Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1891-09-02
POINTS ABOUT ARCHERY.
How Bows and Arrows Should Be Made
and How Used.


How Bows and Arrows Should Be Made
and How Used
Things will never be again as they
were when the archers at Crecy and
Agincourt decided the fate of the bat
tie. But if it has ceased to do serious
business there is now DO prettier pas
time than that afforded by the bow and
arrow, and it always carries with it
gilded retrospect of history and rom
ance.
They tell terrible stories concerning
the efficiency of the bow and arrow in
ancient warfare, an arrow having been
known to penetrate warriors armor,
leather jerkin and saddle and kill his
horse, besides having pierced steel
plate two inches thick, while many an
arrow has pinned rider to his horse.
IN the old days an arrow has been shot
distance of nearly one thousand
yards
They had all sorts of bows in those
days; the cross bows--whose arrows
they called guorrels, more properly
euarrels, from the old French quarre,
on account of the square head--were
used in sea fights and sieges But the
elegant bow was along bow, which (al-
though in one form many people can
now draw with ease) none can use with
the strength, and swiftness, and grace Of
the archers of the time of the early
Edwards. Even after the use of fire.
arms was well under way the long bow
was delighted in, and as lately as in the
time of the great Queen Elizabeth there
was a mass meeting of three thousand
archers, specially massed, decorated
with gold chains, attended by pages,
and met and reviewed by the queen.
Now the bow and arrow are only a
feature of summer pleasure taking, but
their exercise will always remain a
thing OF grace and beauty.
The bow should usually be, if held
up besides its bearer, as long as the
bearer is tall or certainly five feet long,
at a venture. It is best made of two
different sorts Of wood joined, the grain
running different ways, the outside
piece curved, the inside piece fat
Ash and elm and acacia are excel
lent woods for the purpose. 1t can
be whitfield out of a barrel stave. In
England they use the yew great deal
Sometimes the ends are tipped with
horn The string is preferably OF
hemp, bound about tightly with sewing
silk, where the arrow is apt to abrade
it at the middle.
It should never be OF catgut. When
a bow Of the length mentioned is
strung, the distance from the middle of
the curve of the bow to the straight
string opposite should be about five
inches. The bearer strings his bow,
after attaching the string at one end
by standing it upright on the ground,
bending 1t, the fat side turned in, and
swapping the loops over the other end.
It should be oiled, and when unstrung
should always be laid away. The ordi-
nary lad of fourteen years can bend a
bow that ''pulls" from twenty-five to
thirty pounds. The arrows can be
made of any white wood, the lighter
the better, the end Of the hard wood
carefully joined, and into that brass
or steel tip sunk or riveted They may
be vanished; they must be perfectly
straight They are notched at one end
and lightly feathered, the large feather
The feathers split and wet with glue,
are slipped into their grooves or Sits
prepared for them.
If the archery is to be pursued in any
finished style the archer, whether boy
or girl, should have a leather belt
around the waist, with pocket to hold
two or three arrows; the culver, also
made of leather, and long enough to
hold all the length Of the arrow except
the feathered part, is thrown aside
while shooting. Some wear also piece
of leather on the arm to prevent bruises
from the string, together with a
peculiar glove, consisting of strap
about the wrist holding three long
thongs, with pockets for the fingers
that the string might hurt, and the
paraphernalia is concluded with little
box swinging from The belt and hold
ing some suet and beeswax rubbed
together for use on the shooting glove,
and a wollen tassei on which to clean
and wipe things. The archer stands
perfectly erect, with the left foot for.
ward, and the face so turned to the
right as to align the sight over the left
hand, whose first finger holds the arrow
over the middle of the bow, while the
right hand afxes the arrow by it's notch
to the string. Then the left forefnger
is removed and the left hand grasps the
bow firmly; the bow is raised, the
string pulled by the right hand close
beside the right ear, the aim is taken
and the arrow sent home. In long
flights the right hand must not be
raised SO high. in order that the arrow
may be sent with q curve.-N. Y.