Chapter XVII: Toy Guns, Targets, and Bows and Arrows

Some of the old war engines used in Europe before the introduction of gunpowder were most ingeniously contrived, and were wonderfully effective, considering that their projective force was obtained by means of springs and levers. It is hard to find many good examples, as authorities have badly confused them, but the writer has been fortunate in securing drawings of what he believes to be pure types of the most commonly used guns. These are reproduced on page 230, believing that the average boy will be interested to see the kind of weapons that were employed in warfare centuries ago. With a little study, the working of these guns will be clearly understood without further explanation than what is given upon the drawings. The catapult (Fig. 227) and the trebuchet (Fig. 228) were used for storming fortifications, and each hurled large stones. The trebuchet was a much later invented machine than the catapult, and, being built on a much larger scale, was more powerful. It is claimed that trebuchets were often built large enough to hurl carcasses of horses into an enemy's fortifications. The ballista (Fig. 229) was in reality a large cross-bow, built to shoot long, heavy bolts or arrows. The illustration shows a form mounted upon wheels for field service. The cross-bow (Fig. 230) was a weapon used by the foot-soldiers of a number of European countries. It was in use in England for some time, but, on account of the terrible wounds inflicted by its short barbed arrows, was finally forbidden and superseded by the long-bow.

Some ideas for the making of toy shot-guns and pistols, worked by springs and levers much the same as the ancient guns, will be appreciated by the boy who is denied the use of firearms. The schemes illustrated and described on the following pages will be found easy to carry out, and such as will furnish enjoyment for many a day in the woods or back-yard.

Figure 231 shows a new idea for

=A Cross-bow.=--The stock for this should be cut out of a tongued-and-grooved board, with the groove running along the top, and a mortise should be made at _A_ in which to set the trigger. This mortise should be about two inches long and as wide as the thickness of the board will permit, and is made by boring a couple of holes through the stock at this point, and cutting out the wood between with a chisel. Select a strong barrel-hoop for the bow, and fasten it at its centre in a hole cut for it at _B_, driving a nail into it at _C_. The trigger should be made similar to _D_ in Fig. 232. Cut block _E_ out of a piece of tongued board, leaving the tongue to fit the groove in the gunstock. Notch the bottom to fit over _D_ (see Fig. 233). Place a tack in each side of the block, and run cords from them to the end of the bow. These cords must be of such a length that the bow will bend almost to its limit when block _E_ is placed over the trigger. A heavy rubber band should be attached to the lower end of the trigger, and to a tack at _F_. This must be strong enough to cock the trigger.

The cross-bow will shoot either pebbles or arrows, but the latter are the most satisfactory.

=Shingle Arrows= are very good, as they shoot straight, and are so quickly made as to be easily replaced by a fresh lot when lost or broken. Mark them out as shown in Fig. 234, with the head at the thick edge of the shingle and the tail at the thin edge, and cut them out with your jack-knife. The head and tail are made flat on one side, so as to lie flat in the groove of the gun.

=A Toy Pistol= can also be made out of a tongued-and-grooved board. Some such shape as shown in Fig. 235 should first be drawn upon the board, with the groove extending along the top. Cut this out with your jack-knife, and make a mortise for the trigger. Cut the trigger similar to Fig. 236, fastening it in place with a brad driven through it at _A_. It will be noticed that the trigger is notched at both ends. These notches are for a rubber band, which should be stretched from the upper notch of the trigger, over the muzzle, and around to the lower notch, as shown in the drawing. The rubber band lies in the groove in the top of the pistol.

=The Bullets= for this pistol consist of pieces of cardboard cut into small squares. To load the pistol, slip one of the squares through the rubber band as shown in Fig. 237, so that it rests on top of the groove, as shown in Fig. 235. Upon pulling the trigger the bullet will shoot out of its position, and though naturally one might think the loop of the rubber band would catch the card, it is not the case. The card frees itself and travels in a straight line in the direction in which the pistol is aimed. It is advisable to keep this pistol out of range of your companions' faces.

