May 1927

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Yew Bow Staves From High Altitude Cascade Mountain Male Yew Roger Asham, author of one of the first books on archery, published in 1544, says: “Ewe of all other thinges is that, whereof perfite shootinge would have a bowe made. This woode as it is now general and common amonges Englishmen, so hath it continued for a long time, and had in I most price for bowes amonges the Romaines.”

Just as in the times of Asham, yew is still considered the best bow ma­ terial and experts pronounce the yew from the Cascade Mountains super­ ior to the Spanish yew, which was, by statute, sold at a premium in Eng­ land during the reigns of Edward the IV. and Richard III. It is every archer’s ambition to own a yew bow. Last winter we had an expert forester select several fine staves. These came from the very heart of the Cascade Mountains and are winter cut, male yews. The most I of this yew was cut in the dead of winter when the weather was very and the ground covered with snow. ,We have both the self and the staves to be spliced and are pricing them very reasonable, $5.50, $7.50 and $10.00, depending upon the selec­ tion. This makes it possible for several archers to own a very fine yew bow at a very reasonable cost.

Dr. Pope’s book, “Hunting With the Bow and Arrow,” will enable any archer to make all his own tackle. It would take years and years of ex­ perience and cost many hundred dollars to gain this knowledge. Price, $3.00 each. Oregon Style, Thompson pattern hunting arrows, a new light weight arrow that will enable the hunter to get the same and even better results with a lighter bow. Single sample $1.25; $13.00 per dozen.

Hand-made linen bow strings to order. State pull and length of your bow. Price $1.10 each. Target points 5c each, 40c the dozen. Twenty­ eight inch birch dowels, selected, 40c a dozen, % inch dowels 41/>c each, 50c the dozen.

Enamel, feathers, heads and dowels to make twelve fine arrows $1.50.

Target dowels, headed, nocked, reinforced with silk and water-proofed, | 20c each. i Yew self, and spliced hunting and target bows, fiber and calfskin backed, made to order. Any length, any pull, Genuine Indian Oregon Oak bows made by Indian bowyer, $5.00 and up. Hard shooters, excellent workmanship.

Leather arm,guards, bow bags, quivers made to order.

If you are planning a hunting trip let me help you. . I am in touch with guides in all parts of Oregon.

HARRY HOBSON Lyons, Oregon 7

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Mention Ye Sylvan Archer when writing advertisers.

YE SYLVAN ARCHER Corvallis, Oregon

Vol. i, No. i

Published bi-monthly by Ye Sylvan Archer Publishing Co. at Coi’vallis, Oregon.

Editor and Manager ........... 81.00 Per Year ?1.25 Per Year ....................... 20 Cents

J. E. DAVIS Subscription Price..

Foreign Subscriptions Single Copies Advertising rates on application.

Copyright, 1927, Ye Sylvan Archer Publishing Co.

Table of Contents OLD FASHIONED ROUNDELAY

2

LONG BOWS AND GRAY SQUIRREL,S, by James Berry.

3

MAKING A LEMONWOOD BOW, by B. G. Thompson.

6

MY FIRST JACK RABBIT WITH BOW AND ARROW, by W. C. Thurlow.... 9

ARCHERS KILL BEAR

.11

THE INVENTION OF THE BOW, by J. E. Davis.

.12

LADIES’ DEPARTMENT

13

THE VALUE OF ARCHERY, by Douglas G. Gillespie

15

GAME CONSERVATION AND THE BOW, by H. E. Nibler.

16

JUNIOR DEPARTMENT

.18

WE GREET YOU The revival of enthusiasm in ar­ chery is nation-wide and has reached the stage where we believe there is real demand for a magazine which will furnish the type of information that is of interest to archers in gen­ eral. We have tried to fill these pages with this sort of material and we leave it to our readers to judge as

to our success. We invite contribu­ tions concerning archery exploits and archery interests.

Archery stories will be regular features. Each issue will contain articles on tackle making and the ladies and juniors will have their regular sections of the maga­ zine. We hope that we merit your patronage.

THE PUBLISHERS.

2

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

MAY, 1927

0Id Fashioned Roundelay

Bright Phoebus, the patron of poets below, Assist me of archers to sing;

For thou art accounted the god of the bow, As well as the god of the string.

The practice of shooting Twas you that began,

When you launched •forth your beams f rom the skies; Young cupid was first in adopting the plan,

Next the goddesses shot with their eyes.

On beautiful Iris, Apollo bestow’d A bow of unparalleled hue; The herald of peace--and as on it she rode,

Like a swiftly winged arrow she flew.

Diana, who slaughtered the brutes with her darts, Ne’er pierced but one lover or so,

For Venus excelled her in shooting at hearts, And had always more strings to her bow.

To earth came the era ft of the archer at last, And ’twas followed with ea ger pursuit; Still, the sons of Apollo all others surpassed,

With such monstrous long bows did they shoot.

MAY, 1927

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

3

Long cBows and Gray Squirrels

By JAMES A. BERRY 1 WHENEVER I see a good archer in fine sport among ■gray squirrels J J' action—and a right good sight it He certain orchard, near a is—I am apt to picture him in the and he said, plenty, had left novice stage, violating nearly every of a something were s as they point of archery, hitting the target as nuisance we agreed to a joint much by chance as by good manage­ shoot in a few days. Firearms were ment, yet doggedly carrying on, de­ stiictly to be barred. The joy of hit­ termined some time to shoot his way ting things with the heavy barrelled out of the mess. I like to picture him aperture or telescope-sighted rifles so, because I have not forgotten my had lessened, and the appeal of my own inglorious initiation, and misery, home-made archery tackle was not to as we know, loves company. be resisted.

