ART. 14 FmE-MAKING APPARATUS HOUGH 33 



Frequently the piece is intended to be held in the hand, or in both 

 hands, hence it has no teeth grip. In the under part is set a piece of 

 stone, in which is hollowed out a cup-shaped cavity to hold the head 

 of the drill . These stones seem to be selected as much for their appear- 

 ance as for their antifriction qualities. They use beautifully mottled 

 stone, marble, obsidian, and ringed concretions. 



The drill is always a short spindle, thicker than any other drill in 

 the world. It is frequently of the same kind of wood as the hearth. 



The thong is the usual accompaniment of the fire drill. It is raw- 

 hide of seal or other animals. The handles have a primitive appear- 

 ance; they are nearly always made of bears' teeth, hollow bones, or 

 bits of wood. Sometimes handles are dispensed with. Warren K. 

 Moorhead found some perforated teeth in an Ohio mound that in every 

 respect resemble the Eskimo cord handles. They have also been found 

 in caves in Europe decorated with concentric circles like those on the 

 Eskimo specimens. 



The bows are among the most striking specimens from this people. 

 They are pared down with great waste from the tusks of the walrus, 

 taking the graceful curve of the tusk. The Museum possesses one 

 24^/^ inches long. It is on their decoration that the Eskimo lavishes 

 his utmost art. The bow does not lend itself well to sculpture as does 

 the mouthpiece, so he covers the smooth ivory with the most graphic 

 and truthful engravings of scenes in the active hunting life in the 

 Arctic, or he tallies on it the pictures of the reindeer, whales, seals and 

 other animals that he has killed. 



Professor Baird was interested more with these bows than with any 

 other Eskimo products, and desired to have them figured and studied. 



The distribution of the bow is remarkable. It is not found south 

 of Norton Sound, but extends north and east as far as the Eskimo 

 range. The Chukchis use it,^® but the Ostyaks use the ancient breast 

 drill.30 



The bow is used by individuals in boring holes. It is presumed that 

 its use as a fire-making tool is secondary, the cord and handles being 

 the older. The difficulty of making fire is greatly increased when one 

 man attempts to make it with the compound drill; at the critical 

 moment the dust will fail to ignite; besides, there is no need of one 

 man making fire; a thing that is for the common good will be shared 

 by all. Hence the cord with handles, which usually requires that 

 two men should work at the drill, is as a rule used by the Eskimo. 



Though the Sioux, and some other North American tribes, made 

 use of the bow to increase the speed of the drill, they did not use the 

 thong with handles, nor was the bow common even in tribes of the 



"Nordenskiold. Voyage of the T^ejfo, vol. 2, p. 121, London, 1881. '.i-ri) -^li i .1/1 



•"Seebohm. Siberia in Asia, p. 109. 



86374—28 5 



