Indian Archery : Page 431

The short bows were well adapted to shooting from horse-back. After the horse was adopted by the red man, it becamean indispensable part of his hunting and warring equipment;the horse made it much safer and easier to kill buffalo. Theywould ride up to a herd or a group of buffalo and shoot themat will at very close range. When they attacked emigrantwagon trains, their strategy was to circle the caravan, ridingaround and around, then dashing in for a shot and as swiftlydash away.

In still hunting, the red man had many tricks. He was amaster woodsman; he knew the habits of all species of game,where and when they fed and where they bedded down. Heknew all the trails and the location of the salt licks. He knewthe language—so to speak—of all wild creatures and was ableto imitate their calls. The Indian never depended on makinglong shots; he rarely ever shot at distances greater than 30yards. Where he shone as a hunter was his ability to stalk thegame until he was close to it. But even the Indian did most ofhis hunting by some form of ambush or surprise.