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THE ART OF ATTACK.
BEING A STUDY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF WEAPONS
AND APPLIANCES OF OFFENCE, FROM THE
EARLIEST TIMES TO THE AGE OF GUNPOWDER.
By
H. S. COWPER, F.S.A.,
AUTHOR OF
"HAWKSHEAD : ITS HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, FOLKLORE, ETC,"
AND OTHER WORKS.
Fig. 258.
With 361 Illustrations.
Ulverston
W. Holmes, Ltd., Printers,
1906.
STACK
ANNEX
^
foo
To
A.M.C
and
CS.C
Preface.
Some years back, the author's attention was drawn by certain
papers, (written now nearly forty years ago), by the late General
Pitt- Rivers (then Colonel Lane-Fox) to the apparent development
of certain weapon types from others, or from natural forms ;
and it seemed to him worth while to gather further material, and
to try how far it would be possible to draw up a tabular pedigree
of all types from the most primitive down to gunpowder and
developed explosives.
As however classification advanced, it soon became evident
that, even supposing that the many existing lacunce might event-
ually be filled, the idea of a single table could not be established.
At the same time it seemed probable that every weapon of offence
might properly be included in one of some seven or eight groups,
each having its own primitive ancestral form. These supposed
groups the reader will find indicated in Chapter II. of the present
work, and indeed the general scheme is based upon this assumption.
In offering these pages to the public, the author is only too
conscious that his subject is one in which at present any degree
of finality is not attainable, and that in what he has written, will
be found many suggestions open to controversy, and some no
doubt to refutation. Nevertheless, it may be remembered that
the time has actually arrived when a general review of weapon
types may properly be attempted, since over large areas where
" savages " made their own weapons until the end of the i8th
century, this industry has given way to imported imitations, or
to firearms. It is in fact doubtful if hand weapons of offence can
now be said to be developing any longer ; so that a conspectus of
native weapons is much to be desired for students. The author
hopes that the present collection of material may at least stimu-
late students to further research into the many problems which
the subject contains.
While the course of ethnographic study must necessarily
now be retarded, archaeological research is continually revealing
variations among the types used by long vanished civilizations ;
and we may probably look for a great increase in our knowledge
on the subject of ancient weapon types.
The limits of the work are indicated in the title. Weapons
are traced down to gunpowder only, though some account of
inflammables is included. Defensive weapons are left alone,
for they would require a volume to themselves. The work is a
viu. PREFACE.
study of types, and not of periods, cultures, or geographical areas :
an attempt to note the occurrence of parallel ideas under varying
conditions and in separated regions. The illustrations are from
the author's own drawings made from numerous sources publish-
ed and otherwise. Where he has drawn freely from a publication
he has asked and been freely given permission to utiUze his draw-
ings: (i) and in all cases where he has noted the source of his
information he has tried to acknowledge the fact either in the
text or list of illustrations.
In a great many cases the sketches were originally drawn on
sheets to a common scale, but in deciding to place the figures in
the text, it became necessary to dispense with the scales ; yet as
the dimensions of the objects are frequently noted, this is not of
great importance. Though mostly. mere pen and ink drawings,
they are fairly accurate, and will, it is hoped, serve their purpose.
To avoid confusion, some of the best known authorities are
alluded to by the surname under which their works were issued,
and without any titles or degrees subsequently inherited or be-
stowed. This course, the author is sure will be understood as
dictated by the necessity of conciseness, and is not in any way due
to lack of courtesy.
Lastly he must acknowledge with gratitude the help and
advice of numerous students, travellers and antiquaries, who have
answered his letters or queries with courtesy and promptitude.
In a work which covers so large a field, and the material
of which is drawn from so many sources, there must be numerous
errors, either repeated from other works, or of the author's own
judgment. Every endeavour however, has been made to re-
present accurately and fairly the researches and opinions of
others.
h. s. cowper.
Hawkshead, 1905.
1. — Especially perhaps he should acknowledge his indebtedness to the
following :— Lord Egerton of Tatton, Sir John Evans, Professor Haddon ;
the Secretaries or Editorial Committees of the Anthropological Institute,
the Smithsonian Institute, the Royal United Service Institute, the Society
for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge; Messrs. Bell and Sons, Mr.
John Murray, Messrs, Routledge and Sons, and Messrs. Swan, Sonnenschein
aitd Co.
Contents.
Part I.
CHAPTER I I
Introductory.
Plan. Unarmed races. The early age of weapons — Stone, bone,
and wood. Offensive arms of attack. Animal weapons. The
coming of metal. Retention of primitive materials. Superstitious
regard for stone implements. The war cry. Battle Sounds.
Weapons also tools. Weapons of war also weapons of the chase.
Evolution of weapons from instruments. Gsnnection between
club, paddle, and spear. Savage shifts. Patience. Decoration
and ornament. Personal strength and manual dexterity. Official
ceremonial and processional types. Weapon worship. Baptism
of arms. The abuse of arms. Chivalry and barbarity. The bowels
of compassion.
CHAPTER II 33
The Genesis of Arms, (a Sketch).
PART II.
CHAPTER III *4X
Arming the Hand.
Unhafted Appliances for striking, bruising, and ripping. In primitive
times. In advanced culture. The simple club. Development of
other forms of the club. The wooden and bone sword.
CHAPTER IV 6i
Reinforcing the Arm.
The developed striking weapons which originated in the com-
bination of the stone and the club. Hafting. Methods of attach-
ing the head to the shaft. Axe and adze types. Perforated and
socketed types. Weapons of the ball and thong type.
CHAPTER V. : 87
The Point.
Horn weapons and nature models. The flint dagger. The metal
dagger. The Katar of India and its derivatives. Shafted and
handled piercing weapons in primitive and advanced culture.
Bident, trident and multipoint spears.
X.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI 105
Capture.
Hooking and catching weapons.
CHAPTER VII Ill
Cutting Weapons.
The edged tool. Serrated weapons. The sword. The two
edged straight sword. The one edged sword. The scymitar and
Eastern swords. Concave edged types. The Egyptian falchion.
Other types.
PART III.
CHAPTER VIII 153
Missiles.
Stones. Wooden Missiles. Boomerangs.
CHAPTER IX 177
Missiles (continued).
The throwing spear. The Arrow. The Javelin. Harpoons.
CHAPTER X 199
The Development of Missiles.
The Bolas, the noose, the lasso ancient and modem.
PART IV.
CHAPTER XI 219
Missile Throwers.
The sling ancient and modern. The stone or pellet bow.
CHAPTER XII 229
Missile Throwers (continued).
The Amentum and Ounep. The throwing stick or wummerah. The
Kotaha or whip sling. The blow pipe or tube.
CHAPTER XIII 247
Missile Throwers (continued).
The lx)w and the cross bow.
PART V.
CHAPTER XIV 269
War Engines.
The catapult. The balista. The^trebuchet. The spring engine.
CONTENTS. . ».
PART VI.
CHAPTER XV 279
Missile Auxiliaries.
Inflammables (Greek Fire, etc). Explosives. Poisoned arms.
. PART VII.
CHAPTER XVI 293
The Horse, Chariots, Armed Animals and their use in
attack.
BIBLIOGRAPHY •
XII.
Errata.
p. 48 line 1 8 For Wagnakh read Waghnakh.
p. 69 ,, 23 For Schiemann read Schliemann.
p. 73 „ 10 For Falchion ,, Glaive,
p. 75 last line For Pick Axe ,, Pick.
p. 78 line I The same.
p. 98 „ 17 For Mohammedens read Mohammedans.
p. 122 ,, 32 For Civilisations read Civilizations.
p. 129 „ 4 For Hallstadt read Hallstatt.
Additions.
p. 1 24. — The leaf shaped bronze sword occurs also in the Early dolmens of
Japan.
List of Illustrations.
Fig. 287 Frontispiece. Fig. 258 on Title page.
1 Paleolithic hand flint, Reculver.
2 Hand Celt, Ireland.
3 Stone Hand celt for cutting wood, 9 in. long. Hawaii (Brit. Mus.)
4 Stone Clubs, Hebrides. (Nat. Museum, Edinburgh).
5 Do. Queen Charlotte Sound, i 5 in. long. (Brit. Mus. )
6 Maori Patu patu.
7 Stone pestle or club, Coniston, Lancs. (Author's Collection).
8 Greek Cestus. {Smith's Smaller Lat. Diet.)
9 Etruscan Boxers, Monkey tomb Chiusi, (Dennis Cities and Cemeteries
of Etruria).
10 Bracelet, Dor Tribe, Africa.
zi Do., Djibba.
12 Samoa, Shark's tooth gauntlet. .
j^ [India, Waghnakh or Tiger's claw. (Egerton Indian Arms).
11 I Hawaii, Shark's tooth knuckle dusters. (British Museum).
17 African Knobkiri.
18 Dacotah (Knight).
19 Fiji, root-ended club (British Museum).
20 Australia, knotted type.
21 Fiji " Gunstock " type (British Museum).
22 Marquesas Islands (British Museum).
23 Samoa, Paddle type (British Museum).
24 Fiji (ditto) (Wood, iVa/. Hwf. Man).
25 Ditto.
26 New Ireland, double paddle type.
A I Solomon Isles, glaive shaped types.
29 Wooden Sword of Tuau (17 Dynasty).
30 NicoL Bay, W. Australia, (Lane Fox. Prim. Warfare).
31 Marquesas Islands, (Ditto).
32 Savage Island, Niue (c. 4J ft. long), (Brit. Mus. )
33 Samoa.
34 Paleolithic flint, Warren Hill, (Author's Collection).
35 Bronze Celt, flanged type, (Evans B.I.)
36 •> ., Winged type, (Primitive Warfare).
Z7 •• ., Pocket type, (Evans B.I.)
38 ,, ,, Socketed TYPE.
39 >> „ German type, (Demmin).
40 Banyai TRIBE Zambesi, Iron Axe, (Knight),
41 Elephant axe.
42 Bechuana axe.
43-45 Ditto.
46 BAsuTOAXE(Silep)e).
47 Angola axe (Knight).
48 Perforated stone axe, Denmark.
49 Egypt, plain type, bronze axe.
50 Vizianagram, axe with crescent or recurved blade.
5 1 Egypt, expanded or glaive type bronze axe.
52 Egypt, crescent triple tanged type. ^
53 Greece, (Vaphio) triple socketed type, (Athens Nat. Mus.)
xiv. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
54 Syria, Beirut, socketed type.
55 Egypt, tube socketed type.
56 ViZIANAGRAM InDIA, RING SOCKETED, GLAIVE TYPE.
57 Viking axe.
58 Ditto.
59 Merovingian type, (Deminin).
60 Russian Pole axe.
61 War Scythe (French). 14th century, (Demmin).
62 Glaive (Burgundy), 15th century, (ditto).
63 GiSARME.
64 VOULGE.
65 Arup, Scania, (pick). (Evans B.I.)
66 Siberia, (pick).
67-71 New Guinea, CLUB OR Mace TYPES. (Haddon Journ-Anihrop Inst.)
72 Egypt, Mace-Glaive.
73 India, Fakir crutch of horn. (Primitive Warfare).
74 Indian Crutch Dagger (Egerton).
75 Indian Fakir's Crutch-Mace, (Egerton).
76 Indian steel mace.
77 Persian Ditto.
78 Lion tamer, Khorsabad bas-relief.
79-84 Weapons of ball and thong type.
79 India. 80 Europe, 14th Century. 81 Nat. Museum, Munich,
(Demmin). 82 German nth Century, Naumberg Cathedral (Dem-
min). 83 Vizianagram India. 84 Japan.
85 German, 15 th Cent.
86 Iron Flail, probably 14th century.
87 German. 15th Century, (Demmin).
88 Swiss, (Demmin).
89 English " Bull Roarer." {Haddon Study of Man).
90 New Guinea, Ditto. (Idem.)
91 Torres Straits, ditto. (Idem.)
92 Turkish Knout.
93 Singhouta or " Madu " (India), 28 inches long. {Prim. Warfare).
94 India (Datiah). (Egerton).
95 Weapon CALLED " Sainti." Vizianagram, 22 inches long. (Egerton).
96 Spanish Adargue.
97 India (metal type), 26 inches long, (Eane Fox. Prim. Warfare).
98 Buffalo horn Khanjar with shape of horn (India).
99 Khanjar with metal blade 15 inches long. {Prim. Warfare).
100 ,, ,, Ai.x.iROii {Primitive Warfare).
loi Bronze Knife, Siberia, 10 inches (Demmin).
102 Malay Kris, (Egerton).
103 Syrian Goad.
104 Rajput Elephant Goad, 22 inches long, (Egerton).
105 Paleolithic stabbing flint, Ealing.
106 Neolithic dagger, Lamborne Down. (Evans S.I.)
107 Ditto, Denmark, about 13 inches long.
108 Bronze DAGGER (author's collection).
109 Musden, Staffordshire. (Evans B.I.)
110 Pithcaithly, Perthshire.
111 Bronze Rapier, Lissane, Co. Derry, 30 inches long. (Evans B.I.)
112 Egypt, Bronze poignard, (author's collection).
II 3- 1 23 Indian types.
113 Imaginary Weapon, prototype OF Katar.
114 Katar, (Egerton).
115 Ditto (Gwalior) (Egerton).
116 Pattani Jamdadu, Vizi.\nagram, 27 in. long. (Egerton).
117 Bara Jamdadu, Vizianagram, 27 in. long. (Egerton).
118 Pata, Oude, 52 in. long, (Egerton).
119 Jamdhar doulicaneh FROM the .<4in-t-flA6ar», (Egerton).
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xv.
