30 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.73 



piece of the same wood. The cord is twisted brown fiber. The top 

 of the drill is smoothed off by wear against the nut, which was a 

 piece of coconut shell. This set is small and compact for carrying 

 on the person. (PI. 6, fig. 4, 4a, Cat. No. 216340; Dr. W. L. Abbott; 

 5.5 inches long (14 cm.).) 



The apparatus from Pulo Sunalur is larger than the set 

 described above, and the drill is rotated with a strip of rattan. The 

 wood is yellow, quite firm, and not hard. The hearth is squared and 

 the drill is tapering as in the Pagi specimen. The native name of 

 thefiresetis "ludang." (PL 6, fig. 3, 3a, Cat. No. 221833; Dr. 

 W. L. Abbott; hearth and drill 13 inches long (33 cm.).) 



A general similarity with the Pagi and Simalur fire sticks is 

 observed in the Nias specimens. It will be seen from the above 

 that the fringe of islands off the south coast of Sumatra may be 

 characterized as an area in which the cord drill is used. The speci- 

 mens brought by Doctor Abbott have been chopped out of light- 

 yellow wood, often showing worm holes. The cord is twisted brown 

 bark. (PI. 6, fig. 1, la, Cat. No. 221831, Lafau, Nias; Dr. W. L. 

 Abbott; hearth, 15 inches long (38 cm.); drill, 11 inches (28 cm.).) 



The north Pagi specimen is cut from very light wood, the hearth 

 is squared and grooves cut in the regular way, and the drill appears 

 to have been used in the hands. (PL 6, fig. 2, 2a. Cat. No. 221830; 

 Dr. W. L. Abbott; drill, 10 inches (25.5 cm.); hearth 12 inches (30.5 

 cm.).) 



Dr. Jesse R. Harris, United States Army, collected a fire hearth 

 from the river district up the Rio Grande de Mindanao, P. I., pre- 

 sumably of Mandayan origin. Doctor Harris says: "The fire drill 

 works with a bow and is a good one." The hearth is of soft worm- 

 eaten wood and has three rather large cavities with slots. It is like 

 the Malay drills of Simahir, Pagi, and Nias, and much extends the 

 range of the machine drills in these regions. The native name is 

 Col-in-sung-an. (Cat. No. 247525; 12 inches long (30.5 cm.).) 



The Museum collection has a specimen from the Battaks of Pala- 

 wan, P. I., which consists of a cleft stick held open at one end by a 

 small stone and deeply sawed where fire has been made. The thong 

 is of rattan one-eighth inch in diameter formed by spiral turns 

 into a ring which is worn as a bracelet by the Battaks when it is not 

 needed for fire making. (PL 9, fig. 2, Cat. No. 326012, collected by 

 Mrs. E. Y. Miller.) 



Mr. R. W. Felkin, -^ in a study of the Maidu or Moru negroes of 

 Central Africa, 5° north latitude, 30° 20' east longitude, describes the 

 fire making of that tribe. He says that one piece of wood about the 

 size and shape of a large pencil is rotated in a hole in a flat piece of 

 hard wood. One man holds the wood steady whilst two others take 



29 Proc. Royal Soc. Edinburgh. Session of 1883-84, p. 309. 



