Archery 
By L. E. STEMMLER 
HE tale of the bow begins in the 
dim and distant past when Ark, 
the caveman, crouched in am- 
bush, flint-headed shaft on _ string, 
waiting for elk or stag that would 
mean meat for his mate and _ shock- 
headed man cubs. If you listen closely 
to the string’s twang it will whisper 
of our hunter-warrior ancestors, of the 
slaying of lions by Assyrian monarchs, 
of the armies of Ethiopian blacks who 
conquered Egypt, of the marching 
legions of Rome, of great battles: 
Crécy, Agincourt and Flodden Field, 
and the rise and fall of kingdoms. 
Robin Hood will come to life, Little 
John and Will Scarlet will loose a grey 
goose shaft for you, and Friar Tuck 
will show how a good churchman drew 
a stalwart bow in just cause. What 
stirring deeds did the yeomen of 
Merrie England perform after they had 
learned their hard lesson on _ bloody 
Hastings Field near Senlac town. 
Lord Percie’s famous archers will 
rise before you and show how, at the 
battle of Halidown Hill, they did 
withal deliver their deadly arrows so 
lively, so courageously, so grievously, 
that they ran through the men at 
arms, bored their helmets, pierced 
their very swords, beat their lances to 
earth and easily shot those who were 
more lightly armed, through and 
through. 
We are indebted to Maurice and 
Will Thompson for the revival of 
Archery in America. After the Civil 
War they taught our fathers the 

witchery of the bow and the charm 
of the flying shaft. Up to 1890 it was 
a common sight to see a range on the 
lawn of a country place. The gayly- 
painted targets, the swift-flying ar- 
rows and the gracefully-curved bows 
made a _ beautiful and _ picturesque 
scene. And now the new generation 
is re-discovering this splendid sport. 
ROM the recreational standpoint 
Archery is an ideal sport. A court 
or course is not needed. The woods, 
the fields and all open spaces provide 
shooting ranges. It is a fallacy to 
think of it as a weak sport. One 
should shoot through an American 
Round, loosing ninety arrows, thirty 
each at forty, fifty and sixty yards at 
a four-foot target, before voicing one’s 
sentiments. Muscles you never knew 
were there will be discovered in arms, 
shoulders, back and thighs. It is the 
finest sort of training for the co- 
ordination of the faculties. Your eyes, 
the muscles of arms and back and 
your brain must work in perfect har- 
mony. Archery will always be your 
master, for no matter how well you 
shoot there will be room for improve- 
ment. 
4 pale Archer’s equipment consists of 
a six-foot long bow (five foot three 
or six inches for ladies), an arm guard 
to catch the string’s strike for his left 
arm and a shooting glove to protect 
the first three fingers of the right 
hand. An old kid glove, reinforced 
Fitting an Ancient Sport 
to a Modern 
Age 
across the tips of the shooting fingers, 
will serve. It is also necessary to 
have some sort of a target. The 
standard tournament target is four 
feet in diameter, with a 9-inch gold 
center, and rings of red, blue, black 
and white equally spaced. A home- 
made target made from a double sack 
stuffed with leaves or straw is good 
enough to practice on. 
Old Roger Ascham wrote in 1545. 
that “fayre shootynge came of these 
thynges: of standynge, nockynge, 
drawynge, howldynge and lowsynge.” 
It is necessary to master these five 
points to become half-way proficient. 
Stand with your left side toward the 
target; hold the bow in your left hand, 
pick up an arrow by the notch, place 
it over the string and across the bow 
so that it lays on your first finger 
knuckle. The feathers on an arrow 
are so arranged that there is a free 
space for them to pass the bow. 
Usually one feather is colored differ- 
ently from the rest and is known as 
the cock feather. This should be at 
right angles to the string and notch. 
Draw with the first three fingers of 
the right hand; string across the tips 
of the digits. As you fully extend 
the left arm, draw with the right until 
your hand nestles under your chin. 
When the arrow is fully drawn, hold 
the position for a moment, aim and 
loose. The loose is accomplished by 
quickly straightening the three shoot- 
ing fingers. Your efforts at shooting 
(Continued on page 492) 

Bracing the bow 
Page 471 
Showing three-finger release 
Holding, arrow fully drawn 