20 Jamdhar sehlicaneh. Ditto. (Egerton).
21 Two-pronged Katar, Nepal. (Egerton).
22 Sword-breaker Katar, Patiala (Egerton).
23 A Soldier of Sivaji carrying the Pata and Katar, (Egerton).
24 European Sword catcher. (Demmin).
25 Trident. Island of Timor, (Knight).
26 Ditto, Philippines. (Knight).
27 Double Spear, Baghirmi, Africa.
27aGROUP from Aghia Triada Vase, (Crete).
28 Ditto from Stele at Iconium, Asia Minor (Texier).
29 Spontoon Austria, 17th Century.
30 Military Trident, Germany, 17th Century. (Demmin).
31 Military Fork, Germany, 17th century. (Demmin).
32 Bayonet Poignard, Germany, 17th century, 14 in. long. (Demmin).
33 Head catcher. Cape York Peninsula, and New Guinea. (Pitt
Rivers Museum).
34 Choockee fish spear, Siberia. (Knight).
35 Aht fishing arrow.
36 German Catchpole, 15th and i6th century, (head 14 in. long). (Dem-
min).
37 Sweden, ditto.
38 German Catchpole, i6th century. (Demmin).
39 War Hook. (Demmin).
40 Seige Hook. (Demmin).
41 Sword breaker, German, (Meyrick Collection).
42 Cumberland lamb-stick or shepherd's crook.
43 Augur's lituus.
44 Harpago or Fleshhook.
45 Fleshhook, Lochlee crannog, 45 in. long.
46 Bamboo decapitation Knife, New Guinea. (The Reliquary).
47 Maori Patu-patu (one edged ). {Primitive Warfare ).
48 Eskimo, bone knife. (Knight).
49 Greenland bone fiSh hook. (Knight).
50 Ditto, seal skinning knife. (Knight).
5 1 Bone cutlass. Friendly Islands.
SiaHoRNSTONE Knife, Australia. (Evans S./.)
52 Flint Knife, Fimber, Yorks. (Evans S.I.)
53 Ditto, Abydos, Egypt.
54 Ditto, Denmark.
55 Egypt, iron sacrificial knife.
56 Nbouet, New Caledonia.
57 Stone " sword " New Zealand. (Knight).
58 Bronze Knife, Cambridgshire. (Evans B.I.)
59 Ditto, Wigginton, Herts. (Evaas B.I.)
60 Ditto, Denmark.
61 Ditto, Lake Neufchatel.
62-171 Serrated weapons.
62 Sawfish saw weapon. New Guinea. (Primitive Warfare).
63 Shark's tooth-edged weapon, Kingsmill Islands.
(Author's Collection).
64 Ditto. (Wood Nat. Hist, of Man).
65 Method of fastening teeth.
66 Australia. (Primitive Warfare).
67 Solomon Islands (incorrectly described in the Lane Fox Catalogue
as Australian).
68 Obsidian edged weapon, Mexico, 15 th century, 25 in. long.
69-171 Mexico (171, 47 in. long), (Demmin). ■
7ia-220 Swords.
71a Greek or Gaulish, 32 inches long.
72 British Bronze, Battersea. (Evaas B.I.)
■J I Zanzibar. (Demmin).
xvi. • LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
174 Egypt.
175 Assyria, (from the monuments).
176 Mycen^,
177 Mycen^.
178 Ireland. (Evans B. 7.)
179 Roman.
180 " Late Celtic " type.
181 Iron Age, Denmark.
182 Viking type.
183 Egypt (from Dencn). . .
184 Sax, from Langlot Oland,
185 Japan (ancient).
186 Afghan " Khyber Knife " (Author's Collection).
187 Barbary " Flissa."
188 Ghurka " Kukri."
189 Sword shewn on Greek vases.
190 Borneo " Parang Latok."
191 Assam" Dha," (Egerton)
192 Nair Sword (Egerton.)
193 China.
194 Old Turkish, Scymetar type, (Demmin).
195 Mozambique.
196 Nepal " Koreh."
197 Later Turkish Scymetar. (Demmin).
198 Shamsir or modern scymetar type.
199 Bohemian " dusack " (Demmin). '
200 Sword of Ramman Nviari (Assyrian).
200aEGYPTiAN SWORD, (British Museum),
201 Sword of King Blay (Africa).
202 Sacrificial TYPE, Nepal, (Egerton).
203 Chinese FOR condemned criminals (Demmin). ♦
204 Double handled sword, Norway. (Knight).
205 Abyssinia " Shotel."
206 Abyssinia (Primitive Warfare). 1
207 Nubia.
208 Centr\i^ AFHick (Primitive Warfare).
209 Ditto (Primitive Warfare).
210 MONBOTO " scymetar."
211 Ditto.
212 " Ayda Katti " of Moplahs of S. India (Egerton).
213 CooRG (Egerton).
214 Assyrian sickle type (Demmin).
215 Khopsh.
216 Egyptian soldiers with " Khopsh."
217 King Striking with " Khopsh."
218 Amon Ra holding " Khopsh " (Abydos).
219 Champollions " Khopsh."
220 HiTTiTE, from sculpture AT Yasili Kaia, Asia Minor.
221 Pronged throwing sword. E. Central Africa (Christy Collection).
222 Ditto, Fans of Gabun (Primitive Warfare).
223 Hyam'Syam TRiBTis (Primitive Warfare).
224 Upper Nile (Primitive Warfare).
MISSILES.
225 Plain waddy, Australia (Primitive Warfare).
226 Curved ditto, ditto.
227 Hatchet boomerang, Australia.
228-9 Intermediate Types between Waddy and boomerang, Aus-
tralia (Prim. Warfare).
230 Plain curved boomerang, Australia. (Primitive Warfare).
231 Angular " comeback " type, .Australia.
232 Tombat, Co. Gloucester, .Australia.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xvii.
233 Malga OR LEOWEL, AUSTRALIA, {Primitive Warfare).
234 Same type, new Caledonia.
235 Wooden Trombash, Upper Nile.
236 Arbutus club for salmon killing, Vancouver Island.
237 Kangaroo rat, Australia (Knight).
238 Gran Chaco " Macana " (Wood. Nat. Hist, of Man).
239 Egyptian Boomerang. (Primitive Warfare).
240 Egyptian " Lisan."
241 Egyptian boomerang (Cairo), {Primitive Warfare).
242 Wooden trombash, Upper Nile {Primitive Warfare).
243 Boomerang with double curve, (Egyptian monuments).
244 DjiBBA throwing STICK (Christv Collection).
245 Egyptian boomerang (British Museum).
246 Trombush from Blue Nile (Omdurman loot).
247 -Axe boomerang of the Aamu (Beni- Hassan.)
248 Imaginary type from which 247 may be modified.
249 Plain Australian Boomerang.
250 Ditto " co.me-back."
251 Ditto.
252 Ditto.
253 Hor.ned Variety.
253aWooDEN boomerang, Guzerat India {Primitive Warfare).
254 Coi.lery Madras. {Primitive Warfare).
255 Steel boomerang (India). {Primitive Warfare).
256 Sikh Chakra, or War Quoit. {Primitive Warfare).
257 E''.yptian fowling with throwstick.
258 War boomerang, Beni-Hassan. Title Page. (Maspero Dawn of
Civilization).
259 .\USTRALIAN THROWING BOOMERANG.
260 Dastar Bungga, Sikh Turban with quoits. (Egerton).
261 Ditto, (Woods Nat. Hist, of Man).
262 Bamboo spear head, Borneo.
263 Bronze Age spear head, River Thames. (Evans B.I.)
264 Sections ok speak blades.
265 .\ustralia.
266 Ditto.
267 Bechuana, barbed " koreh " (Wood. A^at. History of Man).
268 Barbed spear head, Central Africa.
269 Bone Harpoon head, cave period, Plantade shelter.
270-274 Arrow heads, European.
275-277 ., ,. Angola Africa (Knight).
278 Featherless Arrow, Mandingo, Africa.
279 .\ht Arrow Harpoon.
280 Pronged fishing spear Fiji. (Wood Nat. Hist, of Man).
281 Egyptian Spear, with weighted end.
282 Indian Ditto.
283 Assyrian ditto.
284 Elephant spear, Dor tribe, Africa.
285 Two pointed spear, Persia. Shah N.amah, loth Cent. MS.
286 Eskimo harpoon, with bladder float, and detachable head
(Wood Nat. Hist, of Man).
287 Indians Hunting the Rhea, with bolas and bow and arrow, from
A native mate bowl, Entre Rios. (Frontispiece).
288 Three ball " bolas," Argentina.
289 BoLA covered with leather.
290 Stone ball, diam. 3 in., Montblairy, Banffshire. (Nat, Museum of
Scotland ).
291 Ditto 2 J in. diam : Dumfrieshire. (Nat. Mus. Scot.)
292 Weapon shewn in grotta dei Rilievi, Etruria.
293 Eskimo bird bolas.
294 Sword blade hinged shot. (Mus. R.U. Service Institute).
xviii. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
295 United SHOT FOR CANNON. (Den\min).
2q6 Chained shot.
297 Strangling noose, Murray river, Victoria, Australia. " Man,"
No. 94-
298 Trick spinning with lasso.
209 Egyptian with noosed gazelle. (Wilkinson).
300 Ditto with noosed ox. (Wilkinson).
301 The Noosed Bull, Vaphio Gold Cup. (Athens, Nat. Mus.)
302 Noosed Onager, Bas relief, Nimrud.
303 Fibre ribbon sling, Modern Egyptian (Abydos).
304 Staff sling 15th century (type a). (Demmin).
305 Ditto (type b.) being used by a garrison.
306 Ditto (type b.), throwing a grenade (Deminin).
^^Z \ Egyptians using ribbon sling.
309 The Asiatic slinger (coin of Aspendus).
310 Roman slinger (Trajans column). Smith's Small Diet, of Antiquities.
3x1 Anglo-Saxon slinger (8th century).
312 Greek throwing spear with ankule.
(Seyfferts Classical Dictionary, edited by Nettleship and Sandys).
313 Greek ankule.
314 African looped spear.
315 Ditto.
316 Greek spear with thongs. (Smith's Smaller Diet, of Antiquities).
317 OuNEP of New Caledonia.
318-322 Varieties of Australian Wummerahs.
323 Australian throwing with THE wummerah. (After Wood).
324 Arctic throwing stick, underside.
325 Ditto front and pegged side, Yukon river.
326 Eskimo throwing harpoon with throwing stick.
327 New Zealand Kotaha or whip sling.
328 Ditto.
329 Dyak Sumpitan or blow pipe, (Wood Nat. Hist, of Man).
330 Blowing end, Malay sumpitan of Zarabatana type (section).
331 Ditto END view.
332 New Guinea, native holding blow pipe (after Wood).
333 Firing with HACKBUSs, 1505. (Demmin).
334 Firing with modern gun.
335 Spring trap with spear laid against bow.
336 Spring trap with spear laid against cord.
337 Self bow, Botocudo, tropical America.
338 Bow with uneven curve, Andaman Isles.
339 Flat bow, Andaman Isles.
340 Bow with Double curve, Egypt. (Wilkinson).
341 Classic type.
342 Double bow Siam.
343 Angular bow, ancient Assyria.
344 Musical BOW, S. Africa, (Wood Nat. Hist, of Man).
345 AhT SINEW LINED (composite) BOW.
346 Eskimo composite bow (Tartar shape).
347 Indian reflex composite bow.
348 Cross bow reflex type.
349 Mediaeval arblast or crossbow. (Demmin).
350 Rat trap, cross bow type (Jamaica).
351 Cross bow with windlass attached. (Payne Gallwey The Crossbow).
352 Catapult adapted from Payne Gallwey.
353 Balista (ditto).
354 Trebuchet.
351; Fourteenth century illustration of trebuchet in use,
3i;6 The Spring Engine.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ATTACK.
PART I.
chapter i.
Introductory.
It is often difficult to decide, when studying the history of
a special subject, whether it is the better plan to trace it back-
ward from its completer and later forms to the earlier stages,
to descend in fact the ladder of development ; or, in order to gain
a clearer survey, to try at once to place ourselves alongside our
primitive ancestors, and then to ascend rung by rung to the stage
of culture of to-day.
In reahty the first method is probably the most logical, but
in actual practice it is not always very feasible. The truth is
that in most or many lines of culture, we find that from one or
two forms, a subject ramifies into numerous branches. The
ladder simile will not hold good ; a better one would be found in
a stately tree, which sprung from a single seed, now spreads to
the sun its wide blossom-tipped branches. We cannot, of course,
follow down from the point of each branch, so that perforce we
must start at the root, and follow the growth from seed to blossom.
Perhaps we may venture to define attack as it is practised
in modern warfare, as a combination of two series of operations,
of which one is purely mechanical, such as the use of explosives,
while the other consists of operations not mechanical in them-
selves, but directed partly on scientific, partly on mechanical
principles. It is obvious that such warfare is the result of a
prolonged and gradual course of development. Nevertheless we
find that into it there still enters very largely the original methods
of attack, although in most cases the earUer weapons are curiously
and ingeniously elaborated. We still use piercing, missile, and
striking-cutting weapons : and indeed recent wars shew that in
spite of all the science, engines, explosives, and mechanical aids,
which modern ingenuity has enlisted in the art of destruction,
the developed forms of primitive, if not aboriginal, types, still
rank as the most effective arms. The sword, lance, bayonet, and
even gun, are all representatives of a primitive armament. Sci-
ence has done much and yet little. The day has not yet arrived
when we can check a cavalry charge with a current of electricity,
annihilate a garrison with steam or asphyxiate it with poisoned
air (i) ; yet, can we tell that such may not be the methods of the
future ? Explosives we have, but they are no new thing ; and
with this exception how closely the methods of attack follow the
older types.
I — Or render a general's strategy abortive by mesmerism.