Anyhow the outing would be enjoyed, But let not the meat in the pot aspiring — and or not. perspiring— bow­ man lose patience At the appoint­ with his weapon, ed time, then, on as Kipling’s a typical Willam­ young soldier was ette Valley Au­ cautioned against gust day, we paid doing with his our respects t o Martini, and i n the genial ortime he will cast chard foreman some of the devils and betook our­ .Mi out of his arrows. selves to the crest The donkey’s of the nearby hill. bridge will be The large wellpassed, and in an kept orchard occasional happy I sweeps eastward ! moment a flash from here; the o f real archery western slope of form will be en­ the rise is thickly joyed. The bow­ studded with man will now be oaks, a rendez­ “But a century old madrone is handy” at about the same vous of the squir­ stage as the golfer in the story who rels between forays. A cowpath runs told the Scotch “pro” that he had through the timber, some twenty done well that day except that he yards from the orchard fence, and could not put. along this, arrow on string, we cau­ “I ken,” responded Sandy easily. tiously picked our way.

A false “Just good useless gowf.” alarm or two, then a tell-tale rustling I had arrived at this stage—some­ in a treetop, and a handsome “gray” times I believe I have not progressed flashed into view. Momentarily I was far from it yet—when an archer quite lost in admiration of his skill and grace, but a shout from my comfriend reported an afternoon's

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

4

panion reminded me that looking will not kill. As previously arranged we placed ourselves between the squirrel and the deep timber towards which he was resolutely heading. By having our arrows fall in the orchard we knew that the labor of recovering them would be greatly lessened.

Now the game is on. I hear the note of my friend’s fifty-five pound yew, and see his arrow clear tire squir­ rel’s back by merely a few inches. A good shot, but no time for remarks.

The squirrel stops momentarily and I loose my six feet of elm. To the left goes the shaft; a foot too high to boot. Shooting at a sixty degree an­ gle is new to me. The squirrel con­ tinually flanks us, his destination ob­ viously being a huge madrone tree, with “crow’s nest” top. Backwards and sideways we go, shooting as op­ portunity offers, stumbling often, for wc dare not take our eyes from the wily little animal. A sound little strategist he is, for he is but a few yards from the madrone. My quiver is empty but my compan­ ion tosses me an arrow which I shoot almost per­ pendicularly. 11 nearly touches fur, but a miss is as good as a mile, and in a moment the squirrel is out of sight, probably winded, possibly triumphant, but certainly safe.

“Nothing slow about this game,” I remark as we retrieve our ar­ rows, “though I wonder what sort of a sight we

MAY, 1927

were—a couple of men of ma­ ture years, weighing as much in pounds as we can shoot an arrow in yards, doing a Dervish dance for- a little lone gray squirrel that was too busy to be amused.”

“Thinking of your dignity, eh?” came the rejoinder.

“Here’s my twelfth and last arrow. Now I’m go­ ing to wait in the shade of that peach tree until squirreldom stops chatter­ ing about that hullaballoo we made.

If you prefer the shade of a green ap­ ple tree, go to it.”

“I’m a gre.garious mortal,” I pro­ test, “and not strictly carnivorous, though I’m hunting squirrels today.”

We yield for a time to the bland­ ishments of the peach tree, and now return to the timber. For a hundred yards we go, alert; now suddenly we are shooting again. The trees are bigger this time and no sheltering madrone is handy. This the squirrel seems to know and occasionally he sulks. Our shoot­ ing seems better than before but conditions are not those of the tar­ get range anil our arrows dwindle while the squirrel loses nothing' but his peace of mind.

I nock my last shaft, an experi­ mental one of spirea, or Indian arrow -wood, whose chief vir­ tue is sheer toughness. The squirrel descends the tree part way and runs along a branch in plain view. Bad tactics, “Nocked my last shaft” Mr. Bushytail!

MAY, 1927 My bobtailed arrow flashes true, hits and struggles on. For- a few seconds the squirrel clings, and now drops stone dead. Barring a barnyard fowl or two, this was my first kill with the bow, and I stretch out the long tail exultingly.

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

5

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“That Indian arrow of yours never did shoot straight,” opines my friend. “You can’t for certain hit the tar­ get with it at forty y a r d s , remember- ? ?

Hence * * * ” “Tell it to the squir­ rel,” I retort.

“Seeing you’re feel­ ing so .good you might climb this tree and get that stuck arrow of mine,” he suggests, but I don’t show much en­ thusiasm.

We gather up the shafts, deciding to let the stuck one stick for the time being. Again we go forward, and soon glimpse another squirrel, but a century old madrone is too My companion and his squirrel handy, and we have no (Courtesy of the Archers’ Co.) shooting. The timber ond likewise, yet the squirrel stays now thins somewhat and we come to a particularly large oak in which, my frozen. Arrow three cuts under the friend informs me, he saw two squir­ branch, but soon another flashes up­ ward, the squirrel is jerked into space rels on his previous visit. Apparently and clearly impaled on the shaft, falls they are not present or to be ac­ counted for today. .Suddenly, how­ dead.

I say something about “The Glori­ ever, my companion looks to his nock­ ous—and Lucky—Fourth,” the prize is ing and points out a squirrel flattened on a branch sixty feet up. A steadier examined, the shooting is analyzed, and now we. notice that the shadows shot than I, his first arrow is perfect­ Continued on page 8 ly aligned, but flies a trifle high; sec-

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YE SYLVAN ARCHER

MAY, 1927

oLYLaking a Lemonwood dBow

By B. G. THOMPSON handle 1 and l-32nd inches; 16 inches Volumes might be written on the merit of the different bow woods, but from handle, 1 inch; 24 inches from space here will not permit such a dis­ handle, % inch; 28 inches from han­ dle, ll-16ths inch; at nock, % inch. cussion. Details will therefore be The same pattern is used for the omitted as to why lemon wood is lower limb by placing the pattern chosen for the first bow. Suffice it to say that it is easily available in a even wiih the lower edge of the han­ dle and allowing the nock end to ex­ seasoned condition, comparatively tend 1% inches beyond the end of the cheap, and from it an excellent bow stave. (The lower limb is lYz inches can be made.

