68 
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA 
one end can be held down by the feet and the other by sitting 
on it. The stick of wood is split in half and placed on the 
ground with the rounded side down and the split side with the 
the pith groove up. The latter serves as the track in which a 
smaller, flat-pointed stick of the same kind of wood (in some 
cases a piece of harder wood is used) is rubbed rapidly back 
and forth. At the start it may be necessary to hold the rubbing 
stick at a low angle until a good groove is made, one about 5 
or 6 inches in length. As soon as the groove is formed the 
stick is tilted to a 40° to 45° angle and the rubbing continued 
with gradually increasing speed and a strong downward pres- 
sure. Wood dust collects at the point of the rubbing stick and 
as the backward and forward movement continues the dust 
chars, smoke appears, and a glowing spark develops. Care 
must be taken not to carry the stroke too far forward and 
scatter the pile of dust. Friction is the important factor and 
to obtain it rapid movement is essential. The faster you work 
the rubbing stick the greater the likelihood that you will get out 
of the groove and lose the accumulation of hot wood dust, hence 
the need to concentrate on the matter of stopping the forward 
stroke at the proper place. Once you have produced the 
smouldering spark or ember it is necessary to nurse the spark 
into flame with tinder as in the case of the fire thong. 
Another method of obtaining the first glowing ember is by 
m’eans of a two-stick fire drill (Fig. 15). This system has been 
world-wide in its distribution, but is probably one of the most 
difficult to master. For a drill get a straight, seasoned stick or 
plant stalk 1 from one-fourth to five-eights inch in diameter 
and 15 to 30 inches in length. Round oft the ends ; don’t make 
sharp points on them. Then find a dry, dead branch to make 
