Part 16 (2/2)
Yan took one and began with his knife to whittle it down to proper size and shape, but Sam said, ”I can do better than that,” then took the lot to the workbench and set to work with a smoothing plane. Yan looked worried and finally said:
”Injuns didn't have planes.”
”Nor jack-knives neither,” was the retort.
That was true, and yet somehow Yan's ideal that he hankered after was the pre-Columbian Indian, the one who had no White-man's help or tools.
”It seems to me it'd be more Injun to make these with just what we get in the woods. The Injuns didn't have jack-knives, but they had sharp flints in the old days.”
”Yan, you go ahead with a sharp stone. You'll find lots on the road if you take off your shoes and walk barefoot--awful sharp; an' I'll go ahead with the smoothing plane an' see who wins.”
Yan was not satisfied, but he contented himself with promising that he would some day make some arrows of Arrow-wood shoots and now he would finish at least one with his knife. He did so, but Sam, in the meantime, made six much better ones with the smoothing plane.
”What about heads?” said he.
”I've been thinking,” was the reply. ”Of course the Indians used stone heads fastened on with sinew, but we haven't got the stuff to do that.
Bought heads of iron with a ferrule for the end of the arrow are best, but we can't get them. Bone heads and horn heads will do. I made some fine ones once filing bones into the shape, but they were awfully brittle; and I made some more of big nails cut off and set in with a las.h.i.+ng of fine wire around the end to stop the wood splitting. Some Indian arrows have no point but the stick sharpened after it's scorched to harden it.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: SIX SAMPLE ARROWS, SHOWING DIFFERENT FEATHERS]
”That sounds easy enough for me,” said Sam; ”let's make some of them that way.”
So the arrows were made, six each with nail points filed sharp and lashed with broom wire. These were called ”War arrows,” and six each with fire-hardened wood points for hunting arrows.
”Now for the feathering,” and Yan showed Sam how to split the midrib of a turkey feather and separate the vane.
”Le's see, you want twice twenty-four--that's forty-eight feathers.”
”No,” said Yan, ”that's a poor feathering, two on each. We want three on each arrow--seventy-two strips in all, and mind you, we want all three that are on one arrow from the same side of the bird.”
”I know. I'll bet it's bad luck to mix sides; arrows doesn't know which way to turn.”
At this moment Si Lee came in. ”How are ye gettin' on with the bows?”
”Waitin' for arrows now.”
”How do ye put on the feathers?”
DESCRIPTION OF SIX SAMPLE ARROWS SHOWING DIFFERENT FEATHERS
_A_ is a far-flying steel-pointed bobtail, very good in wind.
_B_ is another very good arrow, with a horn point. This went even better than _A_ if there were no wind. _C_ is an Omaha war and deer arrow. Both heads and feathers are lashed on with sinew. The long tufts of down left on the feathers are to help in finding it again, as they are snow-white and wave in the breeze. The grooves on the shaft are to make the victim bleed more freely and be more easily tracked. _D_ is another Omaha arrow with a peculiar owner's mark of lines carved in the middle, _E_ is a bone-headed bird shaft made by the Indians of the Mackenzie River. _F_ is a war arrow made by Geronimo, the famous Apache chief. Its shaft is three joints of a straight cane.
The tip is of hard wood, and on that is a fine quartz point; all being lashed together with sinew.
”White-men glue them on, and Injuns lash them on,” replied Yan, quoting from memory from ”that book.”
”Which is best?”
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