Procure from some dealer in hard­ shorter than the upper limb due to the arrangement of the handle.) This woods or manufacturer of archery will make the lower limb a little tackle a lemonwood stave about six stiffer than the upper limb but an ad­ feet long and 1% inch by 114 inch justment can be made with the square. Examine carefully for knots, scraper when the bow is tillered. pins, checks and other imperfections.

After the pattern has been traced Select the side most free from flaws the stave is placed in a vise and the for the back. The back of a bow is the part farthest from the archer sides planed and shaved to shape. The stave is then laid on its side, the when the bow is held in a shooting po­ sition. That part nearest the archer handle is marked out and the limbs laid out according to Figure B. This is called the belly. The hand hold is called the handle. That portion of the is best done by first making a pat­ bow above the handle is called the tern as for the back. Measurements upper limb, and the portion below the are upper limb at edge of handle 1% handle the lower limb. The bow tips inch; 2 inches from handle 15-16ths are called nocks or horns. inch; 4 inches from handle 7-8ths After choosing the side for the inch; at nock % inch; lower limb at back, measure off the stave and lo­ edge of handle 1% inch; 2 inches cate the exact center. From this point from handle 15-16ths inch; 4 inches measure up 1% inches, and down 2% from handle 7-8ths inch; at nock Vs inches. This is to be the handle. The inch. next step is to mark out the exact After the pattern is traced on the shape the back of the bow is to be. side the stave is again placed in the This is best done by first making a vise, and by use of a draw-knife or pattern of heavy cardboard. Place spoke shave and plane or scraper this pattern against the back of the brought down to the line. The next stave and trace around it with a pen­ step is to round off the corners to the cil. The pattern is made according to correct shape. This is done with the Figure A in the illustration. This spoke shave and scraper. For cor­ figure is drawn to scale from the rect shape of limbs see cross section writer’s favorite 55-pound lemonwood in Figure E. The back is flat while bow. The measurements are as fol­ the belly is a parabola at the handle, lows: Upper limb—Handle 1% inches; changing to almost a circular belly at 4 inches from upper edge of handle, the nock with a slightly rounded back.

1% inches; 8 inches from handle 1 The bow is now the approximate and l-16th inches; 12 inches from shape it is to be when finished. The

MAY, 1927

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

next step is to fit on the horns, string up and tiller. The horns are made from the tip of cow’s horns, wood fiber, aluminum, and many other compositions now on the market.

They can be bought ready-made or in the rough from most dealers in ar­ chery tackle. Cow’s horns have been found to be quite suitable for home­ made nocks. About 2 inches of the tips are sawed off and worked down according to the shapes in Figure D. A conical shaped hole is cut either by drilling a small hole into the horn pocket and reaming it out with a ; knife, or by boring it out with a pointed drill.

Such a drill can be easily made by taking a one-half inch drill or an old fashioned twist bit and grinding it to a point on an emery wheel. The taper should be about 1% inch long. With such a tool the holes can be cut quickly and uniformly. It is better to cut the hole before work­ ing down the horn to avoid splitting.

The horns are shaped with an emery wheel, pocket knife, or flat file. The nocks for the string are made with a small round file. Sharpen the ends of the stave to fit the horns and glue on with liquid glue.

It has been found that a smaller and shorter nock makes a bow with a better cast. A short nock is also bet­ ter on a hunting bow as it is less apt to catch on obstructions as the hunt­ er travels through the woods.

Unless both arms of the bow bend equally there is danger of the weaker one breaking. String up the bow and measure it carefully with the eye. If one arm bends more than the other scrape down the stiffest arm until both appear to bend the same. Then draw the string back about a foot and examine again, repeating the process of scraping down the stiffest arm if the bend is unequal.

Continue the process, pulling the string back a couple of inches farther each time un-

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til the length of the arrow is reached.

This process of balancing up the arms is called tillering. A tiller is used to hold the bow while it is strung. The tiller represented in Figure C has been found very satisfactory. It is made of a 3 foot length of 2 by 4 inch wood, with a notch cut in one end to hold the bow. Holes three-eighths inch in size are bored at 2 or 3 inch intervals, beginning at a point about 1 foot from the notch. Pegs made of pieces of three-eighths inch dowels are driven into these holes. The cen­ ter of the bow is placed in the notch and the string drawn back and hooked over a peg. It is well to hold the tiller in an upright posit’on in a vise while the bow is tillered.

If the strung bow is laid on its back and a sight taken down its length the string should exactly cut the cen­ ter of the bow its entire length. If the string appears off to the right through the center it means that the left side of the bow contains the most wood, and is stiffer than the right side. The left side is scraped down until the string cuts the center of the bow.

If the bow is now of proper weight it is ready to finish. If too heavy scrape it down with the scraper or piece of glass. If it is too light cut an inch off each end. Sandpaper and polish with fine steel wool. Glue a small soft wood block on the back of the bow where the handle is to be.

Round off with a file and put on the handle. A cord such as a chalk line or heavy fish line makes a good han­ dle. Finish with good spar- varnish or lacquer.

No claim is made that the forego­ ing method is the best and only way of making a bow. The writer has made 75 or 80 bows successfully in his basement shop equipped with the tools the average householder has. A vise, saw, draw-knife or spokeshave, plane,

MAY, 1927

brace and bit, jack knife, and some pieces of broken glass are the only necessary implements.

Ed. Note—Articles by Mr. Thomp­ son on arrow making, weaving’ of strings, the making of quivers, and the construction of a yew bow will appear in future isuues.

LONG BOWS AND GRAY SQUIRRELS Continued from page 5 are getting long, and remember that arrows have to be retrieved. But soon we are homeward bound in the brac­ ing cool of the evening. I have been introduced to a new sport, and my regret is that I did not taste it years ago.

