Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-06-13
Archery vs.. Firearms.

bow and arrow exercise bids fair to
resolve itself into mania which
will extend from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. The art comes down to us
from dim antiquity, and is honored
rs being intimately associated with
the mythology, the poetry and ro-
nance of all ages. The bow is
thought to have been the earliest
means contrived by man for project
ing a missile either in hunting, or as
an offensive weapon. The bow is
mentioned in Genesis as weapon
we'll known and in common use in
the days Immediately succeeding the
deluge, and it largely figures in the
affairs of men and nations from the
earliest dawn of profane history. In
the NEUROLOGICAL variations of the
ancients, it is represented as having
been used by gods as well as by NOR
tails.
Archery seems to have eliminated
to its highest excellence during the
Norman dynasty, and so late as near
the close of the sixteenth century,
the longbow was considered the
principal offensive weapon of the
English soldier. An ancient Eng
lish maxim runs thus: The safety
of the realme of England standeth
on its archers." In those times, the
length of the bow was fixed, by mill
tary regulation, to be equal to the
height of the soldier, and the arrow
half the length of the bow. The
power of the bow was rated in
pounds, according to the force re-
quired "to pull the string to the
right ear" while the instrument was
held by the left hand in proper
position for shooting. From sixty
to ninety pounds was the force
usually required to draw cloth
yard arrow to the head on bow six
feet in length. Arrows weighing
about an ounce, avoirdupois, were
considered the best adapted to most
purposes. Chaucer tells us that ar
rows were often decorated with
feathers taken from the peacock's
tail. The points of the arrows were
fashioned according to the purposes
for which they were designed. The
best bow-strings were made of wo-
ven or braided silk, we'll wrapped
to give them frmness. The execu-
ton of these missiles was simply
wonderful, even though contem-
plated by modern military engi-
neers. In the popular shooting
matches of the middle ages, three
hundred yards was common range;
and the target generally used was a
straight willow or hazel rod an inch
in diameter, set upright so its top
would about equal the height of the
marksman. To miss such mark as
this was enough to bring the blush
to the face OF gallant archer, esps-
cially if his lady-love were present
to witness his deep disgrace. From
well authenticated accounts, it ap-
pears that, in warfare, no armor
but the best Spanish or Milan steel
plate could successfully withstand
the arrows of the English soldiers at
q range of from two hundred to
hree hundred yards. An old mil
itary order OF proclamation imam
uscript, during the reign OF Eliza
beth, quantity sets forth that,
Captains and officers should be
skillful of that most noble weapon,
aud see that their soldiers, accord
ing to their draft and strength, have
good bows, well strinsed, ana every
string whipped in their notch, and
IN the middle rubbed with wax; bra
Ger and shooting glove; some spare
strings trimmed as aforesaid; every
man, one sheaf of arrows with a case
of leather defensible against the
rain; and in the same, four-and-
twenty arrows; whereof eight of
them shall be lighter than the res
idue." As we have said, archery,
as pastime, is becoming very pop
ular in this country, it has already
given rise to q large business in the
manufacture and sale of bows, ar
rows, quivers, aud other accessories.
The fact that bow is never left
sslOa1ed F." and 10 fraa frouo tho oh