Rolf In The Woods - Ernest Thompson Seton (interesting books to read for teens .TXT) 📗

Notice,  Went Off In Another Direction.

 

What Was It That Robbed Him Of His Courage,  But The Knowledge

That He Was In The Wrong?

 

Continuing With His Host Rolf Said,  "Do You Think They Have Any

Idea That It Is Wrong To Steal?"

 

"Yes,  So Long As It Is One Of Their Own Tribe.  A Fox Will Take

All He Can Get From A Bird Or A Rabbit Or A Woodchuck,  But He

Won't Go Far On The Hunting Grounds Of Another Fox.  He Won't Go

Into Another Fox's Den Or Touch One Of Its Young Ones,  And If He

Finds A Cache Of Food With Another Fox's Mark On It,  He Won't

Touch It Unless He Is Near Dead Of Hunger."

 

"How Do You Mean They Cache Food And How Do They Mark It?"

 

"Generally They Bury It Under The Leaves And Soft Earth,  And The

Only Mark Is To Leave Their Body Scent. But That Is Strong

Enough,  And Every Fox Knows It."

 

"Do Wolves Make Food Caches?"

 

"Yes,  Wolves,  Cougars,  Weasels,  Squirrels,  Bluejays,  Crows,  Owls,

Mice,  All Do,  And All Have Their Own Way Of Marking A Place."

 

"Suppose A Fox Finds A Wolf Cache,  Will He Steal From It?"

 

"Yes,  Always.  There Is No Law Between Fox And Wolf. They Are

Always At War With Each Other.  There Is Law Only Between Fox And

Fox,  Or Wolf And Wolf."

 

"That Is Like Ourselves,  Ain't It?  We Say,  'Thou Shalt Not

Steal,' And Then When We Steal The Indian's Land Or The

Frenchman's Ships,  We Say,  'Oh,  That Don't Mean Not Steal From

Our Enemies; They Are Fair Game.'"

 

Quonab Rose To Throw Some Sticks On The Fire,  Then Went Out To

Turn The Smoke Flap Of The Wigwam,  For The Wind Was Changed And

Another Set Was Needed To Draw The Smoke. They Heard Several

Times Again The High-Pitched "Yap Yurr," And Once The Deeper

Notes,  Which Told That The Dog Fox,  Too,  Was Near The Camp,  And

Was Doubtless Seeking Food To Carry Home.

 

Chapter 9 (Where The Bow Is Better Than The Gun)

Of All Popular Errors About The Indians,  The Hardest To Down Is

The Idea That Their Women Do All The Work.  They Do The

Housework,  It Is True,  But All The Heavy Labour Beyond Their

Strength Is Done By The Men.  Examples Of This Are Seen In The

Frightful Toil Of Hunting,  Canoeing,  And Portaging,  Besides A

Multitude Of Kindred Small Tasks,  Such As Making Snowshoes,  Bows,

Arrows,  And Canoes.

 

Each Warrior Usually Makes His Own Bow And Arrows,  And If,  As

Often Happens,  One Of Them Proves More Skilful And Turns Out

Better Weapons,  It Is A Common Thing For Others To Offer Their

Own Specialty In Exchange.

 

The Advantages Of The Bow Over The Gun Are Chiefly Its

Noiselessness,  Its Cheapness,  And The Fact That One Can Make Its

Ammunition Anywhere.  As The Gun Chiefly Used In Quonab's Time

Was The Old-Fashioned,  Smooth-Bore Flint-Lock,  There Was Not Much

Difference In The Accuracy Of The Two Weapons.  Quonab Had Always

Made A Highclass Bow,  As Well As High-Class Arrows,  And Was A

High- Class Shot.  He Could Set Up Ten Clam Shells At Ten Paces

And Break All In Ten Shots.  For At Least Half Of His Hunting He

Preferred The Bow; The Gun Was Useful To Him Chiefly When Flocks

Of Wild Pigeons Or Ducks Were About,  And A Single Charge Of

Scattering Shot Might Bring Down A Dozen Birds.

 

But There Is A Law In All Shooting -- To Be Expert,  You Must

Practise Continually -- And When Rolf Saw His Host Shoot Nearly

Every Day At Some Mark,  He Tried To Join In The Sport.

 

It Took Not Many Trys To Show That The Bow Was Far Too Strong For

Him To Use,  And Quonab Was Persuaded At Length To Make An Outfit

For His Visitor.

 

From The Dry Store Hole Under The Rock,  He Produced A Piece Of

Common Red Cedar.  Some Use Hickory; It Is Less Liable To Break

And Will Stand More Abuse,  But It Has Not The Sharp,  Clean Action

Of Cedar.  The Latter Will Send The Arrow Much Farther,  And So

Swiftly Does It Leave The String That It Baffles The Eye.  But

The Cedar Bow Must Be Cared For Like A Delicate Machine;

Overstring It,  And It Breaks; Twang It Without An Arrow,  And It

Sunders The Cords; Scratch It,  And It May Splinter; Wet It,  And

It Is Dead; Let It Lie On The Ground,  Even,  And It Is Weakened.

But Guard It And It Will Serve You As A Matchless Servant,  And As

Can No Other Timber In These Woods.

