THE AMERICAN 



SPORTSMAN'S 



JOURNAL. 



[Entered According to Act of CongreBB, In the Tear 1879, by the Forest & Stream Publishing Company, In the Office of the Librarian of CongresB, at Washington.] 



Ian. a Yea 

 l Copy. 



iiiimiliN. S 



:.} 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1879. 



For Forest and Stream arid Rod and &un. 



By John T. Pickktt. 



" Load rcah the torrent floods 

 The Western wilds among, 

 And free In green Columbia's woods 

 The hunter's bow Is strung." 



THANKS, O gentle Hemans ! for this stirring pen-pic- 

 ture of the native American archer! And with its 

 rythm there comes a rush of classic memories— Ulysses, Pan- 

 daras, Oambyses, Philoctetes, Oommodus, Robin Hood, 

 Roger Aschatn, Bishops Latimer and Ileber, and, though yet 

 unknown to prose and song, the brave and handsome Ke-tem- 

 seh, chief of the Pe-nah-te-kah, or Honey-eating Comanches. 

 It is imny a lustrum since my star led me to spend some 

 lotus-eating months with the Pe-nah-te kah Comanches, but 

 whether as volunteer or captive, it matters not ; and it was 

 then that I first revelled in the delight and dirt of savage life. 

 And whence comes it that civilized man develops, on slight 

 provoc lliou, a strong disposition to return to his primordial 

 condition of savagery? For there is a charm unspeakable in 

 escaping the restraints of society. And just here I am tempt- 

 ed to relate the sadly romantic story of " Bison " McLean, a 

 graduate of the U. S. Military Academy, who became chief 

 of a band of wild Mohave Indians, and who presented him- 

 self on one occasion, "all painted and plumed in savage ar- 

 ray," before one of his old classmates, who was in charge of 

 au U. S exploring party, and whom he magnanimously for- 

 bore to capture or slay. Suffice it to say that just as Lieut. 

 Ives, U. S. Engineers, and party had settled themselves com- 

 fortably in camp one fine evening, some twenty years ago, 

 on the K rink of a cafion of the Colorado, they were startled 

 by the sudden appearance in their midst of a band ot the 

 ugliest and most h stile-looking savages they had yet en- 

 countered, all with arrow nocked on bow-string. Ives put a 

 good face on the contretemps, welcomed his unbidden guests 

 and offered them the coffee of comfort and the pipe of peace. 

 They seated themselves, and with many "hows" and 

 "ugbs," partook freely of the refreshments, and were 

 smoking in solemn silence, when suddenly thus their grim chief 

 spoke: "Why, Ives, old fellow, you don't seem to know 

 me I" Tableau. The " Bison" was finally slain by his adopt- 

 ive brethren. And has not General Cadmus Wilcox made 

 the strange story " serve to point a moral and adorn a tale?" 



The dactylamonochordo, or, as our little Greeks have it, the 

 " bow-arrow-stick 1" Where is the country-bred, interesting 

 small boy who has not tried his skill as an archer upon the 

 cheerful cock-sparrow and festive tom-tit, or upon the infant 

 progeny of duck or hen? Such, at least, is my recollection 

 of youthful days in beautiful blue-grass Kentucky. But 

 shade of Apollo! such archery! Later, I obtained some 

 glimpses of the art by visiting an academy where, a number 

 of Choctaw and Chickasaw youths were instructed in the 

 three R's ; yet it was not until after the lapse of many years 

 that I acquired a knowledge of the true principles of archery 

 from Ke-tem-seb and his braves. The Comanches are, as all 

 know, mou'ited Indians, and therefore use short bows, and, 

 like unto Parthians, Persians, Tartars, etc., fighting and hunt- 

 ing on horseback, they have lost the use of the much longer 

 bow. These Bedouins of the plains were not slow in avail- 

 ing themselves of the services of that noble animal (guvs 

 atbtdlus, and one of their bows— the longest they use, and 

 which I retain after the lapse of a quarter of a century — is of 

 only four and one-half feet, made of bois d'arc, and of a pull 

 of about sixty pounds, which sufficed to drive their 25-inch 

 arrows through man or beast. 



