NORTH AMERICAN BOWS, ARROWS, AND QUIVERS. 677 



"The native bow in Vanc()uver''s island is beantifnlly formed. It is 

 f>enerally made of yev\' or crab-api)le wood, and is 3i feet long', Avith 

 abont "1 inches at each end turned sharply backward from the string. 

 The string is a piece of dried seal gut, deer sinew, or twisted bark. 

 The arrows about 20 inches long, and are made of |)ine or cedar, tipped 

 with 6 inches of serrated bone, or with two unbarred bone or iron 

 prongs. I have never seen an Aht arrow with a barbed head." (Sproat's 

 iSeem's, j). 82.) 



"Having now, to a great extent, discarded the use of the traditional 

 tomahawk and spear. Many of these weapons are, however, still pre- 

 served as heirlooms among them." (Barrett-Lennards Trav., p. 42.) 



"No bows and arrows. Generally light hand to hand, and not with 

 missiles." (Fitzwilliam's Evidence, in Budsoii Bay Co.^ Kept., 1857, 

 115.)* 



"The arrows and spears in Puget Sound were usually i)ointed v\'ith 

 bone; the bows were of yew, and though short, were of great i)0wer. 

 Vancouver desciibes a superior bow used at Puget Sound. It was 

 from 2i to 3 feet long, nuide from a naturally curved piece of yew, 

 whose concave side became the convex of the bow, and to the whole 

 length of this side a strip of elastic hide or serpent skin was attached 

 so tirndy l)y a. kind of cement as to become ahnost a part of the wood. 

 This lining added greatly to the strength of tlie bow, and was not att'ec- 

 ted by moisture. The bowstring was made of sinew." Vancouver's 

 Voy., vol. I, p. 253. 



"At Gray Harbor the bows were somewhat more circular than else- 

 where." (Vancouver's Fo^/., vol. ii, p. 81; Wilkes's -tVar. m V. S. Ex- 

 ploring Expedition^ pp. 14, 319; Kane's ^¥an<l.^ pj). 209, 210. )t 



Lieut. Allen, IT. S. Army, has described tlKi excessive pains which the 

 Copper River Indians bestow upon the fashioning and caring for their 

 bows. There are no iirst rate, tough, elastic woods near them. Birch 

 and willow and such soft s[>ecies are theonlj' stock in trade. And yet, 

 by dint of heating or toasting, boiling, greasing, and rubbing down 

 they convert these poor materials into ex3ellent arms. It is here that 

 the wooded wrist guard or l)ridge is attached to the grip on the inside. 



The Hong Kutchin Indians (Athapascan faunly) closely allied with 

 Lieut. Allen's people, make their bows of willow after the same pains- 

 taking fashion, and their arrows of pine. The bows are almost straight, 

 and in order to prevent the string from lacerating the wrist they do not 

 wear a wrist guard, but lash a bit of wood to the inside of the grip [see 

 Plate II). The Kutchin tribes all use a similar bow, but do without the 

 guard. The quiver is simply a bag of skin worn under the left arm. 

 It has two loops for the bow and the arrows are inserted notch down.| 



"The arrow-heads of the Kutchin are of bone for wild fowl, or bone 

 tipl)ed with iron for moose or deer; the bow is al)out 5 feet long, and 

 that of the Hong-Kutchin is furnished with a small piece of wood 3 

 inches long by 1^ broad, and nearly 2 tliick, which ])rq)ects close to the 

 part grasped by the hand. This piece catches the string and prevents 

 it from striking the hand, for the bow is not bent much. There are no 

 individuals whose trade is to make spears, bows, or arrows." 



' See Bancroft, Native Races, vol. i, p. 188. 



t id. 214-215. 



1 Jones, Smithsonian Report, 1866, pp. 322, 824. 