2 INTRODUCTORY.
It is a good thing to define at the commencement of a work
the ground which is to be covered, and to state the plan of treat-
ment. As to the first, it is proposed in the present case to try
and group into classes the primitive methods of attack, and to
shew how in the different parts of the world they developed into
elaborated forms. We shall not follow out in much detail those
types which belong to advanced culture, such as the innumerable
variations of the true sword, or the history of gunpowder. It
will be sufficient for our purpose to shew how and when these
have originated and notice marked points of development and
separation of types. To go further would carry us far beyond
the proper limits of our subject. Our field therefore covers the
simpler arms of attack, and our divisions must evidently be the
natural ones of weapons held in the hand, missiles projected by
the hand itself or a missile thrower, and the missile throwers
themselves. There are, however, secondary types : for after
these classes we come to ruses suggested in the advance of cul-
ture, and the utilization of death dealing auxiliaries which for
destructive power depend on something more than the arm or
the engine. Such are poison and fire. And to another class in
which the aid of the animal world is invoked, or weapons are
ingeniously placed to operate on an enemy without being directed
at the effective moment by the human hand or eye. Some of
these form the early stages of mechanical and scientific attack.
Probably it will be acknowledged by all that whether man
was gradually developed from a lower type, or whether he was
created perfect and fully endowed with intellect and limbs, the
earlier generations of this perfected or perfect being must in
actual knowledge have been in a condition as low, if not con-
siderably lower than any savage race of which we have present
knowledge or recent information. The first men, however,
combative or peaceable they were, cannot have had any specially
formed weapon even of the simplest type, and they could no
more have invented the sling or crossbow than they could have
devised a torpedo. In fact either of the first named " inven-
tions " must have been as far beyond their ken, as the last was
beyond that of William the Conqueror.
The fact is that the term " invention," is most unsatisfactory.
Knowledge and experience are cumulative, and are passed on
from one generation to another, each fresh one utilizing the
appliances of the last, and adding to them improvements, many
of which were certainly brought before their notice by accident
only. A civilized or cultured being is one to whom there has
been transmitted by education, a certain degree of culture accu-
mulated by the combined experience of many (or rather number-
less) generations. By nature an English baby is but a §o-called
savage: and if on birth, it could be handed over to a palaeolithic
or " savage " tribe, it would grow up only with the palaeolithic
or " savage " culture. It would be, in fact, a savage itself^
INTRODUCTORY. 3
though perhaps of better or worse physique than its fellows.
However fertile the brain, he or she could make no invention
beyond the limitations of that culture. If a man, he might be
the first to adopt a particularly business-like form of club or
stone, or he might be celebrated for his skill or endurance in
tracking the great wild beasts of the forest, or for the moderation
of his councils in tribal feuds. But that would be the most, and
in spite of his birth, nothing further could be expected from him.
It is clear enough therefore, that all through these earliest
stages, culture progress must have been very slow. Little or no
knowledge could have been so far accumulated ; and the adapt-
ability of even the simpler forms had as yet to be noted and
utilized, as each, generally by accident, became evident. Yet
such is human intelhgence, that these facts once noticed were
seldom if ever forgotten. At each so-called " invention " one
more straw was laid on the stack of culture and so it steadily grew.
And each added item of this wonderful knowledge placed the
next generation in a better position for the more speedy appli-
cation and quicker adoption into use of any new form, the use of
which might become manifest. Such were the by-ways through
which primeval ignorance had to struggle towards early culture.
Now the question arises, is fighting a natural human instinct
or an acquired habit ? It seems to us that the answer is that it
certainly is natural and speaking broadly, sexual in origin. Are
there in the lower orders of hfe, any species in which the males do
not fight at the pairing season ? and, though we are told of races
of men who possessed no weapons, it is difficult to believe that
any tribe ever existed in which no combat ever took place. Fight-
ing is one of the great legacies bequeathed by primeval barbarism
to modern culture, and it may be correctly classed with the sport-
ing instinct, also natural, and equally a legacy of primitive
humanity, through which mankind was led to follow up and destroy
animals for the sake of food. It is instructive to note that our
boasted civilization has in no way abated either instinct ; but of
the two the most surprising is the continued existence of the desire
to kill birds and animals among modem cultivated communities,
which in no way depend for existence on the destruction of a
wild or semi-wild fauna (i). Both instincts shew that our
civilization is a veneer.
Unarmed Races.
Of course the earliest form of combat must have been without
weapons — a fierce test of strength, activity, endurance, and
ferocity, in which the hammering power of the fist, the squeezing
power of the arms, the tearing action of the nails, and the incising
of the teeth, could all be called into action. Yet we cannot doubt
that almost from the first, some auxiliaries, such as a loose stone
1 — So this sporting instinct stultifies the vegetarians ; for it proves man
by nature a flesh eater.
4 INTRODUCTORY.
or a heavy bone, would be seized should they lie handy at the
moment of the struggle. We cannot think that any race re-
mained long absolutely unarmed. It has been said that some of
the modern Eskimo were unarmed, or rather that they did not
know war and had no war weapons (i). But this is not true
of the Eskimo generally, since they possess both bows, arrows,
spears, and spear throwers, and even defensive armour. No
doubt organized war is practically unknown, but the fact is that
the Eskimo live in such abnormal conditions, that most of their
energies must of necessity be expended in the struggle for exis-
tence, and the few usable materials which are within their reach,
must be applied either to weapons of the chase or preserving
bodily warmth. It is a battle betwixt humanity and intemperate
natural conditions, and it is a battle which leaves the Eskimo
small leisure for fighting (2). But we cannot doubt that they
have personal quarrels, and that in these the hunting weapons
come into action.
It may be remarked that through all the historic period,
and among widely scattered races attack without arms has been
practised as a sport. But we cannot regard these competitions
and amusements as representing in any way the aboriginal tussle.
No doubt they are in some sort traditional survivals, kept up as
useful methods for friendly contests and trials of strength or
dexterity ; but the form of combat is changed. Look at any
examples ancient or modem — the wTestling figure on the coins of
Aspendus for instance. Or read the description of the Greek
pancration, in which wrestling and boxing were combined ; or
turn to the curious shield wrestling of Guiana in South America.
(3) All such contests have a code of strict rules, on the obser-
vance of which, the fairness of the combat is held to depend ; and
in many cases we find a regular fraternity (athletes) who practice
such arts for gain. There is not indeed the faintest analogy be-
tween such contests, and the beastlike struggle which must
have taken place when our first forefathers fell out.
The Early Age of Weapons. Stone, Bone, and Wood.
In approaching the question of the earliest attack by weapons,
we are confronted by the question of the so-called stone, bronze,
and iron ages. Fortunately we can to a great degree disregard
it, because an enquiry into the development of types, does not
entail a consideration of the communication of metallurgical
knowledge. Our business is to try to ascertain under what con-
ditions the simpler types of cirms originated, and to note, where
I — Ross on the Eskimo of Baffins Bay ; also Wood's " Natural History
of Man," ii,, 706.
2 — Also the Libyan Garamantes who, says Herodotus {iv.,174) possessed
no warlike weapons, and were ignorant how to defend themselves.
3 — In which combatants strive to force each other back with big shields
a curious development — offensive attack with arms of defence.
INTRODUCTORY. 5
possible, the most important examples or exemplars, which have
existed or do exist, in various modifications of type and material.
Of recent years so much evidence has been collected that
students have to some extent abandoned the arbitrary classifi-
cation of stone, bronze, and iron ages, which until recently were
represented as the order of culture development in every part of
the world. It has been seen that it is no longer necessary, to treat
as inspired the oft-repeated passages of Hesiod or Lucretius (i),
which, in fact, were not written as applying to the world at large.
Chinese tradition too has been quoted though it is a little less
arbitrary, and chronicles a wood age.
" Fuhi made weapons ; these were of wood ; those of
Shinnung were of stone ; then Chi-Yu made metaUic ones " (2).
But for general application such theories will not do. There
never was an age of stone, when both bone and wooden weapons
and implements were not in use. And during all the period since
metal was utilized, the earlier materials were still used for weapons
in some regions, and often in the very localities where metal
was mined and skilfully wrought.
For a moment however, we must defer the question of the
ages, and turn to what is more important to us, namely the classi-
fication of weapons. And although this has often been attempted,
it is not a simple matter to reduce them to a logical and satisfac-
tory classification. Lane Fox (3) in his lectures on Primitive
warfare has proposed three groups — Defensive, Offensive, and
Stratagems, but he includes animal as well as human weapons in
order to expound a theory which does not seem capable of accep-
tance in its entirety. His purpose as we understand him, is to
show that the primitive methods of attack and defence were
suggested to man by the methods of offence and defence, and
the actual weapons with which nature has endowed brute creation.
Thus under " defensive " he quotes the hides of animals, natural
shields of Crustacea, and the like and refers to the rude armour of
savages and ancients, formed of skins, hides, or feathers. Under
"offensive" (piercing) arms he calls our attention to the gnu, buffalo
bittern, walrus, swordfish, narwhal, etc., and shews us how
teeth, horns, and thorns of trees, have been adapted by man for
arrow points and spears. The kicks of quadrupeds, the blow of
the birds wing or whales tail are supposed to have suggested
striking. While the sawfish and toothed jawbones of various
animals gave the idea for the toothed or serrated weapons (4).
I — Hesiod Op et Di. i., 150. Lucr. de Rerum Nat. v. 1282.
2 — The Vedas also shew Indra armed with a club and seizing a stone to
pierce Vritra, the Genius of Evil. Here is a picture of the most primitive
armament. Nadaillac " Prehistoric peoples," p. 79.
3 — After 1880 known as General Pitt-Rivers.
4 — And the mantis' forearm for cutting. But it will be seen later that
the author agrees with Lane Fox that serrated weapons were the primitive
form of cutting weapons ; though real cutting tools may be quite as early.
Burton (Book of the Sword, p. 13) suggests further nature models in the
form of silicious grasses and wild sugar cane for cutting.
6 INTRODUCTORY.
On this assumption of nature models, he groups defensive
weapons thus — Piercing — Striking — Serrated — Poisoned — Missile;
and he chooses this order it would seem, from the presumption
that the piercing arms of animals such as the antelope, would be
noticed before the kicking action of hoofed quadrupeds, or the claw
stroke of the big camivora (i ). Such a theory, however, seems to
be very forced. It is of course easy to imagine that with the
development of human intellect these natureweapons and methods
would suggest ideas to mankind. But there is nothing to show that
they suggested the earliest forms of human attack. We are not
aware that any species of animals imitate other species in any
similar way ; and if it is true that monkeys have been known to
imitate mankind, that is an exact reversal of the theory. We feel
it very difficult to believe that man, who as man, was endowed with
arms and hands, feet and legs, teeth and nails, would in the first
instance ever think of imitating either the greater mammals, which
would be chiefly a source of terror to him, or fish and insects of
which his unguided intellect would know little. Surely he would
use first his own powers alone, and then, no doubt almost imme-
diately he would adopt as auxiUaries the simplest objects of
weight within his reach, whether stone or bone or bough of tree.
Of course there are other classifications, such as de Mortillet's
into bruising, piercing, and cutting, which is simple and embraces
nearly all types of pre-metallic arms (2) : but it does not fairly
cover the subject. We agree that striking and bruising should be
placed first, for this could effectively be done with the naked fist,
whereas piercing or thrusting necessitates an artificial arm. For
this reason. Capture, i.e., catching and grasping, ought perhaps to
come next, for it is undoubtedly primitive, though it does not occur
in Lane Fox's classification ; but so few weapons of this type
were ever actually developed, it may be placed after piercing and
thrusting. These three include all the really primitive non-
missile types. We have, however, the serrated class apparently
from a nature model, with its sub-development of true cutting
arms. And missiles and projectors must be grouped separately,
though the most simple of the missile class are quite primitive.
Poison and inflammables we prefer to treat as auxiliaries for
neither is primitive, though the first is certainly a nature copy.
So that we have the following convenient classification : —
I — Yet Burton who has adopted the theory nearly complete, reverses
the order and puts missiles as the earliest form, though for the nature model
he only quotes missile fishes and the spitting lama.
2 — I. Bruising Weapons: — In the Hand — Fist with or without "Knuck-
les." With a Handle — Clubs, Scourges, Flails. Projectile — Stone Bullets,
Blunt Arrows. 2. Piercing "Weapons : — In the Hand — Poignard and
Rapier. With a Handle — The Lance and Pick. Projectile — Javelin, Har-
poon thrown by hand or amentum or throwing stick. 3. Cutting
Weapons : — In the Hand—Sabre with stone blade. With a Handle —
Battle or Pole-Axe. Projectile — Boomerang, throwing Knives, Bladed
Arrows. A de Mortillet Rev. Mens de I'Ecole d'Anthrop, 1892, ii.. 92-3.
INTRODUCTORY. 7
Offensive Arms of Attack.
1. Striking and Bruising.
2. Piercing and Thrusting.
3. Capture and Strangulation.
4. Serrated weapons (edged cutting weapons).
5. Missiles and projectors.
6. Auxiliaries. Poison and Inflammables.
With reference however to the " nature-model " theory, it is
worth while to tabulate the instances adduced in support of it by
Lane Fox and Burton. Their lists, without being exhaustive,
suffice : and the evidence of the tabulation is marked enough.
It shows only some four or five instances in which an actual animal
weapon can be said to have been adopted and utilized at all in the
manner of the animal itself. All other instances whether from
the animal, fish, or vegetable worlds, only show the adoption of
sharp pointed or hard natural substances, in most cases for poin-
ted missiles, of which the action is almost as far removed as it can
be from the action of the same member in its natural position as
an animal weapon. It would be ridiculous to assert that a New
Guinea native shooting an arrow tipped with cassowary claw is in
any way imitating a cassowary ; and it is equally inaccurate to
say that the Cambodian with his swordfish tusk, or the Green-
lander with his nuguit, is in anyway the imitator of the swordfish
or narwhal. These were weapons found ready to hand and simply
seized upon as effective.
