The American Boy's Handy Book/Chapter 21

"I don't know! Shure I niver tried," is the answer reported to have been made by an Irishman, when asked if he could play the fiddle. No doubt there are many boys who would give a like reply if asked if they could spear a fish.

An amateur's first attempt at casting a spear will probably meet with about the same success as "Paddy" might be expected to achieve in his first trial of a fiddle; but almost anything can be accomplished by practice. The keen enjoyment of the fisher who by his skill and dexterity has succeeded in striking a fine fish, can only be compared to the pleasant triumph of his brother sportsman in the field who has just secured two birds by a difficult double-shot.

Make the shaft or handle of any straight stick or pole seven or eight feet long; trim it down, and test the weight occasionally by balancing it in the hand. When the shaft seems to be about the proper weight, it should be let alone, and attention directed to the barbs for the head of the spear.

In place of the ordinary single point generally used as a spear head, the fishing spear may be supplied with two points, as shown in the illustration (Fig. 121, p. 189). Any hard, elastic material will do for the head, split bamboo or cane, two pieces of heavy iron wire, filed to a point and notched into barbs upon the ​inside, as shown in the diagram, or the points may be made of bone like the fish arrows used by the inhabitants of Vancouver's Island. Very hard wood will also answer for the spear head. After the head pieces are notched and pointed, they should be Image missingFig. 121.Fish Spear and Enlarged View of Spear Head. firmly bound to the spear at a point a few inches below the end of the shaft. A couple of small wedges driven in between the shaft and the points will diverge the latter, as in the illustration. After this is accomplished, lash the barbs firmly on up to the head of the shaft. If a fish be struck by one of these weapons, it will be next to impossible for it to escape. The elastic points at first suddenly spread apart as the spear strikes the fish's body; the next instant they violently contract, holding the fish a secure prisoner. The barbs upon the inside prevent the prey from slipping out, no matter how smooth and slimy his body may be.

A small instrument made upon a similar plan can be used for catching snakes or other reptiles that are not safe or pleasant to handle. Frogs may also be readily captured with a fish spear, and any boy who takes the time to make one of these weapons will find himself amply repaid for his trouble. The elder stick described and illustrated upon page 34 is made upon the same principle as the fish spear.

Armed with fish spears and torches great fun can be had spearing fish from a row-boat at night. The torch illuminates the water and appears to dazzle the fish, at the same time disclosing their whereabouts to the occupants of the boat, who with poised spears await a favorable opportunity to strike the scaly game.

One way to make a torch is to wind lamp-wick upon a forked stick (Fig. 122). The ball of wick must be thoroughly saturated with burning fluid of some kind. The torches should all be prepared before starting upon the excursion.

Never take a supply of kerosene or any explosive oil with you in the boat, for, in the excitement of the sport, accidents Image missingFig. 122.Wick-torch. of the most serious nature may happen. A safe light can be made with a number of candles set in a box. A glass front allows the light to shine through, and a piece of bright tin for a reflector behind adds brilliancy to the illumination. A box of this description is generally called a "jack-box;" it is much less trouble than the flaring pine-knot or wick-ball torches.

The candles in the "jack-box" should be replenished each time after it is used; in this manner the jack may be kept always ready for use. After the candles are lighted fasten the box in the bow of the boat; here it will throw a bright light ahead, illuminating the water, but casting a heavy, dark shadow in the boat, concealing the occupants from view. The boys in the boat can, of course, see all the better for being themselves in shadow.

We might expect strange weapons to come from a land that produces quadrupeds with heads like ducks, and other great beasts that go bounding over the plains like some immense species of jumping spiders, using their thick tails as a sort of spring to help them in leaping, and carrying their young in their fur-lined vest pockets! Nor will we be disappointed when, after viewing the duckbill and the kangaroo, we see the odd-looking clubs called boomerangs, or the simple but in​genious throw-sticks by means of which the native Australians are enabled to cast their weapon, with the greatest accuracy, an astonishingly long distance.

The boomerang, or bommerang as it is sometimes called, is one of the most mysterious weapons known. Evolved by slow degrees from a simple war club by the ignorant and savage Australians, this instrument excites the interest and astonishes the civilized man by its strange and apparently unaccountable properties. To all appearances it is a simple, roughly hewn club, yet its movements when thrown by an expert hand are so eccentric as to make it a curious anomaly even to persons educated in natural philosophy. Whatever is wonderful or marvellous is always a subject of peculiar interest to mankind generally, but to boys an inexplicable natural phenomenon is a treasure-trove of immeasurable value.

