The arts of the Eskimo yield more satisfactory results to students of
comparative ethnology than those of any other people.
In all their range the culture is uniform; one finds this fact forced
upon his observation who has examined the series of specimens in the
National Museum, where they are arranged in order by localities from
Labrador to southern Alaska. Prof. Otis T. Mason’s paper on Eskimo
throwing-sticks[29] gave a new interpretation to this fact and
powerfully forwarded the study of ethnology by showing the
classificatory value of the distribution of an art.
Professor Mason points out that though the Eskimo culture is uniform in
general, in particular the arts show the modification wrought by
surroundings and isolation—tribal individuality, it may be called—and
admit of the arrangement of this people into a number of groups that
have been subjected to these influences.
The Eskimo fire-making tools in the Museum admit of an ethnographic
arrangement, but in this paper it is not found necessary to make a close
study of this kind. From every locality whence the Museum possesses a
complete typical set, it has been figured and described.
The Eskimo are not singular in using a four-part apparatus, but are
singular in the method of using it. The mouth-piece is the peculiar
feature that is found nowhere else.
The drilling and fire-making set consists of four parts, viz:
The mouth-piece,—sometimes a mere block of wood, ivory, or even the
simple concave vertebra of a fish, or the astragalus of a caribou. More
often, they show great skill and care in their workmanship, being carved
with truth to resemble bear, seals, whales, and walrus. The seal is the
most common subject. The upper part is almost always worked out into a
block, forming a grip for the teeth. The extent to which some of these
are chewed attests the power of the Eskimo jaw. Frequently the piece is
intended to be held in the hand, or in both hands, hence it has no teeth
grip. In the under part is set a piece of stone, in which is hollowed
out a cup-shaped cavity to hold the head of the drill. These stones seem
to be selected as much for their appearance as for their anti-friction
qualities. They use beautifully-mottled stone, marble, obsidian, and
ringed concretions.
The drill is always a short spindle, thicker than any other drill in the
world. It is frequently of the same kind of wood as the hearth.
The thong is the usual accompaniment of the fire drill. It is rawhide of
seal or other animals. The handles have a primitive appearance; they are
nearly always made of bears’ teeth, hollow bones, or bits of wood.
Sometimes handles are dispensed with. Mr. Warren K. Moorhead found some
perforated teeth in an Ohio mound that in every respect resemble the
Eskimo cord handles. They have also been found in caves in Europe
decorated with concentric circles like those on the Eskimo specimens.
The bows are among the most striking specimens from this people. They
are pared down with great waste from the tusks of the walrus, taking the
graceful curve of the tusk. The Museum possesses one 24½ inches long. It
is on their decoration that the Eskimo lavishes his utmost art. The bow
does not lend itself well to sculpture, as does the mouth-piece; so he
covers the smooth ivory with the most graphic and truthful engravings of
scenes in the active hunting life in the Arctic, or he tallies on it the
pictures of the reindeer, whales, seals, and other animals that he has
killed.
Professor Baird was interested more with these bows than with any other
Eskimo products, and desired to have them figured and studied.
The distribution of the bow is remarkable. It is not found south of
Norton Sound, but extends north and east as far as the Eskimo range. The
Chukchis use it,[30] but the Ostyaks use the ancient breast drill.[31]
The bow is used by individuals in boring holes. It is presumed that its
use as a fire-making tool is secondary, the cord and handles being the
older. The difficulty of making fire is greatly increased when one man
attempts to make it with the compound drill; at the critical moment the
dust will fail to ignite; besides, there is no need of one man making
fire; a thing that is for the common good will be shared by all. Hence
the cord with handles, which usually requires that two men should work
at the drill, is as a rule used by the Eskimo.
Though the Sioux, and some other North American tribes, made use of the
bow to increase the speed of the drill, they did not use the thong with
handles, nor was the bow common even in tribes of the Siouan stock that
had attained to its use (see remarks p. 549). The bow may be termed a
more advanced invention, allowing one man with ease to bore holes.