 

Just Where The Red Heart And The White Sap Woods Join Is The

Bowman's Choice.  A Piece That Reached From Rolf's Chin To The

Ground Was Shaved Down Till It Was Flat On The White Side And

Round On The Red Side,  Tapering From The Middle,  Where It Was One

Inch Wide And One Inch Thick To The Ends,  Where It Was Three

Fourths Of An Inch Wide And Five Eighths Of An Inch Thick,  The

Red And White Wood Equal In All Parts.

 

The String Was Made Of Sinew From The Back Of A Cow,  Split From

The Long,  Broad Sheath That Lies On Each Side The Spine,  And The

Bow Strung For Trial.  Now,  On Drawing It (Flat Or White Side In

Front),  It Was Found That One Arm Bent More Than The Other,  So A

Little More Scraping Was Done On The Strong Side,  Till Both Bent

Alike.

 

Quonab's Arrows Would Answer,  But Rolf Needed A Supply Of His

Own.  Again There Was Great Choice Of Material. The Long,

Straight Shoots Ol' The Arrowwood (Viburnuin Dentatum) Supplied

The Ancient Indians,  But Quonab Had Adopted A Better Way,  Since

The Possession Of An Axe Made It Possible.  A 25-Inch Block Of

Straight-Grained Ash Was Split And Split Until It Yielded Enough

Pieces.  These Were Shaved Down To One Fourth Of An Inch Tbick,

Round,  Smooth,  And Perfectly Straight.  Each Was Notched Deeply

At One End; Three Pieces Of Split Goose Feather Were Lashed On

The Notched End,  And Three Different Kinds Of Arrows Were Made.

All Were Alike In Shaft And In Feathering,  But Differed In The

Head.  First,  The Target Arrows: These Were Merely Sharpened,  And

The Points Hardened By Roasting To A Brown Colour.  They Would

Have Been Better With Conical Points Of Steel,  But None Of These

Were To Be Had.  Second,  The Ordinary Hunting Arrows With Barbed

Steel Heads,  Usuauy Bought Ready-Made,  Or Filed Out Of A Hoop:

These Were For Use In Securing Such Creatures As Muskrats,  Ducks

Close At Hand,  Or Deer.  Third,  The Bird Bolts: These Were Left

With A Large,  Round,  Wooden Head.  They Were Intended For Quail,

Partridges,  Rabbits,  And Squirrels,  But Also Served Very Often,

And Most Admirably,  In Punishing Dogs,  Either The Indian's Own

When He Was Not Living Up To The Rules And Was Too Far Off For A

Cuff Or Kick,  Or A Farmer's Dog That Was Threatening An Attack.

 

Now The Outfit Was Complete,  Rolf Thought,  But One Other Touch

Was Necessary.  Quonab Painted The Feather Part Of The Shaft

Bright Red,  And Rolf Learned Why.  Not For Ornament,  Not As An

Owner's Mark,  But As A Finding Mark.  Many A Time That Brilliant

Red,  With The White Feather Next It,  Was The Means Of Saving The

Arrow From Loss.  An Uncoloured Arrow Among The Sticks And Leaves

Of The Woods Was Usually Hidden,  But The Bright-Coloured Shaft

Could Catch The Eye Ioo Yards Away.

 

It Was Very Necessary To Keep The Bow And Arrows From The Wet.

For This,  Every Hunter Provides A Case,  Usually Of Buckskin,  But

Failing That They Made A Good Quiver Of Birch Bark Laced With

Spruce Roots For The Arrows,  And For The Bow Itself A Long Cover

Of Tarpaulin.

 

Now Came The Slow Drilling In Archery; The Arrow Held And The Bow

Drawn With Three Fingers On The Cord - The Thumb And Little

Finger Doing Nothing.  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.

 

Of Course,  Rolf Was Keen To Go Forth And Try In The Real Chase,

But It Was Many A Shot He Missed And Many An Arrow Lost Or

Broken,  Before He Brought In Even A Red Squirrel,  And He Got,  At

Least,  A Higher Appreciation Of The Skill Of Those Who Could

Count On The Bow For Their Food.

 

For Those,  Then,  Who Think Themselves Hunters And Woodmen,

Let This Be A Test And Standard: Can You Go Forth Alone Into

The Wilderness Where There Is Game,  Take Only A Bow And Arrows For

Weapons,  And Travel Afoot 250 Miles,  Living On The Country As You Go?

 

 

 

 

Chapter 10 (Rolf Works Out With Many Results)

He Is The Dumbest Kind Of A Dumb Fool That Ain't King In Some Little

Corner. -- Sayings Of Si Sylvanne

 

The Man Who Has Wronged You Will Never Forgive You,  And He Who Has

Helped You Will Be Forever Grateful.  Yes,  There Is Nothing That

Draws You To A Man So Much As The Knowledge That You Have Helped Him.

 

Quonab Helped Rolf,  And So Was More Drawn To Him Than To Many Of The

Neighbours That He Had Known For Years; He Was Ready To Like Him.

Their Coming Together Was Accidental,  But It Was Soon Very Clear

That A Friendship Was Springing Up Between Them.  Rolf Was Too Much

Of A Child To Think About The Remote Future; And So Was Quonab.  Most

Indians Are Merely Tall Children.

 

But There Was One Thing That Rolf Did Think Of -- He Had No Right To

Live In Quonab's Lodge Without Contributing A Fair Share Of The Things

Needful.  Quonab Got His Living Partly By Hunting,  Partly By Fishing,

Partly By Selling Baskets,  And Partly By Doing Odd Jobs For The

Neighbours. Rolf's Training As A Loafer