Hunting with the Bow and Arrow

e North American Indian, strange to say, very little has been recorded of the meth

nspoiled aborigine and seen him step by step co

ca; compared with thousands of specimens in the museum, his arrows

all been recorded in anthropologic records, [Footnote: See Yahi Archery, Vol. 13, No

he center of each limb, approximately two inches, and half an inch thick. The cross-section of this part was elliptical. At the center of the bow the handgrip was about an inch and a quarter wide by three-quarters thick, a cross-

ece of wood, he let his bow season in a dark, dry place. Here it remained from a few months to years, according to his needs. After being seasoned he backed it with sinew. First he made a glue by boiling salmon skin and applying it to the roughened back of the bow. When it was dry he laid on long strips of de

l days he removed this bandage and smoothed off the edges of the dry sinew, sized the surface with more glue and rubbe

except by his bow case, which was made of the skin from a cougar's tail. But while with u

e wet the string was tied between two twigs and rubbed smooth with spittle. Its diameter was one-eighth of an inch, its length about forty-eight inches. When dry the loop was applied to the upper nock of his

ow. And when not in use and unstrung the upper loop was slipped entirely off the

the foreshaft, his bow bent in a perfect arc slightly flattened at the handle. Its p

n Ishi did make stronger bows when he pleased; but this seemed to be t

hunting in the brush and shooting from crouched postures,

hould be lying down; no one should step over it; no child should handle it, and no woman should touch it. This bring

ung and the string is tapped with the arrow. This was ma

folk-song telling of a great warrior whose bow was so strong that, dipping his arrow first in fire, then in the ocean, he shot at the sun. As swift as the wind, his arrow flew straight in the round

ed an arr

erred witch hazel. The long, straight stems of this shrub he cut in lengths of thirty-tw

g the concave surface near a small heap of hot embers and when warm he either pressed his great toe on the opposite side, or he bent the wood backward on the base of the thumb. Squinting down its axis he lined

-sixteenths of an inch. Next they were cut into lengths of approximately twenty-six inches. The larger end was now bound with a buckskin thong and drilled out for the depth of an inch and a half to receive the end of the

e toward the front end, and usually was about six inches long. This was carefully shaped into a spindle at the larger end and set

he top of his breast-bone and held the other end out in his extended left hand. Where it touch

ch wide by three-eighths deep. The opposite end of the shaft was notched in a similar way to receive the head. The direction of this latter cut was such that when the arrow was on the bow the edge of

trout, a green vegetable dye from wild onions, and a blue obtained, he said, from the root of a plant. These were m

y lines running down the shaft for a similar distance. When with us he used dry colors mixed with shellac, which he preferred to oil paints because they dried quicker. The painted area,

arrows Ishi used eagle, buzzard, hawk or flicker feathers. Owl feathers Indians seem to avoid, thinking they bring bad luck. By p

the quill its entire length. This is called stripping a feather. Taking the wider half he firmly held one end on a rock with his great toe, and the other end b

three, all from similar wings, tied them with a bit of string and dropped th

he water, removed one, and after testing its strength, folded the last two inches of bristles down on the rib,

in this position, he applied one end of the sinew near the nock, fixing it by overlapping. The first movements were accomplished while holding one ext

e applied on a line perpendicular to the plane of the nock; the two others were equidistant from this. For the space of an inch he la

position, the arrow was set aside

held them with the fingers of his left hand. Having marked a similar place on each arrow where the sinew was to go, he cut the bristles off the rib. At this point he started binding with another piece of wet sinew

to adhere to the shaft, but this was not the usual custom with him. After all was dry and firm

four inches, though on ceremonial arrow

ng a straight cut from the full width of the feather in back, to the height of a quarter of an inch at the forward extremity. On his arrows he left the natural curve of the feather at the nock, an

the shaft bound with sinew used for killing small game and practice shots. The

ces were cracked off and exchanged for dried fish, venison, or weapons. It was a medium of barter. Although all men were more or less expert in

amous for his possessions as well as his skill as a maker of bows. From a distant mountain crest one day Ishi pointed out to me the camp of this Indian who w

bly also a good luck ritual. If by chance a bit of glass should fly in the eye, Ishi's method of surgical relief was to hold his lower lid wide open with one finger while he slapped himself

approximately three inches long, two inches wide and half an inch thick, was selected as suitable for an arrowhead, or haka. Protecting the palm

ut jar or blow, a flake of glass flew off, as large as a fish scale. Repeating this process at various spots on the intended head, turning it from side to side, first reducing one face, then the other, he soon had a symmetrical point. In half an ho

uld be worked with equal facility. Beautiful heads

seven-eighths for width, and one-eighth for thickness. Large

the archer missed his shot. This made him ver

ted resin and bound in place with sinew which encircled the end of the ar

of course, more durable. After entering civilization, Ishi preferred to use iron or stee

in a quiver made of otter skin which hung suspen

r end on his right thigh, he held the upper end with his left hand while the loop of the string rested between his finger and thumb. By pressing

the handle. Taking an arrow from his quiver, he laid it across the bow on its right side where it lay between the extended fingers of his left hand. He gently slid the arrow forward until the nock slipped over the string at its center. Here he

what is known as th

e, and the Yana seem to have been the only American na

ow arm was almost in front of him, while his right hand drew to the top of his breast bone. With both

il the arrow hit. He preferred to shoot kneeling or s

y. Past this range he did not think one should shoot,

missed a shot he always had a good excuse. There was too much wind, or the arrow was crooked, or the bow had lost its cast, or, as a last resource, the coyote doctor bewitched him, which is the

merican Indians; but here we have one who shot ever since childhood, who li

and found them superior to the Indian. At the end of three months' practice, Dr. J. V. Coo

always said, "Too much man-nee." And he always ins

ing back rings of blue and yellow, doubtless to change his luck. In spite of our apparent superiority at s

kill ground squirrels at forty yards; yet at the same distances he might miss a four-foot target. He explained

owing distances: sixty, fifty, and forty yards. The bull's-eye on the target is a trifle over nine inches and is surrounded by four rings of half this diameter. Their value is 9,

istances, a good archer will make the followi

25,

30 hits 190

hits 198 s

hits 238 s

its 626 sc

best scores made

record is

er 23

ds 10 hit

hits 92 sc

hits 99 sc

its 223 sc

best scor

ds 13 hit

17 hits

22 hits

2 hits

tice American ro

22,

ds 29 hit

29 hits

30 hits

8 hits

00 is considere

a good target shot, but in field shooting and ge