McoEE) GENESIS OF THE ARROW 199* 



akin in function even in the superficial view of tbe Caucasian,' and are 

 nmch more closely related in primitive thought — indeed the tire-drill is 

 but a featherless and nockless arrow, with the foreshaft charred at its 

 tire- giving tip; and all are closely linked in language and allied with 

 other terms in such wise as practically to establish identity among them 

 in the thinking of their lowly makers (though unfortunately the incom- 

 plete vocabularies extant are insufficient for full stvidy of the linguistic 

 homologies). Briefly the indications are that the harpoon was the pri- 

 mary device, and that its foreshaft was a tooth of an aquatic fish-oater 

 like the seal, or perchance in some cases an os penis; that its lineal suc- 

 cessor was a loose- head lance for use on sea and land, at first with the 

 unaided hand and later with the atlatl, or throwing-stick (the lance 

 being now extinct, though recorded by early visitors to Seriland); that 

 the next artifact-generation in the direct line was represented by the 

 arrow, foreshafted with hard wood or tooth, made light and graceful 

 and loose headed or not, according to needs, and by the substitution of 

 bow for atlatl; and that a somewhat aberrant line was marked by the 

 taming of fire, its reproduction by the modified arrow, and the differ- 

 entiation of fire-stick from arrow and either atlatl or bow. 



In tracing these stages in technologic growth, it is to be remembered 

 that the Seri are so primitive as to betray some of the very beginnings 

 of acti vital concepts; that to them zoic potencies are the paramount 

 powers of the cosmos; that in their simple thought fire is a bestial 

 rather than a physical phenomenon; that in their naive philosophy the 

 production of devouring tlame is of a kind with vital birth and a simil- 

 itude of sexual reproduction; and that according to their notions the 

 conquest of quarry, including fire, is made practicable only by aid of 

 the mystical potencies of beasts and flames gained through invocatory 

 use of symbols or actual organs. 



In the Seri tongue the term "fire drill" is Icaal;, an indefinite generic 

 meaning "kind" or "strong kind", with an egocentric connotation 

 ("Our-Strong-Kiiid"), as in the proper tribal designation Kim-Jcaak or 

 Km-laal;; while the term for the nether fire-stick or hearth is either 

 maam ("woman", or more iiroperly "mother"), or else (and more com- 

 monly) kaalc-maam, which may be rendered " Kind Mother" — the " Kind", 

 as among primitive folk generally, comprising both men and tutelary 

 beasts, and in this case tire as the most uaysterious of the beasts; there 

 is thus a suggestive analogy between the designation for the tire-pro- 

 ducing apparatus and that for the tribe itself. It should be noted that 

 the zoic concept of tire is widespread among the more primitive peoples 

 of various provinces, and sometimes persists in recognizable form in 

 higher culture (witness the fire-breathing dragons of various mytholo- 

 gies, the "Red Flower" notion gathered in India by Kipling, etc); also 

 that the ascription of sex to the fire sticks is prevalent among ISTorth 

 American tribes, and at once helps to interpret the development of the 

 fire-drill, tire-syringe, and other primitive devices, such, for example, as 