“Huh! Take a gun to ’em,” I hear somebody say. “Get more of ’em, and easier too.” That I know, but the philosophy is false.

Efficiency in business—certainly, but guard against it in sport.

“The zest of the game is the best of the .game, And the test of the game is the score.”

A toast then to that most lovable “compendium of concentrated cussed­ ness,” the good old English longbow.

THE PRONUNCIATION ARTICLE “YE”

OF

THE

In the old Anglo-Saxon the lettei' “thorn,” made somewhat like the let­ ter “P,” was used for the “th” sound.

“Thorn” continued in English use un­ til about 1500, gradually becoming identical in form with “y.” It was, however, pronounced the same as “th.”

Therefore, the “Ye” in Ye Sylvan Archer is correctly pronounced “the.”

Get your yew staves from Harry Hobson, Lyons, Oregon. See his ad on inside front cover.

I

MAY, 1927

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

9

oFAy First Jack ‘Fahhit With dBow and QArrow

By W. C. THURLOW If there ever was an archer’s para­ that there was no such thing as a per­ dise it is the dry land region of east­ fect yew stave—that they all had a ern Oregon. It is, comparatively, a few pins or knots. To my amaze­ newly settled country, much still be­ ment every one of his were absolutely free of knots and pins. They were ing virgin prairie. This is especially true of the Klamath region, the place the most beautiful weapons that I had ever seen. One of these was placed I killed my first jack rabbit with bow in my hands and I was instructed how and arrows. The soil here is mellow to draw, aim and release. The twang volcanic ash, without pebbles or of the string as the arrow left the stones, ideal for shooting as you sel­ ____ bow, the sweetdom get injured 1 ! ness of the cast oi’ broken arrows.

----- - and the song of There are fields ——the arrow as it of green alfalfa sped on its way and grain border­ ' completely capti­ ed by sage brush vated me on the flats, This sage brush i s about spot. When I left I was the proud waist high and possessor of a widely enough beautiful yewbow scattered to af­ ford easy going and a dozen ar­ rows. for the archer but Then followed close enough to months of prac­ make excellent tice. A target was cover for the jack placed in a con­ rabbits. They feed venient vacant lot on the meadows and every spare during early moment was mornings and spent in earnest late evenings and enjoyable prac­ during the day lie tice. Finally, af­ in this cover. ter much prac­ In the fall of tice and the as­ of 1925 I first be­ similation of the came interested available books in bows and ar­ on the subject, I rows.

I called The author and his rabbits an.iyed at a point upon a noted bow maker whom I found to be a fine old where I felt qualified to try my luck gentleman, straight as an arrow and on live game.

I am a traveling salesman and, as seventy-five summers young. Such a collection of bows he had! The work­ a traveling salesman is an unwelcome guest in most places of business on manship reminded me of that on the Saturday afternoons, I decided to carfinest of violins. I had been informed

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YE SYLVAN ARCHER

ry my bow and a dozen home-made hunting arrows on my next trip to Klamath Falls, where I could spend a Saturday afternoon hunting jack rabbits. I arrived in Klamath Falls on the evening of June first and, my business being completed Saturday morning, a hasty lunch was eaten and one o’clock found me in the rabbit country. I stopped my car beside a little sage brush flat containing about three acres adjoining an alfalfa field and started on the most enjoy­ able hunt I have ever taken.

I climbed through the barbed wire fence and incidentally ripped open the leg of my trousers for about a foot.

After expressing my opinion of barbed wire fences in general and this one in particular, I returned to the car where repairs were soon made with a sack needle and a piece of string. As I labored with the huge needle in my endeavor to close up the long tear, I felt thankful that the rip had occurred in the leg of my trousers and not in the seat. My task as seamstress fin­ ished I returned to the hunt, this time using more care in crossing the fence.

I had not proceeded fifty feet be­ fore an old jack jumped out almost from under my feet and hot-footed it across the prairie, not once looking back. I tried a running shot just to hear the hum of the arrow. It struck some ten or twelve feet behind the fast moving quarry. I had just re­ trieved my arrow when a younger and less sophisticated rabbit jumped from under a clump of sage brush, ran about twenty yards, sat down on a little knoll, and looked me over as if to say, “I’m not afraid of that thing.” His judgment, however, was bad. I drew the arrow until the barb of the broadhead pricked my hand, held an instant, and let go a beauti­ fully released arrow which sped straight to the mark. Mr. Jack Rab­ bit gave a few convulsive kicks and

MAY, 1927

was dead. The arrow had hit him just at the base of the ear penetrating the brain. No big game hunter ever knelt over his first kill with any more pride or genuine satisfaction than I did over this—my first rabbit killed with an arrow fashioned by my own hands. Three more rabbits and sev­ eral sage rats were killed in the course of the afternoon. I want to say here that for rodent hunting no weapon equals the bow. There is no lost game. A rodent hit with an arrow is pinned to the ground and does not escape down a burrow to die a linger­ ing death as is quite often the case when hit with bullets.

In closing I wish to say to those of you who have grown tired of the slaughtering of game with high pow­ er rifles and scatter .guns, to those who love hunting more for the sake of the chase than the killing of limit bags; procure or make for yourself a six foot bow and a dozen arrows and thus armed step into yon sylvan glade.

Discharge an arrow at a bounding buck or a scurrying rabbit.

As the arrow goes singing on its way to hit the mark or to miss—it matters little which—listen to the song it sings. If your imagination be keen, perchance Robin Hood himself will rise up before you and show you how to split the wand at a hundred paces.

Ancestor warriors will fight again for you the battles of Crecy and Agin­ court and when you return home at night though your bag may be small your satisfaction in having truly hunted will be great. “Good hunt­ ing.”

“Speak well of archers, for your father shot in a bow.”—Old English Proverb.

Get your yew staves from Harry Hobson, Lyons, Oregon. See his ad on inside front cover.