In after years I was a visitor at the grounds of the Royal 

 Scottish Archers, Hope Park, Edinburgh ; of the Royal Tox- 

 ophilite Society, Regent's Park, London ; and spent a day at 

 Chantilly, where the French archers most do congregate ; 

 but it -ras not until after reading Mr. Maurice Thompson's 



* Dactylomonochordo, a fornildable-looklDg compound Greek word, 

 mean-) slmp'y a '■ one-stringed harp," otherwise an archer's bow. 

 whicti was probab'y the origin of the harp. The title signifies literally 

 a " one-stringed Anger-harp," and the critical may say that It would be 

 more appropriate to a paper on the Jew's-harp. And, by the way, 

 w »y Je n's-harp 7 I have been Informed It was originally j'aw's-harp, 

 In either case, fancy King David playing on that instrument I 



seductive article in ScriMer's for July, 1877, that I became 

 inspired with the desire of mailing a real long-bow archer of 

 myself, and I have suffered ever since from a genuine attack of 

 toxomania. True it is, many years had passed away since 

 my earlier essays, and with those years I had grown old and 

 broken in strength, and. in fact, was looking about for some 

 suitable out-of-door exercise when Mr. Thompson solved the 

 difficulty. Implicitly following his instructions, I find my- 

 self greatly improved in health" and strength, for no middle- 

 aged man of, say 55, could take ever so few pulls at a good, 

 stout long-bow without feeling himself refreshed, exhilarated 

 and benefited thereby. There is nothing equal to it, unless 

 it be the sawing of wood ; but in this latter exercise the ele- 

 ment or sentiment of poetry is wholly wanting. 



To most persons, a bow is simply a crooked stick with a string 

 to it, while an arrow is a straight stick with a feather at one 

 end. Each and every Yahoo thinks he knows how to shoot with 

 these "sticks," and so he could, after a fashion; but I never 

 yet encountered a wholly uninstructed person who knew in- 

 stinctively (natural weapon of man, though it be) how to hold 

 the bo w, nock an arrow or draw the cord. 



Foremost, among my many archery correspondents is the 

 venerable Peter Muir,"of Edinburgh, who subscribes himself 

 " the oldest living archer in Britain." And well he may, 

 he has " twanged the yew " for sixty years, besides having 

 been, until recent retirement from busiuess, a manufacturer 

 of archery implements for a full half century, and having 

 conducted that ancient establishment, "Archers' Hall," Edin- 

 burgh, during that long period. I have one of his admirable 

 yew bows, though for all practical purposes, give me the self 

 lancewood or the lemonwood. 



It is a common error with athletic new beginners to feel 

 ambitious of handling very strong bows. This is a great mis- 

 take, and liable to produce unpleasant results. Attend, O, 

 ingenuous youth and steady "buffer!" to these words of 

 wisdom from that Nestor of archers, Father Muir. Quoth 

 he : "A bow above 70 pounds strength is beyond the power 

 of any living man to use with steadiness or skill. To wrestle 

 with a piece of inflexible timber is not archery. To enjoy 

 the practice, a man must have a weapon he can command — 

 not the weapon command him. This is a truth patent to all 

 practical archers, and which I have verified abundantly in 

 sixty years' experience." He then proceeds to give illustra- 

 tions, and cites the sad case of one gentleman who persisted 

 ID using, or trying to use, an 80 piund bow, until he injured 

 his spine and lost bis eyesight ! Further, he says that " when 

 a yountc man, I made bows 80, 90 and 100 pounds strong for 

 a Mr John Gregory, bin he could not even string thtru— and 

 a noble strong man he was " He adds: "I would advise 

 you to limit the power of your bows to 56 or 58 pounds, 

 which you would fiod abundantly strong for all practical 

 purposes of archery." Of course, be is speaking of the bow 

 as adapted to target shooting, and in the British Islands it is 

 used for no other purpose. When the bow was a military 

 weapon SO or 90 pounds was not unusual, and it was dangerous 

 to expose yourself to the English shafts wiihin 400 yards, if 

 they had the windward of you. But they were practicing 

 constantly and until the muscles of the arms were preternatu- 

 rally developed, and their skill became simply marvelous. 

