The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1906-11-08
I..:: BOOMERANG.


- A@1* \ A&~ss& &c = lew Gentlemen
| connected vita he Department o.
Agriculture formed n association for
TIC Study aad use Of this peculiar
weapon They secured . large tract
O. open land in the northwestern Sec
ton CT the city. and since that une
have been quay with their novel
sport. They arc ranIdiy becoming
expert in the use Of this remarkable
veal On. and there Is no reason Why
the SPORT should not be adopted n
other sections OF the country.
Fog many years IL was generally
believed that the stories of travellers
regarding the performances OF this
remarkable weapon were made OF
hole cloth assisted by vivid irnag-
ination, but recently acquired knowl-
| edge has shown that 1t will do all
that has been claimed for IT, Con-
siderable areas Of territory are ueces-
sary for the proper manipulation OF
| the boomerang. and great care should
be taken by the neophyte until its
peculiar flights are understood.
Boomerangs are far from being toys,
but are extremely dangerous weapons
in the hands Of inexperienced throw
| ers, the novice never knowing where
they will alight
In its flight the boomerang seems
to defy all known laws of projectiles,
and in the hands of an expert beauti-
full evolutions may be obtained from
| it. No one but the thrower ever
l-S, I, 81
ing the hand will fall, but he can cal
culate to q nicely, the Australians
| manipulating them SO well that they
| frequently catch thcl.s on their return
after flight that would seem incred-
| ible IL it were not witnessed. The
| boomerang will perform feats that
| are little short of miraculous, and al
| though science has as yet failed to
explain thoroughly the reasons for
| these peculiarities, it Is understood
| that they are the result OF a combina-
ticn of the form Of the weapon and
| the resistance Of the air.
This primitive weapon is made of
a piece Of wood about twenty-six
inches in length by two and one-half
|
! it's greatest thickness. The wood is
| steamed and bent to an angle of
about 140 degrees, the inner edge be-
ing almost knifelike in its sharpness,
| the outer more rounded. The finished
article looks not unlike an ordinary
sickle, and is thrown by grasping one
end with the hand, holding the con-
| CT f,r
projecting IL straight away on a hori-
zontal plane. Ash has been found to
be the wood best adapted to the max
Ing OF boomerangs, because Of it's
toughness and correct specific gray
ity.
Amy boy having access to carpcn-
ter's shop and possessing knowl-
edge of few simple tools can make
his boomerangs; in fact, they can be
made with nothing but the wood, a
spokeshave and piece of sandpaper,
but the original piece of wood should
| be secured from turning mill, be-
cause of the better facilities at those
places for steaming and bending it to
the correct shape for the final
| touches
Let the wood be three inches in
width, one-half inch in thickness and
twenty-six inches in length, having
an angle Of from 100 TO 40 degrees.
The crude weapon before steaming
must be twisted from left to right SO
that the outer edge of each half will
barely project beyond the inner
edges. With this as a foundation the
carpenter must shave the wood SO
that the inner edge will be quite
sharp and the outer but little less SO,
/ the sides bullying SO that the greatest
thickness is not quite half an inch.
On the end which is intended to be
grasped by the hand in throwing
there may be made few ridges so as
to permit of a firm hold. Take this
weapon into q large field and see
what may be done with it. If there
are trees so much the better for the
beauty of the evolutions. Take a
stand fifty yards from tree, and
throw the boomerang as hard as you
can at the trunk and exactly as you
would a baseball, always remember.
ing to hold the convex side outward
and the tip perpendiuclarly with the
handle. Aim directly at the tree and
see what happens.
If the boomerang has been made
correctly it viii! go toward the tree
with the speed of bullet, but before
reaching it will sail to the left, riss
in the air, and execute beautiful
circle to the right, returning to with
in 4 few feet OF the thrower. This il
the action Of the right hand boomer
ang, but they are also made for lief
hand flights, in which case the twis
must be made TO the left instead o
the right. By varying the degrees 0
the angle and the weight OF tn
weapon as well as the twist, many va
riations of flight may be secured.
For long distance throwing the
should be made quite large, as tn
increased weight can be obtainet
only in this manner: and weight I
what carries them through the all
The straightaway throwing with tn
weapon first described always result
in one circle from left to right, bu
this may he varied by alterations i
the method Of throwing as well as
, the force with which they are Pre-
PEELED through the air.
Experimenting alone will result /
perfection, and new throwers almos
always attain results differing froI
those Of others. An expert Austria
liam throWer will spin one from hiI
with seeming ease. 1t will strike til
4 ground q short distance away, boIn