MAY, 1927

11

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

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Above—Broadhead arrows used for hunting big game. Center—P. W. Lyndon of Waldport, Oregon, and B. G. Thompson of Corvallis, Oregon, with a black bear they killed with bows and arrows near Waldport, Oregon, during the fall of 1925.

Lower—A broadhead arrow embedded in an alder sapling after passing through the bear, showing the driving force of a good yew bow.

(Cut used through the courtesy of the Oregon State Game Commission.)

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YE SYLVAN ARCHER

MAY, 1927

Invention of the ^Bow

By J. E. DAVIS When the first son of Adam made use of energy other than simple brute force in his own defense by pro­ pelling an arrow by means of the force stored in the drawn bow he qualified as a superior animal and ushered in the age of man.

Although little is known concerning the how, when, where, or by whom of the invention of the bow and ar­ row, it is generally thought that the honor probably belongs to Neolithic man. However, rudely chipped stones that were no doubt used by prehis­ toric man in his own defense and may have been arrowheads have been found in Palaeolithic drift. Neolithic man left plenty of evidence of his use of the bow and arrow in nicely chip­ ped and polished arrowheads.

It seems reasonable to believe that the bow was used long before stone or metal arrowheads were thought of.

No doubt the first arrows were sim­ ply pointed sticks.

Splinters of bone and natural rock fragments probably were used as tips long before the savage mind con­ ceived the nicely made arrowheads found among the remains of Neolithic man.

At least we can be sure that no sport has played so great a part in the evolution of mankind as has archery.

Man, before he had the bow, was no match for the swifter animals or those larger and more powerful. In hand to hand conflict he was outclassed.

His food ran away from him and he was food for the larger animals from which he could not run away. No wonder man’s progress was slow., The bow and arrow changed man from the hunted to the hunter. It made him master of distance. It gave him the

advantage over all but the most pow­ erful of the animals because it per­ mitted him to commence his defense while his adversary was still too far­ away to carry on combat.

Primitive man was never more than a day or two ahead of starvation until he had the bow. Death in the form of the cave bear or the saber toothed tiger continually stalked his trail. But the invention of the bow made the taking of food easier and, while b'fe was still none too secure, man’s mind was relieved from the constant fight with death to such an extent that it had a chance to develop.

As I said before, no one knows how the bow was invented and one per­ son’s guess is as good as another’s.

Let us picture a primitive man a he passes along a path behind ano'her savage figure.

The one ahead pushes aside a branch of a tr< c -nd when he releases it a broken wig h nd flies off and strikes the one with sufficient force to cause a ensation to penetrate his thick sku’l and form an idea. It may be days b . ore nd the idea develops into action bant many flying twigs from But branches may be necessary. sooner or later I can see in the ] ath of some animal a bent branch with a pointed stick attached. Also a savage who triumphantly releases the stick as the animal approaches and I exult with him in the invention of the bow.

Little by little our savage friend evolves the bow from this beginningA string is attached to the branch to allow the savage to place himself far­ ther from the path of his quarryFinally he finds that a detached branch with the string fastened at Continued on pa-ge 19

MAY, 1927

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

13

JjJtffrws English Ladies and the Long Bow

By J. E. DAVIS With arrows brood under her side, Both the Queen and her favorite ladyAnd bow in hand, with which she slew in-waiting, Countess Desmond, are re­ And took all that her list; enough ported to have been skillful archers Of beasts that be chaceable. and many a buck fell a victim of their —Gower. arrows. But in that age as in this the * * * public viewed with alarm the ten­ Women have long been enthusiastic dency of the ladies, or some of them, to break the bonds of convention and archers both in pursuit of game and in target practice but there is little au­ Hansard says, “Our system of female education, from the beginning of the thentic history of the part played by seventeenth until nearly the close of the ladies in the early use of the bow the eighteenth century, was a positive and arrow in England. conspiracy against the moral and The expense account of King Henry physical development of the sex. Na­ VIII. shows the purchase of three ture, we are aware, in the assertion of bows and other equipment for the un­ her rights, occasionally broke through fortunate Lady Anne Boleyn How­ its absurd restraints; but the change ever it may be questioned whether the was merely from evil to evil. With fair Anne practiced with the bow as scarlet riding dress, masculine head­ a result of her own enthusiasm or in gear, flushed countenance, and dis­ order to hold her place in the favor of hevelled locks, the huntress came the King who is known to have taken bounding to the covert side. Undis­ every opportunity to encourage ar­ mayed by showers of mud and snow­ chery. balls from five score horses’ hoofs— According to Hansard’s Book of by hedge and fence, gate and stile, she Archery, “The archives of Berkeley scoured the country 'through bush Castle furnish historical evidence that through brier,’screeching forth a tallyour female nobility, as far back as the ho ! at Renard’s departure, and a commencement of Queen Elizabeth’s whoo-hoo-hoop! at his death. To the reign, joined their feudal vassals at honor of her sex, however, be it spok­ the bow butts, and even staked money en, comparatively few ladies were on the flight of a favorite shaft, or found to unsex themselves thus; and the skill of some adroit yeoman pres­ during a portion of that period, fal­ ent there.” In fact Queen Bess her­ conry ranked high among amuse­ self often stood beneath a certain an­ ments chosen to dissipate the ennui of cient oak to await the deer as they the fair.” Only those who worried were driven past her by her foresters. little about the bitter gossips of the

14

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

times dared enjoy a sport thought too masculine for the gentler sex.

However, when target shooting with bow and arrow became the vogue, rather than hunting, it was considered “a perfectly unexceptionable recrea­ tion for the ladies.” In fact target shooting with the bow was thought to be an excellent form of amusement for the ladies of the nobility as it tended to .give a graceful figure and

Queen Victoria in Archery Costume From Hansard’s Book of Archery, 1845.

did not require an excessive amount of bodily exercise.

