Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/227

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194
Summer.
The Whip-Bow.
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Position Assumed when Casting the Arrow.
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Fig. 126.Whip Bow.

This graceful and powerful weapon is like an ordinary longbow, with the exception that the bow-string is made fast to but one end, after the manner of a whip-lash; where the whip-lash terminates in a "snapper," the bow-string ends in a hard, round knot (Fig. 126); the arrow is made like any other arrow, either with a blunt end or a pointed spear-point. In one side of the arrow a notch is cut (Fig. 126, A); the bow-string being slipped into this notch, the knot at the end of the string prevents the arrow from slipping off until thrown by the archer, who, taking the butt of the whip-bow in his right hand, holds the arrow at the notch with his left hand, as in the illustration; then swaying his body from side to side, he suddenly lets go with his left hand, at the same time extending his right arm to its full length from his side; this not only gives the arrow all the velocity it would acquire from the bow, but adds the additional force of a sling, thus sending the projectile a greater distance. The only place that I have seen the whip-bow used is on the lake shore in North-

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