Harper's Young People, Vol. 01, Issue 36, July 6, 1880-Various

Section 1 of Harper's Young People, Volume 1, Issue 36, July 6, 1880. the mohawk bowman by j o davidson hello foster what's that you're doing shooting with a bow and arrows yes stewart made em for me come in and try em Harry came into the yard, where Foster was shooting at a collar box placed on a grassy bank, and made a few unsuccessful shots at twenty yards, when Foster took the bow and hit the box frequently, much to Harry's wonder and envy.

Stuart made him for me and taught me how to handle him.

He has a bow taller than himself, over six feet long, and up in the mountains he killed a deer a week ago, killed a deer with an arrow.

do arrows go hard enough to kill say foster will stuart make a bow for me won't you ask him we've got a better thing than that stuart wants us to get up an archery club and he will show us how to make our own bows and arrows just as the indians do henry fred will and ned will join i know and then we will have six just enough to go off hunting on saturdays and have a jolly time and we'll have a name for the club and make a regular camp somewhere near the glen and have our dinners there and our meetings just as robin hood and his men did in england how's that harry best thing out foster but how are we to make our bows and what shall we make them of oh stuart has told me all about it you must pick out the straightest cleanest sassafras pole in the hen-house and get preston to saw it up into sticks one inch square and five and a quarter feet long Then bring them over here, and Stuart will show you how to make a bow.

Stuart will have a lot of pine and spruce sawed up for arrows, and you must get all the goose and turkey feathers you can and bring them over too, and he will tell us about arrow making.

Now go and tell the rest of the boys, and get your sassafras to Preston's as soon as you can.

Perhaps we can get ready to go out Saturday.

After school the next day, six eager boys stood around Stuart as he took a sassafras stick and showed them how to make a hunting bow, talking as he worked.

now look close youngsters first plane one side of the stick straight and smooth this is to be the back of the bow and mustn't be touched again next mark the middle of the stick and lay off four and a half inches to one side for a handle then turn the stick on its back and plane away the belly of the bow tapering it truly from handle to tip do the same to the sides leaving each tip about three eighths of an inch square now take a file or a spokeshave and round off the sides and belly carefully taking care not to touch the back of the bow there the bow is in extremely good shape but it may not bend truly so file a notch with a small round file in each tip half an inch from each extremity running the groove straight across the back and slanting it across the sides away from the tips towards the middle or handle of the bow make a strong string of slack twisted shoemaker's thread with a loop in each end so that when the string is put on to the bow by slipping the loops into the nocks it will bend the bow so much that the middle of the string is five inches from the handle if the bow when thus bent is too stiff in any spot file it a little there until it bends right and when it finally bends truly from tip to tip put on a piece of plush fur handle and smooth and polish your bow ready for exhibition There, Harry, that is your bow.

Now one of you may go to work at another stick, while I go and feather some arrows.' at it henry went eager and enthusiastic but it was a bothersome job for young and inexperienced hands the stick would slip and the plane would stick in spite of him and his face grew very red and his eyes very bright with stewart's aid however he finally completed a very fair bow before dark and when he had actually shot an arrow from it his worry all vanished and he felt very proud of his new weapon the following afternoon they all came together and more bows were made under stuart's direction arrow shafts were rounded and smoothed the vanes were cut from the quills and several fair arrows completed before separating for their homes where all even the staid old grandpas and grandmas were infected by the enthusiasm of the boy archers and indian stories were told by the kitchen fire by friday night all the six were armed with sassafras bows and nicely feathered spruce arrows with pewter heads blunt that they might not stick into and be lost in the trees their quivers were made of pasteboard rolled in glue upon a tapering form and their arm guards of thick hard leather securely fastened to their left forearms by small straps and buckles and when early saturday morning they came together at foster's house never was a more gallant squad of young archers seen stump trees lay apples and one or two wandering mice served as marks for their ready arrows while waiting for the start here you boys shoot them arrows the other way they'll spoil more'n they're worth called out the good-natured hired man and foster raised grandma's ire by driving a shaft up to the feathers in a golden pumpkin she had selected for seed and placed on the curb well to sun by the time their haversacks were filled with potatoes bread doughnut meat etc and they had started for the glen across lots shooting as they went all the family were relieved for the moment only to worry the rest of the day lest some unlucky arrow glancing should hurt one of them and mother's anxiety wasn't relieved when the steward wickedly told her how walter tyrrel killed king william rufus with a glancing arrow from his bow while hunting the birds and the squirrels that our boys met that day were treated to many a close hissing arrow though not many of them suffered because of the boy's lack of skill with a long bow boys suddenly whispered foster as the little band paused for a moment in a clump of spruces and springing noiselessly up his bow was braced his arrow fitted and a stricken bird was fluttering at their feet in a few seconds the flutterings of the fallen bird were more than equalled by those of foster's heart as he held the still quivering crow blackbird which his arrow had brought from the highest twig of a tall spruce proud and exultant yet tears glistened in his eyes as he silently gazed upon the soiled plumage of the bird's beautiful neck and breast and felt its last faint gaspings as his reproachful eyes became glassy in death the beautiful bird oh i won't shoot another bird he declared with quivering lips how pretty it is and how warm i'll ask stuart to stuff it so that i can keep it forever by this time will's hunger was too much for his archery enthusiasm and he began to grumble say boys isn't it about time to get to the glen and make our camp i'm getting hungry it's hard work drawing this bow of mine and my arms are tired yes let's go to the glen said their captain foster and half an hour's silent tramping in the underbrush and up the rising ground for they were now pretty tired brought them to the spot known as the glen the glen was a lovely place a sparkling spring rising at the base of a giant hemlock at the head of a long deep gully had in the course of ages filled in the hollow till a broad level floor was made surrounded by close-growing hemlocks pines and spruces and carpeted with fine turf and pine needles the water from the spring flowing in a shallow brook through the middle of this floor lost itself in the dark recesses of the gully further down at the very top of the giant hemlock by the spring was a rude eyrie built by the boys called the crow's nest and from its swaying breezy height they had a magnificent view of the country for miles around here walking gently and safely seventy-five feet above the spring they picked out their homes the pretty white villages nestling among the forest masses of green and the slender streams glistening among the cultivated fields and neat mowings near the spring was a rude hut that stuart and his mates had built a few years before taking possession of this they took off their haversacks hung their bows and quivers about on projecting limbs gathered dry leaves and sticks and soon had a fire started in a rude stone fireplace well my merry bowmen how do the twanging bow-string and the hissing arrow suit the greenwood asked stuart who came up as they lay picturesquely about waiting for a bed of coals oh it's splendid isn't it boys asked will the oldest of the young archers just see how pretty the bows and quivers look hanging among the green branches how nice this all is but what name shall we give our club woodland archers suggested ned mohawk foresters added henry we want our river in the name and the mohawks were great warriors let's call it the mohawk bowmen continued ned that's just the thing and all agreed to it and so mohawk bowmen was decided upon as a club name who will be the captain asked stuart oh foster of course answered all at once he's the best shot and ought to be By this time the coals were ready, so the potatoes and corn and meat were roasted amid much fun and gay talk, and were eaten by the hungry archers.

Then, after a rest, the Mohawk bowmen ranged the woods and fields till sunset found them at home again, tired indeed, but enthusiastic over archery and their day's sport.

They agreed it was the happiest day they had ever seen, and arranged for a grand witch-hook hunt on the following Saturday.

End of section 1