Quonab's arrows would answer, but Rolf needed a supply of his
own. Again there was great choice of material. The long,
straight shoots ol' the arrowwood (Viburnuin dentatum) supplied
the ancient Indians, but Quonab had adopted a better way, since
the possession of an axe made it possible. A 25-inch block of
straight-grained ash was split and split until it yielded enough
pieces. These were shaved down to one fourth of an inch tbick,
round, smooth, and perfectly straight. Each was notched deeply
at one end; three pieces of split goose feather were lashed on
the notched end, and three different kinds of arrows were made.
All were alike in shaft and in feathering, but differed in the
head. First, the target arrows: these were merely sharpened, and
the points hardened by roasting to a brown colour. They would
have been better with conical points of steel, but none of these
were to be had. Second, the ordinary hunting arrows with barbed
steel heads, usuauy bought ready-made, or filed out of a hoop:
these were for use in securing such creatures as muskrats, ducks
close at hand, or deer. Third, the bird bolts: these were left
with a large, round, wooden head.
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