26 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.73 



Natural History, Chicago; drills 15-19 inches long (38-48.3 cm.); 

 hearths 5.5-7 inches long (14-17.7 cm.)-) 



The Guanchos, a mixed tribe of herders on the pampas of Venezuela, 

 practice a peculiar way of fire getting. They select a pliant rod, 

 place one end against the breast and the other against the block 

 forming the hearth, held on a line with the breast. By pressing 

 against the rod it is bent and turned rapidly around like an auger. 

 This impracticable and no doubt very local method is described by 

 Prof. E. B. Tylor.22 



In Brazil, in the province of Goyaz, the Chavantes, Cayapos, and 

 Angaytes, use the simple fire drill.^^ The Angaytes drill figured looks 

 somewhat like that of the Hopis. It is usually 28 cm. long for the hearth, 

 and for the drill 20 cm. They use the throat skin of the nandu, 

 Rhea americana, for a tinder sack. The Lenguas of the same Prov- 

 ince use a strike-a-light consisting of a tinder horn, flint, and steel, 

 which is also figured in the cited report. This set is very interesting, 

 because from it we can say with certainty where the Lengua got it. 

 The steel is the English "flourish" and the flint is the oval, old Eng- 

 lish shape, probably broken somewhat by blows. The Lenguas, 

 being on the line of travel, have adopted the method from English 

 traders. In Rio de Janeiro the Indians had an angular recess at the 

 back of their snuff mills for the purpose of making fire by friction.^* 



The Ainos of Japan formerly used fire sticks, and are said even yet 

 to resort to this method when they have no other means of getting 

 fire. They use also flint and steel, adopted from the Japanese. A 

 specimen (22257) is in the Collections of the Museum. 



The Japanese formerly used the simple drill; a few are yet pre- 

 served and used in the temples on special occasions. A specimen is 

 exhibited in the Imperial Museum at Tokio. Several years ago Mr. 

 Stewart Culin, after difficult negotiations through Mr. Tsuda of the 

 Tokio Museum, secured a specimen for the Smithsonian Institution 

 from Baron Menge of the Idzumo shrine. The specimen is like that 

 in the Imperial Tokio Museum from the Oyashiro Temple at Idzumo. 

 It is a smooth, most accurately dressed plank 35.5 inches long (90.5 

 cm.), 4.75 inches wide (12 cm.), and 1.2 inches thick (3 cm.), of 

 Ohamaeocyparis obtusa wood. There are 42 fire pits on the two edges, 

 generally 1 inch between centers. The holes are drilled deeply and 

 several calibers of drill have been used. The drill is a stem of Deutzia 

 scabra with strong walls and large pith. In many of the holes a core 

 is produced as in the tubular drill. This fire drill was used in the 

 Harvest Festival. The inscription in well written characters is, in 



"Darwin. Narrative of the Voyage of the £eojk. Vol. 3, p. 458. Cited in Early History of Mankind, 

 p. 241. 



2SDr. Emil Hassler. In Jahrbuch Mittelschweiz. Commerciel. Gesellsch. Arau, 1888, vol. 2, pp. 

 114-115. 



" Harper's Monthly Magazine, vol. 7, p. 745. November, 1853. 