The hearth is made of any suitable wood. It is commonly stepped and has
slots. The central hole with groove is also found. These hearths are
preserved carefully, and fire has been made on some of them many times.
The distribution of the central-hole hearth (see fig. 21, pl. LXXIV),
and the slot-and-step hearth (see fig. 36), is rather striking. The
central holes are found in the specimens observed from the north coast
of Alaska, Insular British America, and Greenland, exclusively. The
stepped hearth with edge holes and slots is by far the more common in
western Alaska, though the other method crops out occasionally; both
ways are sometimes used in the same tribe. More often, the central holes
are bored on a groove (fig. 34), which collects the ground-off particles
and facilitates ignition. Rarely fire is made by working the drill on a
plane surface, in single, non-connecting holes.
Plate LXXIV.
[Illustration: Figs. 21, 22. Fire-making Set and Extra Hearth.
Cat. No. 10258, U. S. N. M. Frobisher Bay. Collected by Capt. C. F.
Hall.]
[Illustration: Fig. 22.]
[Illustration: Fig. 23. Moss in a Leathern Case.
Cat. No. 10191, U. S. N. M. Collected by Capt. C. F. Hall.]
[Illustration: Fig. 24. Boring-set.
Cat. No. 34114, U. S. N. M. Cumberland Gulf. Collected by L.
Kumlein.]
The difference between these features is, that it is found to be more
difficult to get fire by a single hole without groove, or slot, than
when the latter features are added. The powder forms a ring around the
edge of the hole, is liable to be dispersed, and does not get together
in sufficient amount to reach the requisite heat for ignition. Of course
this is obviated when a second hole is bored connecting with the first,
when the latter becomes a receptacle for the powder.
It is found that these different ways are due to environmental
modification, showing itself as remarkably in fire-making, as in any
other Eskimo art. Both the stepped and central-hole hearth are different
devices for the same end. The step on the hearth is to keep the pellet
of glowing powder from falling off into the snow, so universal in
Eskimo-land; hence, the simple hearth of primitive times and peoples of
warmer climates has received this addition. The same reason caused the
Eskimo to bore the holes in the middle of the block.
By following the distribution of the center hole method, a clew may
perhaps be gotten to the migrations of the Eskimo.
From Labrador to Norton Sound, by the collections in the Museum, the
center hole is alone used; south of Norton Sound both methods prevail,
with a preponderance of the stepped-hearth species. The step seems to be
an addition to the Indian hearth; the center is an independent
invention.
The operation of the drill is well told in the oft-quoted description by
Sir. E. Belcher. The writer can attest to the additional statement, that
the teeth of civilized man can scarcely stand the shock. He says:
“The thong of the drill bow being passed twice around the drill, the
upper end is steadied by a mouth-piece of wood, having a piece of the
same stone imbedded, with a counter-sunk cavity. This, held firmly
between the teeth, directs the tool. Any workman would be astonished
at the performance of this tool on ivory; but having once tried it
myself, I found the jar or vibration on the jaws, head, and brain,
quite enough to prevent my repeating it.”[32]
The ethnographical study of the Eskimo fire-drill begins with Labrador,
including Greenland and following the distribution of the people among
the islands and around the North American coast, to Kadiak Island and
the Aleutian chain. The following is an interesting account from
Labrador, showing what a man would do in the exigency:
He cut a stout stick from a neighboring larch, and taking out the
leather thong with which his moccasins were tied, made a short bow and
strung it. He then searched for a piece of dry wood, and having found
it, cut it into shape, sharpened both ends, and twisted it once around
the bowstring; he then took a bit of fungus from his pocket and put it
into a little hole which he made in another dry piece of wood with the
point of the knife. A third piece of dry wood was fashioned into a
handle for his drill.[33]
Eskimo in other localities often use such make-shifts. Cup cavities are
often observed in the handles of knives and other bone and ivory tools
where they have used them for heads of the fire-drill.
