This is the style of bow Ishi shot, and the way that he shot it.He was the last known of our Indigenous people of North America.Made from sinew backed Hickory, heat treated belly,Acrylic paint,and Rabbit fur.They were remarkable craftsmen at bow ,and arrow making. and basket weaving. The bow is 50 inches nock to nock, and shoots 39 shooting it his way and 45 lbs. shooting it three under.

Thanks for sharing, that looks really nice. Lance

Nice bow Bassman.

Koohool :-) JF

Thanks guys. The bow was shot from the right side with a funny pinch knock grip.The bow will flop down, and out of the way of the arrow at release because of the flat handle ,and way it is gripped.Hupa,Kurok, Yurok,Wintu,Yahi were just some tribes that shot this method.They killed mountain goats , and mountain lions to rabbits with this style of bow so they had to be good hunters ,and archers.They were amazing people.Their bows were made mostly with sinew backed Juniper.

What an informative and cool post...... not to mention an awesome crafted bow! Thanks for sharing!

Ishi wasn't "the last known by any stretch. Many of those folks live today in the Bay Area on traditional territory. The biggest bunch are Ohlone.

Last wild native the way I read it. Maybe I read it wrong.He came out of the mountains nearly starved to death.Bounty hunters killed his mother ,and sister.He lived , and worked in a museum, after being captured, and built bows and napped , and made arrows from hazel.Pope, and Young were good friends with him, and hunted, and shot target with him. In the end he contracted Tuberculosis, and died.

Very nice bow Bob. You are correct about Ishi's history. He was considered the last of his tribe, The Yahi.

There were wild native Apaches living in thr Sierra Madre mountains in the 1930s. The last reported attack by them was on a Mexican village in 1934. They were using bows and arrows. bvd

Very nice!

A bunch of Navajo guys shot archery golf today with my ABQ buddy at Grants, NM.

That is what I was trying to say Steve, thank you.In any event it was tragic what was done to those natives, and I am glad to hear some Apaches made it to the 1930's living their own way of life in the Sierra Madre mountains.

Nice looking bow Bassman. Yup! Still lots of "wild" Natives running around shooting bows and arrows! Lol! Apache and Navajo included. Probably a few Zuni , Laguna, Pueblo.... I'm sure I left a few out. My apologies .

It looks as though,you made a fine bow,But may be a bit mislead,about it being Of actual style Ishi made and shot..It seems to be more of a culmination of a few different native styles from the west coast..Ishi's bows,that i have examined were parallel throughout with a width of about 1.75" for most of it,except for an abrupt narrowing to 1.5" at the grip area and an abrupt narrowing at outer limbs,at the last 4 to 5 inches to .75" nocks...Ishi Did use a variation of the thumb release,with his middle finger assisting his thumb and his index finger curled on the top of the nock of the arrow..His arrow did rest on the right side of the bow,but his thumb and index griped the bow and the shaft rested on his extended middle finger...The Hupa Karok and Yurok used Sinew backed and self Yew wood,for their bows..the Wintu used a variety of woods, but you are correct in Ishi using Juniper,in his native home..Funny thing is,Juniper was not found much,in his native homeland,but further north east,in Pit River and Hat Creek territory,in any abundance with substance..These two nations,were reported to be enemies of Ishi's people,but according to the findings of linguist Edward Sapir,some Of Ishis vocabulary,consisted of not only Pit River,but Maidu words and songs as well.I can personally vouch,for the Maidu words and songs..It is well known among Maidu People,that Ishi's mother was Maidu..In early documentation,it was written,that Ishi was southern Yana and it is believed Ishi's father was Southern Yana,and abducted Ishis mother in a raid...The tribal affiliation of Yahi was pronounced by Sam Batwi a Northern Yana and self proclaimed Interpreter,yet it is documented,that they were able to converse very little and that Ishi Didnt care for,or trust the man..It is doubted by some,,myself included,That a tribe known as Yahi,ever existed...Ishis mother died of old age not long after the lower camp was found and raided by the survey party..It was told,that Ishi's "Sister"lived and died at the Concow rancheria,many years later...It was reported,by a man i knew in my youth,by the name of Frank Day and his father tuubo,that they saw Ishi doctoring another man for what appeared to be a gut shot wound,3 years after the camp was raided and the death of Ishi's mother and just days before Ishi was captured at the Ward Slaughter house in Oroville..They both had long hair but when Ishi was captured,it was singed off according to the Death Custom,of a close relative or friend..Tuubo and Frank,positively identified the man in the Jail,at Oroville,as the man they saw Doctoring the other man,that day..Frank Later painted a picture of the scene,they witnessed..

Sorry for any misleading info. That was not my intention.Watch Billy Berger on utube shooting Ishi style.My way was just a mod of that.My bow was a spin off of a Wintu,Karok,Pomoan,Maidu, bows that I got from a book I own that is called The Indigenous people of North America.Their bows were less paddle shaped with more taper.

Nice work Bassman. Love your bows and the History Lessons from all.

Nice bow and good thread. Thanks for sharing it.

In the book "Ishi Rediscovered" by Richard Burrill, it tells how Ishi and other Native people harvested juniper staves with out cutting down the tree. They would chisel out a staight grained stave with no knots. There used to be several juniper trees in the Deer Creek Canyon area with these scars on them. There are over one hundred known such trees in eastern California, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah that still exist.

Traxx recomended this book to me awhile back. bvd

Chad-quite the crew you got there.

Nice bow and thanks for sharing. Traxx likes that kind of bow and studies the issue a lot

BVD,,

You are correct,that the method was reported in Richard's book,but it was a narrative passed on to him,by Mel Speagle..I honestly believe,that Mel may have been mistaken and or confused and incorporated his story,with other findings.. Mel,was very young at the time of the excursion in to deer Creek canyon,with the group from the university..It was reported by Kroeber and Pope,that Ishi demonstrated his method of obtaining staves,by severing a limb,from the tree...At the location they were at,when Mel was with them,,you would be hard pressed to find a Juniper of any size large enough to procure a stave,in that fashion from...I am not aware of any Stave Trees,in that vicinity,but am aware of them,further north in what would have been,Pit River and Hat Creek territory....Coincidentally,,One of Ishi's recorded Stories is of a man among his people,who was renowned as a bowyer and archer of great skill.This man was reported to have possessed a steel axe and was Called,Chuno Yahi,which was translated as Wood man,and of the Pit River Language....

There is a picture of a scarred juniper and a hammerstone in the book that was found in the Great Basin region. Courtesy of Associate Professer Philip J. Wilke, Anthropology Dept, UC Riverside. bvd

Acknowledged,,,,But the Area of Deer Creek Canyon,,Is not in the Great Basin Region,or within the territory that tree was attributed to... the "Mill Creek" tribe,of which Ishi was presumed to be a member of where considerably south east of the great basin region and areas,known to have been inhabited by Ishi,according to his own accounts..NOW,,having said that,,There is evidence that lead some to believe,that The group that inhabited the Deer Creek canyon in later years,were of a mixed bunch,consisting of members of several tribes and family groups..It is a possibility,that there may have been members of the group,that came from that region and made Ishi aware of the practice,or maybe he even witnessed it himself... It was reported,that Ishi Knew of the Use of Yew wood for bows,by other people,but had not used it himself..

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