Mandans, among other tribes, practiced shooting a number of arrows in
succession with such dexterity that their best archer could keep eight
arrows up in the air at one time.
Will Thompson, the dean of American archery, writing in _Forest and
Stream_ of March, 1915, says very definitely that the feat of the
legendary hero, Hiawatha, who is supposed to have shot so strong and
far that he could shoot the tenth arrow before the first descended, is
manifestly absurd. Thompson contends that no man ever has, or ever will
keep more than three arrows up in the air at once.
Having read this and determined to try the experiment of dextrous
shooting, I constructed a dozen light arrows having wide nocks and
flattened rear ends so they might be fingered quickly. Then I devised a
way of grasping a supply of ready shafts in the bow hand, and invented
an arrow release in which all the fingers and thumb held the arrow on
the string, yet remained entirely on the right side of it.
After quite a bit of practice in accurate, later in rapid, nocking, I
succeeded in shooting seven successive arrows in the air before the
first touched the ground. I used a perpendicular flight. Upon several
occasions I almost accomplished eight at once. I feel that with
considerable practice eight, and even more, are possible, proving again
that there is an element of truth in all legends.
It has long been a bone of contention among archers which element of
the yew, the sap wood or the heart, gives the greater cast. To obtain
experimental evidence, I constructed two miniature bows, each
twenty-two inches long, one of pure white sap wood, the other of the
heart from the same stave. I made them the same size, and weighing
about eight pounds when drawn eight inches.
Shooting a little arrow on these bows, the sap wood shot forty-three
yards; the red wood sixty-six yards, showing the greater cast to be in
the red yew.
Corroborating this, Mr. Compton relates that while working in Barnes's
shop in Forest Grove, Oregon, during the last illness of that noted
bowyer, he came across a laminated bow made entirely of sap wood.
Barnes stated that he had constructed it at the instigation of Will
Thompson. The cast of this bow was slow, flabby, and weak. As a
shooting implement it was a failure.
Taking two pieces of wood, one white and one red, each twelve inches
long, I placed them in a bench vise and fastened a spring scale to the
top of each. Drawing the sap wood four inches from the perpendicular,
it pulled eight pounds. Drawing the heart wood the same distance it
pulled fourteen pounds, showing the greater strength of the latter.
When drawn five inches from a straight line, the red piece broke. The
sap wood could be bent at a right angle without fracture.
It is obvious from this that the sap wood excels in tensile strength
the red wood in compression strength and resiliency. In fact, they are
reciprocal in action. The red yew on the belly of the bow gives the
energy, the sap wood preserves it from fracture. It is, in fact,
equivalent to sinew backing, and though less durable, probably adds
more to the cast of the bows.
In our experiments with a catgut and rawhide backing, we have not found
that they add materially to the cast of a bow, only insure it against
fracture. On the other hand, sap wood and hickory backing materially
add to the power of the implement.
The little red yew bow used in the previous experiment was backed
heavily with rawhide and catgut. It then weighed ten pounds, but only
shot sixty-three yards, showing a decrease in cast. But the backing
permitted its being drawn to ten inches, when it shot a distance of
eighty-five yards. A draw of twelve inches fractured it across the
handle.
In a similar experiment it was shown that two pieces of wood of the
same size, but one being of a coarse-grained yew running sixteen lines
to the inch, the other a fine-grained piece running thirty-five lines
to the inch, the finer grain had the greater strength and resiliency up
to the breaking point, but the yellow coarse-grained piece was more
flexible and less readily broken.
The question often arises, "How would an arrow fly if the bow is held
in a mechanical rest and the string released by a mechanical release?"
Such an apparatus would permit of several experiments. It would answer
some of the queries that naturally pass through the mind of every
archer.
_Question 1._ How accurate is the bow and arrow as a weapon of
precision, or as they say in ballistics, "What is the error of
dispersion?"
_Question 2._ What is the angle of declination to the left of the point
of aim in the flight of such an arrow?
_Question 3._ What is the effect of placing the cock feather next the
bow?