The revival of interest in archery began about the close of the eight­ eenth century. The Marchioness of Salisbury was one of the devotees of the bow during this period and was granted the freedom of their society by the Woodmen of the Ancient Forest of Arden. This lady also won “a gold heart, enriched with a bow and shaft set in diamonds” which was presented by the Hertford­ shire Archers. The records of the Woodmen of the Forest of Arden show that a gold bugle was won by a Miss Mordaunt and a .gold arrow by

MAY, 1927

a Miss Moland in September, 1794. in Archery steadily increased and favor among the ladies their presence at the butts was taken as a matter of course. We find the name of Queen Victoria inscribed on the Archer Rolls and among her officers was a Master of Archery.

In recent years the women of Eng­ land have regularly taken their places in the tournaments and the sport of archery is as well recognized as are golf and tennis.

BALLAD OF ROBIN HOOD’S MARRIAGE As that word was spoken, Clorinda came by, The queen of the shepherds was she; Her kirtle was velvet, as green as the •glass, And her buskin did reach to her knee.

So modest her gait, her person divine, And her countenance free from all pride!

In her hand was a bow, and a quiver of arrows Hung gracefully by her fair side.

Said Robin Hood, “Lady fair, whither away ?

Oh whither, fair lady, away?”

She smilingly answered, “To kill a fat buck, For tomorrow is Tutbury day.”

As we did wend all towards the green bower, Two hundred fair stags we espied; She chose out the fattest of all that brave herd, And shot him through side and side.

“By the faith of my body,” said bold Robin then, “I never saw woman like thee; Or com’st thou from east, or com’st though from west, Thou needst not beg venison from me.”

Get your yew staves from Harry Hobson, Lyons, Oregon. See his ad on inside front cover.

MAY, 1927

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

15

^DTie Value of ArcherV'

By D. G. GILLESPIE The recent revival of archery has not been confined to any particular­ section—it includes the whole United States. The weapon that made Robin Hood famous, that won the battles of Crecy and Agincourt for the English, that turned the tide at Hastings, the weapon long- regarded as useless in a country boasting latest developments in long-range firearms, has swept the country with a wave of unexpected popularity, providing a new sport for hundreds of men, women and chil­ dren.

The man of today who twangs the string of a 50 pound yew bow experi­ ences a barbaric sense of pleasure al­ most akin to that felt by bygone an­ cestors who sent their shafts against, the lordly stag or fierce cave bear.

The difference between the former and the latter is mainly one of en­ vironment.

Present conditions no longer compel man to resort to the bow as a means of livelihood and pro­ tection. The bowman, however, if he be imaginative and resourceful, can obtain, by big game hunting, even greater thrills than his more colorful predecessor. This fact is borne out by modem exploits with bow and ar­ row by Dr. Saxton Pope and Arthur Young.

History of the bow dates as far back as history itself. Records show that the caveman made frequent use of the weapon. In later Egyptian, Greek, and Roman times armies all had their corps of archers. Many of the Norse ballads recount tales of mighty bowmen. The Normans con­ quered England with the longbow, and later the Anglo-Saxons adopted it and swore by its effectiveness. Wars of the past have been few in which the bow did not play an important part.

In bygone clays man looked on the bow as a necessity—now he regards the weapon and the sport of archery as a pleasure. If he is handy with tools he gets his first real enjoyment out of making his own archery tackle.

Construction of a longbow is not so difficult, especially when one may now obtain staves already seasoned and cut out from lo.gs.

The health-building side of this sport cannot be overlooked. It is al­ most entirely an open-air pastime and is a real benefit to the professional man and woman. In big cities, nota­ bly Los Angeles and San Francisco, courses are even constructed on roof­ tops of some larger buildings, thus providing recreation for employees.

Archery combines the benefits of fresh air with muscular activity. Any­ one who has drawn an arrow to the head with a 75 pound hunting bow has accomplished a man-sized task.

Target shooting with bow and ar­ rows can easily be made a fascinating back-yard sport, providing friend wife has no objections. No doubt she and the rest of the family will join in as well. A good target, made of straw, can be constructed in a few hours. A person does not have to be frequently buying ammunition as does the dev­ otee of rifle or shotgun. The arrow has added advantages over the bullet in being noiseless, and being less dangerous to human life because of shorter range.

Roving through the woods with a trusty weapon of yew has proved a real fascination to many hunters who have forsaken the gun for the bow.

The imaginative sportsman soon real­ izes the former has a romantic savour which the latter never can possess.

Continued on page 17

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YE SYLVAN ARCHER

MAY, 1927

Game Conservation and die Bow

By H. E. As a pastime archery should rank with golf, tennis and trap-shooting.

As a hunting weapon the bow is far ahead of any gun, especially under present day conditions. I mean by that, if we do not limit the dead’iness of our weapons in some way, hunting as we know it now will be a thing of the past in a few years. Only twentyfive years ago we could go out into the stubble fields on the edge of town any winter evening and kill from five

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NIBLER hunting with rifles and shotguns, for the average hunter, ceases to be sport and is fast degeneiating into a slaugh­ ter of helpless birds and animals. If birds and deer were hunted with the bow only, they would increase so that the archer would be able to kill enough game to make the hunt inter­ esting and game would be more plen­ tiful and much more real sport would be possible. Instead of a few days of hunting we could hunt that many

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Squirrel with arrow through it cannot escape to ten clucks, and in summer we could months. I have done considerable rab­ hunt the same fields and kill the limit bit hunting with the bow and from the of twenty-five pheasants in a few fir st was much surprised to find that hours, the open season being from I enjoyed much more sport trying to August to November and the limit kill a rabbit with the bow than in twenty-five pheasants a day. Now to pheasant hunting with a shotgun. see a duck is exceptional and as for I also discovered that in hunting pheasant shooting the present limit of rodents and other small game very ten a week with two to four days little game is lost. This is especially hunting a season and the few birds true of squirrels. I found in hunting killed shows that something is amiss. with a gun that the majority of The same holds true with our quail ground squirrels hit, even though bad­ and grouse hunting. ly wounded, managed to escape into With the development of high pow­ their holes. This is impossible with er automatics and repeaters, of tele­ arrows. A squirrel with an arrow scope sights, and long range loads through it cannot escape into its bur-

MAY, 1927

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

row to die a lingering death, but can be despatched quickly by the hunter.

