Fig. 7. Fire-making Set.
(Cat. No. 17230, U. S. N. M. Pai-Ute Indians, Southern Utah. Collected by Maj. J. W. Powell.)
The museum is in possession of a complete collection of fire-making material from the tribes of the Shoshonian stock. They were collected by Maj. J. W. Powell. The native name for the Ute fire set is whu-tu ni-weap. While the lower member of the set—the hearth—differs among the several tribes in point of material, shape, etc., the spliced drill is characteristic of the whole stock. It has never been noticed outside of the southern part of the Great Interior Basin but in one instance—among the Klamaths of Oregon. The main part of the drill is either a reed, or a straight sprout, usually the former. At one end a short piece of very hard wood—greasewood, sarcobatus vermiculatus—is set in and lashed with sinew. It resembles the Shoshonian arrows, which are foreshafted in this way. They also use sand in common with other neighboring tribes.
The Pai-Utes, of Southern Utah, make their hearths of a short, rounded piece usually of the sap-wood of juniper. It is tied to the drill with a thong of buckskin when not in use ([fig. 7]). The drill is like the usual one, just described. This is the common form of the Pai-Ute apparatus. The small, two-holed hearth of rounded form, and the shortened, spliced drill are for convenience of carrying, this kind being used by hunters while away from the lodges. Mr. S. J. Hare says that the men do not usually make the fire, except when out on a hunting excursion. At the lodge it is the squaw’s duty to make the fire when it is needed.
Fig. 8. Fire-making Set.
(Cat. No. 11976, U. S. N. M. Pai-Ute Indians, Southern Utah. Collected by Maj. J. W. Powell.)
Fig. 9. Fire-making Set.
(Cat. No. 22022, U. S. N. M. Shoshone Indians, Wind River, Wyoming. Collected by Maj. J. W. Powell.)
The Pai-Ute is rarely at a loss to get fire; he is master of various devices. Mr. Hare, who was among the Utes for some time, states that when the Indian is in need of a light he uses either the flint and steel, the drill, or, if these are not at hand, he takes two branches, and rubs one up and down on the other, soon getting fire. The Australians are said to have practiced fire-making by rubbing in the way mentioned. This is the only observation collected of its occurrence in America. It is, in all probability, a difficult, unusual way; only practiced under pressure of necessity among the Utes. They take great pride in their skill; to be a quick fire-maker is to achieve fame in the tribe. They are fond of exhibiting their art to white travelers in the hope of gain.
Another form of hearth ([fig. 8]) is made of yucca flower stalk, like those of the Apache and Navajos. The drill is of tule reed, set with a very hard wood head. It is suggested that the reason for splicing the drill is that the hard wood of the kind used for the head (greasewood) can not be procured in pieces long enough to make the whole drill. This set is apparently one used as a fixture in the Ute domestic economy, the squaws having to light the fire. The duty is mainly relegated to the females in several other Indian tribes, and among the Eskimo. Mr. Catlin says that the Sioux objected to letting the squaws have their portraits painted, saying that their women had never taken scalps, nor done anything better than make fires and dress skins.[6] The hearth and drill last figured are respectively 20 and 23 inches long, while in the hunting set ([fig. 8]) the length is 7 and 18 inches.
The Wind River Shoshones are also represented ([fig. 9]). The hearth is of hard wood, rudely hacked out, and rounded. Upon the slanting edge are eight holes, or shallow depressions, prepared for the drill, with notches cut in to meet them from the sides. The drill is a willow branch, 25 inches long, with a hard wood head mortised in, and served with buckskin. It is most probable that sand was used with this set, because, if the parts are not models, it would be necessary to use it on sticks of equal hardness like these. I am inclined to believe that they are models, from their appearance, and from the difficulty of setting up a pyrogenic friction upon them even with sand. They were collected some fifteen years ago by Maj. J. W. Powell.