_Question 4._ What is the effect of shooting different arrows? How do
they group? Would not such a machine give accurate data regarding the
flight of new arrows and help in the selection of shafts for target
shooting?
_Question 5._ What effect does the time of holding a bow full drawn
have on the flight of an arrow?
_Question 6._ What is the result of changing the weight of bows when
the arrows remain the same?
Therefore, we devised a rest, consisting of a post set firmly in the
ground, with a rigid cross arm and a vise-like hand grip. This latter
was padded thickly with rubber, so that some resiliency was permitted.
The bow was fastened in this mechanical hand by sturdy set screws.
At the other end of the cross arm a hinged block was attached, from
which projected two short wooden fingers, serving the exact function of
the drawing hand. These were spaced so that the arrow nock fitted
between them, and when the string was pulled into position and caught
upon these fingers, the bow was drawn 28 inches.
We adopted a system of loading, drawing and releasing on count, so that
every shot was delivered with equal time factors.
_Answer 1._ Using the same arrow each time, with the target set at 60
yards, we found, of course, that the arrow always flies to the left
when drawn on the left side of the bow, and that the angle of
divergence for a 50 pound bow and a 5 shilling English target arrow was
between six and seven degrees. Using a stronger bow this angle was
increased,--also that with a weaker arrow the angle was greater,--but
six degrees might be designated as the normal declination.
_Answer 2._ Every rifle expert knows what his gun is capable of, in
accuracy, and an archer should know just what to expect of an arrow
under the most favorable conditions. We therefore tried shooting the
same arrow over the same course with the same release, under these
fairly stable conditions: The day was calm. We shot an arrow ten times
in succession and all the shots centered in a six inch bull's-eye; that
is, none went out of a circle of this diameter. In other words, at
sixty yards a bow can shoot arrows with an error of dispersion of no
more than six inches. This is surprisingly accurate for a weapon of
this sort, when it is considered that the best rifles of today will
average between one and a half to three inches dispersion at 100 yards.
_Answer 3._ Placing the cock feather next the bow diverts the arrow to
the left and causes it to drop lower on the target. The group formed by
six flights was fairly close and consistent.
_Answer 4._ Out of nine arrows tested, five consistently made a good
close group and four as consistently went out. The "outs," however,
were uniform in the direction and distance they took. It would be
possible by this machine to select arrows that would make co-incidental
patterns. It is obvious, however, that differences in individual arrows
are greatly exaggerated by the apparatus, because it was quite apparent
by this test that any good archer could group these hits much closer
than the machine delivered them.
_Answer 5._ In our shooting, we universally allotted five seconds for
drawing, setting and discharging. However, when this time was increased
to fifteen seconds, we found that our groups averaged seven and
one-half inches lower. This shows the decided loss of cast incidental
to long holding of the bow.
_Answer 6._ Placing a 65 pound bow in the frame immediately showed
increased reactions throughout. The lateral divergence in arrow flight
was increased to fifteen degrees and all individual reactions were
correspondingly increased. The flight of the individual arrow was less
consistent, showing plainly the necessity of a proper relation in
weight between the arrow and bow,--a very essential factor in accurate
shooting.
In conclusion, it seems to me that the machine naturally exaggerated
the errors, for this reason. If the pressure of the arrow against the
bow, in passing, amounts to two ounces, the arrow will fly a two ounce
equivalent to the left, when the bow is held rigidly. An arrow that
exerts four ounces pressure will fly correspondingly a greater distance
to the left. But when the bow is held in the hand, there is
considerable give to the muscles and the two ounce pressure is
compensated for; thus, the arrow tends to fly straight. The four ounce
arrow would with the same adjustment hold a correspondingly straighter
course.
The vertical error, however, depends more on the weight of the arrow,
on the feathering, the holding time, the maintainance of tension, and
on the release of the bowstring.
There are many problems in the ballistics of archery that are unsolved,
waiting the experiments of modern science. Empirical methods have
dictated the art so far. In target equipment and shooting there is a
wide field for investigation. Our interests, however, are more those of
the hunter, and less those of the physicist.