Cumberland Gulf is the next locality to the northward. There are several
specimens in the collection from this part of Baffin Land, procured by
the famous explorer, Captain Hall, and the less known, but equally
indefatigable Kumlein. The fire-making implements from Cumberland Gulf
have a markedly different appearance from those of any other locality in
the Eskimo area. They have a crude look, and there is a paucity of
ornamention unusual among this people. The drill bow is one of the
things which the Eskimo usually decorates, but these bows have not even
a scratch.
It can be inferred that in Baffin Land, more unfavorable conditions
prevail than in southern Alaska. It must be this cause coupled with poor
food supply, that have conspired to make them the most wretched of the
Eskimo.
The hearth (fig. 21, pl. LXXIV) is of drift oak. It was collected at
Frobisher Bay by Capt. Charles F. Hall. It has central holes, and
appears to be very unfavorable wood for fire-making. The block hearth is
also from Frobisher Bay (fig. 22, pl. LXXIV). It is an old piece of
hemlock, with two central communicating holes. The mouth-piece is a
block of ivory. Another mouth-piece is a bit of hard wood soaked in oil;
it was used with a bone drill having an iron point. A very small, rude
bow goes with this set (fig. 24).
[Illustration: Fig 25. Fire-making Set.
(Angmagsalik Eskimo, E. Greenland. Copied from G. Holm’s Ethnologisk
of Angmagsalikerne, 1887.)]
Our knowledge of eastern Greenland has been very much increased by the
explorations of Holm and Garde, who reached a village on the east coast
never before visited by a white man. Extensive collections were made,
both of information and specimens. In reference to fire-making, Mr. Holm
reports:
“They make fire by turning a hard stick, of which the socket end is
dipped in train oil, very rapidly around by means of a sealskin thong
with handles. This stick is fixed at one end into a head set with
bone, and the other end is pressed down into a cavity on the lower
piece of wood (fig. 25). Therefore there must be two persons in order
to make a fire. One turns the drill with the cord, while the other
presses it down on the hearth; both support the block with their feet.
As soon as the dust begins to burn they fan it with the hand. When it
is ignited, they take it and put it into dried moss (_sphagnum_), blow
it, and soon get a blaze. In this way they make a fire in an
incredibly short time.”[34]
In the preliminary report, Mr. Holm gives the time at almost less than
half a minute. It was made by the Eskimo, Illinguaki, and his wife, who,
on being presented with a box of matches, gave up their drill, saying
that they had no farther use for it.
In the same report Mr. Holm gives an interesting note. He says:
This fire apparatus is certainly better developed than that which has
been described and drawn by Nordenskiöld from the Chukchis (Voy. of
the _Vega_, II, p. 126). The principle is the same as the
Greenlander’s drill, which they employ for making holes in wood and
bone, and which is furnished with a bow and mouth-piece.[35] (fig.
26.)
[Illustration: Fig. 26. Boring Set.
(Angmagsalik Eskimo, E. Greenland. G. Holm’s Ethnologisk of
Angmagsalikerne.)]
The central holes of this hearth are worthy of note, occurring in the
farthest eastern locality of the Eskimo, and in Labrador.
_Western Greenland._—The material in the Museum from western Greenland
is very scanty. The southern coast has been settled for so long a time
that the Eskimo and many of their arts have almost become extinct. No
view of fire-making in Greenland would be complete without Davis’s
quaint description of it, made three hundred years ago, but it was the
upper end of the spindle that was wet in Trane. A Greenlander “begaune
to kindle a fire in this manner: He tooke a piece of a boord wherein was
a hole half thorow; into that hole he puts the end of a round sticke
like unto a bedstaffe, wetting the end thereof in Trane, and in a
fashion of a turner with a piece of lether, by his violent motion doeth
very speedily produce fire.”[36]
Eskimo graves and village sites yield evidence also that the fire-making
tools were not different from those at present used higher north along
the coast, and on the east coast.
