In this way it could be made to smoke, and finally set fire to a tuft of dried moss, from which he might get a flame for cooking. This was such hard work that he bethought him to twist a string of sinew about the upright spindle and cause it to twirl by pulling alternately at the two string ends, as some savage races still do. From this it was a simple step to fasten the ends of the two strings to a bent piece of wood, another great advantage, since now but one hand was needed to twirl the spindle, and the other could hold it in place. This was the “bow-drill” which also is used to this day. A Fortunate Accident. But bent wood is apt to be springy. Suppose that while one were bearing on pretty hard with a well-tightened string, in order to bring fire quickly, the point of the spindle should slip from its block. Naturally, it would fly away with some force if the position were just right. This must have happened many times, and each time _but once_ the fire-maker may have muttered something under his breath, gone after his spindle, and then settled down stupidly to his work. He had had a golden chance to make a great discovery, but didn’t realize it. [Illustration: THE SLING MAN IN ACTION Practice developed some wonderful marksmen among the users of this primitive weapon.] But, so it has been suggested, there was one man who stopped short when he lost his spindle, for a red-hot idea shot suddenly through his brain. He forgot all about his fire-blocks while he sat stock still and thought. Once or twice he chuckled to himself softly. Thereupon he arose and began to experiment. He chose a longer, springier piece of wood, bent it into a bow, and strung it with a longer thong. He placed the end of a straight stick against the thong, drew it strongly back and released it. The shaft whizzed away with force enough to delight him, and, lo, there was the first bow-and-arrow! What Came of It. After that it was merely a matter of improvement. The arrow-end was apt to slip from the string until some one thought to notch it. Its head struck with such force that the early hunter decided to give it a sharp point, shaped from a flake of flint, in order that it might drive deep into the body of a deer or bear. [Illustration: FEATHERING THE ARROW] [Illustration: WINDING THE SHAFT] But, most of all, it must fly true and straight to its mark. Who of all these simple people first learned to feather its shaft? Was it some one who had watched the swift, sure-footed spring of a bushy-tailed squirrel from branch to branch? Possibly, for the principle is the same. At all events with its feathers and its piercing point the arrow became the most deadly of all missiles, and continued to be until long after the invention of firearms. A Great Variety.