Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 309, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 December 1910 — “DRAWING LONG BOW” [ARTICLE]

“DRAWING LONG BOW”

•TORIES THAT STRAIN ONE’S POWER OF BELIEF. •?. < '' Baron Munchausen Beaten to It by Some of the Ancients—Remarkable Bow-and-Arrow Story of Virgil. A - Many ‘‘long bow” stories are to be found in the world's literature long before the time of the celebrated Baron Munchausen. Indeed, by far the greatest part of them had their origin in the remote past. Virgil, in Abe Aejjeid, tells of four archers who were shooting for a prize, the mark being a pigeon tied by a cord.to the mast of a ship. The first man hit the mast, the second cut the cord and the third shot the pigeon as it flew away. The fourth archer, having nothing left at which to shoot, drew his bow and sent his arrow flying .toward the sky with such speed that the friction of the air set the feathers on fire and it swept on like a meteor, to disappear in the sky. That’s a. bow and arrow story to teat the strongest credulity. The stories of Robin Hood’s archery, illustrated by his wonderful performance at Lceksley in Scott’s “Ivanhoe,” are also a decided strain on one's power of belief. . > The famous legend of William Tell, is believed by some authorities to have a foundation in fact There was a Dane named Foke of whom the same story was told, and William of Cloudsley, an Englishman, is said to have shot an apple from his son's head merely to show his skill. The majority, of bow and arrow stories relate to the accurate alm of the archers, but a Frenchman, Blaise de Vlgenere, tells one in which the main point is the tremendous force with which an arrow may be propelled if the bow is strong and long enough. According to his own account of the matter, he saw Barbarossa, a Turk, admiral of a ship called the Grand Solyman, send An arrow from his bow clean through a cannon ball. Whether the cannon ball had a hole in it or not he neglects to Inform us. Perhaps the most astounding of all stories about arrow shooting is that of the Indians who used to inhabit Florida. It Is said that a group of them would form a circle, one would throw an ear of Indian corn into the air, the rest would shoot at it and shell it of every grain before It fell to the ground. Sometimes the arrows would strike the ear of corn So hard and fast that it would remain suspended in the air for several minutes and the cob never fell until the last grain had been shot away.