Match (fire)

“ The pistol tinder-box may readily be made to perform the whole of what is here described. A bell rope attached to the trigger will suffice to elicit fire, which, communicating with a quick-match or fusee, will quickly ignite and produce the required light. If the fire is previously prepared with wood or some other combustible material, and a small quantity of inflammable spirits sprinkled over it, the slightest spark will throw the whole into a blaze. ”

“ Hugh explained, “when a border man found himself threatened with a fire near his dugout he would himself apply a match to the dead grass. It would eat its way up slowly against the wind, and by the time the big fire arrived there would be a section burned over. ”

“ Again, the very slight amount of friction required to light them is another cause of fires; even mice and rats gnawing wax vestas have been known to fire the match by their teeth touching the phosphorus. Accidents to life are continually taking place through ladies treading accidentally on matches carelessly thrown upon the ground.
Lucifer matches are a well-known cause of fires, both accidental and incendiary, in the agricultural districts. The matches which the boy keeping birds always keeps about him, are often used to fire a stack. ”

“ The fire-arrow, dard à feu, is a small iron dart furnished with springs and bars, together with a match, impregnated with powder and sulphur, which is wound about its shaft. It is intended to fire the sails of the enemy, and is for this purpose discharged from a musketoon or swivel-gun. The match being kindled by the explosion, communicates the flame to the sail against which it is directed, where the arrow is fastened by means of its bars and springs. ”

“ Now, it must be remembered that even careful persons may meet with accidents through the use of bad matches. Sometimes, when struck, the blazing head will fly off, or the stick will break and fall; sometimes, too, the match will continue to glow after the flame has been blown out. ”

“ Here and there a red fire glowed where the guards were posted; now and then a shower of sparks leaped up into the air as a fresh log was thrown upon the ashes; and a bright flame would glisten on the barrel of a rifle and make ruddy the dark faces of the watchmen. ”

“ The front lines were being cut down now faster than they could advance, and the lines which fell dropped out of the low vision line of the defenders, and were hidden in the low-hanging smoke haze and in the welter of shell-pits, furrows, and heaps of earth over which the advance moved. The sound of the rifle fire swelled suddenly and heavily; the air grew vibrant with the hiss and zipp of bullets. ”

“ Thus we had replaced the gallant few still lingering on the crest, and received that withering fire which nothing could withstand by throwing ourselves flat in a slight hollow of ground within pistol shot of the enemy’s works, and mingled with the dead and dying that strewed the field, we returned the fire till it reddened into night, and at last fell away through darkness and silence. ”

“ As children, many of us have played with it; some of us have seen an outbreak of fire. First a small tongue-like flame appears; it grows into a devastating fury of heat. We out here in the field have seen more than enough of it. ”

“ Just before we emerged into the open ground, we noticed what, I think, was common in many fights,—that the enemy had begun to bowl round-shot at us, probably from failure of shell. We passed across the valley in good order, although the men fell rapidly all along the line. As we climbed the hill, our pace slackened, and the fire grew heavier. At this moment a battery opened on our left,—the shots crossing our heads obliquely. It is this moment which is so printed on my recollection. ”

“ Perception and trigger-pressure were instantaneous with the flash of its discharge. A running, stooping figure pitched headforemost before the stab of flame from the rifle.
Immediately a vicious fire from the German parapet answered this impertinence. The slayer lay still as death, listening with painfully acute perception to the ugly phat! of bullets in the earth around him. A bomb fell, burst with a deafening report and a blinding flash of flame so close that he marvelled at his escape. By an effort of will he choked down the cough that the fumes provoked.
Rifle-fire at night is infectious. ”

“ Then you want a forestick on the andirons; and upon these build the fire of lighter stuff. In this way you have at once a cheerful blaze, and the fire gradually eats into the solid mass, sinking down with increasing fervor; coals drop below, and delicate tongues of flame sport along the beautiful grain of the forestick. There are people who kindle a fire underneath. But these are conceited people, who are wedded to their own way. I suppose an accomplished incendiary always starts a fire in the attic, if he can. ”