Dr. Bessels, speaking of Itah Eskimo of Foulke Fiord in Smith Sound,
says: “The catkins of the arctic willow are used as tinder to catch the
sparks produced by grinding two pieces of stone. Also the widely
diffused ‘fire-drill’ is found here; the spindle is held between a piece
of bone and a fragment of semi-decayed wood, and is set in motion by the
well-known bow, and is turned until the wood begins to ignite.”[37]
The “fire-bag” is an accompaniment to all sorts of fire-making
apparatus. The fire-bag shown (fig. 27, pl. LXXV) was collected by
Captain Hall, at Holsteinberg, western Greenland in 1860. It is made of
sealskin, and is a good specimen of the excellent needlework of these
Eskimo. It was used to carry, more especially, the fire-drill and tinder
which require to be kept very dry.
There is a wide gap in the collections of the Museum between the
locality of the specimen just mentioned, and the fire hearth from the
Mackenzie River (fig. 28). This specimen is from Fort Simpson
presumably, where B. R. Ross collected. It is said to be difficult to
discriminate the Eskimo from the Indian on the lower Mackenzie. This
hearth may be Indian, as it has that appearance; besides, no Eskimo
hearth yet observed has side holes and slots like this without the step.
The Indians of this region are of the great Athapascan stock of the
North. The close resemblance of this stick to the one from the Washoans
of Nevada has been commented upon. (See fig. 6, p. 537.)
There is also a very fine old central-hole hearth from the Mackenzie
River, collected also by Mr. Ross. It is a rough billet of branch wood,
cut apparently with an axe, or hatchet (fig. 29). It is semi-decayed and
worm-eaten. It has ten central holes where fire has been made; they are
quite deep, forming a gutter in the middle of the hearth. There is, as
can be seen, no need of a groove, as the dust falls over into the next
hole, collects in a mass, and ignites.
[Illustration: Fig. 28. Lower Part of Fire-making Set (on one end is
gum for cement).
(Cat. No. 1978, U. S. N. M. Mackenzie River, B. C. Collected by B.
R. Ross.)]
[Illustration: Fig. 29. Lower Part of Fire-making Set.
(Cat. No. 1963, U. S. N. M. Eskimo of Mackenzie River, B. C.
Collected by B. R. Ross.)]
Plate LXXV.
[Illustration: Fig. 27. Fire-bag.
Cat. No. 10128, U. S. N. M. Eskimo of Holsteinberg, West Greenland.
Collected by Capt. C. F. Hall.]
The Anderson River set is a very complete and interesting outfit. It was
collected many years ago by C. P. Gaudet. The parts are small for
convenience of carrying. It is the custom of those who live in
snow-covered regions to wrap the drill and hearth together very
carefully to keep them dry, as these are the essential parts of the
apparatus. It does not matter about the mouth-piece or bow. In this
example there is a groove cut along the bottom of the hearth in order to
facilitate tying the drill and hearth securely together. The hearth is a
square block of soft wood with three central holes (fig. 30).
The other parts of this set are also worthy of consideration. The
mouth-piece is set with a square piece of black stone. The part held in
the mouth is very much chewed. One of the wings has a hole for tying, as
has the hearth.
This is an usual Eskimo precaution to prevent small objects from being
lost in the snow. The drill is short, being only 7 inches long. The bow
is the fibula of a deer, pierced at each end for the frayed thong of
sealskin. It has a primitive look, but it admirably serves its purpose.
The Point Barrow set was collected by the most successful expedition
under charge of Lieut. P. H. Ray, U. S. Army. The knuckle-bone of a deer
serves as a mouth-piece, the cup cavity and its general shape fitting it
for the purpose admirably.
[Illustration: Fig. 30. Fire-making Set.
(Cat. No. 1327 U. S. N. M. Eskimo of Anderson River, B. C. Collected
by C. P. Gaudet.)]
The drill is regularly made of light pine wood; it is slightly smaller
in the middle. The hearth is a rudely rounded piece of pine. A fragment
has been split off, and on this surface a groove has been cut and three
fire-holes bored along it. The thong is without handles; it is used to
tie the parts together when they are not in use. A bunch of willow
twigs, the down of which is used as tinder, is also shown (fig. 31).
