Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-01
THE INyg| 3 ARROW
- isss- -s:y
Investigation Into the Uses Of tho
I'D Weapon.
e.. r,---s-------
HOW fHE nsAVAGEs MADE IT
FIaking Oft the Chips of OBJ
ii, sidian.
3ifsu.
AN INTERESTING PAPI R
INTERESTING
PAPI r

Mr.. Frank II. Gushing, before the ASSo-
citation for the Advancement OF Science,
| at its recent session read an interesting
paper on the arrow:
| "One of the most ancient of the things
man has made" he said. sis the
| arrow. There is no weapon the lin
| cage of which can be traced to a
| simpler beginning. We have been apt
| to lose sight of this through associating as
| inseparabie. alike in oriSin and use, the
| how with the arrow. But I think / can
| show that the arrow had been perfected in
| well nigh all its parts long before the SIM
plest bow had been thought of or FASH
| toned. If this be true, then the arrow In
| it's embryonic form was older than either
the store ak or the shaped knife of flint.
| It was the chief reliance and resource of
| primitive man in the two main activities
Of iife-war and the chase. it speedily be-
| came his first-aI.d ever remained, by rep
| rcsentation. at least. his highest instru-
| mentality for divining the fate or fortune
| it's use so often decided. and in this way
came to affect as no other single object
| ever did the development and history of
mankind the wide world over.
When 1 was barefoot boy, less than
ton years of age. my fathers hired man,
whilst piowing one day. picked up and
| blue flint arrow point, saying: 1.-THE In
| diars made that: 1t is one of their arrow
heads" As he turned again to his pillow
l took 1t up fearfCDy, wopderingly, in my
| hands. Nothing had ever aroused my in
| terest so much. That little arrow point
| decided the purpose and calling of my
Whole life. When had gathered in course
| Of time collection of some hundreds of
relics from all over central and western
| New York. l began a series of expert
nents to learn how these arrows had been
made. There was a farmer in our neigh
\ hn1
| California and had been pinned in the
shoulder by an indian arrow. He may not
have killed the Indian. but at any rate he
| had his whole sheaf of arrows-uuite as
perfect set as ever saw. They were all
! pointed with obsid!an ti1,s, like mine in
| shape and in finish, but smaller In recog-
milton OF my passion he gave me two of
| them. i thought the points were glass
and forthwith added all the thick pieces of
| bottle glass and window-plate l could
gather to my'Sstore of new materials for
| throughout a Whole season; but the pro-
ducts Of my hamnlerih gs, though fair. were
but crude COMPARED with those of the field.
A Bay 'so Enthusiaxn.
When nearly fourteen years of age
discovered in the Gods south of Medina
N. Y. an ancient Indian fort. built a hut
there and used to go there and live DAYS
at a time. dgxing for relics while the sun
| shone, and on rally days, or at night by
! the light of 1he camp fire. studying by
experiment how the more, curious of them
had been made and, user: One evening I
Grearthed n beautiful harpoon of bone I
had tooth brush 1 chopped the handle
on and ,ground1it down OF piece of sand
stone to the shape of the harpeon blade
putecouid notdgffEd the riean-cut barbs In
| its, edge. L took my store of flint scales
| and chips andSetseo worlo.on it, using the
! h-nf fakes in my fingers, on clampipg them
between f3'titd stidlss,' saw fashion. The
! nlht cut the hone nway as well as a knife
| OF steel would have cut it, but left the
WORK rPngb- Now ips trying to smooth I
made a discovery. No sooner had l begun
to rub the bone transversely to the edge
OF the INIT than the bone began to cut
the hint away-not jaggedly, as my ham
mer stone would have Clipped it, but in
| long, continuously narrow surface flakes
Wherever the edge was caught in the bone
al certain angle. l never finished that
7harpoon.' l turned 1t about and used IL as
an arrow faker, by tying it to a little rod
OF wood with my shoe string. and pressing
| 1t at the proper angle to points on the flint
| which I worked to remove l made arrow
after arrow thus in the joy of my new
discovery, until my hands were blistercd
and iacerated. did not know at that
| time that Psychologists the world over were
ignorant, as l had been. of just how flint
| implements had been made; and 1 did not
learn until my noble, lamented friend, Prof
| hard, called me to the Smithsonian In
| stttute in 1875 that was the first man. or
rather boy to have practically discovered
now to make implements of glass and
mint TAXED from side to side, indistinguish-
aoie from those made by primitive peoples
Paleolitliic Mans Existence Brief.
| l have told this history as it occurred
| FOR three-fold reason; first, to instance
| the manner in which / discovered flint FAX
ing by CHANGING ignorantly to follow pre-
| cisely the course primitive man must
necessarily have followed; and secondly,
m 70.
| perience taught me-that 1 could learn
| more by strenuously experiencing with saw
age things and arts than others or 1 could
| have learned by actually and merely see
ing and questioning savages themselves
| about such things and arts; and thirdly,
there is another lesson of later develop
| ment this experience has taught rle-that
| paieohthic man of the French caves at
no other art of working stone than by
rudely breaking it into shape by blows
OF otner stones could not have existed in
such primary status of art for more than
| rev seasons at most.
In finally forming arrow points from
these trimmed blanks (stones already
partly shapeO the smallest of them were
chosen. The first care in fashioning one
| vas to remove protuberant points from its
edge and sides and to thin it down by
means of pitching tool of buckhorn. It
was now further shaped, sharpened,
nocked or barbed. or serrated-according
to intended use When a number of the
points had been finished, they were
| warmed by the fire and rather ceremoni-
ously enWrapped in buckskin or fiber; not
me re to keep them safe than to cure them
OF this rough handling and win them to
| favor and strength. Then twigs were cut
with due sacrifice to the wood sprites, were
brought head or upper ends foremost,
passed over the store of points, to make
them acquainted" and laid down with
their tip ends to the east or south, If for
the peaceful hunt, to the west or north, If
for war. They were peeled upwardly, or
from butt to tip, that their way of working
be Lot baked; scraped and shaved to uni
formity, also from the butt upward, and
placed alongside a hot fire or buried in
moist, hot sand, 10 soften or "ripen" them,
and afterward iiclamped between one
nether grcoved piece of sandstone or sand
ed wood, and one small nat piece, held over
it firmly in the left hand, was showed and
pulled twistingly- back and forth, until
smoothed and rounded and further
Strengthened, Finally, each was both sea-
soned and pelished, then Strengthened to q
nicely, by passing it under heavy pressure
over smooth, grooved piece Of very hot
soapstone or else, better still. by heating
and stretching 1t, turning it at the same
time, through veritable drawplate of
bonehorn or hard wood. furnished with q
single medium hole or several beveled per-
forations.