=A Shot-gun= can be made on the same scheme as the pistol, by cutting a stock the size of that used for the cross-bow (Fig. 231), and fastening several rubber bands together to extend around the added length.

=An Elastic Sling= made with a wire framework, as shown in Fig. 238, is an improvement over the one made out of a tree crotch, as it is not easily broken. About No. 12 wire, which is the thickness of eight-penny nails, should be bought for this. With a pair of pincers, bend it into the shape shown in the drawing, with loops at _A_ and _B_. Wrap the handle with cord, and attach strong rubber bands to _A_ and _B_, with a piece of shoe leather or kid glove set in between, at _C_.

A most satisfactory scheme for

=A Boy's Target= is shown in Fig. 239. It consists of a barrel-hoop, fastened by means of staples to a wooden platform, as shown in the illustration. Pack the inside of the hoop with earth which has been moistened sufficiently to make it hold together, and place a piece of paper over it, pasting it to the edges of the hoop. The paper will be stretched as tight as a drumhead when dry. Five rings should then be painted upon it, as shown in the illustration. Fasten screw-eyes in the top of the platform, and hang the target by these wherever you wish to use it.

By preparing several sheets of paper, a fresh piece may be pasted over the hoop after one has been filled with holes. The earth will prevent the paper from splitting, and will be soft enough for the end of an arrow to stick into. Should the earth become too dry, it may be moistened each time a new paper is put in place.

=A Simpler Target=, and a scheme which will answer a boy's purpose, if he does not care to go to the trouble of making the hoop target, is shown in Fig. 240. A circular piece of cardboard, with five rings painted upon it, is tacked to the end of a broom-handle, and this is stuck into the ground.

=Points are Scored= in target shooting as follows: Bull's-eye 9 points; second ring, 7 points; third ring, 5 points; fourth ring, 3 points; fifth, or outside ring, 1 point.

=The Bow and Arrow= is always popular with boys who are forbidden the use of guns. Authorities claim that the best materials from which to make bows are mulberry, sassafras, Southern cedar, black locust, black walnut, apple, and slippery elm, in the order named; but if a boy selects what appears to be a good sound piece of wood, with straight grain, he has something which will suit the purpose.

=The Length of the Bow= should be about the height of the person using it. Figure 241 shows a five-foot bow, with the other proportions such as are on makes to be found in the stores. Cut your piece of wood five feet long, and, after placing it in the bench-vise, shape it down with a draw-knife or plane until it is one inch wide by one-half inch thick at the handle and three-quarters of an inch wide by one-quarter inch thick at the ends. The bow can be made round on the inside or face toward the archer, and flat on the outside or face away from the archer, or the two faces may be made round. Cut a notch in the bow two inches from each end, as shown in the illustration, from which to attach

=The Bow-string.=--A cord with as little elasticity as possible should be used for this. If you care to spend the money for it, a good cotton string can be purchased from a dealer in archery goods for twenty-five cents. With a home-made bow-string, a loop should be made in one end and bound with thread, as shown in Fig. 242. Slip the loop over the upper notch, bend the bow until the centre of the string is about five inches away from the handle, and attach the loose end to the lower notch by means of a slip-knot similar to that shown in Fig. 243. The bow should be sand-papered until smooth, and thoroughly oiled with linseed-oil. A piece of velvet about three inches wide should be glued about the centre for a handle.

Bow-string Ends.

FIG. 243.]

For a five-foot bow, cut

=The Arrow-shafts= twenty-four inches long and one-quarter inch thick. Whittle them out of straight-grained strips of wood, round them nicely, and cut a notch in the ends large enough to fit over the bow-strings.

