SEEDoGEs| FIRE MAKING. 291 
I had no opportunity of seeing this drill manipulated, but I have con- 
vineed myself by experiment that the stick or “ light-stock,” to use Nor- 
denskiéld’s expression, must be held down by one foot, the workman 
kneeling on the other knee. 
Flint and steel.—Fire is usually obtained nowadays by striking a 
spark in the ordinary method from a bit of flint with a steel, usually a 
bit of some white man’s tool. Both are carried, as in Dr. Simpsons time, 
in a little bag slung around the neck, along with some tinder made of 
the down of willow catkins mixed with charcoal or perhaps gunpowder. 
The flints usually carried for lighting the pipe, the only ones I have seen, 
are very small, and only a tiny fragment of tinder is lighted which is 
placed on the tobacco. Lucifer matches (kilaksagau) were eagerly 
begged, but they did not appear to care enough for them to purchase 
them. Our friend Nikawaalu, from whom we obtained much information 
about the ancient customs of these people, told us that long ago, “when 
there was no iron and no flint”—*savik pinmut, 4nma pinmtt”!—they 
used to get “ereat fire” by striking together two pieces of iron pyrites. 
Dr. Simpson speaks? of two lumps of iron pyrites being used for striking 
fire, but he does not make it clear whether he saw this at Point Barrow 
or only at Kotzebue Sound. Iron pyrites appears to have been used 
quite generally among the Eskimo. Bessels saw it used with quartz 
at Smith Sound, with willow catkins for tinder* and Lyon mentions the 
use of two pieces of the same material, with the same 
kind of tinder, at Iglulik.* Willow catkins are also 
used for tinder at the Coppermine River.° 
No. 89825 [1133 and 1722] are some of the catkins 
used for making the tinder, which were gathered in 
considerable quantities at the rivers. They are called 
kimmiuru, which perhaps means ‘little dogs,” 
say ‘‘catkins” or ‘‘ pussy willows.” 
Kindlings.—From the same place they also brought 
home willow twigs, 9 inches long, and tied with sinews 
into bunches or fagots of about a dozen or a dozen 
and a halfeach, which they said were used for kindling 
fires. (No. 89824 [1725].) 
Bow-and-arrow making.—A complete set of bow- 
and-arrow tools consists of 4 pieces, viz: a marline f 
spike, two twisters, and a feather setter, as shown in — Fie. 283.—Set of bow- 
Fig. 283, No. 89465 [962], from Utkiavwin. The ®24arrow tools. 
pieces of this set are perforated and strung on a piece of sinew braid, 
4 inches long, with a knot at each end. 
The Marline spike.—This is a flat, four-sided rod of walrus ivory, 5-6 
as we 
‘Compare this with Dr. Simpson's statement, quoted above, that stones for arrowheads were brought 
by the Nunatanmiun from the Ku’whk River. 
2 Op. cit., p. 243. 
3 Naturalist, vol. 18, pt. 9, p. 867. 
4Journal, pp. 210 and 231. 
6 Franklin, First Exped., vol. 2, p. 188 
