Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: mikekeswick on November 26, 2013, 03:59:12 am
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Me and a few friends are just starting to plan a 3 - 4 month trip to B.C, Canada. Very loose plans as of yet but we will be canoeing a few different rivers (not sure which yet!), camping, fishing etc...
What I was wondering is what sort of bows did the first nations people carry and use is this area? I would very much like to make some sort of a replica to take with me. Also what sort of arrows would have been used eg. what material for the shafts, fletches, points etc....
Also any info on what material would have been used for the strings would be very useful.
Many thanks in advance guys. :)
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3 - 4 months! Not jealous much honest. Didn't the bowyers bible 3 have some in it? Anyway have fun & stay away from the bears!
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Cheers Nathan, i'll go and gave a look at my copy....
I'd be jealous too! ;)
I've got a friend who moved to Squamish,B.C. a few years ago, he keeps saying i've got to come out and see him and the country round there....he reckons if I go out there for a few months there is no way i'll be going back to England...we'll see :)
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Typical West Coast gear depending on how far North you go. Think of the tribes there rather than the fact that it is in Canada. Not really a factor what the Country is called now.
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I'm asking what that 'typical West coast gear' is!!!
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Generally very short to medium length, often sinew backed and sometimes with some degree of either recurves or hook nocks.
They are known for being exceptionally broad but some are also narrower.
Most people think of some sort of paddle bow as typical of the West Coast.
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Your coming across the pond and going to Canada ??? Blah..eh... :-X :laugh:
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If you can get your hands on some Canadian yew I'll be your friend forever.
I might even pay you...
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Try searhing "Haida indian bow and arrows".
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I've got a friend who moved to Squamish,B.C. a few years ago, he keeps saying i've got to come out and see him and the country round there....he reckons if I go out there for a few months there is no way i'll be going back to England...we'll see :)
Definitely could happen. I'm a BC boy thru and thru, and the scenery and variety still amazes me in my home province. Get some Vancouver Island yew.......I'm seriously thinking of making the trip there just to get some wood (3 hour drive plus a ferry ride).
Cheers!
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The list of tribes is or was rather large.
Make sure you contact "radius" when you get there. He always seems to have some bits of yew.
It would be pretty cool if someone could get you a cured stave that you could work on as you go.
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Look into bows from the Haida, or even the Kwakiutl.
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British Columbia is huge. It contains elements of the Plateau, High Plains, Coastal Areas, and Islands. To narrow down one type of archery tackle would be a very broad generalization. Yes, sinewed bows were used but other bow types were used as well. Everything from simple self D-bows to the elaborately painted sinew-backed paddle bows can be found there.
Canada, in my opinion, has a much better understanding of their First Nations cultures than we do. I would try to hit as many local museums as possible and see what they have on display.
Having said that, a safe bet would be to use a softwood for the bow and hardwood shoots for the arrows. Yew or juniper for the bow, for example, and osier for the arrow shafts. Sinew backing is also a safe bet, as already mentioned. A simple quiver, for holding the bow and arrows at the same time, made of a case-skinned small deer or large otter skin would be fine. Most arrows I've seen from that area were foreshafted with very small arrowheads. The fletchings would be from sea birds or birds of prey... but you can't use those so goose feathers are a good substitute. Bowstrings and bow backings were usually made from very long sinews, like bison backstrap, as opposed to leg sinew.
It's hard to read the text on the picture below, so here's the link: http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/exhibits/timemach/galler07/images/abbcmapm.jpg
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Just a little bit of advice that is awesome for bow quivers, you can buy seal fur there so u would buy a ton. You can't sell it in the USA but it is awesome stuff when you could sell it. I am pretty sure it isn't illegal to possess though
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Many thanks for all the ideas.
I'm thinking a 50 - 54 inch sinew backed yew. A little bit of bend in the handle and some recurves. I might have a go at painting the back with natural pigments because i've never experimented with them before. The only problem being is that I don't have any clean yew at the moment...I'll have to keep my eyes open!
I've got my sinew strings to a good enough point that I trust them now so i'll get a couple made up....I may just take a fastflight as a back up though ;)
There is lots of dogwood growing round here for arrows too. I get loads of turkey feathers from a local farm every Christmas and it's getting about that time again.
One dilemma we are having is how many arrows to take....Of course we could make them en route but finding suitable materials isn't ever nailed on ;) and having never been to B.C. with no 1st hand knowledge of the local plants......
I guess i'm also going to have to get a bit better at knapping too ;)
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You really should consider mostly making some gear as you go when you get here. BC also likely has accessible Ocean Spray and Vine Maple.
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Sounds like a really cool adventure what ever you decide to make or when.I know you have to be looking forward to it. :)
Pappy
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If you want shoots shafts, the typical materials where if course oceanspray and osoberry. Those are good heavy shafts. Dogwood was used but was not a favorite. Split timber shafts of cedar have also been found in caches.
As far as bows the flat and wide 'paddle bow' was the common style from California to SE Alaska. First choice was yew, and they would travel miles into the hills to get it, or simply trade there coastal good to the moieties who used yew as a trade item closer to the cascade range. a sinew backed yew bow was considered the cream of the crop. The second choice was purely up to the bowyer, or the one who was on the receiving end of the trade. The Siletz natives on the central coast of Oregon used yew, but Vinemaple was a very close second, even spruce was used for bows. Though there are no bows in tact, but it was thought that they would use salmon skin to cover there sinew. But only skin from the largest salmon, the chinook.
The back was usually painted with black paint and the belly red. Salmon eggs where used as a binder.
The more elaborate geometric painting came from down south (souther Oregon and Northern California)
As with most cases, the elders built the best and sweetest shooting bows. If a child showed talent at a young age they would then take an apprenticeship from the elder bowyer or craftsman.
And the same thing applied to those who showed talent for other things like jewelry and carving.
There many styles of this particular bow. Choosing which one you like is the hard part:)
My favorite one is made by the Makkah, Salish, and Kwakiutl. I have museum photos I will try and post later on today :)
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here is one of my favorites! this one was found in the territory of the coast salish burned markings on the back.
(http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh544/bryceott/salish.jpg) (http://s1251.photobucket.com/user/bryceott/media/salish.jpg.html)
this one is one by the Nootka people. the teal color was a hard color to get and might mean the bow belonged to someone wealthy
(http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh544/bryceott/nootka2.jpg) (http://s1251.photobucket.com/user/bryceott/media/nootka2.jpg.html)
another nootka bow. this one is yew, i have seen at the 'Burke Museum' this same style but the wood was sitka spruce. highly violated back. also a favorite of mine. notice the trianglular cross section towards the tips.
(http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh544/bryceott/nootka.jpg) (http://s1251.photobucket.com/user/bryceott/media/nootka.jpg.html)
here is one by the Haida people. whats interesting about this one is the amount of set. was probably abandoned and left strung. the back is painted black. but what is nice about this bow is the shape. you can clearly see how the bow was tillered and meant to bend.
(http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh544/bryceott/haida.jpg) (http://s1251.photobucket.com/user/bryceott/media/haida.jpg.html)
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Awesome pictures.
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Wonder what the draw length was with these? If the backs were violated how much tension could they have been under? Also how long where the bows???
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Wonder what the draw length was with these? If the backs were violated how much tension could they have been under? Also how long where the bows???
Well it is yew. Even without sapwood it's still tension strong. Hard to tell the draw length without the arrows that go with the bow.
Some of these at one point or another had sinew. Then again some didn't.