Paleo Foraging

Fire-starting methods

Fire drill:

The fire-drill is the most common and reliable primitive technology for fire-starting among American Indians. This generally consisted of a straight, round stick about a foot tall, the drill, and the board against which it was spun, the hearth.

The hearth has a cylindrical hole bored into it, and at the edge of the hole, a V-shaped notch is cut, with the point of the “V” leaving a small opening in the hole, opening to the very edge of the hearth board, allowing the ember to be dropped out of the hole and onto awaiting tinder. The hearth can be braced by the feet or knees.

As both hands spin the drill by repetitively sliding them open-palm in opposite directions, downward pressure is applied, causing the hands to slowly slide down the drill. As the hands reach near the hearth, they are quickly re-positioned to the top of the drill and the process continues until smoke is seen. The ember is quickly dropped into tinder and cupped in the hands as it is blown upon to ignite a flame.

The drill can measure about a foot long. It may have a small notch cut in one end (to increase friction) (Mails 1974).

A pinch of sand was sometimes placed under drill tip by the Navajo, who were able to achieve smoke in under 1 minute, and an ember in two (Elmore 1944:51). Two Apache sometimes drilled together (Mails 1974).

Compound drills were used by the Navajo and Seri (Elmore 1944:36, Felger and Moser 1985:337). These consist of a shaft of straight wood (or perhaps cane) or an arrow shaft with a tip of another wood that contacts the hearth. Mesquite root driftwood and a section of the flowering stalk of yucca are examples of compound drill tips (Elmore 1944:36, Felger and Moser 1985:337).

Pump-drill:

The pump-drill is a method that improves the efficiency of the standard fire drill. A crossbar is secured perpendicular to the drill, which is inserted in a hole of this crossbar. The ends of the crossbar are secured to the top of the drill with cordage. The cordage is twisted around the drill so that when the crossbar is pushed down, it causes the drill to spin. A weight can be added to the lower part of the drill to improve friction. The drill part is larger than those spun by hand. This method was used by the Tonawanda Seneca (Waugh 1916:52).

Fire saw:

A fallen ironwood tree was found and upon a dry spot on it, a stick of the same wood was rubbed back and forth across the log by two people until an ember could ignite dried and shredded tinder fungus (Ganoderma applanatum) (Waugh 1916:52).

Percussion:

Percussion fires are made by striking one stone or metal against another. Many different combinations of rock, mineral, and metal create sparks. These sparks are caused by the release of energy by breaking the bonds between molecules in these substances. So, any mineral or metal capable of chipping or marking another can achieve percussion fire. Two quartz stones, a flint and quartz stone, quartz and iron or steel, and two iron pieces are examples.

The spark created is caught onto tinder and blown into flames.

Species used for fire-starting

Drill materials

Tree wood:

– Oak (Quercus spp.), Apache (Banta 1911:41).

– Juniper (Juniperus spp.), Apache (Mails 1974), Caddo (Swanton 1996:155).

– Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Klamath (Coville 1897:89).

– Maple (Acer spp.), Cayuga Iroquois (Waugh 1916:52).

– Honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) (compound drill), Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:337).

– Hickory (Carya spp.), Cayuga Iroquois (Waugh 1916:52).

– White ash (Fraxinus americana), Tonawanda Seneca (Waugh 1916:52).

– Cottonwood (Populus deltoides), Navajo (Elmore 1944:37).

– American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), Onandaga and other Iroquois (Waugh 1916:52).

– Willow (Salix spp.), Huron (Waugh 1916:51).

– American basswood (Tilia americana), Iroquois (Waugh 1916:51,52).

– Slippery elm (Ulmus rubra), Cayuga and Onondaga Iroquois and Tonawanda Seneca (Waugh 1916:52).

– California buckeye (Aesculus californica), Round Valley tribes, Kashaya Pomo, and Northern Maidu (Chesnut 1902, Dixon 1905, Goodrich et al. 1980).

Or stems of herbaceous plants:

– Yucca (Yucca spp) flowering stalk (compound drill) Navajo (Elmore 1944:36) and Comanche (Kavanagh 2008:127), Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939).

– Yucca (Yucca spp.) leaves (bound together, point down), Teton Dakota (Gilmore 1977:19).

– Sotol (Dasylirion spp.) flowering stalks, Apache (Castetter and Opler 1936:17, Mails 1974).

