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The weight of these arrows was 1 ounce ; their power of penetration was sufficient to pierce our target, which consisted of a piece of oil cloth, 2 gunny sacks, and 4 inches of straw target, entirely traversing these bodies. A steel hunting point, shot from 40 yards, readily penetrated an inch into pine.
On striking a tree, the entire point and an inch of the shaft were often buried in the trunk. The angle of elevation necessary for his arrow to fly one hundred yards is much greater than that needed for our target arrows. Shoot ing a pound bow with a five-shilling, or one-ounce arrow, my eleva tion is 15 degrees, while under the same conditions with a pound bow it is as low as 10 degrees. The average velocity of an arrow is reckoned at feet a second.
In shooting small game, such as quail, squirrels, and rabbits, Ishi was very proficient. His method was that of still hunting; walking over the ground very quiet and alert, always paying particular atten tion to wind, noise, and cover. His vision was particularly well trained, and invariably he sighted the game first.
This acumen was manifest also in the finding of arrows. Ishi nearly always could find a shaft in the grass or brush where we overlooked it. He shot rabbits as close as five yards. On the other hand I have seen him shoot a squirrel through the head at forty yards. The usual killing distance was between ten and twenty yards.
Game was nearly always shot while standing still, although an occasional rabbit was shot running. Arrows striking these small animals frequently passed com pletely through them. Death did not always result from the first shot, and one or more additional arrows were sometimes necessary to kill. If a rabbit were shot and caught, Ishi would break all its legs with his hands, then lay it on the ground to die from the shock. This seems to have been a hunting custom, and he seemed to dislike having the animal die in his hands.
Later, he adopted, with us, the more humane method of tapping his game on the head to kill it. Animals shot at do not always become alarmed, should the arrow miss them, but often permit several shots to be made. Quail struck with an arrow in fleshy parts, sometimes fly, or attempt to fly. In hunting deer, Ishi was particularly careful in the observance of several essential precautions. He would eat no fish on the day prior to the hunt, because the odor could be detected by deer, he said ; nor would he have the odor of tobacco smoke about him.
The morning of the hunt Ishi bathed himself from head to foot, and washed his mouth. Eating no food, he dressed himself in a shirt, or breech clout. Yahi Archery covering on the legs made a noise while in the brush, and a sensitive skin rather favored cautious walking. In climbing cliffs, or crossing streams or trunks o trees, he first removed his shoes. So in hunting he preferred to barefoot, and the strength of his perfectly shaped feet gave him very definite advantage over his civilized companions.
Yahi archery (Book, ) [theranchhands.com]
It was a custom among his people to practice venesection before hunting expeditions. From Ishi s description, it appeared that this consisted of simple scarification over the flexor sides of the forearm and calf of the leg. This was supposed to strengthen and increase the courage of the hunter. Small chips of obsidian were used in thj process. In hunting deer, Ishi used the method of ambush. It was customary in his tribe to station archers behind certain rocks or bushes near well known deer trails.
Then a band of Indians beat the brush at a mile or so distant, driving toward those in hiding. Upon our trip into Tehama County with Ishi, he showed us old deer trails near which curious small piles of rock were located at intervals hardly exceeding ten yards. These he indicated as ancient spots of ambush. They were just large enough to shield a man in a crouching position. The moss and lichen on them spoke of considerable age.
One would hardly notice them in a boulder country, but the evidence of crude masonry was apparent when one s attention was called to them. In approaching game, Ishi w r ould rather skirt an entire mountain than come up on the wind side. His observance of this rule was almost an obsession. He tested the wind by wetting his little finger.
In travel over the country, certain places would appeal to him as ground favor able for rabbits, quail, squirrel, wildcats, or bear. His hut in Deer Creek canon was built on an old bear trail, many of these animals having been trapped within a few miles by an old hermit-like trapper of those parts. Years ago this same man caught an old Indian in his bear trap, maiming him for life.