Animal Weapons used by Man in a Manner Approximating
TO THAT of the AniMAL ITSELF.
Sword Fish horn to kill Rhinoceros (Mouhet's travels)
Cambodia.
Antelope horns, in weapons of the Indian Singhouta or Madu
type. India.
Buffalo horns split, and used as a Khangar (India) and
Jimibiyeh (Arab).
Narwhal tusk, Greenland Nuguit (but half of wood)
Greenland.
Sawfish snout or horn. New Guinea.
Animal Weapons used in Pointing or Arming Human
Weapons.
Horns —
Ancient :
Africa : Strabo and Herodotus (spears).
Fenni : (Fins) Tacitus (bone pointed arrow heads).
Eiurope : Lake Dwellings. Reindeer caverns, and cdso Scan-
dinavian axes picks, etc., of stags horn.
Modern :
Africa : Djibba (Nubia,) Dinkas and other tribes, Walfisch
Bay, antelope horns as lance points.
8 INTRODUCTORY.
America : Iroquois Indian war-club, with deer point.
Canary Islands, when discovered : Spears tipped with ante-
lope horns.
Teeth, Animal and Fish.
Kotzebue Sound, spears and tomahawks armed with walrus
tooth.
S. Salvador (temp. Columbus) : Lances armed with fish teeth.
South Seas : Marquesas, Sandwich Islands, and elsewhere.
Various weapons armed with sharks teeth.
Greenland ; The same.
Brazil : The same.
Bird's Spurs, and Beaks, and Claws.
Virginian Indians (1606,) both as arrowpoints.
New Guinea : Cassowary claw as arrowpoint.
Spines, Fins, and Weapons of Fish.
Various races. The Weapon of the sting-ray as an arrow or
spear point.
Australia, King George's Sound : Roach fin for spear point.
Malay Peninsula : Sword of King-crab for arrow point.
Spines of Trees and Palms.
Various races.
Of course horn and bone weapons were very primitive, and
among the hundreds of thousands of prehistoric stone and bronze
weapons, we are apt to overlook the fact that the weapons or
tools of bone or wood or horn of those early ages have hardly
ever been preserved. Yet the part played by these materials
in the armoury of the prehistoric races of so-called lithic culture,
was at least as important as and probably much more important
than that of stone. For as soon as man contrived to kill the large
mammals he would utilize their bones ; and even the primitive
nut-eating or herbiverous savage (if such ever existed) would some-
times find the carcase of an animal which had naturally died, or
the shed horns of an antelope ; and such finds would originate a
regular bone and horn armament. The leg bone would make a
club ; a splintered bone a dagger or chisel ; a jaw bone a rude
saw, whence, perhaps as we shall see, may have arisen the true
sword and saw. The shed antler made a spear point or a spear
itself. And this and the club are probably the earliest, for the
split-bone chisel would only be suggested when it occurred to man
to smash the animal's leg bone (or his father's or brother's) for the
sake of the nutritious marrow. In like way would be discovered
the first war-horn, inland suggested by an actual shed cows horn ;
though perhaps near the sea by a shell.
Samson, therefore, was following a primitive fashion when
he slew a thousand Philistines with the jaw bone of an ass. A
jaw-bone seems a clumsy weapon, but there are other instances
of its use. We hear in 1896 of Mr. Thomas Mackenzie receiving
as a gift, a celebrated New Zealand war club made of a sperm
INTRODUCTORY. 9
whale jaw, and named after its owner of some ten generations back
*' Wharepakau " ; and in Continental prehistoric caverns bear's
jaws have occurred, evidently fashioned for use as weapons or
tools.
It is quite possible that there may have existed some early
cultures of which all evidence is missing, and which can never
now be recovered. We can imagine that there may have been
enormous alluvial plains or deltas hke those of the Amazon or
Mississippi, where stone was non-existent, and where in conse-
quence the earliest inhabitants would have a pure bone or wood
age. Then again think how small a proportion the stone
weapons of stone bearing countries may bear to those of fragile
and now perished material. Practically all that remains of the
Palaeohthic drift culture are the stone tools and weapons ; but if
all the appliances of the age had been preserved in equal propor-
tions it is probable that we might form a somewhat different
opinion as to the character of the culture.
The Coming of Metal.
It is of course now conceded that in Europe and in other
parts of the world, there was a non-metallic, followed by a bronze,
and later by an iron age. But these stages were not contempo-
raneous in the various areas and moreover there was an overlap
between them in all or most of the individual areas. Again there
were certain regions like parts of Africa, where apparently without
any sudden intrusion of civilization, the bronze culture was
omitted, and the races passed directly from a non-metallic to
an iron culture. The reason, which need not be discussed in
detail here, appears to have been the local occurrence of the ore ;
and therefore this transition in culture, differs greatly from that
which has been occasioned in recent times by the sudden intrusion
of modem civilization into such races as the Polynesians. The
African case is one of natureil development, which the Polynesian
is not ; and while in the first the value of the mineral was seen by
the adopting race, it has sometimes been necessary in the other
to educate a race of non-metallic culture, in the actual use of the
introduced material. Lane Fox has given us a figure of an iron
adze which Captain Cook caused his armourer to make in exact
imitation of the basalt ones used by the Tahitans, and he has
adduced other instances of the persistent retention of stone types
in metal, among native races to which the modem culture has
suddenly been introduced (i). It seems, indeed, possible, that in
all cases where we find wooden or stone types imitated in metal,
evidence may be looked for that the metal culture was intruded,
and not naturally developed. Thus while there is a series of
bronze axes which sire evidently copies of stone types, we are not
aware that among the iron using native African races, there have
I — " Primitive Waxfaxe," lecture i., p. 616 and PI. xviii., Figs, i and 2.
10 INTRODUCTORY.
hitherto been noticed any iron axes which appear to be directly
copied from the primitive material.
Retention of Primitive Materials.
A point often remarked on by anthropologists, and one cer-
tainly of much interest, is the retention of stone implements and
weapons among races in an advanced metal using culture. And
alongside this, we may briefly note the numerous recorded in-
stances of superstitions with regard to stone weapons. With re-
gard to the first, the continued use of stone may be due to a
variety of causes,
1. From economy or necessity. In many cases metal was
known but it remained too rare and valuable a commo-
dity to be within reach of the majority.
2. From tradition. As in cases where a tribe or nation
having acquired a reputation with a certain sort of
weapon, tenaciously retained it as its principal
armament, when others more efficient were accessible.
Instances are common enough in mediaeval or modern
times.
3. From ceremonial and superstitious causes, which are
closely allied. But in the first the weapon or implement
often remains as a weapon or implement, although only
for show purposes ; whereas in the numerous instances
of the superstitious regard of stone weapons their original
use is generally disregarded ; and they have become
either simple charms or armulets, or else have assigned
to them either a natural or mystic origin.
Retention of Stone from Economic Causes.
It should be observed that instances in which stone has been
retained in use by races in a metal using culture for weapons,
appear to be less common than the cases where the primitive
material has been retained for industrial or other purposes. It
seems probable that when stone weapons are recorded as having
been thus in use, the cause was generally the costliness of metal
or inaccessibility of ore ; though in some cases it may have simply
been owing to lack of industrial enterprise. Thus we findjthat
both at Mycenae and Troy SchUemann brought to light in the
prehistoric strata large numbers of stone axes and arrow heads
associated with weapons and vessels of bronze and the precious
metals. In Egypt flint and copper implements were in regular
use from the fourth to the twelfth dynasty, (i.) The Japanese
used stone weapons up to the loth century ; and it is said that
the Scots under Wallace did the same in the 13th century. It
has even been affirmed on the strength of a somewhat obscure
I — Flinders Petrie " History of Egypt," Earliest Times to the xvi.
Dynasty 2nd. ed., 1895.
INTRODUCTORY. ii
passage in William of Poictiers, that the English at the battle of
Hastings used stone weapons, but the better opinion seems to be
that the passage refers to the stone projectiles of engines (i).
Nevertheless there are on record so many discoveries in many
parts of Europe, of stone weapons in close association with Roman
or later interments and deposits, that we must assume that the
retention of such weapons long after metal was known was not
uncommon. The auxiliaries in Xerxes' army, who were perhaps
^Ethiopians, used flint headed projectiles. Recent examples such
as the use of stone-tipped lances by nomadic Arabs, might be
multiplied ; but in most of these cases of modem savages, we
are confronted with a much more sudden intrusion of metal
culture into the midst of a non-metai culture, than probably ever
took place in ancient times.
RETENtlON OF StONE FROM TRADITIONAL CAUSES.
That stone weapons were sometimes retained in use by certain
tribes or corps among barbarous races who were however in a
metal culture, is extremely probable ; although at present we are
unable to icite instances. Such a deliberate retention of an earlier
type would probably occiu" where a tribe or tribal corps had ac-
quired a reputation with a stone weapon before the metal
culture had reached them ; and from pride in their reputation
adhered to the antiquated armament. We hear indeed of Fella-
hin shaving with bone razors in modem times (2) and of the
Arabs of Sinai scraping their sheep with flints after shearing (3).
This domestic use of the primitive material is hardly dictated by
poverty, nor apparently is it ceremonial. It appears simply a
survival. These operations have been immemorially performed
with flint, and it hardly occiurs to the operators to make any
changes.
Retention of Stone for Ceremonial Reasons.
The ceremonial use of stone and flint need not detain us,
since it is beyond the scope of the work in hand. We need only
note that there are on record numerous instances in which these
materials were used in various rites and ceremonies by races in
metal culture, who might more easily and more efiiciently utilize
metal. This ceremonial use forms a peculiarly interesting sur-
vival of the times when stone was the mateiial for most of the
hunting and domestic appliances as well as for attack ; but it
hardly helps in the history of attack itself (4).
I — Southall, " Epoch of the Mammoth," 261, 272 ; Nadaillac, 22.
2 — Nadaillac, p. 21.
3 — Southall, p. 298.
I — The following are published instances : —
A stone was used by the ancient Arabians to cut their hands in sealing
an engagement (Herodotus, iii., 8). A flint knife by the Egyptians
in embalming (Herodotus and Diod. Siculus). By the Hebrews for
12 INTRODUCTORY.
Superstitious Regard for Stone Implements. ^
This has been now ascertained to be almost universal,
wherever we look we find that among most modern races, and
from the earliest historic times, the relics of the stone using races
have attracted attention. The most common superstition is that
they are thunderbolts ; and probably on this account they were
applied to various superstitious purposes and used in divination
or other magical ways. In some cases they were simply held in
veneration. All this is certainly evidence of some vague popular
belief in a mysterious origin for stone weapons ; but it is perhaps
also a survival of the worship of ancestral weapons (i) .
Circumcision : by the Priests of Cybele in self mutilation : By the
Romans and Aztecs for Animal Sacrifice, Livy i, cap. 24 : For open-
ing bodies of chiefs after death by the Guanchees of Teneriffe. In
Labode, W. Africa, for ox sacrifice. See Nadaillac " Manners and
Customs," 15, etc. Evans "Ancient Stone Implements," 51, 326, etc.
Southall, " Epoch of the Mammoth," 261, 878, etc. Joshua, v. 23.
Exodus, IV., 25. Pliny xii., 54.
I — Probably the following Summary from the writings of Nadaillac,
Evans, Joly, etc., could be enlarged by a study of more recent
anthropological writers : —
Celts and Arrow Heads Regarded as Thunderbolts or Lightning
OR AS having come DOWN WITH THEM —
Europe : Russia, France, British Isles, Scandinavia, Hungary, Italy,
Germany, Alsace, Holland, Portugal, Crete (Ancient), Greece,
Turkey.
Asia : Asia Minor, China, Burmah (also bronze weapons), Assam,
Japan, Java, Phillipine Islands.
Africa : Sudan, West Coast.
America : Nicaragua, Brazil, etc.
Used as Charms or Magical Cures —
Sweden, in bed of women at child birth ; British Isles, for cattle
disease ; Cornwall, boiled for rheumatism ; Brittany, for purifying
water ; Savoy, for rot in sheep. Scandinavia, Germany and Italy,
as protection against lightning (mentioned in same way by Pliny).
Burmah powdered for opthalmia.
Arrowheads attributed to elves or fairies, Scandinavia and Great
Britain.
Used or Regarded Superstitiously : —
Albania : Used by Pahkares for cutting up sheep for divination.
Crete : Purification of Pythagoras by Priests of Mount Ida with
thunderstones.
Mediaeval Europe : For sorcery. India : Sought for by Maji and
enshrined by Hindus.
Beads in form of arrow heads were worn by North African Arabs.
Small models of celts perforated to be worn as bead? are not
uncommon. The writer has bought them in Egypt and Syria, and they
occur in Greece, where they are sometimes of precious stone and are
worn as charms against disease or the evil eye. Amber models of
Neolithic weapons occur in Danish cromlechs, some being beads like
double edged stone axes (Worsaac " Danish Art," South Kensington
Art Handbook, 31-32). In Etruria arrow heads were worn as neck-
laces. In Italy they are called " St. Paul's Tongues," and in Picardy
" Cats Tongues." In the Mambwe County at the south-end of Lake
Tanganyika we find stone weapons called "Stones of God" ; while
in Greece, India, West Africa, and Mediaeval Europe they were con-
sidered sacred. In Japan they were enshrined in temples.
INTRODUCTORY. 13
The War Cry.
In the war cry and perhaps Slogan we have probably a sur-
vival of Primitive Attack. Most animals give voice when they
close in fight, and we may suppose that the primitive races of
mankind would do the same without in any way imitating the
animal world. The act was a simple instinct, or natural impulse
to inspire terror by means of noise.