With boiling water scald a piece of well-seasoned elm, ash, or hickory plank that is free from knots. Allow the wood to Image missingFig. 123. remain in the water until it becomes pliable enough to bend into the form indicated by Fig. 123. When it has assumed the proper curve, nail on the side pieces A, A (Fig. 123) to hold the wood in position until it is thoroughly dry; after which the side pieces may be removed, with no fear that the plank will not retain the curve imparted.

Saw the wood into as many pieces as it will allow (Fig. 124 B), and each piece will be a boomerang in the rough that only ​needs to be trimmed up with a pocket-knife, and scraped smooth with a piece of broken glass to make it a finished weapon.

A large wood-rasp or file is of great assistance in shaping the implement. Fig. 124 C shows a finished boomerang. Image missingFig. 124. Fig. 124 D shows a cross section of the same. The curve in no two boomerangs is exactly the same; some come round with a graceful sweep, while others bend so suddenly in the middle that they have more the appearance of angles than curves. Just what the quality is that makes a good boomerang is hard to discover, although, as a rule, the one that appears to have the best balance and feels as if it might be thrown easily is the best.

grasp the weapon near one end and hold it as you would a club; be careful to have the concave side, or hollow curvature, turned from you and the convex side toward you. Take aim at a stone, tuft of grass or other object on the ground about a hundred yards in front of you, and throw the weapon at the object. The weapon will in all probability not go anywhere near the mark, but, soaring aloft, perform some of the most extraordinary manœuvres, then starting off again with apparently renewed velocity, either return to the spot from where it was thrown or go sailing off over the fields like a thing possessed of life. A boomerang cast by a beginner is very dangerous in a crowd, for there is no telling where it is going to alight, and ​when it does come down it sometimes comes with force enough to cut a small dog almost in two.^[1] Select a large open field where the ground is soft and there is no one around to be hurt. In such a field you may amuse yourself by the day throwing these curious weapons, and you can in this manner learn how to make the boomerang go through all manner of the most indescribable movements seemingly at your bidding.

here represented is supposed to be cut out of a card. The shape given in the illustration is a very good one, but it may be varied to an almost unlimited degree. Card boomerangs over an inch or so in length do not work well, but they may be made very much smaller.

One of these tiny instruments cannot be grasped by the hand, but when it is to be launched upon its eccentric journey Image missingFig. 125.Miniature Boomerang. the toy should be laid flat upon a card, allowing one end to project from the side as in Fig. 125. Take hold of the lower left hand corner of the card with the left hand, and with the forefinger of the right hand fillip the boomerang, striking it a quick, smart blow with the finger-nail, and the little missile will sail away, going through almost the same manœuvres that the large wooden boomerang does when thrown from the hand. Small boomerangs can be whittled out of a shingle with a pocket knife, and considerable amusement had with them; these small affairs can be thrown on the crowded playground, where it would be exceedingly dangerous to experiment with the larger and heavier club before described.

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​ern Ohio. In some parts of this section it used to be a great favorite among the boys, who would throw the arrows up perpendicularly an amazing distance. Arrows can be bought in any city, but most boys prefer to make their own, leaving the "store arrows for the girls to use with their pretty "store bows." The essential quality in an arrow is straightness. A spear-head can be made of an old piece of hoop-iron, a broken blade of a knife, or any similar piece of iron or steel, by grinding it down to the proper form and then binding it on to the shaft with fish line, silk, or a "waxed end," such as shoemakers use, or the arrow may have a blunt end with a sharp-pointed nail in the head. These arrows should only be used in target practice or when after game; they are dangerous on the play-ground. A simple whip-bow may be made by any boy in a few minutes out of an elastic sapling or branch, and an arrow cut out of a pine shingle with a pocket-knife. Image missingUsing the Throw-Stick. This can be improved upon as much as may be desired by substituting a piece of straight-grained, well-seasoned wood for the green branch, and regularly made Indian arrows for the crude pine ones.

The same race that invented the wonderful boomerang also originated the equally ingenious throw-stick illustrated by Fig. 127, page 196. Although any of my readers can, in a few moments, fashion a throw-stick from a piece of wood by the aid of a pocket-knife, I doubt if they could use the instrument to any advantage without considerable practice.

