96 



THK PIMA INDIANS 



[ETU. ANN. 20 



A7ro'Ws. The arrows of the Pimas are made from tlie straight 

 stem of the arrow bush. The Kwahadk's and Papagos sometimes 

 sold arrows of jnicca stem to the Gilefios, but these were scarcely 

 equal in (juality to those made of wood. The hunting arrows " 

 (pi. XIII, c) have two split feathers, two hand's breadths in length. 

 War arrows'' have three feathers, less than half as long and slightly 



curved. All arrow shafts are measured 



Hand cut the length from tip of forefinger 

 to nipple of breast of the maker. Both 

 l)ows and arrows are sometimes stained 

 with the blood of the jack rabbit, and 

 war arrows may be dyed at the ends with 

 the cochineal which makes its home on the 

 Opuntias. The quiver is made of wild-cat 

 skin (pi. XIII, d). 

 War club. The club was of scarcely less 

 importance than the bow, and it was cus- 

 tomary for a portion of each band of war- 

 riors to fight with shield and club alone. •■ 

 Lance. A short sharpened stick was some- 

 times used by the Pimas, who adopted it 

 from the Yumas and Maricopas after the 

 Spaniartls supplied steel heads for the weapon. The sticks were colored 

 red with mineral paint.'' 



« There are eleven hunting arrows in the collection; length 0.785 m., sharpened to blunt points but 

 haWng neither head nor foreshaft. There are 3 bands of sinew 4 cm. apart, the first at the point- 

 The seizing at the forward end of the feathers is 5 cm. long. The feathers vary from 12 to 22 cm. in 

 length between the seizing at ends. They project 1 cm. from the shaftment. There are 10 hands of 

 sinew very neatly laid on to hold the feathers in place. The notches are 4 mm. deep. 



t The single war arrow in the collection is unusually long. 0.S50 m. It is stained with cochineal for a 

 distance of 0.117 m. from the point. It carries a small obsidian point 2 cm. in length, with the sinew 

 seizing continued from the point 3 cm. along the shaft. The feathers are 0.10 cm. long and project 

 7 nun. from the shaftment. The butt is stained for a distance of 5 em. 



c Bartlett, usually an admirable observer, failed to notice that the war club was a popular Pima 

 weapon. He saj's: "The only weapon used by these tribes is the bow and arrow. The short club of 

 the Yumas and the long lance of the Apaches I never saw among them." (Personal Narrative, ii, 237.) 

 The clubs were made of mesquite root or of ironwood. weighed about 2 pounds, and in general appear- 

 ance resembled the old style potato mashers of New England kitchens. (Fig. 9.) The handle was 

 brought to a sharp point, which was almost as efleetive as a dagger in a back-handed Itlow. The club 

 was carried thrust point downward through the I>elt. One club was obtained from its owner and 

 another found in a cache of personal property that had been made in the hills at the death of the owner. 

 The former is 42 cm. long, the head 10 cm. long and 9 cm. in diameter: the point is 9 cm. long. A 

 club in the National Museum, (no. 27S46) that was collected some years ago at Sacaton is 0.385 m. 

 long. 7 cm. in diameter. Doctor Palmer secured three in 1885 and beUeved that none remained 

 among the Pimas. These clubs, now in the Museum, are of the following lengths: no. 7(3023, 48 

 cm.; 70024, 44 cm.; and 76025, 46 cm. 



dThe collection contains a wooden lance, made from a giant cactus rib, that was carried in sham 

 battles near the Double buttes. It is 1.595 m. long, the larger end colored black to represent the 

 iron head, which is represented as 0.265 m. long, 24 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The handle is 

 stained a light red. 



Fig. 9. War clubs. 



