backed bows were made on bodies of 
driftwood. Asiatic influence is apparent 
in them. (See Boas in 6th Hep. B. A. E., 
399-669, 1884; Murdoch in 9th Bep. 
B. A. E.', 133-617, 1887, and Bep. Nat. 
Mus. for 1884, 307-316. ) 
2. Northern Athapascan. — Long, straight 
bows of willow or birch, with wooden 
wrist-guards projecting from the belly. 
3. St Lawrence and Eastern United 
States. — Self-bows of ash, second-growth 
hickory, osage orange (hois d’arc), oak, 
or other hard wood. 
4. Gulf States. — Long bows, rectangu- 
lar in section, of walnut or other hard 
wood. 
5. Rocky mts. — (1) Self-bow of osage 
orange or other hard wood; (2) a com- 
pound bow of several strips of buffalo 
horn lashed together and strengthened. 
6. North Pacific coast. — Boavs AA T ith 
rounded grip and flat wings, usually 
made of yew or cedar. 
7. Fraser- Columbia region. — Similar to 
No. 6, but with wings much shorter and 
the nocks curved sharply outward. 
8. Interior basin. — A long slender stick 
of rude form; many are strengthened by 
means of a sinew lining on the back and 
cross wrappings. 
9. California. — Like No. 7, but neatly 
lined with sinew and often prettily deco- 
rated. 
10. Southwest. — Like No. 8, but seldom 
sinew-lined (Navabo) . Small painted 
bows are used much in ceremony, espe- 
cially by the Pueblos, who deposit them 
in shrines. In the s. part of this area 
long cottonwood bows with cross lashing 
are employed by Yuman and Piman 
tribes. The Jicarillas make a cupid’s 
boAV, strengthened with bands of sinew 
wrapping. 
The bows e. of the Bockies have little 
distinction of parts, but the w. Eskimo 
and Pacific slope varieties have flat wings, 
and the former shoAvs connection with 
Asia. The nocks are in some tribes alike, 
but among the Plains Indians the lower 
nock is cut in at one side only. Bow- 
strings are of sinew cord tied at one end 
and looped at the other. 
Wrist-guard.- — When the boAvman’s 
left arm was exposed he Avore a wrist- 
guard of hide or other suitable material 
to break the blow-of the released string. 
Wrist-guards were also decorated for cere- 
monial purposes. 
. Arroav release. — Arrow release is the 
way of holding the nock and letting loose 
the arrow in shooting. Morse describes 
four methods among the tribes k. of Mex- 
ico, the first three being Indian: (1) Pri- 
mary release, in which the nock is held 
between the thumb and the first joint of 
the forefinger; (2) secondary release, in 
which the middle and the ring fingers 
are laid inside of the string; (3) tertiary 
release, in which the nock is held be- 
tween the ends of the forefinger and the 
middle finger, Avhile the first three fin- 
gers are hooked on the string; (4) the 
Mediterranean method, confined to the 
Eskimo, whose arrows have a flat nock, 
in which the string is drawn with the 
tips of the first, second, and third fingers, 
the nock being lightly held between the 
first and the second fingers. Morse finds 
that among the North American tribes, 
the Navaho, Chippewa, Micmac, and Pe- 
nobscot used the primary release; the 
Ottawa, Chippewa, and Zuni the second- 
ary; the Omaha, Arapaho, Cheyenne, 
Assiniboin, Comanche, Crows, Siksika, 
and some Navaho, the tertiary. 
Quivers. — The form of the quiver de- 
pended on the size of the bow and ar- 
rows; the materials, determined by the 
region, are skin or wood. Sealskin quiv- 
ers are used in the Arctic region; beauti- 
fully decorated examples of deerskin are 
common in Canada, also e. of the Bock- 
ies and in the Interior basin. On the 
Pacific coast cedar quivers are employed 
by the canoe-using tribes, and others 
make them of skins of the otter, moun- 
tain lion, or coyote. 
In addition to the works cited under 
the subject Arrowheads, consult Cushing 
(1) in Proc. A. A. A. S., xliv, 1896, (2) 
in Am. Anthrop., vm, 1895; Culin, Am. 
Indian Games, 24th Bep. B. A. E., 1905; 
Mason, N. Am. Bows, Arrows, and Quiv- 
&\fW 