This set is especially interesting, because it shows the degeneration of
an art. The fire-drill is so rarely used at Point Barrow, Mr. John
Murdoch says, that it was not possible to get a full set devoted to that
purpose. Those here shown are a make-shift. The method only survives by
the conservatism of a few old men of the tribe, who still cling to old
usages. One of these made the drill for Lieutenant Ray, telling him that
it was the kind used in old times. It seems primitive enough; the
knuckle-bone might well have been the first mouth-piece. The Eskimo
farther east sometimes use a fish vertebra for the same purpose; one
from the Anderson River has this. The cord without handles is
undoubtedly the earliest form also.
The small wooden and bone mouth-pieces of the Eskimo east of Point
Barrow to Cumberland Gulf seem to be copies of the deer knuckle-bone.
Another primitive adaptation is found in an Anderson River bow, which is
made of the fibula of a deer (see fig. 30).
The fire-making drill collected from the Chukchis by the _Vega_
expedition in the Cape Wankerem region, in northeastern Siberia, about
the same latitude as Point Barrow, is figured in Nordenskiöld’s
Report.[38] It is worked by a bow, and the drill turns in a mouth-piece
of a deer astragalus like the Point Barrow specimen. The block has
central holes, with short grooves running into each one.
[Illustration: Fig. 31. Fire-making Set (with mouth-piece of deer’s
knuckle-bone, thong, and tinder of willow catkins).
(Cat. No. 89822. U. S. N. M. Eskimo of Point Barrow, Alaska.
Collected by Lieut. P. H. Ray, U. S. A.)]
Nordenskiöld’s description of the manner of making fire is very
detailed. He records that the “women appear to be more accustomed than
the men to the use of this implement.”
He gives also a most interesting observation on the use of a weighted
pump drill among the Chukchis. The Chukchis also use flint and
steel.[39]
The drilling set from Point Barrow (pl. LXXVI, fig. 32), will show the
appearance of the parts of the fire-drill if we substitute the round
stick for the flint drill. Some of the old drill stocks are pointed with
finely chipped flint heads. The length of these points varies from 2 to
4 inches; the transverse section of one would be a parabola. They are in
general more finely wrought than any of the prehistoric drills found in
various localities all over the world. Prehistoric man was an adept in
the art of drilling stone, bone, and shell; the stone tubes, some of
them 18 inches long, bored very truly, are triumphs of the American
Indians. Without doubt the prehistoric drill points were mounted like
the Eskimo specimen, and were, perhaps, twirled between the hands, the
almost universal method of using the fire-drill. Japanese carpenters
drill holes in this way.
The winged mouth-piece is also a good example of workmanship. It is set
with a mottled, homogeneous stone that is tolerably soft, which gives a
minimum friction. This stone is much affected by the tribes over quite
an extent of coast for labrets, etc. It is probably an article of trade
as are flints. The bow is of walrus tusk, accurately made, but poorly
engraved in comparison with the life-like art work of the southern
Eskimo.
Another drilling set is from Sledge Island (pl. LXXVII, fig. 33). The
Museum has no fire-making specimen from this locality. The drill stock
is set with a point of jadeite lashed in with sinew cord. The bow is of
walrus ivory; it is rounded on the belly and flat on the back. All
Eskimo bows of ivory have a like curve, no doubt determined by the shape
of the walrus tusk. In another, the most common form of the bow, its
section is nearly an isosceles triangle, one angle coming in the center
of the belly of the bow. The head is intended to be held in one or both
hands; it agrees in form with the rude St. Lawrence Island heads.
Mr. E. W. Nelson collected at Unalakleet, in Norton Sound, a fire-drill,
and the native names of the parts. The name of the set is
_ŏŏ-jŏŏ-gŭ-tat_; the mouth-piece, _nă-ghŏŏ-tuk_; the drill,
_ŏŏ-jŏŏ-ga-tuk_; the hearth of tinder-wood, _athl-uk_; the bow,
_arshu-lŏw-shuk-pish-ik-sin-uk_.
