92 



ARROWS, BOWS, AND QUIVERS 



[b. a. b. 



shafts. The shaftments in most arrows 

 are plain; bnt on the W. coast they are 



Ivory Arrowshafi 

 ener; Eskimo. 



3 IN.) 



USE OF ARROWSHAFT STRAIQHTENER; SHOSHONI (elLIOTt) 



painted with stripes for identification. 

 The Plains Indians and the Jicarillas cut 

 shallow grooves lengthwise down their 

 arrowshafts, called "lightning marks," 

 or " blood grooves," and also are said by 

 Indians to keep the shaft from warping 

 (Fletcher) or to direct the fiight. The 

 feathering is an important feature in the 

 Indian arrowy differing in the species of 

 birds, the kind and number of feathers 

 and in their form, 

 length, and manner 

 of setting. As to the 

 number of feathers, 

 arrows are either 

 without feathering, 

 two-feathered, or 

 three-feathered. As' to form, feathers are 

 whole, as among most of the Eskimo and 

 some S. W. tribes, or halved or notched 

 on the edges. In length they vary from 

 the very short feathering on S. W. arrows, 

 with long reed shafts and heavy fore- 

 shafts, to the long feath- 

 ering on Plains arrows, 

 with their short shafts of 

 hard wood. The feath- 

 ers are set on the shaft- 

 ment either flat or radi- 

 ating; the ends are lashed 

 with sinew, straight or 

 doubled under, and the 

 middles are either free or glued down. In 

 some arrows there is a slight rifling, due 

 perhaps to the twist needed to make a tight 

 fit, though it is not said that this feature is 

 intentional. The nocks of arrows, the 

 part containing the notch for the string, 

 are, in the Arctic, fiat; in the S., where 

 reed shafts were employed, cylindrical; 

 and in localities where the shafts were 

 cut, bulbous. Besides its use as a piercing 



Stone arrowshaft Ri 



BER; MASSACHUSEr 

 (length, 4 1-2 IN.] 



Sandstone Arrowshaft Rub- 

 ber; Indian grave, British 

 Columbia. (h. I. Smith) 



or striking projectile, special forms of the 

 arrow were emi^loyed as a toy, in gaming, 

 in divining, in rain- 

 making, in ceremony, 

 in symbolism, and in 

 miniature forms with 

 prayer -sticks. The 

 modulus in arrow- 

 making was each 

 man's arm. The 

 manufacture of ar- 

 rows was usually at- 

 tended with much 

 ceremony. 



The utmost fiight, 

 the certainty of aim, 

 and the piercing pow- 

 er of Indian arrows 

 are not known, and stories about them 

 are greatly exaggerated. The hunter or 

 warrior got as near to his victim as possi- 

 ble. In shooting he drew his right hand 

 to his ear. His bow register scarcely ex- 

 ceeded 60 pounds, yet arrows are said 

 to have gone quite through the 

 body of a buffalo (Wilson in Rep. 

 Nat. Mus. for 1897, 811-988). 



Bows.— The bows of the 

 North Americans are quite 

 as interesting as their ar- 

 rows. The varied envi- 

 ronments quickened the 

 inventive faculty and pro- 

 duced several varieties. 

 They are distinguished l)y 

 the materials and the 

 parts, which are known as 

 back, belly, wings, grip, 

 nocks, and string. The 

 varieties are as follow: 

 (1) Self-bow, made of one 

 piece; (2) compound bow, 

 of several pieces of wood, 

 bone, or horn lashed to- 

 gether; (3) sinew-backed 

 bow, a bow of driftwood or 

 other brittle wood, rein- 

 forced with cord of sinew 

 wrapped many times 

 about it lengthwise, from 

 wing to wing; (4) sinew- 

 lined bow, a self-bow, the 

 back of which is further 

 strengthened with sinew 

 glued on. In some cases 

 bows were decorated in 



a b colors. 



types of bows. ((, The varieties character- 



■ e°T°r"n''e ^k°m' izing the culture areas are 



(boas";";>, sI'ew- distinguished as follow: 

 LINED BOW, navaho 1. Arctic. — Compound 



(mason) I^Q^g Jj-^ ^J^g g_^ YgJ.y 



clumsy, owing to scarcity of material; 

 the grip may be of wood, the wings 

 of whale's ribs or bits of wood from 

 whalers. In the W. excellent sinew- 



