Directions: Read the excerpt of “How to Make a Bow and Arrow” from Edward Sylvester Ellis’s “Outdoor Life and Indian Stories” and the drawing of the bow and arrow. Then answer the questions.

In early days the Indian did not have the modern hunting rifle and was compelled to use bow and arrow in the chase. It is well for the modern boy to understand this weapon, for it can be made with ease and much good fun can be had with it. The Indian bow was short because though less efficient it was easier to carry than a long one, yet it did not lack power. We hear that many times Indians shot so hard that their arrows appeared on the far side of the animal, but the long bow, such was used by the old English archers or bowmen, was much the more powerful.

To make the bow, take a perfectly sound, straight, well-seasoned stick of about your own height and mark off a space as wide as your hand in the middle for a handle. This space should be left round and about an inch thick. The balance of the stick should be shaved down flat on one side for the front and rounded on the other for the back until it is about one inch wide and three-fourths of an inch thick near the handle tapering to about half that at the ends which are then notched for the cord. Next put on the cord and bend it until it is about five inches from the bow at the center. If one end bends more than the other, shave the other end until it becomes even.

After it is trimmed down to your strength, finish it with sand-paper. The best woods to use are apple, black walnut, slippery elm, mountain ash or hickory.

More difficult to make than the bow is the arrow. The Indians made arrows of reeds and of straight shoots of arrow-wood or of elder, but we make better arrows out of hickory or ash. The arrow should be twenty-five inches long, round, and three-eighths of an inch thick. It should be notched at one end to take the bow-string, and just below this notch it should have three feathers set around at equal intervals. These feathers are best made from either turkey or goose wings. With a sharp knife, cut a strip of the midrib on which is the vein; make three pieces, each two to three inches long. The Indians used to leave the midrib projecting at each end, and by these lash the feathers to the arrow without gluing, but it is easier to glue them and the arrows fly better. Indian arrow-heads were made of sharp flints or pieces of stone lashed to the arrowheads, but the best way to make them now is like the ferrule of an umbrella as this keeps the shaft from splitting. After this the arrow should be painted, both to keep it from warping and to make it easier to find in the forest by its bright color.

After the bow and arrows are made, one must learn to shoot with them. It is good to begin with the target close at hand, and gradually increase the distance as the archer becomes more expert. The Indians generally used their bows at short range so that it was easy to hit the mark, and considered rapid firing more important. In their competitions the prize was given to him who should have the most arrows in the air at once, and it has been said that their record was eight.

Note

Only spelling mistakes, if any, in the above passage have been corrected. No other corrections, including grammatical, have been made so that the originality of the passage is maintained.