

SOCIETY 167 
for conservatism, and among them the spear became 
established as a weapon of warfare. As iron was 
introduced, the spear gained in reliability. Fighting 
now being at closer range, the sword or ax became of still 
greater value; and in proportion as these tendencies 
developed and the new weapons improved, the bow was 
relegated to special purposes, and in some instances fell 
almost wholly into disuse. In other words, its history 
may be inferred to have stood in directly inverse relation 
to that of the iron industry. The arrow can be but little 
improved by the use of steel, and the bow not at all; 
whereas the lance gains greatly, and the sword and ax 
become practicable weapons only when they are made of 
metal. 
With the comparative importance of iron in all native 
life, it might therefore be expected that even where the 
bow had been retained it would be a weapon of no very 
high quality. On the whole this is the fact. It is always 
a simple self bow, made usually from the wood of the 
palma brava or even of bamboo; is lacking in backing 
or other reinforcement; and the cord is often of rattan 
or other vegetable fiber instead of that best of all bow- 
string materials—sinew. The weapon is long and nar- 
row; among the Negrito it usually exceeds the height of 
the archer. The arrow is also long, often unfeathered, 
and rarely provided with other than a hard wooden 
point. Often the head is detachable, but has a cord 
affixed and thus really becomes a light harpoon for 
shooting. The strength of Filipino bows is usually not 
very great. Even those made by the Negrito fall con- 
siderably below their reputation. The arrow release 
of the blacks seems always to be the Mediterranean 
one: the cord is drawn with the tips of the middle three 
fingers, the nock of the arrow coming below the 
index. 
