The Indian men showed no less ingenuity artistic skill in their
special lines of work than the women, especially in manufacture
of their bows and arrows, in the making of fish lines and coarser
twine out of the soft, flexible bark of the milkweed (_Asclepias
speciosa_), and in making other useful implements and utensils
with the very limited means at their disposal.
Their bows were made of a branch of the incense cedar
(_Libocedrus decurrens_), or of the California nutmeg (_Tumion
Californicum [Torreya])_, made flat on the outer side, and
rounded smooth on the inner or concave side when the bow is
strung for use. The flat, outer side was covered with sinew,
usually that from the leg of a deer, steeped in hot water until
it became soft and glutinous, and then laid evenly and smoothly
over the wood, and so shaped at the ends as to hold the string in
place. When thoroughly dry the sinew contracted, so that the bow
when not strung was concave on the outer side.
[Illustration: _Photograph by Boysen._
A BASKET MAKER.
She is weaving a burden basket. The one to the left is for
cooking, and a baby basket stands against the tent.]
When not in use the bow was always left unstrung. To string it
for use, it was necessary in cold weather to warm it, thus making
it more elastic and easily bent. The best strings were also
made of sinew, or of pax-wax cartilage, for their finest bows.
The arrows were made of reeds and various kinds of wood,
including the syringa (_Philadelphus Lewisii_) and a small shrub
or tree which the Indians called _Le-ham´-i-tee,_ or
arrow-wood, and which grew quite plentifully in what is now known
as Indian Canyon, near the Yosemite Falls.
The finest arrows were furnished with points made of obsidian, or
volcanic glass, which was obtained in the vicinity of Mono Lake
on the eastern side of the Sierras. It required great care and
delicate skill to work this brittle material into the fine sharp
points, and the making of them seemed to be a special business or
trade with some of the old men. Arrows furnished with these
points were only used in hunting large game, or in hostile combat
with enemies; for common use, in hunting small game, the hard
wooden arrow was merely sharpened to a point.
The butt, or end used on the string, was furnished with three or
four short strips of feathers taken from a hawk's wing, and
fastened on lengthwise. These strips of feathers are supposed to
aid in the more accurate flight of the arrow when shot from the
bow.
When out on a hunt the Indian carried his bow strung ready for
use, and his bundle of assorted arrows in a quiver made of the
skin of a small fox, wild-cat or fisher, hung conveniently over
his shoulder.
These primitive weapons, which were in universal use by the
Yosemite Indians fifty years ago, are now never seen except in
some collection of Indian relics and curios.
Other articles manufactured by these tribes were stone hammers,
and also others made from the points of deer horns mounted on
wooden handles, which they used in delicately chipping the
brittle obsidian in forming arrowheads. Rude musical instruments,
principally drums and flageolets, were also made.
Chapter Seven.