 My Comanche friends used bows of from 40 to perhapB 70 

 pounds, but they did not appear to attach much importance 

 to long-range shots, nor do any mounted American archers. 

 there is a well-authenticated ca;e in Texas of the killing of 

 a white man at the distance of 225 yards by a Karonkaway 

 Indian, with his little how aud arrow. These, however, 

 were not mounted savages — were cannibals, and are long ex- 

 tinct, at least as a tribal organization. 



The redoubtable Captain John Smith in his Voyages and 

 Discoveries in Virginia, says (discarding his quaint spelling") : 

 "There is yet in Virginia no place discovered to be so savage 

 in which they have not a religion, deer, and bow and arrows." 

 Aud in speaking of their archery he informs us that " when 

 they come to the place of exercise every man doth his best to 

 show his dexterity, fur by their excelling in those qualities 

 they get their wives. Forty yards will they shoot level, or 

 very near the mark, and 120 is their best at random. * * * 

 For fishing, huntiug and wars they use much their bow and 

 arrows. Their arrows are made some of straight young sprigs 

 which they head with bone some two or three inches long. 

 These they use to shoot at squirrels on trees. Another sort 

 of arrows they use made of reeds. These are pieced with 

 wood, headed with splinters of crystal or some sharp stone, 

 the spurs of a turkey or the bill of some bird. For bis knife 

 he hath the splinters of a reed to cut his feathers in form. 

 With this knife also, he will joint a deer or any beast, shape 

 his shoes, buskins, mantles, etc. To make the notch of his 

 arrow he hath the tooth of a b.aver set in a stick, wherewith 

 he grateth it by degrees. His arrow head he quickly maketh 

 with a little bone, which he ever weareth at his bracert (arm 

 guard) of any splint of a stone or glasB, in the form of a heart, 

 aud these they glue to the end of their arrrows. With the 

 sinews of deer and the tops of deer's horns boiled to a jelly, 

 they make a glue that will not dissolve in cold water." 



This most illustrious of all the John Smiths favors posterity 

 with the following account of the Susquehanna Indians, 

 whom he first encountered near the head of Chesapeake Bay : 

 " Five of their chief Weroioances (petty kings) came aboard 

 us and crossed the bay iu their barge. The picture of the 

 greatest of them is signified in the map. The calf of whose 

 leg was three-quarters of of a yard about, and all the rest of 



his limbs so answerable to that proportion that he seemed the 

 goodliest man we ever beheld. His hair, the one side was 

 long, the other shorn close, with a ridge over his crown like a 

 cock's comb. His arrows were five quarters long, headed 

 with the splinters of a white crystal like stone, in form of a 

 heart, an inch broad, and an inch and a half or more long. 

 Those he wore in a wolf's skin at his back for his quiver, his 

 bow in the one hand and his club in the other, as is de- 

 scribed." 



Now, nothing could be more interesting to the toxophilite 

 and ethnologist than the foregoing graphic extracts from our 

 brave old filibuster. Hereabout lived the Monacana, who 

 bore, it is to be presumed, a general resemblance to their 

 neighbors, although Captain Smith does not describe their 

 aspect minutely. But, in my archery excursions in the im- 

 mediate vicinity of this beautiful Capital City, 1 have picked 

 up scores of those "splinters of a white crystal like stone," 

 quartz arrow-heads, or "Indian darts," as the natives, white 

 and colored, call them. These Monacans were constantly at 

 war with Powhatan, and but little is known of their history. 

