The target was a bag of hay set at twenty
feet, until the beginner could hit it every time: then by degrees
it was moved away until at the standard distance of forty yards
he could do fair shooting, although of course he never shot as
well as the Indian, who had practised since he was a baby.
There are three different kinds of archery tests: the first for
aim: Can you shoot so truly as to hit a three-inch mark, ten
times in succession, at ten paces?
Next for speed: Can you shoot so quickly and so far up, as to
have five arrows in the air at once? If so, you are good: Can
you keep up six? Then you are very good. Seven is wonderful.
The record is said to be eight. Last for power: Can you pull so
strong a bow and let the arrow go so clean that it will fly for
250 yards or will pass through a deer at ten paces? There is a
record of a Sioux who sent an arrow through three antelopes at
one shot, and it was not unusual to pierce the huge buffalo
through and through; on one occasion a warrior with one shot
pierced the buffalo and killed her calf running at the other
side.
If you excel in these three things, you can down your partridge
and squirrel every time; you can get five or six out of each
flock of birds; you can kill your deer at twenty- five yards, and
so need never starve in the woods where there is game.
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