While I do not contend that all should hunt with the bow, I do think that suitable game preserves should be set aside for archers only, and then let results speak for themselves. Any man who makes his own bow out of stout yew stave and brings the stub­ born yew under control, feathers his own shafts, makes his own broad­ heads, and goes out and by skill and perseverance brings down his quarry has truly hunted; and 1 doubt much if guns will be of much interest to him any more.

There is something peculiar about shooting the bow which .1 shall try to explain. You will everywhere hear archers say that they get more ex­ citement from a close miss with an arrow than from a hit with a gun. As near as I can understand, you have to hit with a gun to get any excitement at all. With an arrow the excitement lies in drawing the shaft, hearing the shrill note of the string as the arrow is released, and the hum of the shaft as the hunter sends it on its way with the strength of his own good arms.

The chief excitement does not lie in laying the game low. That is the re­ ward of a well sent shaft but is not the main purpose of the hunt.

Times have changed and we do not hunt for food but for sport. If food is the main consideration use the gun by all means. You might also find that a net or dynamite would be more effective than the light line and rod in taking trout but I certainly hope that we are not coming to this, but rather let us use tackle requiring skill to take our fish and .game, and by taking smaller bags leave a remnant for our children and our children’s children. Let us be sportsmen and not kill all the wild things which have now been driven to the isolated places, frightened by the deadly rifle and

17

cruel shotgun. When we used to hunt ducks with a shotgun we occasionally found a cripple. Wherever a shot had struck was a bruise as big as a man’s hand; but the badly wounded ones must have suffered the tortures of the damned as Dr. Harris so aptly put it. I believe that the shotgun is the most cruel weapon ever invented by man.

THE VALUE OF ARCHERY Continued from page 15 Speaking of hunting, practically ev­ ery big game animal killed by a bullet within the last 10 years has also been downed by an arrow. One has only to read “Hunting with the Bow and Ar­ row,” by Dr. Saxton Pope to realize the possibilities of the weapon. It kills by hemorrhage, and is even more humane than the bullet, according to Dr. Pope, himself a noted surgeon.

Stewart Edward White and Arthur Young also corroborate this state­ ment.

By killing a bear, a deer, and a wild goat, B. G. Thompson, Oregon archer, has also proved the effectiveness of the bow as a hunting weapon. Pheas­ ants, silver-gray squirrels, and othersmall game have also been added to the trophy list of this ambitious bow­ man.

Naturally it requires more skill to bring down your quarry with a bow than with a gun. If a man deliber­ ately chooses a weapon requiring so much more skill to bring down game than the rifle, he is to be commended as the best type of game conserver.

Archery was once known as the sport of kings, but the appellation has now been reversed and it is designat­ ed, by its most ardent devotees, the king of sports.

“England not worth a fling, Except for the crooked yew and gray goose wing.”

—Old English Saying.

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

18

H

MAY, 1927

vnior

CArchery for Boy Scouts

By SCOUT WILLIAM LAWRENCE As we were Scouts we were anx­ Archery has a way of taking hold of one and once you get started you ious to earn our merit badges in ar­ seldom lose interest in it. One night chery. The requirement for this test cur scout troop heard a talk on ar­ was a score of 80 at forty yards, 60 chery given by a man who has hunted at fifty yards, and 50 at GO yards. We big game with the bow and so it was all completed this test about the same that five of us became interested in time and went before the same court this sport. of honor.

We began right away to work on our tackle. We sent away for lemon­ The fellows did not practice so wood staves and in the meantime we much for a while but when they heard got some horns from the slaughter about the archery contest in connec­ house to use on the tips of our bows. tion with the Scout rally there was a While we were waiting for the staves little more action. It was then that to come we started on our arrows. the high scores were made. There Some of the first arrows were poor were three prizes offered: For first attempts but they served the pur-pose. prize, a gold medal; for second prize, In a short time after the staves came a silver medal; and for third prize, a we finished our bows.

About this time the Corvallis Archery Club was formed and we became the Junior Archers of this club.

Shooting proved to be almost as interesting as making the tackle. Some­ body was always making a new and better score.

For a while anything above eighty or eightyfive was a good score for thirty shots at forty yards, but some of the fellows • got so they could make about 115, and it wasn’t The first five Scouts of Corvallis, Oregon, to long before most of us receive merit badges in archery were beating this.

(Courtesy of Archers’ Co.)

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MAY, 1927

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

bronze medal. The first prize was won by a score of 96; the second prize by a score of 77; and third prize by a score of 76. Some of the fellows must have been nervous because the best archers did not come up to their usual scores.

It was interesting to see the bows that some of the Scouts made.

There were two fellows who had not had any instruction in bow making other than that gained from books.

Their bows were good, considering; but their arrows were no good at all and they were unable to make any good scores on that account.

Several of the Scouts have been successful in shooting small game.

They have been able to get a few squirrels and they have also shot some rats. None of the Scouts have bag­ ged any big game yet.

When the ground dries off and the weather gets a little better, the Junioi Archers will be out practicing again and will be looking forward to the next tournament.

We hope to make the Junior Page of Ye Sylvan Archer a department by and for the young people who are in­ terested in archery. Interest in the bow has been kept alive, since the time when it was a serious weapon of war and the chase, by the boys. Now that adults have enthusiastically tak­ en up the sport of archery it is more than ever the favorite sport of boys.

That is why archery brings a man back to boyhood. Boys, we want you to write us about your feats with the bow and about your hunting trips.