V
HOW TO MAKE A BOW
Every field archer should make his own tackle. If he cannot make and
repair it, he will never shoot very long, because it is in constant
need of repair.
Target bows and arrows may be bought in sporting stores, here or in
England, but hunting equipment must be made. Moreover, when a man
manufactures his bow and arrows, he appreciates them more. But it will
take many attempts before even the most mechanically gifted can expect
to produce good artillery. After having made more than a hundred yew
bows, I still feel that I am a novice. The beginner may expect his
first two or three will be failures, but after that he can at least
shoot them.
Since there are so many different kinds of bows and all so inferior to
the English long-bow, we shall describe this alone.
Yew wood is the greatest bow timber in the world. That was proved
thousands of years ago by experience. It is indeed a magic wood!
But yew wood is hard to get and hard to make into a bow once having got
it. Nevertheless, I am going to tell you where you can get it and how
to work it, and how to make hunting bows just as we use them today, and
presumably just as our forefathers used them before us. Later on I
shall tell you what substitutes may be used for yew.
The best yew wood in America grows in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon,
in the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges of northern California. By
addressing the Department of Forestry, doubtless one can get in
communication with some one who will cut him a stave. Living in
California, I cut my own.
A description of yew trees and their location may be had from
Sudworth's "_Forest Trees of the Pacific Slope_," to be obtained from
the Government Printing Office at Washington.
My own staves I cut near Branscomb, Mendocino County, and at Grizzly
Creek on the Van Duzen River, Humboldt County, California. Splendid
staves have been shipped to me from this latter county, coming from the
neighborhood of Korbel.
Yew is an evergreen tree with a leaf looking a great deal like that of
redwood, hemlock, or fir at a distance. It is found growing in the
mountains, down narrow canyons, and along streams. It likes shade,
water, and altitude. Its bark is reddish beneath and scaly or fuzzy on
the surface. Its limbs stand straight out from the trunk at an acute
angle, not drooping as those of the redwood and fir.
The sexes are separate in yew. The female tree has a bright red
gelatinous berry in autumn, and the male a minute cone. It is
interesting that in bear countries the female trees often have long
wounds in the bark, or deep scratches made by the claws of these
animals as they climb to get the yew berries. It is also stated by some
authorities that the female yew has light yellow wood, is coarser
grained, and does not make so good a bow. I have tried to verify this,
but so far I have found some of my bear marked female yew to be the
better staves.
The best wood is, of course, dark and close grained. This generally
exists in trees that have one side decayed. It seems that the rot
stains the rest of the wood and nature makes the grain more compact to
compensate for the loss of structural strength. It is also apparent
that yew grown at high altitudes, over three thousand feet, is superior
to lowland yew.
In selecting a tree for a hunting bow, the stave must be at least six
feet long, free from limbs, knots, twists, pitch pockets, rot, small
sprouting twigs and corrugations. One will look over a hundred trees to
find one good bow stave; then he may find a half dozen excellent staves
in one tree.
There is no such thing as a perfect piece of yew, nor is there a
perfect bow; at least, I have never seen it. But there is a bow in
every yew tree if we but know how to get it out. That is the mystery of
bowmaking. It takes an artist, not an artisan.
Before one ever fells a tree, he should weigh the moral right to do so.
But yew trees are a gift from the gods, and grown only for bows. If you
are sure you see one good bow in a tree, cut it. Having felled it and
marked with your eye the best stave, cut it again so that your stave is
seven feet long. Then split the trunk into halves or quarters with
steel or wooden wedges so that your stave is from three to six inches
wide. Cut out the heart wood so that the billet is about three inches
thick. Be careful not to bruise the bark in any of these operations.
Now put your stave in the shade. If you are compelled to ship it by
express, wrap it in burlap or canvas, and preferably saw the ends
square and paint them to prevent checking. When you get it home put it
in the cellar.
If you must make a bow right away, place the stave in running water for
a month, then dry in a shady place for a month, and it is ready for
use. It will not be so good as if seasoned three to seven years, but it
will shoot; in fact, it will shoot the same day you cut it from the
tree, only it will follow the string and not stand straight as it
should. Of course, it will not have the cast of air-seasoned wood.