Ishi admitted that this Indian was his relative, perhaps his uncle or stepfather. When in a part of the country suitable for rabbits, Ishi would hide himself behind a bush and give the rabbit call. This consists of a kissing sound, made by the lips with two fingers pressed against them. It is a shrill, plaintive squeak or cry, identical with that made by a rabbit in distress. He repeated it often, and with heart-rending University of California Publications in Am.
He said that jac-krabbits, wildcats, coyotes, and bear would come to the call. The first came to protect its young ; the others came expecting food. Upon one afternoon s hunt, to test the truth of his assertions, I had Ishi repeat this call twelve times. From these dozen calls came five rabbits, and one wildcat emerged from the brush and approached us. Some rabbits came from a distance of one hundred and fifty yards, and approached within ten yards.
The wildcat came within fifty yards, and permitted me to discharge five arrows at him before a glancing hit sent him into the forest. As the game drew near, Ishi kept up a sucking sort of kiss with his lips while he adjusted an arrow on the bow. When the game was within a dozen yards, he shot. He also used a call for deer, which he said was effective only when the does were with fawns.
He took a new, tender leaf of a madrone tree, folded it lengthwise, and placing it between his lips, sucked vigorously. The sound produced was somewhat similar to that made when a small boy blows on a blade of grass held between his thumbs. It resembles the plaintive bleat of a fawn.
In decoying deer, Ishi also used a deer s head. He had one in his original camp from which the horns had been removed, and it was stuffed with leaves and twigs. This he placed his head, and raising it above a bush, attracted the attention of his game, stimulating its curiosity while luring it within bow shot. In none of our trips with Ishi were we able to kill a deer. Upon several occasions we secured shots, but owing to the distance, fall of the ground, or lack of accuracy, we failed to hit.
The nearest shot was at sixty yards, and this is well beyond the Indian range of effective ness. That it is possible, however, to kill large game with the bow. We shot and killed two deer with the English long bow. One of these bucks Mr. Compton shot running at 65 yards. The steel pointed arrow penetrated the chest and protruded a foot the other side, breaking off as the deer bounded through the brush.
This animal died after running about yards. I shot another buck at 45 yards. The arrow, penetrating just back of the diaphragm, caused an intense mtra-abdominal hemorrhage, and death resulted after this deer had run a quarter of a mile. This would indicate that the Indians would have had little difficulty in striking down game. The arrows used by us were of the type of the old English broad head, 29 inches long, weighing from one ounce to an ounce and a half, heavily feathered. Yahi Archery and having steel heads one and one-half inches long by one inch wide.
Compton shot a six-foot yew bow weighing 65 pounds, while mine was a sinew-backed yew bow 5 feet, 10 inches long, weighing 54 pounds. In one deer killed with a rifle, I tested the penetrating power of Ishi s arrows. Stationed at thirty yards, he drove one arrow through the neck, half the shaft entering; the second shot struck the spine and probably would have caused paralysis; the third arrow entered the thorax back of the scapula, its head piercing the opposite chest wall.
This also would have been fatal. To make this less possible, Ishi smeared his arrow shaft with black mud, and selected one with a close-cropped feather, that it might be less con spicuous and more silent than usual. Our bad luck in deer hunting Ishi ascribed to the fact that I had killed a rattlesnake on the trail. He respected these reptiles, and always preferred to walk around a snake, wishing him well and leaving him unharmed.
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Besides using the ambush, Ishi waited at deer licks to secure his venison. He had no special care for female deer, but considered them all good meat. He also shot fawns if needed for food. Those were the days of abundance of game, and the Indian killed only for food. He preserved his deer meat by a process of curing in smoke, just as all hunters today make jerky.
The deer hide he or more likely his female relatives, prepared by first rubbing in the brains and later by drying and scraping. Ishi himself did not seem to know how to make a fine quality of buckskin. His needlework and moccasin making were also not of an advanced type. In the University Museum we have a fur robe, previously the property of Ishi. It is composed of many wild cat and raccoon skins sewn together.