“ Fire at command, by platoon, by battalion, etc., is used in case the enemy having repulsed skirmishers and arrived at a reasonable range either charges or opens fire for effect himself. If the latter, fire is reciprocal and lasts until one or the other gives way or charges. If the enemy charges, what happens? He advances preceded by skirmishers who deliver a hail of bullets. You wish to open fire, but the voices of your officers are lost. The noise of artillery, of small arms, the confusion of battle, the shrieks of the wounded, distract the soldiers' attention. ”

“ But while this cover conceals the enemy from our view, he sees our location and his fire is not interrupted. There is a strong tendency to shoot only at the men that can be seen. This must be overcome; much of our firing must be aimed at a locality, although unseen the enemy is nevertheless there and his fire effectiveness must be kept down. Our fire must be distributed to cover every part of the hostile line whether the enemy is seen or not. ”

“ If a flame is to be represented, as for example, the effect of an incendiary, and its appearance is to be prolonged, the fire from tow being too transient, small iron kettles, of four inches in diameter, and depth, may be used. In these are put three or four ounces of the composition of the lances of service, which is moistened with the oil or spirit of turpentine. When set on fire, they will produce a blaze three or four feet in height, and one and a half in diameter. ”

“ We had run the gauntlet, from the left to the centre in front of the American lines, under a cross fire, in hopes of joining in the assault, and had a fine view of the sparkling of the musketry, and the liquid flashes of the cannon. And melancholy to relate, all at once many soldiers were met wildly rushing out of the dense clouds of smoke, lighted up by a sparkling sheet of fire, which hovered over the ensanguined field. ”

“ The fire fight at long ranges and near the extreme limit of mid ranges is only a means for the purpose of reaching the decisive battle ranges, and of interfering with the undisturbed delivery of the enemy’s fire. Fire must be opened at as late a moment as possible. Our firing line should in any case be strong enough, upon entering the zone of mid ranges, to reply effectively to the enemy’s fire. ”

“ On all sides houses were on fire, and the falling beams and walls, the bursting flames, the showers of descending sparks, and the bursting shrapnels killing friend and foe alike, created an indescribable jumble. ”

“ Every one fires at the command FIRE. It is used at funerals and occasionally in the first part of an action when the enemy presents a large, compact target.
(2) Fire At Will. In this each soldier fires, loads, and fires again independently of the others. He fires fast or slow as the occasion demands.
(3) Clip Fire. The soldier stops firing when he has finished his clip of five cartridges. This assists in preventing an undue expenditure of ammunition and in abating excitement. ”

“ As we cleared the trees we burst full in the face of the enemy’s fire. For a moment the balls whizzed harmlessly over our heads, then there was a crash on the ground before us, and, as we rushed on, the men parted on either side to avoid stepping over a dying man. ”

“ As soon as it becomes evident that superiority of fire has been attained, which is generally made known by movements to the rear along the enemy’s line, or by the decreasing accuracy and volume of his fire, the troops detailed to drive home the attack will close in on the firing line, and carry it forward to the assault. ”

“ The rattle and splutter of rifle fire swelled to what one might have thought an alarming nearness when the road twisted in towards the firing line, or a falling away of the ground or change in the wind allowed the sound to carry better, dropped away again to no more than a distant crackle as a belt of wood shut it off or the road ran wide out from the battle line. ”

“ I could not help saying, 'You made a glorious lot of smoke, anyhow.' I had seen, from the way the tops of the bushes rustled and flew, that almost all the shots had gone too high. You can't hit anything unless you take aim and fire from the shoulder; but these chaps fired from the hip with their eyes shut. ”

“ In combat, shots which graze the enemy's trench or position and thus reduce the effectiveness of his fire have the approximate value of hits; such shots only, or actual hits, contribute toward fire superiority.
Fire discipline implies that, in a firing line without leaders, each man retains his presence of mind and directs effective fire upon the proper target. ”

