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NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



seconds the drill point smokes, while a brown powder scorched from 

 the fraying wood rises around the revolving spindle end and rolls 

 down the notch. If all goes well this dust should ignite into a spark 

 in about a minute. Blow this against dry punk (a locust tree 

 fungus) and fan the latter into flame against fine vegetable fiber, 

 such as frayed cedar bark, leaves and grass. Thus working you 

 make "wild fire" after the ancient method of the Penobscots 

 (according to the late Chief Joseph Nicolar of Old Town, Maine), 

 Iroquois and Siberian Chuckchis. Mercer, p.26 



Mr L. H. Morgan gives an account of this in the League of the 

 Iroquois. As the new edition of this work embodies some valuable 

 matter heretofore accessible only in the reports of the State Museum, 

 it will be more convenient to refer to this edition. Mr Morgan 

 thus described the da-ya-ya-da-ga' -nea-ta, or fire drill. 



It consisted of an upright shaft about 4 feet in length, and an 

 inch in diameter, with a small wheel set upon the lower part, to 

 give it momentum. In a notch at the top of the shaft was set a 

 string, attached to a bow about 3 feet in length. The lower point 

 rested upon a block of dry wood, near which are placed small pieces 

 of punk. When ready to use, the string is first coiled around the 

 shaft, by turning it with the hand. The bow is then pulled down- 

 wards, thus uncoiling the string, and revolving the shaft towards 

 the left. By the momentum given to the wheel, the string is again 

 coiled up in a reverse manner and the bow again drawn up. The 

 bow is again pulled downwards, and the revolution of the shaft 

 reversed, uncoiling the string, and recoiling it as before. This 

 alternate revolution of the shaft is continued until sparks are emitted 

 from the point where it rests upon the piece of dry wood below. 

 Sparks are produced in a few moments by the intensity of the fric- 

 tion, and ignite the punk, which speedily furnishes a fire. Morgan, 

 2 :40 



Mr Morgan erred in saying this " was the only method of creating 

 fire known to the red man." The Mohawks rubbed two dry sticks 

 together for this, and used flint for striking fire at a very early day, 

 having their common name of Kanienga from kanien, flint. With 

 this is associated the use of this stone in producing sparks, its name 

 being apparently derived from that for fire. From their early pos- 

 session of the fire steel, perhaps while still in Canada, they adopted 

 it as their national symbol, and were represented by this on the 

 record of the treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768. In describing the 