Here the preparation is of a very good type. The furs are soft, fairly smooth and seem to have been smoked. This process of smoking, common among Indians, saturates the hide with creosote compounds, thus preserving the tissue from bacteria and parasites, while it renders it soft and somewhat water proof. The absence of wounds in these skins suggests that Ishi used a trap or snare rather than the bow, to secure the pelts. Ishi told us many times the methods he and his people used in killing bear. It was their ancient custom for a number of men to surround an animal, building a circle of fire about him.
They then dis- " There are interesting facts on the penetrating power of the arrow in Thomas Wilson s Arrow Wounds, i the American Anthropologist, n. If the animal charged an Indian, he defended himself with a fire brand, while the other members of the partly shot the bear with arrows. The shooting distance seems to have been twenty yards or less. The whole process seems to have been one of baiting and slowly wearing dow r n the animal by hemorrhage and fatigue. Among the specimens obtained by the University Museum is a skin of a cinnamon bear, which was shot by Ishi perhaps twenty-five years ago.
It presents two cuts that indicate arrow and knife wounds. Ishi said that he killed this by shooting it with an arrow in the heart region, and later dispatching it with a short spear or obsidian knife. Owing to our imperfect language communication, and Ishi s natural modesty, we were unable to get minute details of this feat, but appar ently the Indian killed the beast single-handed.
Shooting fish with the bow does not seem to have been one of his occupations. He used a salmon spear most expertly, and he also poisoned fish by putting the beaten fruit of squirting cucumber in trout pools. Fishhooks he made of bone, and wicker weirs were con structed for trout ; but these things, of course, are not a part of archery.
Poisoned arrows he never used, although he knew of a method of making poison. This was to induce a rattlesnake to discharge its venom into a piece of deer liver, when, after putrefaction, the arrow heads were smeared with this combined bacterial poison and venom. Ishi could imitate the call of many birds and small animals, and his name for these creatures had a remarkable phonetic resemblance to their call.
Mountain quail he named tsakaka; the wild goose was wami; the gray squirrel, dadichu. These lower animals he believed fellow creatures, and all had acted human parts at times. The lizards, because of their hands, once made bows and arrows. Their bobbing motion, when on a sunny rock, was work of some sort. The yellow tendrils of the love vine or dodder were made by them at night to snare deer.
The barking squirrel in the treetop told him of a near-by fox or wildcat. A story was built around every animal, and these mythical ideas he believed must be taken into consideration when hunting. Various places had odors suggestive of certain animals. Ishi said that white men smelled bad, like a horse.
To have a bow break in the hand while shooting, Ishi considered a very serious omen and a portent of sickness. Thus he accounted for ] Pope: Yalii Archery an attack of paratyphoid fever which one of ns contracted. He him self had two bows shatter in his grasp, and doubtless this and several other malign influences incident to our civilization, in his mind, con tributed as causes of his own last illness. During the declining days of his life, the one thing that brought that happy smile to his face which characterized him, was the subject of archery.
A little work, feathering arrows or binding points on with sinew, gave him more pleasure than any diversion we could offer.
Even when too weak to work, he liked to show me some little trick or method in making a shaft or backing a bow. To the last his heart was in the game. When he died and was cremated according to the custom of his people, we placed by his side some tobacco, ten pieces of dentalium shell, a little; acorn meal, a bit of jerky, his fire sticks, a quiver full of arrows, and his bow.
Hickory bow, backed with glued catgut. A strong- shooting bow, often used by Ishi. University of California Museum of Anthro pology, specimen number Unbacked ash bow, broken in use. It is much longer than Ishi usually made, 54 inches. A yew bow, made on the normal proportions, backed with deer tendon. This specimen was broken in testing, before application of the backing. Oregon yew bow, backed with thin rawhide. This was one of Ishi s best bows, used most at targets. The hand grip, on all the above specimens, is woolen tape. Quiver of otter skin. The contained bow and arrows were made by Ishi at the Museum.
