Bow -Shooting. 



875 



\JPJ3w3c 



WAITING FOR A SHOT. 



All your weapons and accouterments must be kept dry and well 

 oiled. Dampness and archery do not agree. 



Never allow yourself to make a careless shot at anything. Strive 

 for excellence at every effort. 



Never try to take aim when shooting, but fix your eyes steadily 

 on the mark, and guide your arrow by your sense of direction. 



Squeeze the bow-handle with the left hand. You cannot hold it 

 too fast. Draw quickly and evenly. Let go without "bobbling " or 

 tremor. 



Do not allow the sight of game to put you all in a quiver. You 

 cannot shoot well when excited. 



I do not decry angling and gunning, except that the latter is too 

 destructive of game. I am an enthusiastic "disciple of the rod," but 

 whenever I cast a fly or troll a minnow my long-bow is near at hand 

 and a well filled quiver at my side. You cannot combine gunning and 

 angling on account of the weight of the gun and accouterments, and 

 still more because the noise of fire-arms is sure to render timid fish 

 sullen. I have known the bass in a well stocked pool utterly to refuse 

 the most tempting bait through an entire day, for nothing more than 

 a pistol-shot fired close by. The twang of a bowstring seems to 

 frighten nothing. It was the old first note of music made by 

 Apollo. 



I will here endeavor to set forth the whole " code of practice " of 

 archery as I follow it: 



To Make a Good Bow. — Take a good, clear billet split from 

 mulberry, sassafras, Southern cedar, black locust, ash. or apple-tree, 