“ We now fired our second barrels, reloading as fast as we could, the women helping us, the men in the flanking angles also firing, so that the smoke rose in clouds, and the sky resounded with the shouting of the white men and our war-cries. ”

“ The bold little firemen inside the enclosure trying to scare away the god of fire by bright clothing, and literally sitting on the flames in their light-coloured coats, form a scene never to be forgotten. They seem to bear charmed lives as they dash among the flames, putting the fire out with their hands, and in a very short time too. ”

“ If the opportunity be favourable, set fire to the outside of the enemy’s camp, without waiting for the fire to originate.
When fire breaks out on the windward side, do not attack from the leeward. Wind that rises in the day lasts long. Wind that rises in the night time quickly passes away.
If the peculiarities of the five burnings are known, and the almanac studied, then, when the army brings fire to the attack, victory is clear. ”

“ After that lads and lasses stand on opposite sides of the fire and look at one another through the wreaths to see whether they will be true to each other and marry within the year. Also the girls throw the wreaths across the flames to the men, and woe to the awkward swain who fails to catch the wreath thrown him by his sweetheart. When the blaze has died down, each couple takes hands and leaps thrice across the fire. He or she who does so will be free from ague throughout the year, and the flax will grow as high as the young folks leap. ”

“ To enable the attack to be prosecuted it is clear that from this moment the hostile fire must be met by fire of greater power, its intensity and duration being dependent on the effect produced. Moreover, from this point forward movement will, as a rule, be contingent on the mutual fire support afforded to one another by neighbouring bodies, and on the effects produced by the covering fire brought to bear on the enemy’s line whenever the ground admits of such action, by supports, reserves and the troops specially told off for this purpose. ”

“ In observing the effect of the fire the ground may be wet, or covered with turf, sod or brush in which no signs of striking shots can be seen. By careful use of good field glasses some indication of the place where the shots are going, may be obtained. The actions of the enemy may often indicate whether the fire is effective or not. ”

“ The fire was advancing rapidly and the heat was terrific. Choking and gasping in the stinging resinous smoke, the men strove in frenzy of haste to complete the fire-break before the flames should reach them. ”

“ Then followed a thrilling battle for life—two red enemies now enrolled against the blue. "Fight fire with fire" is the old rule of the prairie. Ray had promptly met the on-coming sweep of the torrent by starting a smaller blaze that should at least clear the surface close at hand, and, by eating off the fuel, stop, possibly, the progress of the greater flame. ”

“ Here are men who exhibit under fire an admirable, calm, an immovable steadiness. Each instant they hear the dead heavy sound of a bullet striking. They see, they feel, around them, above them, between their legs, their comrades fall and writhe, for the fire is deadly. ”

“ Poorly trained troops finally do not raise their rifles at all, but blaze away without aiming. To be sure, fire opened at an early moment annoys the advance of the enemy, but it cannot seriously retard it. Once the fire is opened, we want it to be effective; we don’t want to injure the enemy—we want to annihilate him.
Although we fully appreciate the good results obtained at long ranges on the target range, we prefer to utilize the entire staggering fire effect of our weapons at short and mid ranges, wholly for the purpose of annihilating the enemy. ”

“ When the ground is too wet, and would be apt to put out the little blaze, the fire can be started in a frying-pan. Matches are very convenient, but they must be warded from dampness. They can be carried in a corked bottle; they can be dipped, before leaving home, in melted paraffin, which will coat them water-proof; and dampness can be rubbed out of them by friction by rolling them rapidly between the palms of the hands and scratching them quick. ”

“ Some of the housewives who are more skilled in the use of firearms than my mother or myself, kindle a blaze by flashing a little powder in the pan of a gun, allowing the flame to strike upon the tinder, and thus be carried to shavings of dry wood. It is a speedy way of getting fire ”