The old authorities say, cut your yew in the winter when the sap is
down, or as Barnes, the famous bow-maker of Forest Grove, Oregon, used
to say: "Yew cut in the summer contains the seeds of death." But this
does not seem to have proved the case in my experience. I am fully
convinced that the sap can be washed out and the process of seasoning
hastened very materially by proper treatment.
Kiln dried wood is never good as a bow. It is too brash; but after the
first month of shade, the staves may be put in a hot attic to their
advantage.
In selecting the portion of the tree best suited for a bow, choose that
part that when cut will cause the stave to bend backward toward the
bark. Since your bow ultimately will bend in the opposite direction,
this natural curve tends to form a straighter bow, or as an archer
would say "set back a bit in the handle."
If it is impossible to get a stave six feet in length, then a wide
stave three and a half feet long may be used. It is necessary in this
case to split it and join the two pieces with a fishtail splice in the
handle. Target bows are made this way, to advantage, but such a
makeshift is to be deprecated in a hunting bow. The variations of
temperature and moisture combined with hard usage in hunting demand a
solid, single stave. It must not break. Your life may depend upon it.
Before engaging in any art, it is necessary to study the anatomy of
your subject. The anatomical points of a bow have a time-honored
nomenclature and are as follows: Bows may be single staves, or
one-piece bows, those of one continuity and homogeneity; spliced bows
consist of two pieces of wood united in the handle; backed bows have an
added strip of wood glued on the back; and composite bows are made up
of several different substances, such as wood, horn, sinew, and glue.
That surface of the bow which faces the string when drawn into action,
that is, the concave arc, is called the belly of the bow. The opposite
surface is the back. A bow should never be bent backwards, away from
the belly; it will break.
The center of the bow is the handle or hand grip; the extremities are
the tips, usually finished with notches cut in the wood or surmounted
by horn, bone, sinew, wooden or metal caps called nocks. These are
grooved to accommodate the string. The spaces between the nocks and the
handle are called the limbs.
A bow that when unstrung bends back past the straight line is termed
reflexed. One that continues to bend toward the belly is said to follow
the string. A lateral deviation is called a cast in the bow.
The proper length of a yew bow should be the height of the man that
shoots it, or a trifle less. Our hunting bows are from five feet six
inches to five feet eight inches in length. The weight of a hunting bow
should be from fifty to eighty pounds. One should start shooting with a
bow not over fifty pounds, and preferably under that. At the end of a
season's shooting he can command a bow of sixty pounds if he is a
strong man. Our average bows pull seventy-five pounds. Though it is
possible for some of us to shoot an eighty-five pound bow, such a
weapon is not under proper control for constant use.
Some pieces of yew will make a stronger bow at given dimensions than
others. The finer the grain and the greater the specific gravity, the
more resilient and active the wood, and stronger the bow.
Taking a yew stave having a dark red color and a layer of white sap
wood about a quarter of an inch thick, covered with a thin
maroon-colored bark, let us make a bow. Counting the rings in the wood
at the upper end of the stave, you will find that they run over forty
to the inch.
Ishi insisted that this end of the stave should always be the upper end
of the weapon. It seems to me that this extremity having the most
compact grain, and the strongest, should constitute the lower limb,
because, as we shall see later on, this limb is shorter, bears the
greater strain, and is the one that gives down the sooner.
We shall plan to make the bow as strong as is compatible with good
shooting, and reduce its strength later to meet our requirements.
Look over the stave and estimate whether it is capable of yielding two
bows instead of one. If it be over three inches wide, and straight
throughout, then rip it down the center with a saw. Place one stave in
a bench vise and carefully clean off the bark with a draw knife. Do not
cut the sap wood in this process.
Cut your stave to six feet in length. Sight down it and see how the
plane of the back twists. If it is fairly consistent, draw a straight
line down the center of the sap wood. This is the back of your bow. Now
draw on the back an outline which has a width of an inch and a quarter
extending for a distance of a foot above and a foot below the center.