It is not supposed that boys would care

=To Prepare Arrow-heads= of stone or bone as the Indians did, for there are other schemes that are simpler to carry out. If the wood is reasonably hard, the heads can be cut on the ends of the shaft, as shown in Fig. 244. For target practice, a wire nail driven into the end of the shaft, as shown in Fig. 245, with the head of the nail filed off and pointed, has proven very good, and a thick piece of zinc or lead, cut the shape of _A_ (Fig. 246) and set into a slot cut in the end of the shaft, with cord bound around the shaft to hold the metal in place, makes another excellent head. The metal points should be used only for target practice, and then with proper care, to prevent injury to yourself or companions.

=Feathering= is the next operation. Turkey or goose feathers are generally used, but the former is considered the better of the two. Strip off the broader side of the vane of three feathers, and glue them to the shaft one and one-quarter inches from the notch, spacing them equidistant from one another. One feather should be placed at right angles to the notch. This is known as the cock-feather, and should always point away from the bow when the arrow is shot.

=A Quiver= of some sort should be provided, large enough to carry a dozen or more arrows, and this should be three inches shorter than the arrows, so that their ends will project above the top. It may be made out of any thick cloth, as shown in Fig. 247. A circular piece of cardboard is placed in the bottom to which the cloth is sewed, and a piece of heavy wire, bent into a circle, fits in the top to keep the bag open. The quiver should hang on your right side, being suspended by means of a cloth strap long enough to pass over the left shoulder.

=To Shoot= with the bow, take the position shown in Fig. 248, with both feet flat upon the ground, and the heels in line with the target. Hold the handle of the bow in the left hand and place an arrow on the left side of the bow, slipping the bow-string into the notch and letting the head of the arrow rest upon your left hand. Catch the bow-string with the first three fingers of your right hand, so that the end of the arrow comes between the first and second fingers, and draw the string until the head of the arrow rests upon the left hand; then aim quickly and let go of the arrow. By always taking the same hold upon your bow and arrow, you will soon be able to know just where the arrow is going to strike.

The boy who has had the hobby of collecting Indian arrow-heads has no doubt often wondered how they were made, and also how the bows and arrows were prepared. The ways in which all uncivilized people do things is interesting, and especially when it is remembered that they had but raw materials with which to work and only such tools as they could make out of stone.

=The Indian's Bow= was made of different woods, and, though it varied in shape and size, was generally about forty inches in length, so as to be conveniently carried and handled on horseback. The bow-string consisted generally of a deer sinew or a strand of deer-skin rolled or twisted, and this was strung very tightly from a notch cut on one end of the bow to a notch on the opposite end. Now, while an Indian generally made the greater part of his weapons, there was always a warrior in the tribe who was skilled in the art of arrow-making, and, as the preparation required far more care than the bow, he was intrusted with this work. The arrow-shaft was made of various woods, reeds being often used, as they were straight and required but little cutting. Their lengths depended largely upon that of the bows.

For the feathering of the shafts, wild turkey feathers were considered best and used when they could be had, and these were attached to the shaft with deer sinews.

A great variety of materials were used for arrow-heads, among which flint, obsidian, horn of deer, claws of eagles, and the spurs of wild turkey-cocks may be mentioned. Many of these are being picked up annually in the mountains and on the plains, which were once the battle-fields and hunting-grounds of the redmen, and in excavating for building purposes they are frequently found. A few specimens of stone heads showing a variety of the shapes and sizes used will be found in Fig. 249. The preparation of these heads was usually left to the old men who were unfit for any other work.

In making the flint head, the Indian made a loop in a piece of buckskin which had been thoroughly wet in cold water, and then taking a piece of flint, heated it, and with the strip of buckskin chipped off what was not wanted until the head was of the correct shape and size. As hornstone is more brittle than quartz, the heads made from that material were broken and shaped by striking them against the latter. The stone heads were attached to the shaft by means of sinews, generally from deer. For hunting small birds, the Indians often made wooden arrow-heads, hardening the wood by fire after shaping it.