It is however certain that the voices of savage and barbarous
races are extraordinarily animal like ; and no doubt visitors at
the African Exhibition held in I,ondon recently, will long remem-
ber the curious inarticulate sounds of the Africans in the native
villages ; for the Kaffir and his congeners, even when in the best
of tempers emits resonant roars and bellowings apropos of no-
thing ; and these sounds are ferocious and in no way like the
monkey chatter that would be ascribed to our supposed simian
ancestors. Jt would indeed seem that gentle and subdued arti-
culation in man is artificial, the growth or product of civilization
The resonant, almost metallic roar is heard only among barbarous
races who have never had an age of culture. All races which have
passed through an era of culture such as Arabs, Persians, Hindus,
or Greeks, have gentle and modulated speech.
This animal voice among savages has been noticed even in
old times. Herodotus (iv., 183) describes the ^Ethiopian tro-
glodytes as having no language, but screeching like bats ; while
Adam of Bremen, who taught Christianity at the Court of Sweyn
Ulfson, represents the Danes as skin clad cannibals who imitated
the cries of animals.
There can be no doubt that in primitive attack both in tribal
war and the duello, the howl or cry was always used to inspire
terror. Possibly sometimes (even probably) tribes would use
the cry of their animal totems ; and among such races as the
American (Indians) or Norse Vikings, the braves or berserks may
have adopted the cry of the animal or bird whose name they
bore.
Other Battle Sounds.
And since noise was held so important, other methods of pro-
duction were invented. The war trumpet was suggested by a
shell or horn, and was used at first to make a noise, not to marshall
or direct the troops. The sound itself was regarded as an effective
arm. The walls of Jericho fell when the Israelites shouted, and
the priests blew on seven trumpets of rams horns (Joshua vi., 20).
Warriors clashed their swords and beat their shields, and the war
drum and tom-tom for battle sounds are nearly as wide spread
and primitive as the war- horn (i). Among the Vikings the battle
always commenced with the blowing of horns (2) ; but they also
1. — ^Was the first war drum, the warrior's stomach, like that of the
gorilla (?).
2 — Du Chaillu " Viking Age," ii., 203.
14 INTRODUCTORY.
shouted, clashed their shields and swords, and called aloud on.
Odin.
By poetic fancy missile and other weapons were invested
with a dread inspiring reputation. The twang of the bowstring
was always the " death song." Arrows were made to whistle in
the air (i) ; while the boomerang has a peculiar ominous buzz
of its own in flight. There are Greek and Roman leaden sling
bullets, in which small holes had been left in casting, perhaps with
the intention of making them sing in the air ; and it is possible
that the mysterious "bull roarer" was at times used to increase
the turmoil of war. In Mediaeval Europe we either shouted
the name of the leader a " Percy," or a " Warwick," or invoked
the Almighty or the Holy Cross as at Hastings, and to-day the
war cry has become the heraldic motto.
Primitive Weapons, also Tools.
In exactly the same way that aboriginal man used his fist,
foot, nails and teeth, both for attack, or simply in carrying, walk-
ing, scratching or biting, the earliest artificially shaped weapons
were not weapons only, but implements ; in fact it is impossible to
say whether such were adopted as a weapon, and then used as a
implement, or vice versa. This is exemplified in a study of the
earliest forms we possess of the palaeolithic flints. Sir John
Evans, indeed, has made a tentative classification of these types
(2), and he thinks that the " acutely pointed instruments appear
to have been rather weapons than tools and were not improbably
used in the chase ;" but, judging by the methods of modern savages
we are justified in concluding that a very large proportion were
tools or instruments for all domestic uses, sometimes mounted
in a haft, sometimes held in the hand, and utilized as a weapon
when occasion required. The neolithic celt, like the modern
instrument of savages in a similar culture must have been em-
ployed in widely different ways. It was not simply a war axe :
hafted in various manners, it was applied to timber cutting, root
grubbing, and a variety of domestic purposes (3).
This wide range in the use of tool and weapon was not con-
fined to the most primitive conditions of culture. We read —
" Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of
Israel ; for the Philistines said ' Lest the Hebrews make them
swords or spears : ' But all the Israelites went down to the
Philistines to sharpen every man his share, and the coulter, and
his axe, and his mattock." (I. Samuel, xiii., 19,20.) And the
Bjblical example may find modern parallels ia certain peasant
revolts, in which the country people have armed themselves with
I — As among the natives of Guiana and the Chinese. Wood's " Natural
History of Man," ii., 599.
2 — " Ancient Stone Implements," 565.
3— Idem, 153.
INTRODUCTORY. 15
implements of husbandry (i). These, of course, were cases of
special necessity, in which a non-fighting and unarmed class
turned combatant ; but we shall see later that it has often been
the recognised custom to manufacture instruments for such a dual
use ; and we need only cite at present one or two examples.
The Kaffir axe blade is so made that its position in its haft can
be altered, and it can be used for tilling ; the South African assegai
is used for all purposes, even as a razor ; and the Parang-Ihlang
and Parang-latok of the Dyaks and Malay Peninsula are either
war weapons or timber fellers as occasion requires (2).
Weapons of War also Weapons of Chase.
Further, niunerous types common to early races and modern
uncultmred or semi-cultured peoples were used indifferently in
war on their fellow-beings or on the animal kingdom. It was
probably the general rule that a weapon devised for one only of
these purposes, was at once seen to be apphcable for the other,
and promptly adopted. Thus the spear, and the bow and arrow
were equally good for both purposes. The boomerang was made
lighter or heavier as it was required for war or fowling ; and the
bolas were equally efficient to bring down a deer or to entangle a
flying foe. Yet it became soon apparent that most of these simple
forms were capable of special development for particular pur-
poses ; and we hope to show in these pages the way this develop-
ment was carried out.
Evolution of Weapons from Instruments or Appliances.
We have seen that the term " Invention " is somewhat of a
misnomer. In reality it was inherited experience, accidental
occurrences, and human shrewdness in noticing the adaptability
of natural or artificial objects to special purposes, which intro-
duced to mankind the so-called " Inventions." We shall see that
it was not occasionally, but almost continually that man's intelli-
gence grasped the fact that some weapon or some member of a
weapon could be improved or adapted ; and that this being
effected, the improved or adapted type " caught on," and fre-
quently spread over large areas ; or was even eventually univer-
sadly adopted.
But human sagacity often did more than simply improve
types. Natural forces accidentally observed were brought into
the service of man ; and mechanical appliances used for one pur-
pose were found applicable for others totally different. Of this we
I — Lane Fox " Primitive Warfare." •
2 — See Wood's " Natural History of Man," ii., 467-9, and for other
instances Lane Fox's " Primitive Warfare," 407.
Perhaps a sort of survival of the tool- weapon may be traced in " com-
bination " types. The Shire Highlanders sometimes used a type which war
dagger at one end and strigil or sweat scraper at the other. See " Man,"
No. 112 (1901 ) where is also figured a dagger in a sheath formed as a beer
ladle ; also from the same district.
i6 INTRODUCTORY.
have evidence enough-; but it is very difficult to define exactly
when and how these early efforts of intellect were directed. For
instance the origin of the bow, of which we shall have more to say
in another chapter, forms a strangely obscure problem. It is
one of the most widely spread weapons, yet it is an " invention "
requiring extreme ingenuity to devise, and considerable culture
to manufacture. So widely spread indeed is it, that we naturally
search some archetype or nature model, which might have been
observed and copied in many areas ; yet none such is forthcoming.
In fact so little clue does there seem, that we ask ourselves " Have
we in the bow a true 'invention ? ' the brain product of some great
prehistoric genius." And since the history of this wonderful
contrivance will occupy us later, we must now confine ourselves
to the question of origin. We will indicate the various theories
which have been suggested, or which it seems to us merit dis-
cussion.
The following theories have been or may be suggested for the
origin of the bow : —
1. From. the spring bow or trap.
2. From a curved animal horn.
3. From a split stick sling.
4. From the fire bow and driU.
5. From the musical bow.
1. The spring bow theory will be easiest understood from
the two cuts — (see Figs, 335 and 336). The first shows a supple
young tree bent and held by a cord which can be easily released by
a touch. About the centre of the arc of the bow a lance is laid,
so supported, that on release of the cord the straightening of the
tree will propel it with great force in the direction of the aim.
The other figure shows how slight a modification from this would
form a true though fixed bow, the only difference being that the
lance butt rests on the cord instead of the bow, and projection is
obtained, not by releasing the cord, but by further flexion, as in
the true bow (i).
2. The curved horn theory may be dismissed ; for the use of
elastic force would certainly be observed in wood before horn.
The earliest recorded bow — that of Pandarus was of this sort.
But this is manifestly a case in which tradition affords us no real
indication of facts.
3. The spht stick sHng is well known to all English boys.
It is a very simple weapon and believed to be an early type. It
would certainly famiUarize the early slingers with the elasticity of
I — See the description of the Dyak Pete or spring bow in O. T. Mason's
" Origins of Invention," also Ling Roth, Journ Anthrop. Inst., xxii., p. 46
and 301. Col. Lane Fox in his catalogue (p. 41), describes what we have
endeavoured to illustrate ; but his wording is rather obscure. E. B. Tylor
" Anthropology," p. 21, also favours the above theory. The shape of the
Andaman Islanders bow (see Fig. 338), seems to point to an origin in a
fixed standard bow.
INTRODUCTORY. 17
wood but there is nothing in the sHng to suggest the bow,
cord, and reed, the combination of which form the weapon we
are treating of.
4. The fire bow, was a real bow and cord of small size, used
by numerous races in primitive culture for the purpose of rotating
a piece of wood and thus obtaining fire by friction
The question raised is a very difficult one. We have to con-
sider whether the weapon would be applied for fire making pur-
poses, or whether the fire making bow would under certain cir-
cumstances suggest the weapon. Whether in fact in a normal
progress of culture, the necessity for artificial heat would precede
the necessity for the artificial weapon. It is said indeed that the
Ancient Egyptians used the weapon for a fire drill (i) : yet we
cannot help thinking that under certain conditions, the use of the
fire bow would be more likely to be observed than that of the
weapon. The fire bow seems to have been developed thus —
A. Rotatory friction between the palms of the hands (the
fire drill).
B. Rotatory friction obtained by a loose cord or tendril
held in each hand while the end of the rotating stick was
pivotted in a sort of bobbin held in the mouth, or else was held
by a second person (the thong drill).
C. A flexed piece of elastic wood secured at the ends by a
tight cord (the bow drill). Here one hand of the operator is quite
free to secure the rotating stick.
The bow thus discovered might soon be applied as a projector,
especially by a race already using the spring bow for killing
animals (2) .
5. The musical bow was a corded bow, generally having
attached to it an artificial resonator often formed of a calabash
or gourd. Sometimes, however, it was placed on a separate
resonator, or held between the teeth, in which case the mouth was
the resonator. It was in fact the primitive stringed instrument
and the music was made by scraping or tapping the cord (3).
(See Fig 344).
It seems to us fairly evident that here we have a case of per-
version of use. Every time an arrow sped from the weapon there
was the twang of the string, to suggest music to a musical race. It
therefore strikes one at first as singular that the Kaffirs had the
musical bow but had not the weapon ; but it might be easily
suggested by the fire bow. At any rate the weapon almost
certainly preceded the musical instrument (4). Among these
I — Wilkinson's ".\ncient Egyptians" ii., i8o ; iii., 144, 172.
2. — See illustrations of various fire appliances, including the bow drill,
in N. Joly's " Man before Metals," p. 194.
3 — The musical bow is treated of in a book by Mr. H.Balfour,of Oxford.
4 — In New Guinea a tiny bow and arrow are used for blood letting (as
a fleam). This is apparently preversion of use — from weapon to surgical
•instrument. Possibly it is ceremonial, see "Man," No. 121 (1901). A
" Papuan bow and arrow fleam" by Dr. A. C. Haddon, 2 illustrations.
i8 INTRODUCTORY.
suggestions the reader must judge for himself. None of them'
are quite convincing ; and the truth probably is that the bow
originated in different ways in different places, and in each spread
with rapidity because of its great utility. In forests full of canes
and hanging creepers, a stretched tendril would perhaps suggest to
the huntsman a particular form of spear trap, the direct prototype
of the bow.
Of course at all times human intelligence has suggested that
implements devised for one purpose could with advantage be
used for one different. Poverty, necessity or personal idiosyncrasy
gives us examples every day in the 19th and 20th centuries. The
writers grandfather made his own walking sticks, and invariably
shod them with a thimble. Any farm yard will produce half-a-
dozen analogous examples. Therefore in early days when appli-
ances were very few, each one must have been utilized for uses very
distinct from that for which it was made. What was the earliest
distaff ? Would it not be a dart or an arrow ? And the earliest
spindle ? Surely nothing is more probable than an arrow stuck
through a net sink-stone to act as the rotating wheel. These are
perhaps guesses ; but in studying weapons we have curious bits
of evidence pointing to cross development and perversion of use.
Such is the following : —
The Supposed Connection Between Club, Paddle and Spear.
Col. Lane Fox (General Pitt Rivers) whose studies among
early and savage weapon types must be carefully followed by all
interested in the subject, was as far as the writer knows, the first to
deal at length with the peculiar affinities of type which are to be
found in these three appliances. In his lectures on " Primitive
Warfare," (i) he gives us a plate showing a possible development
from the stone celt to the New Zealand Patu-Patu, and from the
Patii-Patii to the wooden sword, and thence to paddle and lastly
to wooden spear. Most of these types are Polynesian or Central
American. The plate, however, seems somewhat misleading, since
it appears from the text that the Colonel himself did not advocate
such a line of development. After saying, indeed, that a collec-
tion of Polynesian clubs and paddles must be all derived from a
common source, he remarks :
" In the infancy of the art of navigation, we may suppose
that the implements of war, when constructed of wood may have
frequently been used as paddles, or those employed for paddles
may have been used for fight, and this may account for the cir-
cumstance that throughout these regions, the club, sword, and
paddle, pass into each other, by imperceptible gradations."
