FROM CARD: "PIECE OF WOOD & STICK & REST. FIRE-DRILL--LOWER PART A BILLET OF SEMI-DECAYED WOOD, WITH A NUMBER OF FIRE HOLES DRILLED ALONG A FURROW, SO THAT THE DUST THEY COLLECT FALLS INTO THE NEXT HOLE AND IGNITES. THIS ARRANGEMENT ACCOMPLISHES THE SAME RESULT AS THE LATERAL FURROW IN THE INDIAN FIRE-DRILL. LENGTH, 12 INCHES. #1963. #1963-ILLUS. IN USNM AR, 1888; FIG. 29, P. 560; AND IN PROCEEDINGS, USNM, VOL. 73, ART. 14; FIG. 27; P. 40. *DOUBLE ENTRY UNDER CAT. #624."

FROM CARD: "3 PIECES EACH. FIRE DRILL--LOWER PIECE OF PINE WOOD WITH SMALL FIRE-CAVITIES AND FURROWS ON EITHER EDGE. THERE IS A MASS OF CEMENT AT ONE END. #1978- FROM MACKENZIE R. - ILLUS. IN USNM AR, 1888; FIG. 28, P. 560; AND PROCEEDINGS, USNM, VOL. 73, ART. 14; FIG. 26; P. 40."

FROM CARD: "A PIECE OF FLINT. IGNITES. "A PIECE OF PIGRITES. IGNITES. STRIKE-A-LIGHT--SECTION OF A CYLINDRICAL NODULE OF IRON PYRITES, AGAINST WHICH THE PIECE OF BLACK CHERT IS STRUCK, PRODUCING A SPARK TO BE RECEIVED UPON TINDER. DI. OF NODULE, 2", L. OF CHERT STRIKER, 3". ILLUS. IN USNM AR, 1888; FIG. 44B, P. 573; ALSO IN PROCEEDINGS, USNM, VOL. 73, ART. 14; FIG. 40B; P. 56."

FROM OLD 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL WITH CARD: "STRIKE-A-LIGHT.---RECEPTACLE, MADE OF SEAL SKIN, CONTAINING FLINT AND PYRITES, AND A MASS OF SHREDDED CEDAR BARK FOR TINDER, OR KINDLING. THE RECEPTACLE IS ROLLED AROUND THE BARK AND FASTENED WITH A THONG. STIKINE INDIANS (ATHAPASCAN STOCK), FORT WRANGELL, ALASKA. 20,861. COLLECTED BY JAMES G. SWAN." The same information is also on an old typed label stored with the artifact.

FROM CARD: "STEVENSON N.Y. ILLUS. IN USNM AR, 1888; FIG. 2, P. 535; ALSO IN PROCEEDINGS, USNM, VOL. 73, ART. 14, FIG. 2; P. 10. GIFT TO NEW YORK UNIVERSITY-JUNE 14, 1897." FROM 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL WITH CARD: "FIRE-DRILL.---LOWER PIECE AND SPINDLES OF CEDAR. ROUGHLY MADE FROM A ROUND PIECE OF WOOD. THE FURROWS WERE CUT WITH A SAW. LENGTH OF PARTS, 18 INCHES. BILHULA INDIANS (SALISHAN STOCK), BELLA BELLA, B. C. 20,644. COLLECTED BY JAMES G. SWAN."

Provenience note: collection apparently purchased or collected by McLean in Sitka and vicinity circa 1884.From card: "Trocadero/July, 1885. Illus. in USNM AR, 1888; fig. 1, p. 535; also in Proceedings USNM, vol. 73, Art. 14; fig. 1; p. 10." From old typed exhibit label stored with artifact: "Fire drill and tinder of cedar, Thuja gigantea, slightly charred, in order to repel moisture. Tinder of frayed cedar bark. Lower piece [hearth] shows three cavities, in which the spindle works, with their accompanying furrows for collecting the dust in which the spark appears. Length of lower piece and spindles 23 i[nches]. Tlingit Inds., Sitka, Alaska. Two spindles are often kept with the set on account, perhaps, of the difficulty in procuring a round seasoned stick on an emergency."

Listed on page 50 in "The Exhibits of the Smithsonian Institution at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, California, 1915", in section "Arts of the Northwest Coast Tribes (Tools)".

From old 19th or early 20th century exhibit label stored with artifact: "Strike-a-light - Pouch, made of the skins from the heads of, probably, the dog, rudely sewed together. It contains tinder of moss and a lump of pyrites. Width 6 1/2 inches. Sitka, Alaska."