sheephorn bows

[matt]

Not sure where to post this question so I'll try here.

I'm wondering how "they" made bows from sheephorns. I was just looking at "the Museum of the Mountain Men" website and they have one featured there. It appears to be about two feet long, perhaps made from two pieces joined somehow in the middle. This doesn't look strong but obviously must be it is. Has anybody handled or shot or made one of these?

Matt Denison

[sean]

Matt,

I've looked at that bow, both in person and in pictures. Its a pretty neat little critter. If you've ever handled a whole sheep horn, you'll know there was a pretty heavy amount of work in them. I've always figured they used a hot punch or burin to drill holes along the sides. Then use a chisel or a flint flake to cut or scrape between the holes. Boiling water or direct fire heat was then used to straighten out the resulting curly-Q. Once straight, rough shape and rough tiller, then sinew back it, then finish tiller. In practice, these horn bows are really flexible. Probably the best material for really short bows. Wood, bone and antler will stack a lot more than horn on a short bow.

Sean

[Chuck Burrows]

Check out the book:
Native American Bows by T. M. Hamilton, the Missouri Archaeological Society Special Publications #5, printed by George Shumway Publications - It's available on Amazon
www.amazon.com/American-Special-Publications-Missouri-Archaeological/dp/0943414008

It has a chapter written by Bill Holm on making a sheephorn bow and also one from elk antler. Dependent on the size of the raw material they may be joined in the middle or be made of one piece and then backed with sinew. There are also chapters/appendices on shooting them and their performance as well as a selection of originals.
The rest of the book is on wooden bows, both backed with sinew and without.
As a side note I've seen period references to both hickory and Osage staves being trade upriver for bow making. Also mountaineer Bill Hamilton mentions trappers in the 1842 party he was a memeber of and again later in the mid-1850's carrying and using bows.

Overall a very good resource for those interested in Plains and Plateau archery of the period.