Tell us what kind of bows and arrows you like and why. Send us pictures of your archery exploits. Help make this department what you want it to be.

Subscribe for Ye Sylvan Archer.

19

INVENTION OF THE BOW

Continued from page 12 both ends serves his purpose as well or better and the scope of the bow is enlarged.

This is my picture. If you do not like it make one of your own but at least give primitive man credit for a great invention; one greater than the telephone, or the electric light, or the radio.

Of course, to no one man is due the credit for the invention of the bow.

It was very likely invented in many different places and developed in many different ways. The great va­ riety of bows found in the world would indicate this. Few of us are descendants of Watts or Marconis or Edisons, but we can all feel a thrill of pride in the fact that we are prob­ ably descendants of the inventor of the bow and arrow.

Ye Sylvan Archer invites questions concerning archery. We will do our best to answer them. We believe we have one of the most complete ar­ chery libraries to be found, including practically all the important books published on archery in the English language from Ascham’s “Toxophilus” to Dr. Elmer’s latest book.

The Oregon legislature last winter legalized the bow as a hunting wea­ pon. Previously only shoulder arms and pistols have been legal weapons of the chase in this state. Archers owe most of the credit for the passage of this law to Ex-Game Warden Averill, who has been the archer’s friend at every turn. A change of administra­ tion, however, has seemed to open the season on all appointees of the former executive and Mr. Averill’s political scalp was one of the first to fall into the bag. It is unfortunate that poli­ tics cannot leave a good man in the right place.

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MAY, 1927

YE SYLVAN ARCHER

At a recent session of the Connecti­ cut legislative assembly a bill was in­ troduced to open the season on deer for one week and allow hunting only with bow and arrows or (and) shot­ guns. The bill did not pass. It is reported that the farmers, who now have the privilege of killing deer do­ ing “damage” to crops, at any time, were opposed to the bill, and respon­ sible for its being killed.

It is reported that the Long Bow Club of Moscow, Idaho, has recently laid out an nine “hole” archery golf course. This game is proving very popular among archers. A course is laid out similar to a golf course, but instead of holes small straw targets are used.

Yew Bows Hunting and Target Arrows can be appreciated by discriminating archers only.

Bows, $35.00 to $150.00.

Arrows, $15.00 to $30.00 dozen.

No yew bow of my make has broken

Cassius Hayward Styles LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA

ARCHERY TACKLE MADE BY ARCHERS FOR ARCHERS Write for Price List

Der Vater—“Where are you going daughter ?

Das Madchen—“I’m going out to practice archery with an Irish bow and arrah.”—Brown Jug.

NATIONAL ARCHERY TACKLE CO. Manufacturers of

Bows and Arrows 3142 West 10th Street LOS ANGELES, CAL.

CLASSIFIED ADS (Advertisements under this heading will be run at the rate of ten cents per word per issue. Copy for July issue must be in by June 10th.)

THE ARCHER’S HANDBOOK 25 cents. See our advertisement on back cover page. The Archers Company, Pinehurst, North Carolina.

OWN A YEW BOW—See Harry Hobson’s ad on inside front cover of this issue.

I SPECIALIZE on lemonwood hunt­ ing bows and hunting arrows. The best for the average archer. P. W. Lyndon, Waldport, Oregon.

YE CASCADE YEW ARCHERY COMPANY Makers and distributors of all kinds of archery tackle. Yew, rawhide backed bows a specialty. Send for price list.

Ye Cascade Archery Co. Box 141, Stevenson, Wash.

Yew Bow Staves SELECTED

Partially seasoned 6-foot Yew staves for- sale, $5.00 each, f. o. b.

Corvallis.

JAMES A. BERRY 244 31st St. Corvallis, Oregon

Mention Ye Sylvan Archer When Writing to Advertisers

iI

Lemonwood Hunting and Target Bows BOWS WITH INDIVIDUALITY HUNTING ARROWS MADE TO FIT YOUR BOW Specializing on Arrows for bows up to 60 pounds

P.

LYNDON, Waldport, Oregon

Attention, Manufacturers of Archery Tackle Of course you will wish to advertise in Ye Sylvan Archer. While other magazines have much larger circulations, our magazine goes ex­ clusively to the people you wish to reach. Write for rates.

Attention, Club Secretaries and Others Here is a chance to help yourself and your club. We are offering for each of the first one hundred clubs of twelve subscribers each your choice of a $3.00 HAND-TOOLED QUIVER, or A GOOD YEW BOW STAVE.

Attention, Archers If you are inteiestd in archery you will surely wish to subscribe for YE SYLVAN ARCHER, the only magazine devoted exclusively to ar­ chery. In order that we may know how many copies of the next issue to print, we would appreciate it very much if you would be prompt with your remittance.

SEND $1.00 TO !

YE SYLVAN ARCHER Corvallis, Oregon Mention Ye Sylvan Archer when writing advertisers.

It h e

(Sfontpemg

America’s and probably the world’s largest exclusive manufacturers of Archery tackle, has unusual meth­ ods of fitting each Archer’s set to the purchaser.

Every Archery Set Is Fit­ ted to the Individual Archer By asking everyone who sends in an order to give his age, weight, height, and occupation, every Archer can be supplied with tackle as well as if he were making his selection in person, and very rarely is a set ever returned, because it is too large or too small, or too strong or teo weak.

Fibre-Backed (patented process) Sherwood Forest Hunting Bows; Yeoman Broadhead Arrows, espec­ ially designed for American game; and Archery Tackle for all purposes for everyone from the Junior Robin Hood to the master bowman.

Every Workman An Archer Is Reason for Quality Products Because everyone of our workmen is a capable arccher, they are able to make much better equipment than ordinary factory employees, and when you get a bow and arrow from us, you may be sure that is was made by a craftsman who took pride in his work.

Send for Catalogue THE ARCHER’S HANDBOOK

(The Judn'rs (Emnpanu PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA

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