i don't have the book in front of me now but in The Long Labrador Trail by Dillon Wallace there is a "one match saved my life story" Wallace told this to the Explores Club in a speech some years after his 1908 trip.in short he and his partner run a rapid without scouting it and flounder loosing much of their gear.they make it to a wood less sandbar and swim again in icy water to shore.the partner is just about out of it and Wallace's modern matches are damp and don't light.the "last match" is a old sulfur one which also contains phosphorus.he lights it by holding it between his palms because his fingers are stiff and numb.he slowly adds tiny sticks and gets a fire going and they add piles of wood and make a huge bonfire and dry out.they also get the canoe and some gear back but make it to a Hudson Bay post by the skin of their teeth..much more to all this but the last match story is a good read in itself.