Plate LXXVI.
[Illustration: Fig. 32. Boring-set.
Cat. Nos. 89400, 89424, and 89630, U. S. N. M. Point Barrow, Alaska.
Collected by Lieut. P. H. Ray, U. S. A.]
Plate LXXVII.
[Illustration: Fig. 33. Drilling-set.
Cat. Nos. 25021, 44978, and 45108, U. S. N. M. Sledge Island,
Alaska. Collected by E. W. Nelson.]
This is a complete set (fig. 34) in first-rate order. The hearth has
central holes along a deep median groove. Its bottom is flat, and it is
rounded off on the sides and ends. All the parts are of pine wood,
decorated in places with red paint. The drill is quite long, much longer
than in any Eskimo set observed. It resembles more the Indian drill for
rubbing between the hands. The bow is of wood, which also is quite the
exception in other Eskimo regions, where it is of ivory. There are many
bows of antler from Norton Sound in the Museum, some of them skillfully
and truthfully engraved. The mouth-piece is plain; not very well made.
It is set with a square block of marble. It has the usual hole in one of
the wings for the passage of a thong.
[Illustration: Fig. 34. Fire-making Set (hearth showing median
groove).
(Cat. No. 33166, U. S. N. M. Eskimo of Norton Sound, Alaska.
Collected by E. W. Nelson.)]
[Illustration: Fig. 35. Lower Piece of Fire-making Set (hearth).
(Cat. No. 39601, U. S. N. M. Eskimo of Cape Vancouver, Alaska.
Collected by E. W. Nelson.)]
Cape Vancouver is represented by a fine old hearth. This object has
evidently been prized by its owner; it has had two rows of fire-holes
(fig. 35), one row bored on the step in front of the first holes made;
some of the holes are bored clear through. The reason why this was
valued is, because the wood is so tindery that it is easy to make fire
upon it.
Chalitmute, in the Kuskokwim region, on the northern side of the bay of
that name, opposite Nunivak Island, is the next locality southward, to
be considered. The parts of this set are exceptionally well-finished.
The hearth is (pl. LXXVIII, fig. 36) stepped. It has four holes prepared
for use; on one, fire has been made. The drill is unusually thick. The
mouth-piece has no teeth-grip, and there is no evidence that it was ever
held in the mouth. It is intended to be held in the hand. This
mouth-piece is set with an oval socket-stone of black obsidian, ground
down into facets and polished. The cord handles are fine, large teeth of
the sea lion. The centers of the circles so characteristic of Eskimo
art, are inlaid with wood. The holes for the drill cord are narrow; they
must have been dug through with a sharp, narrow instrument. As before
remarked, this is the region where the hand rest is more used than the
mouth-piece, and the bow is not used at all.
The fire-making set from the Togiak River, was collected in 1886, by
Sergt. I. Applegate, of the U. S. Signal Corps. Kassianamute, from which
village it comes, is in the Bristol Bay region, but this set has a
different appearance from the former outfits (pl. LXXIX., fig. 37). The
hearth is a block of wood worked out at one end into a handle. It is
remarkable in having central holes not connecting, and with no
connecting grooves. In this it closely resembles the block from East
Greenland (fig. 25). This hearth is of soft, tindery wood, and doubtless
when the holes became too deep to allow the powder to mass around the
edge, the upper part of hearth was scarped down. The mouth-piece is
large, and is in the form of a seal. It has only a shallow, crescentic
teeth-grip; from the size of the mouth-piece, its shape, and the absence
of a block to fasten between the teeth, it must have been nearly always
held in the hand of one of the operators. It is set with a round pebble,
mottled with green. The cord is a thong of rawhide with handles of wood.
The next locality is Koggiung, on the southern shore of Bristol Bay,
near its head. Two sets are shown from this locality. From the hearths
it will be seen that both fire-slots on the side and center holes are
used here. These sets are called _nŭ-tshŭn_ (fig. 38). The apparatus
shown in figure 38 has the stepped hearth. Both drill and hearth
apparently have been made for sale. The mouth-piece is a good one, set
with a large socket-piece of a black stone with green mottlings. This
stone is tolerably soft. It is much used by the Bristol Bay Eskimo for
making labrets, etc. The teeth-grip is very shallow. The hearth (fig.