Make the lance of cane or bamboo; use a straight piece and put an arrow-head upon one end; then holding the lance on a throw-stick, as shown by the accompanying illustration, cast it with all your might. The first trials will, doubtless, be failures, but nothing is gained without practice; and when you once "catch the hang of the thing" you will be astonished to see what a distance a comparatively small boy can throw a spear. Any straight, thin stick may be used as a lance. Allow one end to rest against the point upon the throw-stick, which will hold it in place until the cast is made. The throw-stick acts as a sling, lending additional force to the arm, and sending the spear much further than the strongest man can cast it with his unaided hand.

Probably all of my readers have read of that wonderful sling called a "bolas," used by some tribes of savages for the capture of game, but I doubt if any of them ever tried to manufacture one for themselves. Yet this curious missile can be made by a boy, and if he be inclined to field sports, he will find that a bird-bolas will do considerable execution.

Hunt for a half dozen round stones about the size of large marbles, or, better still, take six leaden musket-balls, wrap each ball in a piece of an old kid glove, buckskin, or ​cloth, as shown by the diagram (a, b, Fig. 128). Take three pieces of string each five feet long, double them in the centre, and bind the doubled parts together; a few small feathers may be bound in to add a finished and Indian look to the bolas. To the ends of the strings attach the bullets (Fig. 128). To cast the bolas, grasp it by the feathered part with the thumb and first finger, whirl it around your head as you would an ordinary sling. When you let go, the loaded ends of the strings will fly apart, so that the missile will cover a space in the air of five feet in diameter. If a string strike a bird it will instantly wrap itself round and round the body; if the loaded end strike the game it will, of course, stun or disable it. One of these instruments cast into a flock of birds is certain to bring down several.

For target practice, use in the place of the ordinary butt a number of reeds or sticks stuck upright in the ground about a foot apart; after measuring the distance for the marksman to stand and marking the spot, let him see how many reeds he can level at a single cast of the bolas. The one who makes the biggest score can assume the title of "Big Injun," and wear a feather in his hat, or an appropriate badge, until some more skilled hand beats the record and wins the title and the badge. No shots should count unless made in a regularly appointed match.

Select a piece of thick pine or cedar plank and saw out a piece of the form shown by A, Fig. 129. Trim it down with a jackknife until it becomes more finished and gun-like in appearance. With a gouge, such as may be borrowed at any carpenter or cabinet-maker's shop, cut a half round groove from ​the butt to the muzzle of the barrel. The groove must be perfectly straight and true (B, Fig. 129). Bore a hole in the piece (E), for the bow to fit in. The bow in this case should be made perfectly stiff, so as not to bend in the least when the line is drawn and the gun set. The bow may be bent into the proper form by steeping it in boiling water until the wood becomes pliable, and binding it firmly into the required position. After it Image missingFig. 129.The Elastic Cross-Bow. has become perfectly dry the wood will retain the form and the bindings may be cut off. Trim the bow nicely into shape, and make it of such size that it will not bend when the string is drawn. Fit the bow into place, not like an ordinary crossbow but in a reversed position, as shown by the diagram C, Fig. 129. It might be an improvement to set the bow back toward the stock an inch or two further than the one in the illustration. For a bow-line use two pieces of strong elastic, with a string for a centre piece. The centre cord prevents the bow-line from wearing out as soon as it would if it were all elastic (Fig. 129, C). Make the trigger in the manner described for the plunger pistol (Fig. 134, page 204), but instead of fastening it upon one side with a screw, set it in a slot cut for the purpose in the middle of the barrel near the stock, and let it move freely upon a pivot. ​Cut a thin, smooth piece of pine just long and wide enough to cover the gun-barrel from stock to muzzle, and fasten it on Image missingFig. 130.Elastic Sling. with a couple of small brads at the muzzle and a screw at the stock (Fig. 129, C).

There is always a certain amount of danger attending the use of firearms which is avoided by the cross-bow, added to which advantage is the fact that the twang a bowstring makes is so slight a noise as not to alarm the game, and if the young sportsman be inexperienced he may shoot several times at the same bird or rabbit without frightening it away. With a little practice it is astonishing what precision of aim can be obtained with the cross-bow. I know boys who seldom miss a bird even with the simple elastic sling, consisting of two pieces of rubber bands attached to a forked or a straight stick (Fig. 130).