Like Zach said, the Cherokees, would use milk thistle fluff. They would gather them, and when dry, they would wind them on the dart shafts. They would cut a notch in the back of the dart, to attach the string, when they reached it. They would start a few inches down from the non pointed end of the dart, and make a few wraps around the dart. They used a method of laying the thistle out in their hands, and rolling, applying the thistle fluff, and wrapping the string at the same time, and when they reached the end, they would tug the string into the notch, or slit, and cut the string off. Takes a little practice, but the result is pretty neat. Then they would put the dart in the blow gun and trim off the excess fluff. The result was a very neat dart. It looked sort of like a Pussy Willow bulb on the end of a stick. There was an article in an older issue of "Wilderness Way", that showed how to do this. You could contact them, and see if they still have any copies left, with that article, or maybe reprint that article again. The Cherokee Blow gun was not a toy! They killed small game with it at astonishing distances. I am talking about rabbits, and raccoons, small game like birds, and squirrels. There were documented reports of the Indians consistently hitting squirrels in the eye with these darts, Killing the squirrels instantly. They are quite powerful. And like the others said, the longer the better. When I was working as an electricians helper, many years ago, we would take a ten foot piece of 1/2 inch conduit, ( emt, electrical metal tubing ) and take fresh cement or plumbers, putty, or wire nuts, and shoot them at other workers, we knew, and vice versa. It would leave quite a welt. Sometimes when we were feeling a bit delvilish, we would be working on the third floor, and see some of the plasters, working out side,below on the ground, we would take the plumbers putty, and put it in the tube, and hit one of the plasters, and quickly go back to our work, and the plasters thought those $#%%$#!! plumbers were doing it. We didn't do it very often, didn't want to start any fights. But the thing is what ever you put in the tube, and a big quick breath, and it would almost go out of sight! We had no problems hitting people two buildings away. And when shooting at a building next door, it if hit one of the metal studs, with a wire nut, or a inch long bit of dried cement, that had been put in wet, and allowed to dry, it would put quite a dent in the stud. Pre paint ball wars......
Anyway, good luck, and enjoy. We used to make smaller blow guns out of copper pipes, and steel wire, and plastic tees. WE would cut off the pointed tip of the golf tee, and then heat the wire up and shove it into the golf tee, and we wold have a dart. We would flatten out the end of the wire, and shape, and sharpen it into a diamond spear head shape, and shoot rats, at a friend of mine's dairy. The barn ceiling, and beams, were covered in darts. We got plenty of rats too. Now you have me all fired up to do something I had been thinking about doing. I want to take about an eight or ten foot piece of 1/2 inch copper tubing, and an equal length of wood rod, and split the rod, and groove the rod, and put the tube in, and glue it back, and wrap it and make some Cherokee darts for it. Would be great for grouse, when I move to Montanna. Should get a lot of strange looks from the neighbors......Till I come back with grouse!
Stick Bender
