AKT. 14 FIRE-MAKING APPARATUS HOUGH 11 



purpose of the Sitkan, and in his skillful hands would no doubt give 

 the spark in a minute or so. The long drill would indicate that two 

 worked at it consecutively to keep up a continuous motion. 



For tinder, the bark of the arbor vitae was used. It is finely frayed, 

 and is much improved by being slightly charred. They also use, 

 preferably, a tinder made from a fungus, because it is "quicker," that 

 is, ignites more readily than the frayed bark. 



The hearth is squared and measures 23 inches; the drill is of equal 

 length. 



The southern Tlingit drill in the American Museum of Natural 

 History, New York City, has the hearth and drill of equal length. 

 The hearth is a block having the head of a raven at one end and of 

 a bear at the other. The drill is enlarged at the low^er end, and the 

 hearth has three fire holes, (PI. 1, Cat. No. 289100, Alaska; Amer. 

 Mus. Nat. Hist., N. Y.; hearth, 15 inches long (38 cm.); drill, 15.3 

 inches long (39 cm.).) 



Going southward from Sitka the next fire-making set in the series 

 is from Bella-Bella, British Columbia. These Indians are of the Sali- 

 shan stock, and are called Bilhulas. The horizontal is a piece of cedar 

 wood dressed square on three faces. It is apparently a piece of an oar 

 or spear handle. The fire holes are shallow, and the fire slots are quite 

 narrow. (Fig. 2.) The drills have been scored longitudinally near 

 the rubbing end; this may be a device to cause the wood to wear away 

 more rapidly and furnish fuel to the incipient fire. Fire has evidently 

 been made with this set. Both parts are 13^ feet long; the drill is 

 much thinner than that of Sitka. The tinder is a braided length of 

 frayed cedar bark. 



From a southern family of the Salishan stock, called the Quinaielt 

 Indians, of Washington, the Museum has a complete set collected by 

 the late Charles Willoughby. It consists of a hearth, two drills, and 

 a slow match. The hearth is a rounded piece of cedar wood; opposite 

 the fire holes it is dressed flat, so as to rest firmly on the ground. 

 There are three fire holes with wide notches. The drills taper to each 

 end; that is, are larger in the middle. (Fig. 3.) The powder, a fine 

 brown dust, collects at the junction of the slot and fire hole, and there 

 readily ignites. This side of the hearth is semidecayed. No doubt 

 the slots were cut in that side for the purpose of utilizing this quality. 

 The drills are bulged toward the middle, thereb}'' rendering it possible 

 to give great pressure and at the same time rapid rotation without 

 allowing the hands to slip down too rapidly, a fault in many fire 

 drills. The slow match is of frayed cedar bark, about a yard long, 

 folded squarely together, and used section by section. Mr. Willoughby 

 says: 



The stick with three cavities was placed upon the ground, the Indian kneeling 

 and placing a knee upon each end. He placed one end of the smaller stick in one 



