Читать книгу The Story of My Indian Boyhood - Luther Standing Bear - Страница 4

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When we were little fellows and had not yet become hunters, we made tiny bows which we played with in the tipis. They were just like the large bows, perfect in workmanship, and though small were just the thing with which to practice both the art of making and shooting. We used almost any kind of wood for these play bows and arrows, but when we began making them for real use, we had to learn how to select wood. That was part of the craft. Around the main trunk of the cherry tree there grew the second-growth branches and these were straight and slender. We cut them off and peeled the bark with our finger-nails, leaving the wood white and beautiful to look at. We used our teeth and finger-nails a good deal in those days. We never thought of manicuring our nails or beautifying them, but just the same they were strong and useful and our teeth were strong and white. Both our nails and teeth served us for many purposes which the white man never even knows about. But I have noticed that the dentist nowadays is a very busy man.

Our arrows needed very little shaping, but when they did we used a knife, for by that time the Sioux had knives which they had obtained from the white people. Not all of us boys were lucky enough to possess a knife, but if a boy in the camp owned one, he was kind and generous with it and would let us all use it. We measured the length of our arrows by the distance from our elbow joint to the tip of our middle finger and back to the wrist. This would give us the length of arrow that was proper for our size. When ready for feathering, we would search in the woods for suitable feathers, such as hawk, crow, prairie chicken, or duck. Turkey feathers are the best of all with which to finish arrows, but they were scarce in our country, and usually only the warriors and hunters used them. We cut our feathers different lengths, then fastened them to the arrow with sinew. Sometimes we split our feathers and sometimes we did not. There were various ways of putting on the feathers, and if we made a very pretty arrow that was more for show than use, we finished it with fine eagle down colored in brilliant hues. More than a little skill can be put into a well-made arrow.

After feathering came the pointing. Some of the arrows we whittled to a sharp point at the end. Others we cut off straight, leaving a blunt end, for it was not necessary to have a sharp point for the small game which we hunted. Then again we whittled the end to a bulb or ball, which made a rather odd-looking arrow, but was fine for small game. If we chanced to pick up a flint point, we thought ourselves lucky, for the Sioux never made flint arrow points. The flint was fastened to the end of the arrow by first splitting the end of the arrow, setting in the hilt of the flint point and wrapping it with sinew. Oftentimes we found pieces of bone that were shaped like an arrow point and these we put on just as we did the flint point.

In making bows, we often found a piece of wood that was shaped so that it was ready for stringing. In looking for wood, we first looked for ash, as it had more spring and is not affected by the weather. If we did not find ash, we would use hickory, willow, or maybe the cherry or plum tree wood, but we always preferred the ash. When we had our stick, we hewed the side that would be the inside of the bow, leaving the bark on the outer side or back of the bow. No Sioux bow was more than four and one half or five feet long. Hunting bows were made short for convenience. A long bow was in the way of the hunter, whether on horseback or hunting in the long grass or in the woods. No matter what sort of wood we selected for our bow, we took a stick that was not too strong and did not require much strength to pull. The bow with lots of spring was easier to shoot and could be shot much more rapidly than a stiff bow. Quick use of the bow was what we tried to acquire. We did not think of posing as is done today in modern archery. We learned to shoot our bow with the quickest action possible. It is perhaps hard for the boy of today, even the Indian boy, to realize what the bow meant in olden days to the Indian. It was with him at all hours, even at night. At the slightest noise his hand was on the bow and arrow that lay by his side.

In olden days before the Indian had the horse, he hunted the buffalo with a very short bow. The long bow that the modern archer uses would have been in the way of a hunter creeping upon a herd of buffalo through the high grass. Sometimes the Indian hunter put on the skin of a wolf head, tail, and all to cover his body. Wearing these hides, if working against the wind, helped him to come quite close to a herd. These short bows were carried either in the hand or stuck into the belt in front. The quiver, which was slung over the left shoulder, was made of buffalo hide as a rule. Buffalo hide is smooth in the summer-time, much like the hide of the horse, but in the winter-time it is thick and woolly. Sometimes, if the hunter was quite lucky, he owned a quiver of otter hide. When not hunting, the brave often carried a double quiver, one section to hold the bow and the other section to hold the arrows. If a young man owned a fine quiver of otter hide and some beautifully decorated arrows, he was quite the envy of the rest of the young men. With one of these he would be 'all dressed up,' and if he had a sweetheart, he would be proud to put it on and let her admire him.

The making of our bow string was very interesting work. In fact, the whole craft connected with bow-and-arrow-making became very fascinating to us. The more we made and the more we hunted, the more fascinated we became. Even today I like once in a while to make a nice bow and to feather some pretty arrows.

Mother always had a supply of sinew on hand, so when we wanted some, we always went to her. You see sinew in the Indian tipi was a necessary household article like thread in the modern home. Mother used the sinew in the making of all sorts of wearing apparel and in making leggins or moccasins. In fact, our home was sewed together with sinew, for the skins in the tipi were put together with such skill that no rain nor melting snow came through. Our mothers were very clever in their way and good home-makers. All the short pieces of sinew Mother gave to us, and we made long strings of them by wetting the ends in our mouths and rubbing them together on our bare knees. We learned to make an extra string and to roll it up and carry it at the end of the bow. No good hunter would be caught without a string in case one got broken. There is a great deal of difference in the quality of animal sinew. Deer sinew is very fine and soft and is used in making the arrows of warriors or hunters. But for sewing up the tipi and in making bow strings, the buffalo sinew was stronger and better. The sinew lies in two long cords along the backbone of the animal. This we scraped clean of all flesh and pasted it to a tipi pole. When dry, it came off itself, then was put away in a rawhide bag for future use. There it would keep for almost any length of time.

When we had learned to make good bows and arrows, we had learned many other things also, and the play hours of our boyhood were really a preparation for the tasks and duties of manhood.