Milford High School - Oak Lily and Ivy Yearbook (Milford, MA)

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VOL. II. MILFORD, MASS., JANUARY, 1886. No. 5 Fire. Have you ever wondered, while sit¬ ting before your fire enjoying its genial warmth, whether there ever was a time Avhen fire Avas unknown, and what would have been the result had it never been discovered? Can you imagine a more unfortunate, yes, even desperate condition of affairs than existence Avithout it? Perhaps you will say there never Avas such a time, but Commodore Wilkes, com¬ mander of the United States explor¬ ing expedition, relates that in Fakaafo, or Bowditch island, “there Avas no sign of places for cooking nor any ap])earance of fire,” and says also that the natives Avere greatly terrified at sparks produced by the concussion of flint and steel, and at the smoke rising in Avreaths from the cigars Avhich the sailors Avere enjoying. But this re¬ port is invalidated, as are also several other accounts. Although there is no standard authority Avhich vouches for the existence of a fire-less tribe,yet there is nothing impossible in the supposi¬ tion, Fire must have been known in the ver) ' earliest ages of the Avorld, in one form or another, for the volcano lit up the darkness of the night, and the lightning struck a tree, setting the forest ablaze, or some less evident cause ]u’oduced some less extensive ignition. IIow much depends on fire? What would result from our deprivation of this sometimes fatal destroyer ? With¬ out it, Avhere Avould be our leading manufactures? Were fire to be ex¬ terminated today, many hands would be throAvn out of employment, and that means poverty, sorroAv and mis¬ ery for a large ' ])roportion of tlu working class. The shops, as time AA ' ent by, wOuld crumble and fall, leaving tlieir monuments of massive ruins. The child of the future, Avalk- ing along the streets, once the scenes of busy labor, Avould AA ' onder Avhat a sho]) was, and what furnished the inotiAm power. On being informed that fire Avas the agent, a volley of innumerable questions would be fired at the in¬ former: “What is fire?” ' “Why is there no more of it?” “Did the suc¬ cess of manufacturing depend chiefly upon that?” Seeing the large ocean steamers lying idly in the docks, ap¬ parently useless, the child would ask, “Why were those large houses built on Avater and not on land?” Then Avould come the answer, “Fire has been taken aAvay, and the vessels Avhich once crossed and re-crossed the broad ocean can no more carry from one country to another their precious burdens of human frieght. That black substance you see piled up in the hold is coal, which Avas used in generating the ])ower. It was former¬ ly mined in great quantities and Avas an important article of commerce, but noAV no one takes the trouble to mine it. “On the other side of the street, bricks were made, but fire is required for their construction, so Ave have no more. Bullets wei-e made near by, and had it not been for fire they would never have played their part in the bloody contest betAveen man and fel- loAV-man. PoAvder Avould not have de¬ stroyed property or life, and the marksman has been deprived of his enjoyment. “Our homes and public buildings, once heated by furnaces and steam, are noAV cold and dreary. The mirror, (Avoman’s friend), lamp chimneys, glass dishes, and even the glass in the windoAvs, Avhich kej)t out the cold and still transmitted light, are very highly valued. Jewelry is another article Avhich was very common before Ave were deprived of fire, but is scarce noAv. Gas, which Avas chiefly used for lighting purposes, is unknown today, and Avater is no longer forced into our houses from a pumping station, but muscular force, instead, conveys it there. We suffer intensely during the winter of this rigid New England climate, and invention is stimulated less and less. “Speaking of invention reminds me of an ingenious contrivance which was iiiA ' ented not long ago. It Avas a machine Avhich would have proved very popular among housekeepers who find no pleasure in getting out of bed on cold Avinter mornings to kindle the fire. If you Avished your fire lighted at five o’clock, all you had to do Avas to place in front of the grate, before retiring, the machine, Avith the hand set at that hour. Promptly at five, a spring moved, and a metallic rod from the back dropped. To the end of the rod Avas attached a match, which rubbed against sand-paper and ignited a paper connected Avith the kindling. Thus the fire Avas started, while you were still sleeping. A second ar¬ rangement Avas added to the clock. When the fire had burned lone- enough o o to heat the room, a second spring moAmd, and a Avild alarm rang out on the stillness of the chamber, making sleep impossible. But the time of existence of this machine was short and uneventful, as fire Avas removed a short time after its invention.” Now, summing up the disadvan¬ tages arising from the dejn-ivation of fire, viz:—FeAver manufacturers and less employment, no steamboats, coal useless, no bricks, bullets, fire arms, glass-Avare, earthern-ware, no heat, no gas for lighting ))urposes, and above all a decline in invention, do you not owe a great debt to fire, and does not civilization itself dejtend uj)on it? c. L. s., ’86. “Observation, imitation, reflection, reproduction. In these stands a mind complete and consummate, fit to cope Avith all labor, achieve all success.” —[Bulwer.