The quiver is an original piece, taken when the camp of his people was discovered in Shaft of hazel, foreshaft of some heavier wood, possibly dogwood. There is a notch for a head, but this is missing. University of California Museum of Anthropology, number The same type as above, feathers a trifle longer. Both are painted with alternate red and blue rings and intervening wavy lines.
The shaft is like the preceding, but the point is here preserved. It is a small serrated head of window glass. There is blood on the arrow. A one-piece hazel shaft, feathered with turkey feathers, pointed with an obsidian head. Commercial pigments and shellac embellish this arrow. This is the type of arrow Ishi adopted after living in civilization. This is a dowel turkey tail feathers, blue and red paint rings, obsidian head. An arrow made for show. A longer type of service arrow of Japanese bamboo with short birch foreshaft and steel head.
Used in early target practice and hunting.
A blunt-pointed arrow of native bamboo, buckeye foreshaft, gay colors, turkey tail feathers. Made for exhibition or gift. Same as last, only it has an obsidian head. Length 38 inches, weight grains. Similar shafts Ishi made and gave to Secretary Lane at a ceremonial occasion in San Francisco in Chewing sinew for arrow wrapping.
Heating resin to be used on end of a shaft to affix the head on the arrow. Sinew being applied to the arrowhead and shaft. This is from the Yurok tribe in northwestern California and illustrates the type used by the Yahi before iron was known. University of California Museum of Anthropology, specimen uumuer i Iron flaker made and used by Ishi while in captivity. Flaker for fine retouching. Leather pad to cover the ball of the hand in flaking. Bone struck a glancing blow in order to detach pieces from a lump of obsidian.
Stone used as a mallet to strike bone. Flake as detached previous to the retouching process. Obsidian arrow point taking shape. Obsidian arrow nearing completion. Completed obsidian arrow point. Minute flakes and chips detached in the retouching. A small, broad arrow point of obsidian. Long, narrow arrowhead made of plate glass. Ishi made many such show pieces. They are too long and fragile for use. Glass arrowhead, made from a blue medicine bottle. A glass arrowhead, made from a brown beer bottle. Chopping a stick of juniper into rough shape for a bow.
A shot from a squatting position, a characteristic attitude in Ishi s archery. Watching the flight of the arrow. The bow string is still vibrating. The bow has turned in Ishi s grasp in a manner that was habitual with him. He holds an extra arrow in his right armpit.
Yahi archery
Carrying the bow and arrow. This is a inch hunting bow of cedar, pulling 45 pounds. The arrows are steel-pointed. It now forms number in the Anthropological Museum of the University. The number of the specimen in the Museum is Full drawn, wrist touching the chin. The bow has turned in lahi s hand and the vibra tion of the string can be seen. Ishi watching the flight of his arrow. February, 30 7. May, 55 9. California Kinship Systems, A. Ceremonies of the Porno Indians, by S. July, 45 Porno Bear Doctors, by S.
July, 35 mary, ians, by T. The Yana Ind - - " 3. Yahi Archery, by Saxton T. The Language of the Salinan Indians, by J. S93 pages and 21 plates.. The Morphology of the Hrpa l.
- Catalog Record: Yahi archery | Hathi Trust Digital Library!
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Complete lists of ali tr ; publications of the University will be sent upon reaucst. The distance between these points was the proper length for a bow. This measured in his own case four feet and two inches. The width of the bow at the middle of each limb was three or four fingers, according to whether a light hunting bow or a powerful war bow was wanted.
The shape of his bow was a short, flat stave, with limbs wider at their center than at the handle, sometimes recurved at their outer extremity, tapering gracefully to small short nocks at the ends. His wood, after being split or partially blocked out from a limb, was laid in a horizontal position in a warm, sheltered place. But as to what time of year to cut it, or how long to season it, Ishi seemed to have no set opinions. The process of shaping the bow was that of scraping with flint or obsidian.
With infinite patience and care he reduced the wood to the proper dimensions. In the finishing work he used sandstone. The measurements of two of his best bows are as follows: Bow in possession of author.