The same writer in a work nearly ten years later (2), says :
I — Journal Royal United Service Institution, 1868, xii., Plate
xix, and p. 421 etc.
2 — Catalogue of Anthropological Collection at Bethnal Green Museum
1877 (p. 82, etc.)
INTRODUCTORY. 19
" It appears probable from such evidence as we possess that
the spear and paddle are more closely allied than the club and
paddle."
And a little further on, he sums up thus :— " It would be
more correct to say that the three (i.e., paddle, club, and spear)
have improved simultaneously being all three derived from the
plain stick." He then shows how in different regions (mostly,
however, Polynesian) there are remarkable intermediate types
between club and paddle, and spear and paddle ; and he instances
the actucil use of sticks as paddles in Tasmania, of spears as paddles
and of the use of a combined spear-paddle (Nicobar Islands,
Australia, etc.)
This kind of classification of types, is easily cjuried too far.
Given a sufficient number of native made articles of any sort
collected over a sufficiently wide area, it will be found both pos-
sible and tempting to arrange apparent groups and Hues of de-
velopment, of which however no proof will ever be made. Col.
Lane Fox's contributions to anthropological knowledge were
invaluable, but we are convinced that frequently he was led into
attributing a quite undue importance to repetition of type and
ornament, the outcome often of culture progress under parallel
conditions. The study of specimens is apt to divert even a
scientific mind from a correct realization of the actual conditions
of production.
A little consideration indeed will convince us that we may in
fact, lay down a few axioms which bear directly on these curious
mixed tj^e appliances
A. It is certain that a paddle using native when attacked
paddle in hand, would use that implement as a club.
B. But a spear using savage would not necessarily ever or
often, use his spear as a paddle.
C. It is improbable that the paddle was developed from the
leaf shaped spear ; because that is not a primitive weapon.
The primitive spear was a simple pointed or flint- tipped
pole.
The '■ough club is the ancestor of all ; and the development
would perhaps be thus —
An early club using savage falls from a cliff or branch into a
river. He seizes and mounts a drifting log. He discovers that
he can to some degree guide it by means of his club. After
this he manufactures flat clubs especially for this purpose.
From such a club, a paddle sword type, or even a woodon
spear or glaive shaped implement might easily be developed.
Again a boomerang using man in the same predicament would
use his weapon with like results. And, no doubt, the early races
who took to water would use their long straight clubs for poling
off in shallows, and their lighter or shorter ones, or even their
spears if they possessed them, for propulsion, but the develop-
ment of forms and types would be purely local and according to
20 INTRODUCTORY.
local requirements and accident. The existence of intermediate
types between paddle, club, and spear, must therefore not lead
us into advocating arbitrary or universal rules of development.
Perhaps we may epitomize thus :
1. The club formed the first paddle.
2. The paddle was used as a club.
3. The paddle was modified as a paddle club or paddle spear (i )
Savage Shifts.
At an early date, even before combat was merged in triba
warfare, mankind adopted certain crude forms of shifts and con-
trivances for getting the better of, or escaping from the enemy.
And although probably he did not actually copy animals in these
devices, yet natural instinct led him to adopt similar ones to
those of the animal world. Fear made a man creep into a cave
or hollow tree just like it does a wild beast. Cunning taught him
to lie in wait in a jungle and spring on his adversary, in the same
manner as it does a wild cat.
The shifts of the sort we allude to, are found in uncultured
races only, and are remarkable for their cleverness. Very inge-
nious are the ruses ascribed to certain Indian tribes, such as the
Bhils, and others addicted to robbery. It is said that when
pursued across a plain, on which the timber has been destroyed
by fire, leaving only black and half burned stumps, they have
been known to place their clothes under their little shields to look
like stones, while they posed themselves rigid and motionless like
a group of burned trees ; and thus they remained until their
pursuers had passed. Those who know the fleshless and swarthy
Indian tribes, will recognise the possibility of such a disguise ;
and naturalists will recall artifices very similar in the insect
world (2).
Not unlike this is the remarkable ruse, practised we are told
by the Slavs who became such a formidable foe to the Byzantine
Empire in the sixth century. They concealed themselves in
considerable numbers in pools or marshes, breathing only through
reeds for hours, and thus appeziring only like a bed of reeds or
rushes. Such a shift must have been suggested by the habits of
amphibians, but it is in keeping with the dogged patience (really
existing, though often exaggerated) of savage races.
Patience.
As a matter of fact the patience of the savage, so often de-
scanted on by modern writers is somewhat of a misnomer. Re-
cent experiments have shown that the difficulties in making
adequate weapons of stone with the primitive plant at the dis-
posd of savage races, have been much exaggerated. Of course
I — The evidence of the development of wooden forms of any of these
from stone celt or Pat6-pat6 appears utterly inadequate.
2 — Wood's " Natural History of Man," ii., 764.
INTRODUCTORY. 2i
it is true that economy of time is only of importance in advanced
culture. Among natural races this is of no object ; and among
such races as have never reached real civilization, procrastination
itself is often a virtue. So among the Turks and Chinese. Even
the vivacious Arabs say,
" Et-taani min er-rahman, el-ijleh min esh-shaitan."
"Procrastination belongs to God, punctuality to the devil."
a maxim upon which all Orientals still act.
It was of course by means of this leisuredness that the objects
manufactured by natural races were good of their sort. Weapons
and tools of untractable flint necessitated both patience and skill,
when the maker had only bone, stone, wood, and sand to work
with. But modern students have failed to appreciate that rapidity
and dexterity of manipulation which has been happily called the
" knack " of savages. Thus while a writer describes the North
American Indians as expending a whole lifetime over a stone
tomahawk without completing it (i), it has been shown by a
modem American (Mr. J. O. McGuire) that an ordinary stone
axe, may be produced, with a savage's tools, in 50 hours, and a
grooved one of jadeite from a rough spall in less than 100 hours. (2)
It may, nevertheless, be tcdcen as a fact, that most of the
work done under primitive conditions was done well. " Shod-
dy" is a civilized output. The labours of primitive folks, over
the manufacture of their tools and implements, gave them both
recreation and employment, the chipping, grinding, poUshing,
filled the long hours spent by civilized man in reading, writing,
and theatre going ; and often as a change of work from this dull
routine, the clever worker kept in hand some fancy piece which
may have taken months or years to complete.
It is indeed wonderful what good work can be turned out
with the simplest appliances. The Hervey Islanders' paddles
and axe handles are covered with the most minute carving, all
done with sharks teeth or sharp stone. The Fiji clubs carved
as they were with a shell must certainly have taken a long time
to work ; and the " tikis " and " merais " of New Zealand were
often formed of the intensely hard green jade without the aid of
modern tools ; while the war cloak or " Parawi " of the same race
was of dogshair and it is said that one took some four years to
complete ! (3) The Rio Negro tribes, we are told by Tylor (4)
spend years in perforating cyhnders of rock crystal by twirling
a leaf shoot between their hands and thus boring by the aid of
sand and water (5).
I — Lafitau.
2 — O. T. Mason " Origin of Invention," p. 25 and 142.
3 — Wood " Natural history of Man," ii., 124.
4 — Early History of Mankind.
5 — For the same subjects see Evan's " Ancient Stone Implements,"
p. 13-48.
22 INTRODUCTORY.
Decoration and Ornament, EvroENCE of Tribal
Character.
It has been suggested that in the elaboration of ornament
with which some groups of weapons are treated, we may gather
something of the temperament of the races themselves. It is
certainly noticeable that, on examining a large series of native
weapons, we find that generally the truly warlike races, while
making their arms of the most serviceable patterns and keeping
them in the most efficient state, forbear to overload them with
useless decoration. Thus the Tongan, a real warrior and no
boaster, has an excessively simple armament; while the Fiji chiefs
have elaborately carved and ornamented weapons and are noto-
rious for their arrogance and boastfulness. The same thing is
noticeable in costume ; and we may assume that the latter class
seek to obtain their reputation rather by a personal assumption
of martial display than by actual prowess. We hardly know,
however, how far the theory would hold good in a comprehensive
survey of modern and ancient races ; but it is certainly often the
case. As examples we may compare the artistically jewelled and
enamelled weapons of the Indians and Persians, with the simple
swords and scymitars of fierce Turks and the martial Arabs (i).
Personal Strength and Manual Dexterity.
The so-called savage patience leads to other subjects. There
is the power of endurance, which we may here pass over, as not
touching our subject. But the personal strength of the warrior
was an essential feature when all war was more or less hand to
hand. Unfortunately, however, owing to the proneness of man-
kind at cdl periods, to exaggerate when treating of the personal
prowess of tribal or national heroes, nearly all the information we
have on strength and skill is of a very unreliable character.
Nevertheless when we have sufficiently discounted all exag-
gerations, we may still believe that the hard open air life led by
savages and mediaeval soldiery, coupled with the continual prac-
tice with weapons, did in reality produce a development of muscle,
and a degree of personal skill, with which we have nothing to
compare in civilized communities. The range of the bow was
probably nearly 250 yards in reality, though William of Cloudesle
is said to have cleft a hazel wand at 400 paces (2). Again we
are told that an American Indian with a three foot bow could
drive an arrow through a man ; and that some of the best
hunters could even perform the same feat with a bison, the arrow
falling to the ground on the other side of the animal (3). Such
stories of strength can be multiplied ad infinitum. Even more
surprising are travellers' descriptions of the accuracy of aim
I — See also Wood's " Natural History of Man," ii., 599.
2 — Strutt's " Sports and Pastimes," p. 65.
3 — Boutell "Arms and Armour" p. 85. Wood, ii., 651, etc.
INTRODUCTORY. 23
•of savage races. It is related of the Brazilians and natives of
Guinea that their skill is such that in order to kill turtle close at
hand, they can fire in the air with such precision, that the arrows
in falling penetrate the thick shell (i).
We may see how widely observers differ in their accounts of
such things, from reading different travellers on the " wummerah "
or throwing-stick. Klemm said that Australian natives practised
with effect up to 90 yards, and Cook said that a native was more
certain at 55 yarck than Europeans armed with muskets. Wood
also has narrated that he has seen natives throwing spears so
straight with this contrivance that at a range of 80 to 90 yards
a man had to dodge and avoid them in four out of six cases (2 ) !
The observations of later and more scientific writers, how-
ever, seem to warrant our considering these accounts exaggerated.
The truth seems to.be that accurate practice is not made at much
more than 30 yards. Darwin, (3) Oldfield, and Baldwin Spencer,
all practised observers, agree on this. The last named indeed, a
specialist on the subject of the Australian aborigines, says " it
requires an exceptionally good man to kill or disable at more than
20 yards " (4).
There appears to be no doubt, however, that by the aid of the
" wummerah" a spear can be projected over 100 yards. Fraser
says that the experiments made by order of Napoleon shew that
the " wummerah" gives an additional projectile force of 50 yards,
that is over a hand thrown weapon (5). Yet we shall see that
travellers have sometimes described savages as able to project
their spears by hand alone 100 paces. It is therefore very evident
that we must be cautious in accepting all accounts of the physical
powers and skill of warriors, whether they be of William of Clou-
desle's willow wand, or of the " seven hundred chosen men
(Benjamites) left-handed every one could sling stones at an hair
breadth and not miss." (6)
Official, Ceremonial, and Processional Type.
We have spoken of the minute decoration often applied to
savage arms, and the causes which may have led to it. But
decoration and ornament are frequently the characteristics of
certain special groups of non-fighting arms — really imitation
weapons made for either show or emblematic purposes. We
may class them as follows :
1. Ceremonial.
2. Official.
3. Processional.
4. Votive.
I — Wallace's " Amazon," p. 466. Wood ii., 594.
2 — " Natural History," ii., 44.
3 — " Naturalist's Journal."
4 — " Native Tribes of Central Australia " (1899), p. 20.
5 — " Aborigines of New South Wales," p. y^.
6 — Judges, XX., 16.
24 INTRODUCTORY.
But these classes really overlap, since ceremonial types majr
often have been official, and official may have been processional.
Weapons made for votive purposes also, may have been put to
ceremonial purposes.
Ceremonial Weapons and Implements. Such are weapons used
only in connection with a ceremony (religious, civic, or tribal)
and for traditional reasons made in a peculiar type. In this class
we may probably put the Mingaia (Hervey Islands) adzes with
their beautiful and elaborately carved hafts ; and ceremonial axes
are also said to have been found in the South Sea Islands in use
for religious festivals (i). In mediaeval times there are recorded
instances in which axes were employed to mark out boundaries.
In various parts of Polynesia also, highly ornate clubs were
used for ceremonial purposes, and in North America clubs were
used in dances and other ceremonies.
Official Weapons are emblematic of certain office. In
mediaeval times we have the official stave, wand, sceptre, sword,
spear, axe, halberd, mace and baton. There are numerous
modern survivals both in cultured and barbarous communities.
There is the Lord Mayor's sword ; the Kingly sceptre, originally
a rod of office Uke the churchwardens stave or staff. The pastoral
staff is emblematic for it represents the shepherds crook. The
New Zealanders jade merai was a mark of chieftainship ; while to-
turn to early types we have the remarkable stone hammer found
at Corwen in Merionethshire, which is worked all over the
surface with a minute reticulated pattern. It is, however, ques-
tionable, whether this hammer was the official weapon of a
chieftain, or simply a processional object (2).
