Archery Equipment of Ishi
The best type of arrow which has come under my observation is undoubtedly that made by Ishi, the California Yahi Indian.
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From A Study of Bows and Arrows by Saxton T. Pope, 1923.
The best type of arrow which has come under my observation is undoubtedly that made by Ishi, the California Yahi Indian. In flight shooting we have tried several hundred arrows of various kinds, including some of the best English make. Two shafts made by Ishi of bamboo, having a birch fore-shaft and very low-cropped feathers, have repeatedly proved themselves the best flyers. They will carry 10 per cent farther than the best English flight arrow, and 20 per cent farther than the standard target arrow weighing 435 grains. These bamboo flight arrows, therefore, have been used in all our tests (see pl. 10). One is 29 inches in length, the other
25 inches. The former weighs 310 grains, the latter 200 grains. They are feathered with soft turkey feathers, clipped as close as is compatible with steering requirements.
Fig. 1. — One of Ishi’s hunting arrows, made at the Museum. It has a birch shaft, steel head, and turkey feathers. It is 30 inches long and weighs about an ounce.
Fig. 2. — The Ishi flight arrow used in all the tests. It is 29 inches over all, made of bamboo, with a birch foreshaft, tipped with a conical steel pile, feathered with turkey feathers and weighs 310 grains. Its flight is uniformly 25 per cent better than the standard English target arrow. Property of S. T. Pope.
Fig 3. — A standard English target arrow of the present day, made of Douglas fir, having a spliced foreshaft of snake wood. It is nocked with horn, has balloon-shaped turkey feathers, is 28 inches long, 5/16 inch in diameter, cylindrical in shape, and weighs 436 grains or 5 shillings. The end is fitted with a blunt cylindrical steel pile.
Fig. 4. — A bamboo flight arrow, having a birch foreshaft, fashioned after Ishi arrows. Its total length is 25 inches and its weight is 200 grains.The feathers are hawk, but very short and low. It is tipped with a blunt brass pile; shot on small bows.
Figs. 5, 6, and 7. — Arrows made by Ishi while in the wild state. The shaft is made of witch hazel, the foreshaft of some heavier wood. They are feathered with buzzard feathers, bound on with deer sinew, and painted in rings on the shaftment with red and blue pigment. Fig. 7 has a chipped glass head, bound on with sinew. The others have only the notch for such a head. Museum Nos. 1-19577, 1—19578, 1—19579.
Figs. 8 to 13. — Ishi arrows made in the Museum, showing the variou sizes and shapes used. The larger seem to have been made more for show or ceremonials or as presents. 1-19864, 1—19863, 1-19866, 1-19862, 1-19456, 1-19454.
Yana Bow (pl. 3, fig. 11). A red yew stave having all the sapwood removed; backed with thin rawhide and having a rawhide handgrip. Its general shape is flat and wide, on cross-section it is lenticular, slightly flatter on the belly side. The nocks are short pins with square shoulders, the last inch of the limb being bound with sinew. The bow is straight; slightly recurved at the extremities of the limbs. It is a good specimen of Ishi’s work.
Fig. 7. — Navaho bow, of mesquite wood backed with sinew, pulls 45 pounds and shoots 150 yards. Museum number 2-5702.
Fig. 8. — Yurok bow, made of yew wood, sinew backed. A typical Northern California specimen. It draws 30 pounds and shoots 140 yards. 1-1055.
Fig. 9. — A powerful Alaskan bow, probably Eskimo, made of fir, backed with bone and open sinew lashing. A weapon suitable for killing big game. It pulls 80 pounds and shoots 180 yards. 2-6372.
Fig. 10. — A Yaqui bow of Osage dfange, a rough, strong weapon built for active service. It pulls 70 pounds and casts a flight arrow 210 yards. 3-1875.
Fig. 11. — Ishi’s bow. A Yahi specimen, made of yew, backed with rawhide, pulls 48 pounds and shoots 205 yards. Property of S. T. Pope.
Fig. 12 . — A buffalo bow, Blackfoot. When drawn 25 inches, the limit of the arrows that accompany it, the weight is 45 pounds and the cast 145 yards. 2-5494.
Total length, 55 inches, considerably longer than was his custom to make bows; diameters: at handle, 1⅝ by ⅝, circumference, 4 inches; at mid-limb, ¾ by ½, circumference, 4 inches; below the nock, ¾ by ⅜, circumference, 2¼ inches.
The string is of twisted sinew, ⅛ inch in diameter, having a formed loop at the top, and bound with half-hitches at the lower nock. A cotton loop runs from the upper end of the nock and serves to keep the string in place when not braced. The distance between string and bow when braced is 4½ inches.
This bow when drawn 26 inches, the usual draw of the Yana Indian who made it, pulls 42 pounds. When drawn 28 inches it pulls 48 pounds and shoots the Ishi flight arrow 205 yards. This seems to be an adequate strength for hunting purposes, since we know that Ishi killed bear and deer with a similar bow.
Pope, Saxton T. A Study of Bows and Arrows, University of California Press, 1923.
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