39) is of a very peculiar shape; only one other has been noticed like
it. The wood is of the best kind, and fire has been made on it a number
of times. In several places the holes have been bored clear through. The
mouth-piece bears no evidence that it has been held between the teeth.
It is highly probable that fire was made on these outfits more often by
two persons, one holding the mouth-piece, or rest, and fanning the
flame, the other pulling the cord. This must be the method in Bristol
Bay. Neither the true mouth-piece nor any bow has been procured by the
Museum from this interesting region, from whence there are copious
collections of ethnological objects. The cords without handles are
worthy of notice.
Plate LXXVIII.
[Illustration: Fig. 36. Fire-making set.
Cat. Nos. 36325 and 37961. U. S. N. M. Eskimo of Chalitmute
(Kuskokwim Region), Alaska. Collected by E. W. Nelson.]
Plate LXXIX.
[Illustration: Fig. 37. Fire-making Set.
Cat. No. 127520, U. S. N. M. Eskimo of Kassianamute (Togiak Region),
Alaska. Collected by S. Applegate.]
[Illustration: Fig. 38. Fire-making Set (hearth with step and five
slots).
(Cat. No. 127819_a_, U. S. N. M. Koggiung, Bristol Bay, Alaska.
Collected by W. J. Fisher.)]
[Illustration: Fig. 39. Fire-Making Set (hearth with central holes
and end step).
(Cat. No. 127819b, U. S. N. M. Koggiung, Bristol Bay, Alaska.
Collected by W. J. Fisher.)]
Plate LXXX.
[Illustration: Fig. 40. Fire-making Set.
Cat. No. 55938, U. S. N. M. Eskimo of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Collected
by Charles McKay.]
Another set from Bristol Bay is said by its collector, Charles McKay, to
be used by both Eskimo and Indians. It is a very valuable outfit because
of its completeness (pl. LXXX, fig. 40). The hearth is a rounded piece
of wood with four large holes opening by slots onto the step. The drill
is a thick, tolerably hard piece of close-grained wood like the hearth.
The mouth-piece has no regular block for the teeth-grip, but has a
crescentic gash on each side instead. It is set with a socket of a rock
resembling marble. Nearly all the mouth-pieces south of Norton Sound are
in the shape of seals, or other long animals. Cord handles are used
attached to a thick thong of buckskin. Fungus is used for tinder and a
blaze is started with cones of the larch. These are kept in the box, the
lid of which is tied on with a thong.
Kadiak, the lowest limit of the western Eskimo, is as far south as the
four part fire-drill extends by specimens in the Museum (fig. 41). The
hearth is of cedar wood with three central holes with a connecting
groove. It is neatly finished. The drill is also of cedar and bears the
marks of the use of the thong; the top has also been used in the socket
of a rest. The drill approaches in length those used for twirling
between the hands by the Indians.
While the Aleutians use flint and steel, or a stone containing quartz
and pyrites, struck against another stone, they still make use of the
four-part drill at certain times. Hunting parties, says Mr. L. M.
Turner, carry the drill to use when their matches run out. It takes two
men to work it, one holding the hand rest and the other pulling the
thong. The spindle is made of harder wood, so as to wear the light dust
which ignites, from the hearth. A moment only is necessary to get fire;
this is fed with tinder made of willow catkins and powdered charcoal.
Sometimes, in order to get fire, they hold tinder at the mouth of a gun
and ignite it by firing off a light charge of loose powder.
[Illustration: Fig. 41. Lower Piece and Spindle of Fire-making Set.
(Cat. No. 72514, U. S. N. M. Eskimo of Kadiak Island, Alaska.
Collected by W. J. Fisher.)]
Possessed of four methods of getting fire, the Aleutian is superior to
more fortunately situated people who depend wholly on matches.