

 consists of a shaft of wood, either a round stick or a Hat board, with a 

 groove on top. At the manual end or base may be seen one or more 

 pegs, notches, or perforations designed to receive the thumb or one 

 or more fingers of the right hand. At the working or outer (Mid is a 

 hook of some kind to tit into a hollow at the end of the harpoon, dart, 

 or other projectile. The throwing stick is universal among the 

 Eskimo; occurs also on the north Pacific coast, and here and there 

 among the tribes southward; in the Pueblo country; in Sonora, in Mex- 

 ico; in great numbers throughout southern Mexico and Central Amer- 

 ica; in southern Florida; along the Cordilleras to the borders of Peru; 

 at various places on the Amazon, and in the Mato Grosso. Here for 

 the lirst time a series of these interesting projectile devices are brought 

 together and exhibited in geographic order. 



The fourth exhibit (Plate 50) sets forth the different forms of har- 

 poons throughout the Western Hemisphere. It is the universal 

 hunting device among the maritime aborigines, being found all the 

 way from the farthest north to the Straits of Magellan. A harpoon 

 is a spear with a movable head attached to the shaft by a line, for the 