– Rocky Mountain sage (Artemisia tridentata), Gosiute (Chamberlin 1911:346), Navajo (Elmore 1944:81), and Klamath (Coville 1897:88, 105).

– Broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae), Navajo (Elmore 1944:86).

– Slender spiderflower (Cleomella multicaulis), Apache (Elmore 1944:51).

Hearth materials

– Juniper (Juniperus spp.) wood, Iroquois, Illinois, and Huron (Waugh 1916:51) Navajo (Elmore 1944:17).

– Sotol (Dasylirion spp.) flowering stalk, Lipan Apache (Banta 1911:41), Apache (Mails 1974).

– Yucca (Yucca spp) flowering stalk, Apache (Castetter and Opler 1936:1), Navajo (Elmore 1944:36) and Comanche (Kavanagh 2008:127), Teton Dakota (Gilmore 1977:19).

– American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) wood, Onandaga and other Iroquois (Waugh 1916:52).

– American basswood (Tilia americana) wood, Iroquois (Waugh 1916:51,52).

– Honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) wood (esp. root driftwood), Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:337).

– Mulberry (Morus spp.) wood, Caddo (Swanton 1996:155).

– Slender spiderflower (Cleomella multicaulis), Apache (Elmore 1944:51).

– California buckeye (Aesculus californica) wood, Kashaya Pomo (Goodrich et al. 1980).

Tinder materials

– Juniper (Juniperus spp.) bark, Lipan Apache (Banta 1911:41, Mails 1974), Iroquois (Waugh 1916:50), Navajo (Elmore 1944:17), Tewa (J. monosperma) (Robbins et al. 1916:39)

– Cottonwood (Populus spp.) seed fluff, Navajo (Elmore 1944:37).

– Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) wood, dry rotted, Northern Cheyenne (Hart 1981:37).

– Bracket fungi (e.g. Fomes, Ganoderma, Phellinus, Pholiota, Polyporus, Trametes), fruiting body, shredded, Iroquois (Waugh 1916:52,53), Ojibwe (Smith 1932:370)

– Grass (fine and dry, sometimes mixed with oak leaves), Round Valley tribes (Chesnut 1902), Apache (Mails 1974), Northern Maidu (Dixon 1905), Navajo (Elmore 1944:51).

– Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) leaves / whole plant, Comanche (Kavanagh 2008:127,250).

– Oak (Quercus spp.) leaves (dried and powdered, sometimes mixed with finely-chopped grass), Round Valley tribes (Chesnut 1902)

– Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) wood pith, Round Valley Tribes (Chesnut 1902).

– White sagebrush (Artemisia ludoviciana) leaves, Northern Cheyenne (Hart 1981:19).

– White alder (Alnus rhombifolia) wood, Wailaki / Round Valley Tribes (Chesnut 1902).

– Dry-rotted wood, Ojibwe (Smith 1932:370), Tonawanda Seneca (Acer spp.) (Waugh 1916:52), Northern Cheyenne (Populus deltoides) (Hart 1981:37)

– Wood shavings, Apache (Mails 1974).

Percussion materials

Flint and pyrite, Iroquois (Waugh 1916:50).

Other uses of plants for fire

Slow match:

The Ute made slow matches by braiding juniper bark a yard long and 1-2 in. diameter, keeping it alight by occasionally blowing on the ember, allowing them to travel with fire (Smith 1974:67). The Hopi used the bark of Juniperus occidentalis for slow matches.

Torches / lighting:

“Cane” was dried and used for candles or torches by the Quapaw (Foster 1998:279). As the cane burned down, the charred ends were broken off (Foster 1998:279). No fat or oil was used in such applications and dried cane served as their only torch (Foster 1998:279). This “cane” was likely referring to a species of Phragmites or Arundinaria. I have experimented using these torches using giant reed (Arundo donax) stems. This introduced species has properties similar to the two former genera. They work surprisingly well for the purpose. Sections without internodes work better. Knocking off the charred ends as they burn down invigorates the flame and prevents it from going out.

Paper birch (Betula papyrifera) bark was shredded fine and bound into bundles by the Dakota to use as torches.

The Chickasaw used “a certain native grass, which when woven into a a thin rope or cord and lighted, holds a flame that burns as continuously as a wax taper” (Varner and Varner 1988:399).

Flaming arrows:

“Of this same grass [the Chickasaw] had made little rings for the tips of their arrows” which they lit for flaming arrows in siege warfare against the Spanish (Varner and Varner 1988:399).