Some Indian Ways 479 



A target can be made of a burlap sack about five feet 

 square. This should be stuffed full of hay or straw, then 

 flattened by a few quilting stitches put right through with a 

 long packing needle. On this the target is painted of exact 

 right size. 



Each brave should have a bow that pulls from 10 pounds 

 up ; about one pound for each year of his age is a safe guide 

 for boys up to sixteen. He should have at least 6 arrows 

 and a quiver. The arrows 25 inches long, with 3 feathers, 

 cone-points of steel or iron; brass points are useless. A 

 guard or bracer for the left wrist is needed, and most boys 

 require a glove to protect the fingers of the right hand. 



Bows can be bought for $1 to $5 and arrows from 15 

 cents to $3 each. But it is more creditable if you make 

 them yourself. 



HOW TO MAKE A BOW 



Take a straight, sound piece of cedar, bodark, yew, 

 sassafras, mulberry, apple tree, black locust, ironwood, ash, 

 elm, hickory, or hemlock. Cut it so that it is half sap and 

 half heartwood, flat on the sapwood side (or front) and 

 round on the heartwood side (or back). It should be about 

 an inch thick in the middle and tapered off to | inch at each 

 end. Cut two notches and put on a strong linen cord, 

 either a bought bow-string or one made of many twisted 

 linen threads. At one end it is fast to the bow by a timber 

 hitch, at the other by a hard loop. 



When strung the string should be about 5 inches from 

 the bow. 



Arrows should be 25 inches long, and | of an inch thick. 

 They are made of pine or ash. The Eastern Indians made 

 them usually of arrow-wood or viburnum shoots. 



Each should have a conical steel ferrule for head and three 

 feathers to make it fly true. The feathers are lashed on. 



