Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1873-05-01
The Long Bow.

vi SCltIlCe mas ever SilOne, the DOW
IS the one implement wrought to perfec-
ton. The wandering tribes of Africa and
even the squalid Diggers of the Rocky
Mountains, are skilful artisans in the man
ufacture Of bows and arrows. Men seem
to invent these weapons in advance of suf-
ficient clothing, habitations, or even Ian
guage competent to express their ideas; or
IT these latter have first been invented, then
they have often been neglected and forgot
ten, while the former have been retained
Men who live in holes in the earth, and in
a state of filth and nudity that would
shame the lowest animals, are found
armed with bows and arrows, fashioned
after the best pattern, and finished with
wonderful care and skill
Not year ago a swan was shot by one
OF party Of gentlemen hunting on the
kankakee River in Indiana, and firmly
embedded in the birds breastbone was
found long, slender, beautifully finished
arrowhead. The wound had entirely
healed, and to all appearances, the missile
had long been carried about by the bird.
This arrowhead is in the possession Of Mr..
Cox, State Geologist for Indiana, who
thinks the weapon has been that Of a native
OF a high northern latitude, probably an
EsquimauX. 1t is made of bone, trimmed or
ground to exquisite proportion, and slight
ly barbed. Bone, horn, and the tusks and
claws of animals, seem to have been the
principal materials used by the American
Indians for pointing their arrows, and
much wrangling has been INDUCED in by
antiquarians touching the old 1int-pOints
everywhere found in the United States. 1t
has, however, | believe, been settled by
majority that these fint-points were made
and used exclusively by the mound build
ers, whoever they were, but on this subject
some light may be thrown by a discovery
| made in the year 1859 in Gordon Coun-
~, Georgia. | was present when a negro
tellcd large red-oak tree, deeply en-
bedded in the trunk of which was found
broken flint arrowhead Of beautiful work
manship, made so as TO twist or turn spir-
ally from barb to point The tree could
not have been more than two hundred
years old. The flint was situated near the
heart Of the trunk, and about twenty feet
from the root The point had been shiv-
cred by the force of The blow as it entered
the wood, but the fragments had been kept
in place by the timber-fbres.
Among the ancients, the Romans were
inferior archcrs, the iavelin being their
principal miSsile-weapOn, and the Greeks
were even behind the Romans The Thra-
clans, Cretans, Parthians, and Numdians,
seem to have been excellent archers, and
NcnophOn testifies to the wonderful skill
of the Carduchians
But the archers Of "merrie Englande 4"
took the palm from all their predecessors
and contemporaries The Norman Saxon
longbow and arrows, and the stalwart men
who handled them, carried CONSERVATION
throughout Europe and Asia The fame
OF England at one time rested on her
archers. The glory of the PIantagenets
owed much to the effect Of six-foot bows
and cloth-yard arrows. The battles of
Crcssy Agincourt, Rovernay, and dreadful
Poltlers, and hundred other great fights
have their histories written with the
bloody points of the unerring missile. Of
the island archers
The English longbow was precisely
the same weapon used by the Asiatic
tribes, but no other nation ever brought
archery to such perfection as it
reached in England after the fusion of
the islanders with their cOnQuerers.
Indeed, for centuries-that is, from the
conquest by the NOrmans up to near the
close OF the sixteenth or perhaps till the
beginning of the seventeenth century
nothing could so startlC a nation, or carry
such advanced prestige, as the news Of the
approach OF an army of English bOwmcn
But archery is no longer a military accom-
pIisimcnt among civilized people. and
firearms have supplanted the bow and ar
rows as weapons of the chase. For snort.
however, and for heathful and elegant ex
crcise, nothing can equal archery But
one must know how to arm himself. and
also how to use his weapons after they are
made, before he can enjoy the practice of
archery even at target-shooting, much less
hunting game for sport
: Any one possessing ordinary skill in
using edged-tools can make a very good
bow by following my directions, viz.
Get billet of split mulberry. To-
Gust, or sassatras-wood, six feet long
and three inches square, and see that
II contains no bad knots. dotted
places or cracks With a drawing
knife shave this billet down to a cross-seC-
ton, clliptical in form. of one inch hy two
inches, after which cut off to the proper
length, say five feet eight inches. ard grad
uaIIy scrapc the piece down from the mid
die, slowly tapcring to the ends, where
deep notChcs must be cut To receive the
slung. by bending the bow now and then
during the process Of finishing it, YOU will
easily be able to give it the proper curve,
which should be a flat scmi-ellipsc.
\ very good arrow is made by trimming
stick OF tough hickory down to a circu-
lar CrOSs-seCtiOn of one-ffth of an inch in
diameter, smooth and straight, which may
hc headed with Il steel point or a cap of
pewter. The end opposite the head should
have deep, clear notch to fit the bow
string The tcathering of the arrow must
be- nicely done, or the missile Will be
worthless. Take strips of the stiff part of
The down Of a gooSc's wing feather and
clue them longitudinally on opposite sides
of the shaft near the notch. II The arrow is
To be used in damp weather, a fine silk
thread, IN addition to the glue may be
used to iastcn on the feather
Flax or silk makes the best bowstring.
IL should he twisted very hard, and well
waNed. With such a how and arrow as |
have described, | have seen "a bird killed
At the distance Of ninety yards by an anna
tour archer
Archery was revived in England i'm 1874
and became very popular as pastime.
but am not aware of any successful
toNophilite organizations in the United
States. Such organizations however. if
properly managed would no doubt meet
with success here, and he received by the
people with greater favor than even base
ball companies.
Ladies may become expert archcrS, and
the sport recommends itself 10 them. i'm
Chat, while ii gives them excellent physical
exercise. it also shows off" their Io,,n
Z IL, L