638 NORTH AMERICAN BOWS, ARROWS, AND QUIVERS. 



THE BOW. * 



lu ancient times there was no otlier weajxjn into which a human 

 being conld throw so much of himself— his hands, his eyes, his whole 

 -mind, and body.! At any rate this is true of JSforth America, where 

 this arm was pre eminent. In Polynesia and in Africa the case would 

 be different. All of the early travellers in America si)eak of the sincere 

 attachment of the warrior or the hunter to his artillery. 



The noteworthy parts or char^icteristics of a bow are — 



1. Back, oi- i)ait of the bow away from tlu' archer. 



2. Belly, or part toward the archer. 



3. Limbs, or jjarts above and below the grip. Also called arms. 



4. Grip, or portion held in the hand. 



5. Nocks, or ends upon which the bowstring- is attached. 



6. Horns, or parts projecting beyond the limbs, at the end are the nocks. 



7. String, made of sinew, babiche or cord. 



8. Seizing, application of string to prevent the splitting of the wood. 



9. Backing, sinew or other substance laid on to increase the elasticity. 



10. Wrist guard, any device to prevent the bow-string from wounding the wrist of 

 the left hand. 



Bows, as to structure, are — 



1. Self bows, made of a single piece. Of thes<! tlie horns may be separate. 



1 in a cable. Called sinew corded bows. 

 i with sincw glned on. Sinew lined bow. 



2. Backed bows ( wrapped about. Seized bows. 



" with ^•(■u(■c^ many kinds.. 



3. Compound. 



Bows arc to be studied also as to their materials, their shape, their 

 strength, their history, and their tradition. (Plates lxi-xcv.) 



In every Indian wigwam were kept bow-staves on hand in different 

 stages of readiness for work. Indeed, it has beeu often averred that an 

 Indian was always on the lookout for a good i)ieceof wood or other raw 

 material. Tiiis, thought he, will make me a good snow-show frame or bow 

 or arrow and I will cut it down. These treasures were put into careful 

 training at once, bent, straightened, steamed, scraped, shaped, when- 

 ever a leisure moment arrived. ISTo thrifty Indian was ever caught 

 without a stock of artillery stores. 



Instances are on record where the wood for bows, the scions for arrows, 

 the stones for heads, and even the pluuuige for the feathering were 

 articles of commerce. 



As a rule, however, the savage mind had as its problem, not that of 

 the modern of ransacking the earth for materials and transferring them 

 to artiticial centers of consumption, but the development of the resources 



* Consult Henry Balfour. " The Structure aud AfSnity of the Composite Bow," 

 J. Anthrop Inst., Loud., xix; John Murdoch, A study of the Eskimo bows in the 

 U. S. National Museum, Smithsou. Rep., 1884, pt. ii; I). N. Auuchin, Bows and 

 Arrows, Trans. Tiflis Arch;eol. Congress, Moscow, 1887; Lane Fox, Catalogue- 



t Burton would claim this houor for the sword. 