Processional Weapons are closely related. Of this group we
have a good classical example in the axe bound up in the fasces
of the lictors. Burton in his " Book of the Sword," gives a figure
of a German processional axe in which blade and haft were both
made of wood in one piece (3). Some, however, of these German'
axes had brass heads ; and the prototypes were used by miners in
the 17th century for defence ; while the modern copies are used
as Guild Insignia (4). Instances indeed might be multipUed in
which dummy weapons were carried in processions in all ages and
in all cultures (5).
I — Worsaae " Danish Arts," South Kensington Art Handbook.
2. — The curiously carved and perforated pieces of reindeer horn which
have occurred in Belgian and French caves of the older stone age, have been
termed " Staves of Office," and have been compared with the Poggamoggon
badge of the Mackenzie JRiver Tndian chiefs. It is difficult to see any con-
nection with, or derivations from war weapons. See " Nadaillac " Prehistoric
Peoples," p. 1 1 3-4.
3— P- 91.
4 — Lane Fox's Catalogue, 142, etc.
S — Weapons impossibly large for use are probably processional, but
possibly sometimes votive. In the Military Exhibition at Earl's Court,.
1901, wcis exhibited a large Arab sword apparently of no great antiquity
INTRODUCTORY. 25
Votive Weapons — These, which are considered to be models
of weapons made especially to be used in votive or religious de-
posits, are of two kinds. The first kind consists of full sized
weapons, and these, it should be noticed, are not always easy ta
distinguish from real arms. In the other class we find copies which
though evidently not weapons, are not easy to separate from per-
sonal ornaments, such as the celt shaped heads we have already
described. In both groups it is worth notice that the axe, double
or single bladed, is a favourite type of weapon. In Denmark,
unused flint axes have been found buried, and associated in such a
way with pottery and amber, as to leave little doubt that they
were votive offerings or deposits (i). Similarly in the bog finds
of the older bronze age in the same country, highly ornamented
bronze axes have occurred from which their weight, and the awk-
ward position of the handle socket in the blade, are conjectured
to have been made for votive rather than real use. (2). It is, how-
ever, difficult to see why in such carefully made objects such an
important feature should be deliberately misplaced. Again in
the same country lance heads and axes of the later bronze age are
found in which the metal is so thin that for actual war they would
be little or no use (3). Votive axes of small size of precious metal
have been found at Mycenae and Crete (4) ; but, in fact, the axe
(generally double-bladed) enters very largely into the symbolism
of early Mycenaean (or ^gean) and Greek art. It is common oa
Greek coins and Mycenaean gems, and as a Hieroglyph is found in
the Egyptian, Cretan, Cypriote, and Hittite scripts.
What is to be gathered from all this symbolism and supersti-
tion which we find associated everywhere with arms of attack. As
far as can be judged, we may follow out the lines on which these
sentiments were developed somewhat in this wise: From the first
from one of the Kairwan mosques. Weapons of this character occasionally
f>ccur in the bronze age. In Canon Greenwell's collection there is a huge
weapon in type like the ordinary bronze age dagger, but the blade is 2 ft.
2^ inches long, and 3^0 4 inches wide. There are none of the usual rivet
holes to fasten a handle. This curious object is from Beaune France, and
has recently been published in Archseologia, vol. 58, p. 45, by Canon Green-
well who thinks it was used as a slashing instrument at the end of a long
handle. There are, however, several of these huge bronze daggers in the
museum of St. Germain's, Paris, and they might be either processional or
votive. In Canon Greenwell's collection there is also a bronze spear head
from Croydon 34^ inches long. The extreme length is made by a long taper-
ing point, which might be removed and leave a serviceable weapon. Pos-
sibly it was a bit of fancy casting. In the Louvre is a remarkable weapon
found by M. de Sarzec at Tello ? It is thus described in the official hand
book. " Point de lance colassale en cuivre, om. 14 de large sur om. 80 de
long. Un lion dress^ gravt' sur la lame en forme de grande fenille lanc/ole^ ;.
a la base un inscription royale ; arme votive probablement."
I — Worsaae,' Danish Arts," S.K.H. 30. 2. — Idem. p. 64. 3. — Idem
p. 85. 4. — There are also the so-called votive swords from Teti in Sardinia
(PerrotandChipiez" Art in Sardinia Judaea," etc, i., 74), but the strange form
of these objects, with the curious combinations of animal and human forma
raises much doubt as to their object, and what they really represent.
-a6 • INTRODUCTORY.
the nature of man was combative ; so that at a very early period
personal prowess, or rather success, was looked on as a distinct
gift of the God or Gods. Hence combat itself was invested with
a sacred character, and symbolic representations of weapons
(themselves the attributes of combat) were made either for the
decoration of the sanctuary itself or for use as votive offerings.
When this stage was reached, it is easy to understand that the
temple models themselves soon became objects of worship or
adoration (of which we shall give instances), but in other cases
the sword became the brother warrior of the hero himself, and
was named and sung of by scalds as a quick thing. The survival
of these sentiments is to be found in the ceremonial, processional,
and official types we have mentioned ; but it is curious that
certain weapons, such as the bow, sling, or blow tube, seem,
apparently, from their own unsuitability never to have been
adopted in this manner.
Weapon Worship.
Instances of the actual adoration of weapons are not wanting
either in early times, nor among modern " natural " races. On
ancient Chaldaean cylinder-seals, we find the battle-axe, mace, and
scourge, all represented as objects of worship. The god Quirinus
{quiris-a. spear) was worshipped by the early Romans as a lance
or spear. The inhabitants of the East Pontic coast apparently
worshipped a sword as an emblem of Mars,(i), and the custom was
repeated or continued down to the days of Attila and Jenghiz
Khan. (2).
Moreover there are numerous modern examples, and Col.
Lane Fox (3) has done something towards collecting them. In
Africa we find that the Sultan of Haussa had running slaves who
carried spears for his use (4), while the Sultan of Bornu, a timid
chieftain, was accompanied by men bearing charmed symbolical
spears, which were supposed to have the power to defend him,
since it was beneath his dignity to defend himself. Lane Fox
suggests that after the death of such a ruler, such symbols might
become real fetishes. The Musghu had a spear idol ; and similar
customs have been noted among the Baghirmi and the Marghi.
Symbolical spears have also been recorded as in use in the South
Pacific ; and a halberd among the Eskimo.
Sometimes to the weapons themselves were attributed mystic
or supernatural powers. In the Arthurian romances we find
swords which could not or would not be drawn from their scabbard,
I — Ammianus.
2 — See Burton's " Book of the Sword," p. 227. Dr. Arthur Evans also
cites Mycenaean vases shewing upright axes placed between horns. On the
Hittite sculptures at Pterium a sword stuck erect in the ground, etc. " Tree
and Pillar Cult," p. 9.
3 — Catalogue, p. 102-3,
4 — Denham and Clapperton's travels.
INTRODUCTORY. 27
or from some stone, save by some spotless knight ; and we read
of luminous spears which moved by themselves, and were accom-
panied by the sound of human speech.
Baptism of Arms.
Or the weapon was itself regarded by its owner as a familiar,
and was always spoken of by a name like a fellow being. These
weapon names are curious, and there is a family likeness in them
wherever they occur. Thus the Fijians called their clubs by such
names as "smasher," or "dispenser," (i), while we hear of a
Zulu club called " He who watches the fords," or of an assegai
" Hunting Leopard." (2).
In the Sagas we continually read of swords with names.
We have " Leg-biter " (Barefoots Saga), " Mill- biter," and
"Quern-biter" (Tryggvason's Saga), (3) and all through mediaeval
times we can trace the same idea. Wieland's sword was " Mi-
mung," Beowulf's " Hrunting " ; and in Arthurian Romance
we have King Arthur's sword " Excalibur," and that of Bevis
" Morglay."
The Abuse of Arms.
To this point we have tried to some degree to trace the de-
velopment of the earlier methods of attack and of the weapons
themselves. We have seen how the arm was glorified, ennobled
and even adored ; how in every stage of society men fell imder a
sort of glamour of arms, which everywhere left its mark in tra-
dition or superstition.
Yet so prone to evil is mankind, than no sooner were the earlier
stages of culture reached than a process set in, under which the
arms of combat were degraded to base or unfair uses. This is the
Abuse of Arms ; and although as we shall see, weapons by which
excessive suffering was inflicted, and methods by which what was
really unfair advantage could be taken of the enemy, were early
adopted, it was by no means universally that these types usurped
the place of the fair-play weapons among really barbarous races.
Barbs. — Probably the earliest " abuse " practised, would be
the adoption of barbs or back-turned spines near the arrow or
spear point. ,To races which tipped their darts with sharks
teeth or thorns, the value of barbing would soon be noticed, or
possibly the leaf shaped flint spear head itself would suggest it.
■Of course the efficacy of a spear was much increased at the expense
I — Wood's " Natural History of Man," ii., 278.
2 — Tylor's " Primitive Culture," p. 303.
3 — See also Demmin " Arms and Armour," p. 147. Du Chaillu (Vik-
ing Age, ii., 83) has collected many poetical names of swords, axes, spears,
and arrows. Thus for sword we find " Gleam of the battle," " Thorn of the
Shields"; for spears "The Pole of Odin," "Serpent of Blood"; and for
arrows " The Hail of the worms," " The Twigs of the corpse." For axes
" The Witch of the battle," " The Wolf of the wound." " Corpseworm " and
" Warflame " are other sword names (Eredwellers Saga). The New Zea-
landers have the same custom.
28 INTRODUCTORY.
of suffering, but probably in most cases barbs were first employed
for the chase ; for with a dragging spear a wounded animal would
be much more generally recovered, than one struck with equal
force by a simple sharpened shaft.
Nevertheless in barbing the evidence of barbarity is often
very clear. The Papuans and Fijians barbed their arrows with the
thorn of the sting ray, or sometimes actually with human bones.
And Schweinfurth has described the great variety of barbs found
among the races of Africa, some of them being the very essence
of refined cruelty. One type, fortunately not common, was
formed by covering the shaft with barbs pointing both back-
wards and forwards, so that the movement of the spear in either
direction only tore and lacerated the wound, and the weapon
could not be drawn. This is found in the Bechuana assegai
called " Koreh."
A further development was the addition of a detachable head
to the spear or arrow, which became loose when anything was
struck, and remained fixed in the wound. The device was dis-
tinctly barbarous, though it was universally adopted (i).
Poison. — Although the use of poison was undoubtedly a
nature imitation, it may be counted as an " abuse," since it is
not always possible to recognise an arrow as poisoned by looking
at it. Therefore poison was a secret and very fatal arm. In
origin, however, it is probable it was always used in hunting, for
with unpoisoned weapons a large number of wounded beasts
escaped, which if struck with poisoned weapons were recovered,
and with most of the poisons used, the meat was not rendered
unfit for food. As might be expected, the use of poisoned arms
was most general in tropical countries, but it was certainly known
to the ancient Asiatics, and it lasted, though often condemned,
into mediaeval culture. The theory therefore that it was charac-
teristic of naturally weak races does not appear proved.
Inflammable Missiles, the origin of our firearms, seem to
have been adopted at the stage where individual combats were
superseded by the more organized war of tribes or communities.
In a later chapter we shall show that such weapons may have
been used by continental Lake dwellers ; and they were certainly
employed by some of the early cultured races such as the Assy-
rians.
Other Examples. — We need not search far for other develop-
ments showing the natural cruelty of the human race. The noose
developed on the one hand into the lasso, a " fair-play " weapon
1 — It is questionable if we must regard the cruel looking serrated sharks
tooth weapons of the Pacific and elsewhere as examples of " abuse." As
pointed out elsewhere they seem to be taken from nature models — the races
who made them being perhaps ill provided with materials for weapons of
simple type ; and consequently copying the jaws of sharks and other large
fish, or the saws of sawfish. The fish teeth provided a ready supply for tlie
weapons themselves.
INTRODUCTORY. 29
requiring great skill and practice ; but under different conditions
it became the strangling noose of the Indian assassins or Thugs,
and perhaps the garroters bandage and hangman's rope. The
tearing and ripping power of the jaw and claw of certain wild
beasts, suggested such horrible weapons as the Indian Baghnak
(Wagnakh) or tiger claw, which was used in a high stage of culture;
and the sharks tooth gauntlet of Samoa. The iron boomerangs
of the Hunga Munga type of Africa, are armed with auxihary
knives or blades, and, barbarous as they are, betray only the same
recklessness of bloodshed, which is noticeable in the spiked maces
and war flails of the middle ages. The Roman Flagrum or scourge
had lashes which terminated in large sharp metal hooks. Chariots
with scythes or hooks on the wheels were used in ancient Persia
if not in Assyria ; and animals to which blazing inflammables
were secured, were utilized even in Biblical times. Calthrops, or
■spikes buried in the earth, were made use of to check the advance
of cavalry or a barefooted foe both by the ancients, and by modern
inhabitants of the Far East. And in modern civilized warfare
it is not difficult alas, to trace the self same tendencies in numerous
appliances. The expanding bullet, submarine torpedo and
■entanglements are fair examples of civiUzed barbarity.
Chivalry and Barbarity.
The pregnant vigour of mediaeval Europe was productive of
the strangest anomahes. On the one side of the picture we find
the strange excrescence termed chivalry (or knighthood) which
developed into a fanciful fusion of barbarous sentiments, and
unattainable ideals. The code was an unnatural one originating
apparently partly in the feudal system, and partly in the religious
bigotry aroused by the Asiatic onslaughts on the Byzantine empire
which represented Christianity. Under it, combat of honour
became a rite almost reserved apart for knighthood or gentle
blood ; and noble, knight, prelate, and poet alike, strutted and
plumed themselves on a dunghill of arrogance and corruption,
which they falsely named " honour."