Let this outline taper in a gentle curve to the extremities of the bow,
where it has a width of three-quarters of an inch. This will serve as a
rough working plan and is sufficiently large to insure that you will
get a strong weapon.
With the draw knife, and later a jack plane, cut the lateral surfaces
down to this outline. The back must stand a tremendous tensile strain
and the grain of the wood should not be injured in any way. But you may
smooth it off very judiciously with a spoke shave, and later with a
file. The transverse contour of this part of the bow remains as it was
in the tree, a long flat arc.
Shift the stave in the vise so that the sap wood is downward, and set
it so that the average plane of the sap is level. With the raw knife
shave the wood very carefully, avoiding cutting too deeply or splitting
off fragments, until the bow assumes the thickness of one and
one-quarter inches in the center and this decreases as it approaches
the tips, where it is half an inch thick.
The shape of a cross-section of the belly of the bow should be a full
Roman arch. Many debates have centered on the shape of this part of the
weapon. Some contend for a high-crested contour, or Gothic arch, what
is termed "stacking a bow"; some have chosen a very flat curve as the
best. The former makes for a quick, lively cast and may be desirable in
a target implement, but it is liable to fracture; the latter makes a
soft, pleasant, durable bow, but one that follows the string. Choose
the happy medium.
The process of shaping the belly is the most delicate and requires more
skill than all the rest. In the first place you must follow the grain
of the wood. If the back twists and undulates, your cut must do the
same. The feather of the grain must never be reversed, but descend by
perfect gradation from handle to tip.
Where a knot or pin occurs in the wood, here you must leave more
substance because this is a weak spot. If the pin be large and you
cannot avoid it, then it is best to drill it out carefully and fill the
cavity with a solid piece of hard wood set in with glue. A pin crumbles
while an inserted piece will stand the strain. If such a "Dutchman" be
not too large nor too near the center of either limb, it will not
materially jeopardize the bow. If, in your shaving, you come across a
sharp dip in' the grain, such that will make a decided concavity, here
leave a few more layers of grain than you would were the contour even;
for a concave structure cannot stand strain as well as a straight one;
the leverage is increased unduly.
The following measurements, with a caliper, are those of my favorite
hunting bow, called "Old Horrible," and with which I've slain many a
beast. The width just above the handle is 1-1/4 by 1-1/8 inches thick.
Six inches up the limb the width is 1-1/4, thickness 11-1/16.
Twelve inches above the handle it is a trifle less than 1-1/4 wide by 1
inch thick. Eighteen inches above the handle it is 1-1/8 wide by 7/8
thick. Twenty-four inches above it is 15/16 wide by 3/4 thick. Thirty
inches above it is 11/16 by 9/16 thick. At the nock it is practically
1/2 by 1/2 inches.
Having got the bow down to rough proportions, the next thing is to cut
two temporary nocks on it, very near the ends. These consist in lateral
cuts having a depth of an eighth of an inch and are best made with a
rat tail file.
Now you can string your bow and test its curve.
Of course, you must have a string, and usually that employed in these
early tests is very strong and roughly made of nearly ninety strands of
Barbour's linen, No. 12. Directions for making strings will be given
later on.
It is difficult to brace a new heavy bow and one will require
assistance. In the absence of help he can place it in the vise, one of
those revolving on a pivot, and having the string properly adjusted on
the lower limb, pull on the upper end in such a way that the other
presses against the wall or a stationary brace, thus bending the bow
while you slip the expectant loop over the open nock. Or you can have
an assistant pull on the upper nock, while you brace the bow yourself.
In ancient times, at this stage, the bow was tillered, or tested for
its curve, or, as Sir Roger Ascham says, "brought round compass," which
means to make it bend in a perfect arc when full drawn.
The tiller is a piece of board three feet long, two inches wide, and
one inch thick, having a V-shaped notch at the lower end to fit on the
handle and small notches on its side two inches apart, for a distance
of twenty-eight inches. These are to hold the string.