Fig. 99. (S. 1–4.) Sixteen various chipped implements of blue hornstone. These are types of the upper St. Lawrence basin. F. M. Caldwell’s collection. Venice, Illinois.
“A remarkable case of arrow-wounds was that of Private Osborn, 2d Nebraska Cavalry, wounded in a skirmish with Indians near Pawnee Reserve, Nebraska, June 23, 1863. Eight arrows entered different parts of his body, and all were extracted except the head of one which had entered at the outer and lower margin of the right scapula and passed upward and inward through the upper lobe of the right lung or trachea. The hemorrhage was so severe that all hope of his recovery was abandoned. The patient, however, rallied, but continued to suffer great pain on swallowing or coughing, and occasionally spat blood. In July, 1866, more than three years afterward, he called upon Dr. J. H. Peabody to be examined for a pension. Upon probing through a small fistulous opening just above the superior end of the sternum, the point of the arrow was found resting against the bone about an inch and a half below, the head lying flat against the trachea and esophagus, with the carotid artery, jugular vein, and nerves overlying it. After some difficulty the point of the arrow was raised above the sternum, and it was extracted without the loss of an ounce of blood, the edge grating against the sheath of the innominata artery during the operation. His health underwent a remarkable improvement, and the operator, in January, 1869, reported him perfectly well. His pension was not allowed.
Fig. 100. (S. 1–3.) Compare these specimens carefully with those found elsewhere in the country and note the difference. Materials: black flint and quartzite. Benton Holcomb’s collection, Simsbury, Connecticut.
“Private Spillman, 7th Cavalry, was wounded June 12, 1867, about a mile from Fort Dodge, Kansas, by a party of Kiowas, who made a dash upon the herd of horses he was guarding. He received three arrow-wounds—one in the right shoulder; one in the right side, striking the rib; and a third through the right lumbar region, penetrating the abdominal cavity eight inches or more. The last-mentioned wound was enlarged, two fingers were inserted on each side of the shaft until the base of the iron head was reached, the fingers serving as a guide and protection when, traction being made, the arrow was withdrawn. The wound proved mortal.”
And so I might continue giving illustrations of the power and force of Indian arrows. Students are referred to the Bibliography for further titles upon this subject. I would suggest that readers who expect to visit Washington at some time in the near future, call at the Army and Medical Museum and see the interesting exhibits on view illustrating the matters touched upon in the preceding pages.
The use of drills as war arrow-points brings up an interesting subject, and would indicate that many of the things that we have named according to our own fancy were doubtless made use of by the Indians for totally different purposes from those to which we have assigned them. Drills—the smaller kind—certainly possess great power of penetration, and when discharged may have entered to a greater depth. The broader points, however, would produce a more tearing wound and cause greater flow of blood. Broad points were more in evidence as hunting-points, for the obvious reason that if the deer or other game lost blood freely, its capture became more certain.
Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian, made a collection of buffalo and human bones, in which arrow-heads were embedded. In several of the buffalo ribs and scapulæ were arrow-points which had been shot through the animal, piercing the bone on the inner side. Wilson says that such specimens “illustrate the force with which an arrow can be shot by the bow, and, because of its initial velocity, there is no comminution of the bones. The edges around the wounds are not fractured or fissured on either side; there are no splinters made by the arrow on entering or leaving. This is due to the same principle that a pistol-ball fired at short range passes through a pane of glass without shattering it.”
A paper by W. Thornton Parker, M.D., describes the arrow and its mode of manufacture, and magnifies the malignity of arrow-wounds. The author explains the apocryphal difference between hunting- and war-arrows, saying:—
“The head of the war-arrow is shorter and broader than that of the hunting-arrow, and is attached to the shaft at right angles with the slot which fits the bow-string, the object being to allow the arrow in flight more readily to pass between the human ribs, while the head of the hunting-arrow, which is long and narrow, is attached perpendicularly to the slot, to allow it to pass readily between the ribs of the running buffalo.