Sheep Eater Shoshone

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:56 pm

This is a post for those interested in Native American archery.

I recently visited Wyoming state of the USA and was alerted to the county museum in Dubois (DM) because of information about Native American artifacts of the Sheep eater Shoshone.

The drainage of the Wind river was under the control of the Shoshones in historic times from where they lived and hunted bison. But a band of these same people retreated to the highest mountain locations where they drove mountain Big Horn sheep into corrals where they were killed for their primary food source.

Most likely because of a severe lack of good bow wood, these people began in some ancient time making their bows from these curly sheep horns. We have discussed this form previously. Today numerous museums have sheep horn bows in their collections from other tribes.

Here is pictured an actual lodge of these people disassembled in the mountains and re-erected exactly as it had been.

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:10 pm

The Dubois museum has a display on how these bows may be reproduced, compliments of local artist, Tom Lucas. As his art gallery is in town, I went to meet him. Although Tom is an accomplished painter and craftsman he is not computer saavy and does not know about the work of other such craftsmen except from published literature (probably why he can produce so much work).

He is just finishing up on his 39th sheephorn bow, the only one on hand and it is already sold before it was begun.

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:14 pm

Here is the museum display which alerted me to the bowyer. Two and a half bows.

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:33 pm

We talked for some time as Tom is a very agreeable and generous person. He has only handled two authentic old bows. Each of his is designed around that specific pair of horns, as the material is difficult and expensive to procure. His most recent pieces have long tapered scarf joints joining the limbs in the grip but each tapered scarf has a notch against which each end rests. This joint is covered with a horn or antler riser, glued along with the scarf and bound with sinew lashings. The scarf is also roughened with cross grain scratchings. The entire back is then sinewed several times with backstrap. He does not like leg sinew and makes his own glue.

Some few spectacular old bows were made entirely from one horn slat with no splice.

Tom's bows are all shooters, not wall hangers. Each one is different than the others. His latest is about 32 inches and will draw over #50 at 20" though the arrows are longer. The tips are the natural ends of the horns and the shape goes from wide and thin to very narrow and deep so, despite the look, the ends are not heavy.

Public television has documented him on numerous occasions and the high price commanded by one of these little bows is truly astounding. Here it is shown with mountain lion quiver and wild rose arrows with stone points, all Lucas made.

Zoran Pavlovic · Post by **Zoran Pavlovic** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 5:12 pm

Jack,
Nice pictures and infos.Tom is really brilliant. I always wondered how he manages with mountain sheep horn strips which go back to its previous position after cooling (i had bad experiences with sheep horn).
I've read in ''American Indian archery'' that guy solved this problem using Osage orange wooden core where he glued horn plates.
But Tom's bows are made only of mountain sheep horn and sinew. Perhaps, hot springs used for softening the horn are answer;-))))).
As i know not only Shoshones but also Crow,Ute and Nez Perce used mountain sheep hornbows.
Also, did Shoshones used some stone chisels to split entire horn? i drilled the holes and used chisel because it is ''like hell'' with handsaw, and i made mistake...
Best regards,

Zarasp · Post by **Zarasp** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 5:58 pm

Amazing,!

this is the 1st time i ever heard of a bow made entirely of horn.

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 4:30 am

Zoran; I asked Tom about how the Indians did the work and he says he has no idea, but I do not feel like the horn can be split. He uses a bandsaw with all the usual precautions discussed here on ATARN before. He also mentioned hot springs but he has also used direct heat from a gas stove besides boiling water. His bows are restrained on a form during the entire sinewing and curing process and claims that none are perfectly balanced and may need later attention.

Professor Bill Holmes has stated by personal examination that Plains Indian hornbows and antler bows lack a wood core.

Zarasp; Horn and sinew.

Zoran Pavlovic · Post by **Zoran Pavlovic** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 8:08 am

Jack,
Perhaps Shoshones started to use hornbows after they get iron tools.
If it is not possible to cut the horn by the stone tools then it is more than likely that they used mountain sheep horn after Whites appeared.
My opinion is that skilled bowmaker of that time could even cut the horn into the strips by the stone tools after boiling it in hot springs water for a long time when horn becomes soft and then easier for cutting.

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 12:52 pm

Zoran; What you say is possible. When you said split horn, I was taking your meaning as to make a crack, like splitting wood with wedges.

Of course it is possible to groove and worry a slat off of a horn with stone tools. Whether or not this was done in prehistoric times, I have no information. I think it was Bill Holmes who burnt at the horn and chopped off excess to get to the desired area. This is a prehistoric technique used for other purposes.

I have a text where many ancient Juniper trees have been found that have bow staves removed from living trees done with stone tools.

Zoran Pavlovic · Post by **Zoran Pavlovic** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 3:09 pm

Jack,yes, i did mean to cut;-) but my english...

Do you think about using the chisel and holes drilled along the line where sheep horn need to be cut? I think it is safer technique than handsaw,sure if horn is not softened by boiling (i avoid any power tool and anything out of ancient technique). But in this case horn need to be heated again after cooling for continuing the operation of cutting.It takes a time.

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 10:05 pm

Zoran: I have no information on how the ancient Shoshones did it. I have used a band saw but am pretty sure they did not use this technique. Whatever works, works.

A picture of the last known Sheep Eater.

jbl · Post by **jbl** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 11:19 pm

WOW!! Great topic I just finished reading "Mountain Spirit" which is a book about the Sheepeaters. Very interesting people.

Lee Slikkers · Post by **Lee Slikkers** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 6:26 pm

Fantastic information Jack, thank you very much for sharing. This topic has always interested me as I enjoy the Native American bows very much. I hope to make a functioning sheep horn bow at some point.

Thanks again.

Lee

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:09 am

Dr Grayson used to drill a series of closely spaced hole and use a chisel to split the horn between them. Bow drills are common to stone age technologies so perhaps this group had them. In his Museum, he had a piece of partially worked caribou antler where the outline of the lath had been scraped into the antler with a stone point. This is a slow, but sure, way of doing the job. It would work faster on horn.

Lee Slikkers · Post by **Lee Slikkers** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:18 am

Agreed, it couldn't have been fast or easy work but then most things worth doing by the Native Americans took time. I think getting my hands on real Bighorn Sheep horns will probably be the hardest part of making a bow like those.

Have you seen the video Mr. Lucas did called: The Sheep Eaters: Archers of the Yellowstone? I am very tempted to purchase it to see how much detail he goes into on the subject.

Lee