THE MATERIAL SIDES OF LIFE 103 
outrigger vessel. Some, which were really ships, carried 
a hundred rowers and thirty fighting men. They were 
of course built up of planks, while smaller examples 
were dug out of a log. All but the smallest canoes were 
provided with two outriggers—stout bamboos or light 
logs extending parallel with the hull but held at some 
distance from it by a bamboo framework. The out- 
riggers made the boat absolutely impossible to overturn. 
Even a vessel entirely filled with water could not capsize, 
nor, being built wholly of floatable materials, could it 
sink. Wooden pegs and rattan lashings held the parts 
together. On the larger war vessels, a platform raised 
above the middle length of the hull served the fighters; 
and these in turn were protected by an awning of mats. 
The mast, or sometimes two, could be shipped or 
lowered with the sail, which in former times was prob- 
ably of matting. Paddles were also used for propulsion. 
The draft was very shallow, allowing even the larger 
boats to be drawn up on shore over night or on occasion. 
With such vessels the Moros long practised piracy and 
contested control of the southern seas with the Span- 
iards. A complete boat of this type, though smaller 
than the war praos, is exhibited in the collection. 
Fire=-Making. The Filipinos, like most natives 
that possess bamboo, did not employ the firedrill, which 
is most practical in wood, but used the fire-saw to pro- 
duce combustion by friction. This saw consists of a 
bamboo edge rubbed back and forth in a notch in a 
horizontal piece. The siliceous particles contained in 
the bamboo increase friction and usually ensure the 
prompt production of a spark. 
Another method, seemingly restricted to Palawan, is 
to draw a rattan cord through a notch cut on the under 
side of a stick or slab of bamboo held down with the 
foot. This plan allows the full lift of the back to be 