 They have left no monumental remains, but their stone imple- 

 ments afford an imperishable record of their having been and 

 passed awav! The neighboring shores of the Anacostia and 

 the beautiful little island of Analostan seem to have been 

 their favorite habitat ; for my juvenile band of bowmen and I 

 have collected nearly one thousand of these paleological speci- 

 mens in our roving excursions, spear and arrow heads, punches 

 scrapers, knives, and an occasional stone hatchet — all of quartz 

 chert, porphyry, slate, jasper, etc., etc , with bare three 

 flints. Many specimens are perfect, but as regards far the 

 greater number, the plough, the hoe, and the iron-shod heel 

 of the horse have done their work. In prosecuting these in- 

 teresting and simple researches 1 have stood, literally, within 

 the shadow of the mighty dome of our Capitol 

 When the lire in the West fades low, 

 and saluted the bronze squaw upon its summit whilst she 

 looked benignantly down upon my not irreverent gathering 

 up of the. relics of those who are long since gone to the Happy 

 Hunting Grounds prepared for all of her race. 



Many of our still-existing Indians use the arrows so faith- 

 fully described by our truly veracious old chronicler, Captain 

 Smith. 1 have in my possession numbers of those "reed ar- 

 rows, pieced with wood, headed with splinters of crystal or 

 some sharp stone." It is a favorite style of missile with the 

 Pai-Utes and other tribes of the Western wilds : and it is a 

 curious fact that alth.iuah these arrows are usually nearly or 

 quile turee feet in length ihey are discharged from bows of 

 only 4J feet. Any toxophilite will readily understand why 

 the Indians " foot" their arrows in that manner. Smith says 

 also : "Their arrows are made some of straight yo-ing sprigs," 

 and to this day the Comanches and others prefer those 

 " young sprigs," dog wood shoots or " suckers," to any other 

 matei ial for their shafts ; and it is a further curious fact that 

 the ancient Britons used the same shafts, namely, the shoots 

 of the cornel tree, i. e., corniis ; in plain English, dogwood. 



I would advise all who may be interested in our real native 

 American archery to visit the admirable Ethnological Museum 

 of the " Smithsonian,'' where they will find an almost endless 

 variety of Indian bows and arrows and the accompanying gear. 

 Shall we not find an enthusiastic votary of toxophily who will 

 imitnte Hansard and give us an illustrated " Native American 

 Book of Archery ?" We have no end of admirable works on 

 everything "in the Heavens above, and in the earth beneath, 

 and in the waters under the earth;" multitudes of "Indian 

 books," etc., etc., but what is wanting is " A Monograph on 

 the Missile Weapons of the North American Savages," for it 

 seems to me that this special branch of ethnology has been 

 sadly neglected. 



Old Roger Ascham delighted in subscribing himself "Schola 

 and Toxophilite," and he has been called the father of English 

 prose, tor his " Tosophilus " was written rather with a view 

 toward crystallizing the crudities of the English language and 

 giving it a style, than alone from mere love of the long bow. 

 And so my venerable Scottish friend, Mr. Muir. may craim to 

 be " Poet and Toxophilite," as witness his pleasing little 

 verses : 



IN PKAISE OF ARCHERY. 

 Hall happy sport, naught else on earth 



Could make our tiearlB to glow 

 With halt so ranch of Joy and mirth, 



As the pastime of the bow. 

 It is a sport for gallant men, 



For hearts weil used to freedom : 

 A tljggard ne'er our joys could ken, 



A slave pur path ni'er tread on. 

 Chorus— Then join with me ye merry men, 



We'll toast the bow and quiver, 

 And may our lives, like our bright tatge, 



Be brilliant rounds for ever. 

 To pleaae our aim no victim bleeds, 



No eye e'er droops In sadnesB : 

 Humane are all an archer'B dee3s, 



And all he learns is gladness. 

 It lengtheuB life, It strengthens limb, 



It adds to beantj's glow : 

 Disease flies oil on rapid wlDg 



Prom him who twangs the bow. 

 Chants— Then join with me, etc., etc. 



