187a] 



E. Maclagan — On Early Asiatic Fire Weapons. 



m 



for this purpose, in very early times, with fire-arrows. * And in connection 

 with the use of naphtha tubes in war, it is not uninteresting to notice the 

 employment of canes for naphtha and Inflammable gas for economic pur- 

 poses. Humboldt, in his account of the Ho-tsing or fire-wells of China,f 

 and of th<? rope-loring for water, salt, and combustible gas, which is prac- 

 tised " from the south-west provinces of Yun-nan, Kuang-si, and Szu-tchuan 

 on the borders of Tibet to the northern province of Shan-si", says " the gas 

 burns with a reddish flame, and often diffuses a bituminous smell ; it is con- 

 veyed to a distance, sometimes through pipes of bamboo, sometimes in por- 

 table tubes, also of bamboo, to be used in salt works, in warming houses, or 

 In lighting streets. "£ Also for cooking food, as mentioned in an old ac- 

 count by a Chinese writer,§ and for other purposes. |j Hue, describing 

 these fire wells, says " a little tube of bamboo closes the opening of the well 5 

 and conducts the inflammable air to where it is required ; it is then kindled 

 with a taper, and burns continuously."^ In an old review article in the 

 AthencBwn mention is made of an account in the Lettres JEdifiantes of oil 



* Halhed's Genfoo Laws. Introduction, p. 50. See also Moor's Hindu Pantheon, 

 p, 299, and As. Researches, I, 264. 



f Asie Centrale, II, 519-540. Cosmos (Sabine's transl.), IV, 216. 

 X Here, perhaps, we have the original vdpdrj^ of Prometheus, 



The secret fount of fire 

 I sought, and found, and in a reed concealed it, 

 Whence arts have sprung to men, and life hath drawn 

 Rich store of comforts. (Prom. VincU 107. Prof. Blackie's translation). 



Sore ills to man devised the heavenly sire, 

 And hid the shining element of fire. 

 Prometheus then, benevolent of soul, 

 In hollow reed the spark recovering stole. 



* * * * 



The far seen splendour in a hollow reed 

 He stole of inexhaustible flame. 



(Hesiodhj Elton. Ancient Classics for English Readers, pp. 24-92 ). 



§ " In all parts of this Province (Shan-si) are found fiery wells which very con- 

 veniently serve for the boiling of their victuals." (Description of China, by Dionysius 

 Kao, appended to Ysbrants Ides' Travels, A. D. 1692, p. 125). 



|| " On utilise ces feux naturels pour la cuisson de la chaux, des briques, &c." Beu- 

 dant, Miner alogie, p. 23 3. 



IT Chinese Empire, Chap. VII. The practice is mentioned also by Sir John Davis. 

 {The Chinese, p, 336). And at some of the American oil wells the same method is fol- 

 lowed at the present day. " Some of the pumping engines generate steam by the aid of 

 the combustible gas that is so commonly associated with the petroleum, it being only 

 necessary to conduct it by a pipe from the tanks in which the oil accumulates to the 

 furnace of the engine/' (Prof, H. Draper of New York. Quarterly Journal of Science, 

 London, 1865, II, 49.) 





