654 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. 



Mr. K. W. Fclkiii*, in a study of the Maidu or Morn negroes of 

 Central Africa, .5^ north latitude, 30° 20' east lougitnde, describes the 

 fire-making of that tribe. He saj'S that one piece of wood about the 

 size and shape of a large pencil is rotated in a hole in a flat i)iece of 

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

 in turn to rotate the stick. This article of Mr. Felkiu's is commended to 

 ethnologists as a model ethnologic study in method and research. 



That veteran and renowned explorer, Dr. Schweinfurth, gives the 

 following: 



The nietliod of obtaiuuig fire, practiced alike by the natives of the Nile lands and 

 of the adjacent country in the Welle system, consists simply in rubbing together two 

 hard sticks at right-angles to one another till a spark is emitted. The hard twigs of 

 the Anona senegalensis are usually selected for the purpose. Underneath them is placed 

 either a stone or something upon which a little pile of embers has been laid ; the 

 friction of the upper piece of wood wears a hole in the lower, and soon a spark is 

 caught by the ashes and is fanned into a flame with dry grass, which is swung to and 

 fro to cause a draught, the whole proceeding being a marvel which might well-nigh 

 eclipse the magic of my lucifer matches.t 



Kaffir fire-making is described in some detail in the following: 



The KafSr blacksmith never need trouble himself about the means of obtaining a 

 fire. Should he set up his forge in the vicinity of a Kraal, the simplest plan is to 

 seud his assistant for a tire-brand from one of the huts. But if he should prefer, as 

 is often the case, to work at some distance from the huts, he can procure fire with 

 perfect certainty, though not without some labor. He first procures two sticks, one 

 of them taken from a soft-wood tree and the other from an acacia or some other tree 

 that furnishes a hard wood. Of course both sticks must be thoroughly dry, a condi- 

 tion about which there is little difficulty in so hot a climate. His next care is to 

 shape one end of the hard stick into a point and to bore a suiall hole in the middle of 

 the soft stick. He now squats down * * * places the poiuted tip of the hard 

 stick in the hole of the soft stick, and, taking the former between his hands, twirls 

 it backwards and forwards with extreaie rapidity. As he goes on the hole becomes 

 enlarged and a small quantity of very fiue dust falls into it, being rubbed away by 

 the friction. Presently the dust is seen to darken in color, then to become nearly 

 black, .and presently a very slight smoke is seen to rise. The Kaffir now redoubles 

 his efforts; he aids the effect of the revolving stick by his breath, and in a few more 

 seconds the dust bursts into a flame. The exertion required by this operation is very 

 severe, and by the time the fire manifests itself the producer is bathed in perspiration. 



Usually two men at least take part in fire-making, and by dividing the labor 

 very much shorten the process. It is evident that if the perpendicular stick be thus 

 worked, the hands must gradually slide down until they reach the point. The soli- 

 tary Kaffir would then be obliged to stop the stick, shift his hands to the top, and 

 begin again, thus losing much valuable time. But when two Kaffirs unite in fire- 

 making, one sits opposite the other, and as soon as he sees that his comrade's hands 

 have nearly woiked themselves down to the bottom of the stick he places his own 

 hands on the top, continues the movement, and relieves his friend. Thus the move- 

 ment of the stick is never checked for a moment, and the operation is consequently 

 hastened. Moreover, considerable assistance is given by the second Kaffir keeping 

 the dust properly arranged round the point of the stick and by taking the part of the 

 bellows, so as to allow his comrade to expend all his strength in twirling.t 



* Proc. Royal Soc. Edinburgh. Session of 1883-'84. p. 309. 



t Schweinfurth.— The Heart of Africa. New York, 1874. i, 531, 532. 



I J. G. Wood.— The Natural History of Man. i, p. 101. 



