"Out of his mouth goes burning lamps,and sparks of fire leap out"
Fire Pics 1
Fire Pics 2
Fire Pics 3

PyroManiac!

Chris



In Chapter 12 of The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday there was an average Kiowa family. The mother was pounding some meat and her son wanted some. The mother gave her son some meat and he went out and came back to ask for more meat. The third time when the boy came in to ask for more meat an Indian chief of the enemy came in with him. The Indian chief was going to kill the Kiowa family but the boy had given the chief the meat so he would not kill them. However the boy’s father did not trust his enemies so he ran out and called his wife and son by whistling like a bird. The wife threw fire on the Indians and she and her son ran off safely from the enemy.

In 1872 to 1873, an important tipi called Di gagya guat (tipi with battle pictures) was burnt in a fire. This tipi with warriors painted on it belonged to the family of Dohasan, the great chief.

Momaday was walking one day at Rainy Mountain Cemetery and described the sky and earth as “a deep blush on the sky and the dark red earth seemed to glow.” He had also said it was very quiet until a bird had called and broke the silence.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you put a fruit roll-up, duct tape, or a tooth pick in a fireworks box? Well, I have always wondered but never tried it. I have tried other things with tooth picks and fires though. A long time ago, when I was eight years old, I had an attraction to the flame. I would burn tooth picks and light marshmallows on fire. I would then throw them at the neighbor’s dog just to see its response. One day, I had a brilliant idea. I wondered what would happen if I took some tissue paper, lit it on fire, and then let it burn out by itself. Well, I tried it and at first it was fun but then I realized that the fire was not going out. I tried to blow it out but the fire was going too fast for me to stop it. The only thing I could think of to do was to throw it in the toilet. So, I ran over to the toilet and dropped it into the bowl. When I did a huge flame popped up from the bowl. I ran to the sink and got a cup full of water and poured it in the bowl. Finally, the flame was quenched, just in the nick of time too. My grandparents came home. What lesson you may ask that I learned that day? Never throw burning tissue paper into a toilet, instead try the sink. Hmmm.. that could lead to another story.

My pyro experience and the Kiowa experience are completely different. They burnt down a tipi while I burnt the tissue paper. For the Kiowa, fire was an important thing while for me, in was a plaything.