Chap, xii.] GETTING FIRE BY FRICTION. 



>49 



chewing of the kaava root, which is now grated instead. The 

 chewing method was beheved to spread disease. The people 

 are diminishing notwithstanding all the efforts of the mis 

 sionaries. There are now only about 8,000 islanders in the 

 whole group. 



The Tongans are a fine manly race, and delighted us all. 

 We should all have liked a longer stay in their island. They 

 are an extremely merry race, fond of practical jokes ; and as I 

 was rowed on shore by a crew of them, they kept playing all 

 kinds of pranks on one another between the strokes of the 

 oars, such as bending over and catching at each other's legs, 

 and they were full of laughter the whole time. 



I had some ditTiculty in persuading one of the natives to get 

 fire for me by friction of wood. Matches are now so common 

 in Tonga that the natives do not care to undergo the labour 

 necessary for getting fire in the old method, except when 

 driven by necessity. No doubt the younger generation will 

 lose the knack of getting fire by friction altogether. 



I'he method adopted in Tonga is the usual Polynesian one 

 of the stick and groove. The wood of the Hibiscus tiliaceiis 

 is made use of. It is extremely light when dry. It must be 

 extremely dry in order that it can be used for getting fire. In 

 order to procure fire, a stick or stout splinter of the wood about 

 a foot in length is cut at one end so that it has a sharp edge 

 bounded by two sloping surfaces on one side of the end. The 

 side of the tip is thus in the form of a wedge with a sharp edge. 



This stick is held in a slanging position between the two 

 thumbs crossed behind it, and the fingers of the two hands 

 crossed in front of it. The sharp edge of the wedge is applied 

 to the surface of a large billet or stem of the same dry wood, 

 and the stick is rubbed backwards and forwards, a certain 

 amount of pressure being exerted. A V-shaped groove about 

 four or five inches in length is thus cut into the billet. If the 

 piece of wood to be grooved is rounded and smooth, a slight 

 score is sometimes made upon it with a knife beforehand in 

 order to prevent the stick from slipping. 



Of course everything depends on the larger billet being 

 kept absolutely immovable during the process. Sometimes 

 the operator holds it with his own feet, or often gets some 

 one else to stand on it for this purpose. The stick is rubbed 

 backwards and forwards, slowly at first. It must not be pressed 

 on too hard or the rubbing surfaces become polished, nor too 

 softly or no heating results. In applying the exact amount of 

 pressure, a great deal of the knack of getting the fire readily, 

 no doubt, depends. 



If the operation is proceeding well, there should be a 



