Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-06-16
DIR. Carver ON Bows and Arrows.

"You see," said DIR. Carver, as he de-
posted whole sheath of brightly
feathered arrows on table, took off his
umbrageous felt and drew up chair,
" / must be shooting something or other
all the time. If it isn't Winchester
it's bow and arrow. Pretty, they are,
but most too finel Fancy things, these
arrows, for handsome young ladies to
shoot on grass plats at straw targets.
Now an Indian arrow is good bit
longer-maybe thirty-two inches and
when Il Sioux draws it chock up
to the bow it fairly huns when he
let's it fly. An Indian arrow has grooves
cut in it behind the barb-that is to
say, the ones they use in hunting-so
that the blood can flow; other
wise the wound would swell and
spoil. The fighting arrows are nasty
things. The barb is so put on the
shaft that when it hits you, the steel,
the old hoop-iron, stays in the flesh
when you go to pull out the arrow.
Dear sakes, what ugly wounds / have
seen them make An Indian boy be-
gins to handle light bow when he tod
dies, maybe at four or five years. His
bow is taller than he is. He shoots at
everything round the camp. When he
is twelve he uses sharp arrows. A boy
must be strong at eighteen 10 use q
mans bow. Now, a white man who
takes an Indian bow for the first time,
some strength but more kuGck. The
bow is made straight When IL is
strung, the cord, when in tension,
almost touches the bow. II is
thick, some four and half or five
feet long is, their hunting
bow-aud has extra Stiffness by having
sinews pasted on it; l have seen We.
hessa-has-ka-tha, is, the long man
and he was the best OF tho Ogalalla
Sioux, kill an antelope with his arrow
at l25 measured yards. We-shessa-
has-ka was nearly seven feet tall, and a
good Indian. On horseback, broadside
TO buffalo, / have more than once
known that Indian to senl an arrow
through q big COW. Tho arrow hung
out on the other side. The bow for
horseback and for war is a trihc shorter.
and mag be sitter. You do not draw
the arrow to the eye, but catch aim
as 1 do when shooting from the
hip. That can be acquired only By
long practice. The string is drawn
by the clutch o! the whole fin
gers, though some of tue tribes use
the thumb and three fingers. The long
man could shoot an arrow in the air ont
Of sight, and so can | (the doctor
pointed 10 an arrow buried up 10 the
feathers in the ceiling Of our office, his
own peculiar ornamcniaiion Of the
Forest md Stream sanctuml. / think
that in a couple Of months / could get
into perfect practice, for used 20 hold
my own with any Indian on the plains.
Sometimes after / had been shooting
with my Winchester an Indian would
come up and show his bow, and tell mo
his bow was 'muchcc good, but then
fused TO take his own bow and beat him
at It.
To pass away the time when | was at
the Brooklyn Driving park, / bought an
English bow aud arrows Of Holbcrion.
and soon got into the trick OF It. bit
blocks of wood thrown into the air quite
rs often as l missed them. The English
bows and arrows are fancy, but good. I
would rather have an old Sioux one.
made of hickory or ash, but tho boss
bow / ever owned was maic hv buffalo
ribs. An Indian carries his culver OF
arrows over his right shoulder, so that
he can get his arrows quickly. When
he has discharged one arrow, with the
same motion that he uses in pulling the
string he clutches another arrow. II he
shoots 100 yards he has three or four ar.
rows in the air all going at the same
time. It's great fun shooting at a bird
with a long tail that flies over the
I prairie. Knock ont his tail and his
steering apparatus i gone. / have
knocked the tail ont OF many a one, and
SO caught him in my hands when h,
| tumbled. '-Foresi and lSfreIu.
/ Religion or the Presidents.