NORTH AMERICAN BOWS, ARROWS, AND QUIVERS. 647 



So far as known the savages of America were right-handed. But 

 there is nothing in any bow from the northern portion of tlie continent to 

 show this fact. Left-handed archery was certainly quite uncommon. 

 In a large number of darting boards or throwing sticks, which under 

 certain technical exigencies are used by the Eskimos in place of the bow, 

 there are only two specimens that are left-handed. Among the women 

 of tlie same areas, not one implement has been found fitting the left 

 hand. 



The conditions of sending an arrow into the vital part of any game 

 are distance, wind, varying elasticity of the bow, varying weight of the 

 arrow, proper shape of the weapon, penetrability of the game. Each 

 one of these variables is rendered as constant as possible by the hunter, 

 in skulking, getting to windward, using woo<l of the greatest strength 

 for bows, and making one's own arrows. The intellectual stimulus in 

 the creation and using of the bow and arrow was incalculable. 



Oliver Marcy gives the following on arrow penetration : 



" I have in my possession the sixth dorsal vertebra of a buft'alo, the 

 spine of which contains an iron arrow point. The arrow struck the spine 

 about li inches above the center of the spinal canal, and penetrated tlie 

 bone 0-82 of an inch. The bone at the point struck is 0-55 of an inch 

 thick, and the point of the arrow protrudes beyond the bone 0*27of an 

 inch. The arrow was shot from the rigiit side of the animal and the 

 plane of the point was horizontal. The animal was mature and the 

 bones well ossified. Thcuigh the vertebra has been much weathered, 

 the epiphyses adhere closely. The animal was not as large as some 

 individuals. The whole vertical length of the vertebra is 13 inches, 



"The arrow must have penetrated several inches of tlesh before 

 striking the bone.'' * 



He does not take into consideration also the thick hide and matted 

 woolly hair, both especially thick at the point struck. 



As it is customary in rating the stature of a people to disregard the 

 giants and the dwarfs, so in rating theXorth American projectile we may 

 as well omit the marvellous and exceptioiml successes in company with 

 the egregious shortcomings in order to know the importance of the 

 average. When these allowances are made, there is enough to show 

 that for accurate and rapid and effectual shooting the bow and arrow 

 in the hands of a skilled warrior or hunter were a creditable weapon. 

 The distance at which an Indian bow will do execution has not been 

 studied among the tribes. As i)reviously said, the design of the hunter 

 or the warrior was to get close up. In all the sham battles which the 

 writer has witnessed from his boyhood, the warriors almost touched 

 each other. The dexterity with which they parried and fenced with 

 the arm shield and the bow and arrow was marvellous. The absence of 

 noise, the invention of game drives, the universality of decoys, the 

 hundreds of disguises, theefticient skulking, the imitations of the cries 

 of animals, all point to the intention of getting within a distance of 20 

 yards or less. 



* Science, vol. vn, p. 528. 



