"I do not decry angling and gunning, except that the latter is too destructive of game. I am an enthusiastic "disciple of the rod," but whenever I cast a fly or troll a minnow my long-bow is near at hand, and a well-filled quiver at my side. You cannot combine gunning and angling on account of the weight of the gun and accouterments, and still more because the noise of firearms is sure to render timid fish sullen. I have known the bass in a well-stocked pool utterly to refuse the most tempting bait through an entire day, for nothing more than a pistol-shot fired close by. The twang of a bowstring seems to frighten nothing. It was the old first note of music made by Apollo."
Nothing that we could add to this little abstract of the advantages would tell the story more neatly and clearly, therefore we shall at once proceed to the practical part of the art.
The first thing necessary for archery practice is to secure a good bow and arrows. Till within a year, Philip Highfield of London was known as the best "bowyer" or bow-maker in the world; but since the advent of the American archery fever, Horstmann Brothers of New York have succeeded in making a line of archery goods that are pronounced by the Brothers Thompson to be equal in every respect to the best English make; and Peck and Snyder of New York have also turned out good work. The best bows of lemonwood, yew, or snakewood, cost $10; while the best target arrows are worth $9 a dozen; and Thompson's model hunting arrows are worth $3 a dozen. The other paraphernalia (targets, quivers etc.) may be home made; but it is poor economy to buy cheap bows and arrows. The targets are made of plaited straw, covered with canvas, and contain four rings, which count as follows: Bulls-eye 9; first ring 7; second ring 5; third ring 3; outside ring 1.
In archery meetings two targets are used, facing each other at any distance: the archers stand by one target and shoot at the other, any number of arrows agreed on. When all have shot, they walk over to the target, pick out their arrows and shoot back at the first target, combining walking and shooting. The maximum distance is eighty yards between targets, the minimum twenty.
The dress for an archer should be close, with no fluttering skirts to entangle the bowstring, and the secrets of position and accuracy are thus laid down by archery authorities. Roger Ascham, who wrote in Queen Elizabeth's time, says:
"The first point is, when a man should shoot, to take such footing and standing as shall be both comely to the eye and profitable to his use, setting his countenance and all other parts of his body after such a behavior and port, that both all his strength may be employed to his own most advantage and his shot made and handled to other men's pleasure and delight. A man must not go too hastily to it, for that is rashness, nor yet make too much to do about it, for that is curiosity; the one foot must not stand too far from the other, lest he stoop too much, which is unseemly, nor yet too near together, lest he stand too straight up, for so a man shall neither use his strength well, nor yet stand steadfastly. The mean betwixt both must be kept, a thing more pleasant to behold when it is done, than easy to be taught how it should be done."
Maurice Thompson says:
"A little care at first will save you a great deal of trouble and annoyance. When you begin to shoot, learn at once to stand firmly on your feet, the left slightly advanced, the head easily poised, the upper portion of the body gently inclined forward, and the shoulders neither lifted nor drooped. Hold the bow vertically with the left hand, the arm extended straight. Nock the arrow well on the string, draw with all the fingers of your right hand till you feel your right ear, fix your eyes steadily on the target and let fly. The arrow rests on the left hand, and is drawn to the head. The nock end of the shaft is held between the first and second fingers of the right hand and upon the string, which is drawn to the right ear by all the fingers being hooked stiffly over it. The release must be smart and clear, giving the arrow a strong, even flight.
"Never try to take aim when shooting, but fix your eyes steadily on the mark, and guide your arrow by your sense of direction.