g it, and it breaks; twang it without an
arrow, and it sunders the cords; scratch it, and it may splinter; wet
it, and it is dead; let it lie on the ground, even, and it is weakened.
But guard it and it will serve you as a matchless servant, and as can no
other timber in these woods.

Just where the red heart and the white sap woods join is the bowman's
choice. A piece that reached from Rolf's chin to the ground was shaved
down till it was flat on the white side and round on the red side,
tapering from the middle, where it was one inch wide and one inch thick
to the ends, where it was three fourths of an inch wide and five eighths
of an inch thick, the red and white wood equal in all parts.

The string was made of sinew from the back of a cow, split from the
long, broad sheath that lies on each side the spine, and the bow strung
for trial. Now, on drawing it (flat or white side in front), it was
found that one arm bent more than the other, so a little more scraping
was done on the strong side, till both bent alike.

Quonab's arrows would answer, but Rolf needed a supply of his own. Again
there was great choice of material. The long, straight shoots ol' the
arrowwood (Viburnuin dentatum) supplied the ancient Indians, but
Quonab had adopted a better way, since the possession of an axe made it
possible. A 25-inch block of straight-grained ash was split and split
until it yielded enough pieces. These were shaved down to one fourth of
an inch thick, round, smooth, and perfectly straight. Each was notched
deeply at one end; three pieces of split goose feather were lashed on
the notched end, and three different kinds of arrows were made. All were
alike in shaft and in feathering, but differed in the head. First, the
target arrows: these were merely sharpened, and the points hardened by
roasting to a brown colour. They would have been better with conical
points of steel, but none of these were to be had. Second, the ordinary
hunting arrows with barbed steel heads, usually bought ready-made, or
filed out of a hoop: these were for use in securing such creatures as
muskrats, ducks close at hand, or deer. Third, the bird bolts: these
were left with a large, round, wooden head. They were intended for
quail, partridges, rabbits, and squirrels, but also served very often,
and most admirably, in punishing dogs, either the Indian's own when he
was not living up to the rules and was too far off for a cuff or kick,
or a farmer's dog tha