Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-05-28
A Talk About Bows and ar-o,

"A 10lA ADOut BOWS ana Arrows
lDr. Carver in Forest and Stream:
"You see, said Dr.. carver, as he deeosited q
whole sheath Of brightly feathered arrows on
a table, took OF his outrageous felt, and drew
up chair. +" must be shooting something OF
other all the time. If it isn't a Winchester, it's
bow and arrow: lretty. they are. But most
some young ladies to shoot on grass plats at
straw targets. Now. an Indian arrow Is q good
bit longer-maybe 80 Understand when aSioux
draws 1t chock up to the bow 1t fairly huns
when he lets 1t fly. An Indian arrow haSgrooves
cut In behind the baro-that is to say. the ones
they use In hunt1ng-so that the blood can flow,
The fighting arrows are nasty things. The barb
1s so put on the shaft that when 1t 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 I have seen them
make! An Indian boy begins to handle a
light bow when he toddles, maybe at four or
five years. His bow Is taller than he is. He
shoots at almost anything around the camp.
When he is IL he uses sharp arrows boy
must be strong at IS to use mans bow. Now.
white man who takes an Indian DOW for the
first time has all he can do to bend It. II wants
some strength, but more knack. The bow is
made straight. When 1t Is strung the cord even
when In tension. almost touches the bow. L. Is
thick, some four and a half to five feet long
that is, their hunting bow-and has extra stiff
ness by having sinews pasted on it. / have seen
We shesSa- has ka-that Is the Long MAJ
anu uo WAS Gue UcSC OI Inc OSalatta sioux.
kill an antelope with his arrows at 1875
measured yards. We-shessa-has- ka was nearly
seven feet tail, aud q good Indian. On horse
back, broadside to buffalo, have more
that once known that Indian to send an AFRO "
through big COW. The arrow hung out on
the other side The DOW for horseback and for
war Is trifie shorter, and may be sitter. You
do not draw the arrow to the eye, but catch
aim as do when shooting from the hip. That
can be acquired only by long practice. The
string is drawn by the clutch Of the whole
fingers. though some OF the tribes uss the
thumb and three fingers The long man could
shoot an arrow In the air out OF sight, and 90
can Qhe doctor pointed to an arrow buried uu
to the feathers in the ceiling OF our Off e. his
own peculiar ornamentatlOn OF the Forest and
months could get into perfect practice for
used to hold my own with any Indian on the
plains Sometimes, after had been shooting
With my Winchester, an Indian would coma u o
and show his bow, and tell me his bow was
muchee good but then used to take his OWL
bow and beat him at it.
ITO pass away the time when was at the
Brooklyn driving park, bought an English
DOW and arrows Of Holbert0n and soon got into
the trick OF it. ! hit blocks of wood thrown
INTO the air quite as often as l missed them
Ihe English DoW5 and arrows are fancy, bu,
good. would rather have an old Sioux one
made Of hickory or ash, but the boss bow
ever owned was made OF buffalo ribs. An In
dian carries bis culver OF arrow over his rlgh,
shoulder, so that he can get his arrows quickly
same motion that he uses In pulling the string
he clutches another arrow. Ii he shoots 1O(
yards he has three or four arrows In the air al
going at the same time. It's great fun shooting
at bird with long tail that flies over the
prairie. Knock out his tail and his steerlne
or many one. and so caught him IN my hand;
When he tumbled."