For a dunghill it was, a midden from the lair of the dragon of
semi-culture, whose sucklings are cruelty, pride and deceit. The
blazoned tabard of chivalry was but donned to hide a human
lust for blood. And on this, the dark side of the picture, we find
what we have not seen before — organized systems of cruelty —
the inventions of man to torture fellow-man. The cudgel the
knout, the axe, and the sword, all true weapons of war, but which
had been heretofore used when delinquents were punished, were
now superseded by mechanical instruments of torture devised
-with devilish ingenuity by trained experts in cruelty. This is
the climax of the Abuse of arms, and the subject is a sickening
one, which fortimately we are not called on to follow here (i).
I — Here is a short list of torture instruments compiled largely from a
catalogue, of the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot's Nurem burg collection. Flesh
30 INTRODUCTORY.
Nevertheless it was during the late middle ages (if it is right
to name thus the 14th, 15th, and i6th centuries) that the golden
age of true weapons of attack and defence occurred. This was
the period when sword, dagger, and lance were produced with the
greatest beauty and variety of shape, the truest balance, the
highest efficiency of type, the most tasteful ornament, and the
best temper of steel. Nevertheless the degeneration of hand arms
had really commenced with the adoption of gunpowder as an
arm of attack in the 14th century. As long as gunpowder re-
mained an auxiliary arm only, the hand weapons could and did
improve, but as soon as explosives became the premier factor in
attack, the fate of the " arme blanche " was determined. At that
date the mechanic, the chemist, and the locksmith stepped into-
the places of the armourer, the smith and the artist in the metal
ornament and design. Little by little the personal arms were
modified or disused. The dagger disappeared, the sword became
coarse and ugly, and the lance more or less a symbol. Then came
the 19th century in which all the experience of the world cul-
minated and was embodied m the strange medley of modern
armament : in torpedoes, great guns, revolvers, and such like.
Perhaps another such war as those in S. Africa and Manchuria, and
we shall see the final disappearance of the sword and lance which
until the 20th century have beeh retained by officers and cavalry,
and faithfully represented the older types of arms of attack.
The Bowels of Compassion.
But even among most primitive and barbarous communities,
there is evidence that mankind was not entirely destitute of
compassion. We know that from the Neolithic period (and pos-
sibly even in the Palaeolithic) and through the bronze age the
wounded and suffering were tended, nursed to some degree, and
even surgically operated on. On the continent there have been
many discoveries of human skulls, bones and skeletons in which
flint arrowheads or portions of other weapons have been found em-
bedded ; and it has been noticed that in frequent instances, the
wounds were of such a severe character that the injured individual
could not have survived for a long time (as they did) if they had
not been cared for, and nursed. Even in Neolithic times, frac-
tured limbs were neatly and successfully set ( i) .
Pincers, Shackles, Mouth Opener, Brank, Iron Crown, Torture Garter,
Branding Iron, Manacle, Thumbikins, Shame Mask, various Scourges, Hand
Screws, Spiked Collar, Red-hot foot glove. Flesh Tongs, Rack, Spiked Hare
Roller, Catchpole, Tongue Tearer, Mouth-gag, Chastity belt. Penitents
(Barbed Wire) Girdle, Finger and Toe Pincers, Iron Spider, (flesh tearer).
Iron Braces, Strangling Bow String, Foot Squeezer, Wheel, Guillotine,
Spanish Mantle or Drunkards cloak. Stocks, Ducking Stool, Spiked Torture
Seat, Ditto Cradle, Stretching Gallows (the fearful Eliza), Spanish Donkey,
German Maiden, Jougs, Finger Pillory, Scottish Maiden, The Peine forte
et dure.
I — Dr. Prunieres. quoted in Nadaillac, " Manners and Customs,"
p. 256.
INTRODUCTORY. 31
But primitive surgery went further than the setting of fractured
limbs. Trepanation or the removal of damaged bone from the
skull was practised on the continent from Neolithic to Merovingian
times (i), and discoveries have revealed similar cases in North
Africa, South America, and Japan. The evidence shews that this
prehistoric trepanation was real treatment for actual wounds of
the skull, and for diseases of the bone such as osteitis or caries.
The operation was performed on both living and dead subjects ;
the former being frequently successful, since the wounds were
often fairly well healed. The object of the posthumous trepana-
tion remains obscure (2). In these surgicad operations we find
that not only pieces of bone were removed from the skull, but
sometimes portions of other skulls were let into the hole ; and that
this was also practised both on living and dead subjects.
Various methods seem to have been adopted by the operators.
The trepanation of living subjects appears often to have been
effected by means of a drill, and in posthumous cases with a chisel
or saw of flint. In some cases the patient had undergone a
number of operations ; and how severe some of these were may
be gathered from the fact that in one case there was a perforation
having a diameter of 16 inches (3).
At first sight these facts eire surprising, and they are certainly
creditable both to the intelligence and humanity of unciviUzed
man. They show us that there was in his nature something
higher than cruelty and destruction. They tell us that even in
early times man's pity for human suffering was aroused, and his
ingenuity exercised for the alleviation of pain among his fellows.
We must not, however, over-estimate the skill of this surgery.
Trepanation is not a very dangerous operation, though it is seldom
practised now except in very critical cases, in which death often
follows from other causes. Modern uncultured races still fre-
quently practise it with success, and it is even known among the
Australian aborigines.
1 — In France, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Austria, and Russia.
2 — It has been suggested that in American instances, we see something
akin to scalping ; but the presumption is that in all cases it was symbolic or
pertaining to ritual.
3 — Nadaillac " Manners and Customs," p. 276 from which most of the
above details are taken.
chapter ii.
The Genesis of Arms.
A mighty forest, where the very air is stagnant, and the
sunbeams cannot come. The gloom is oppressive, and the
moisture steams up hke from a cauldron. The air is full of
sound, hushed, modulated, indescribable. Yet all is pregnant
\vith life. Let us stand and listen. Far up, where the leafy
boughs reach the outer air, birds flutter and chirp. Below,
monkeys and small apes swing, and chatter among the fruits.
Reptiles crawl noiselessly in the grasses ; and in the stagnant
pools, what look like rocks are the snouts of" great amphibans.
In one part of this forest where the tropical lightening has
destroyed some trees, and the sun has penetrated and somewhat
dried the soil, live two beings known to their comrades as Popo
and Gugu. Popo and Gugu and their fellows are so alike that
we find it hard to tell one from the other. They are about 4| feet
high, hairy on the back, but less so on the face and belly, where
the skin is dull yellow. Their legs are short and bent, but their
arms very long and powerful, for though they eat lizards small
snakes and insects, when they can catch them, their food is
mainly the succulent fruits and nuts near the tree tops ; and to
obtain these they have to clamber the trees and hanging tendrils,
and swing like baboons from branch to branch. They also dig
up with their powerful fingers roots which lie in the spongy
earth ; and in fact they make but little use of their legs, for even
when attacked by wild animals, as they frequently are, they
effect their escape, not by flight on foot, but by swinging them-
selves up into the branches, and clambering away among the
leaves. Except when frightened however, Popo and Gugu
prefer to remain on the ground, though even there they seldom
stand erect. They have found a few great hollow trees, and
when they are all huddled inside these, the warmth of their
bodies dries the wood and the leaves, and they pile a heap of
stones before the opening to keep out wild animals. Sometimes
they occupy crannies and caves in the rocks, but in spite of their
care and their nimbleness in flight, some of them are often killed
by the reptiles and beasts of the forest. They never hunt any
animals bigger than the small monkeys, but these are so cunning
that they do not often catch one, unless it is disabled by age or
sickness. In fact, Popo and Gugu and their friends spend as
much of their time in avoiding the larger creatures as they do
34 THE GENESIS OF ARMS.
in hunting for and catching the lizards, frogs, spiders, or other
small animals which do not move fast enough to escape.
In the little colony the women are smaller, hairier, and more
active than the men. If we watch, we shall see that they are
running about, or clambering the tangled growth collecting nuts
and berries, which they bring to the heavier and lazier males.
There is one exception. Ummah is the beauty, and she, instead
of working, sits in the warmest nook she can find, and expects
the biggest and strongest of the males to bring her food and fruit.
Popo and Gugu are the strongest and most active of the men,
and day by day they vie with each other which can find and
bring to Ummah the finest fruits and the biggest nuts. She,
womanlike, sometimes accepts the gifts of one, sometimes of the
other, so that Popo and Gugu are ever quarreUing and bickering
with each other.
One day matters come to a crisis. Popo is light and nimble,
and Gugu thick-set and clumsy. A marvellous bunch of berries
hangs on a slender branch near Ummah's sheltered nook, and
though Gugu dare not venture his weight, the active Popo climbs
along and secures it. Now, when Popo and Gugu bring their
gifts to Ummah, her eyes sparkle at the sight of the big bunch of
Popo, which she seizes with avidity, while she petulantly dashes
away the big leaf full of nuts which is Gugu's offering. Gugu
is mad with jealousy, and seizing a great rough branch fallen from
the tree above, he makes a wild blow at Popo. But Popo is too
quick, and drops nimbly on his back, while the great branch
whirls over his head. In doing so, his hand falls on a big
stone, and as though an inspiration had seized him, mechanically
he seizes it and hurls it straight at his rival. The stone strikes
Gugu on the forehead, shatters his skull and kills him.
Gugu the heavy and strong, the biggest of his race, is dead ;
and it is Popo the cunning, quick and small, that has slain him.
Popo therefore became the owner of Ummah, and it is the
history of their family that we shall now relate. Their life was a
happy one, and they had many sons, all of whom were trained to
use the great branch club and throwing stone, the use of which
had been discovered in the memorable conflict. After a time,
however, the family were compelled by the ferocious animals
infesting the forest to abandon it as a home, and being of different
temperaments, they dispersed, and settled in districts considera-
bly separated from each other.
And this is how they chose their homes. The eldest son
settled on a rich plain ; the second in the open desert. The
third in a cave by a river. The fourth and fifth near some
marshes. The sixth on a plain near a forest, while the seventh
inhabited a part of the forest itself, and the eighth took up his
residence in a woodland country.
Now the plain on which the eldest brother settled was rich
THE GENESIS OF ARMS. 95
and fertile, and abounded with deer and other game. But the
soil was alluvial, and he could find no loose stones to throw at the
animals. Yet he soon had many weapons, for he found the
great leg bones of big beasts, which had been killed and devoured
by carnivora, and these he formed into clubs. Later he found
the pointed horns shed by deer, and of the longer ones he made a
sort of javelin, while with the very small ones he tipped long
canes, which his fourth brother, who lived near the marsh,
brought him. These javelins and hand spears he learned to
throw very cleverly, and soon he was able to kill birds and even
gazelles and other small animals, so that his offsprings became
great hunters and eaters of flesh.
The second brother was of a morose and moody temper; and
loving solitude, he settled with his wife near a spring of water,
which bubbled up in a tiny oasis in the open desert. Here he
had little opportunity for using his club, and no material to
make new ones ; in fact, at first he could only subsist on small
animals and birds which he managed to knock over with his
throwing stone when they came to drink. He, however, found
sharp flints lying in the desert spUt by the frost, and improving
on these by blows with another flint he invented the hand chopper,
with which he both skinned the animals he killed, and dug up
roots. He was, however, savage by nature, and hunger and
privation made him more so. At last in a quarrel with his wife
he killed her with his flint chopper, and being without other food
he ate her. The dreadful repast was taken part in by other
members of his family, and from him came a race of cannibals.
The third brother took up his abode in a cave which he
found in the face of a cliff overhanging a broad river. Great
trees overhung the water edge, and as he sat in his cave he watched
the birds which circled overhead. At these he threw his club,
but finding it heavy he made some light ones, with which, he by
and bye learned to hit the birds which settled in the branches.
These clubs frequently fell into the river and were lost, but one
day, being tempted to throw his club at a fine heron flapping
across the river, he was astonished to see that the wind caught
and brought it back to dry land. This club was flatfish, with a
bend, and he soon learned that he could make his club return
towards himself. All his family learned this art, and the tribe
which descended from them were throwers of the boomerang
and great eaters of birds.
The fourth and the fifth brothers lived close together on
the same river as the third but further down its course, where it
opened into great stagnant marshes, on the margins of which
grew tall reeds and bamboos. The fourth brother selected the
straight reeds, and rubbing the narrow end to a sharp point, he
amused himself by throwing them at birds, and even fish basking
36 THE GENESIS OF ARMS.
near the surface of the water. Afterwards he improved on this
weapon, for the first brother gave him a small gazelle's horn,
and the second brother a sharp flint point, which he fitted on his
bamboo point. All his family became skilled in the use of the
spear, and sometimes together managed to kill one of the larger
of the wild beasts. They were great eaters of fish and flesh, and
it was this tribe which invented the blowing tube by placing a
light reed dart inside one of the bigger bamboo spears.
The fifth brother however, who lived with him, was the
discoverer of the paddle. He was a great swimmer, and often
when the river was in flood he would get astride of a floating log
and sail down with the flow of the stream. One day, however,
he was doing so, when he was attacked by a big crocodile, and
striking at it with his club he found that the splashing had brought
his boat to the shore. The next club he made he fashioned
with a broad end, and used it when on his log to direct his course,
and this pleased him so, that he lived much on the river, paddling
his log and throwing his reed at the fish. His family made reed
paddles, thus improving on his implement, which was either club
or paddle as was required, and the tribe which sprang from
them lived in houses built over the water on piles, and were
great fish eaters.
The sixth brother was the inventor of the bola. He lived on
an open plain bordering on the forest. Across this plain ran a
ravine with a rivulet, in which were water- worn pebbles of all
sizes and shapes. One day, searching for suitable throwing
stones he found a holed pebble, through which had grown a
tough and pliable root. This he got out of the stream, and
swinging it round his head, he was surprised to see how far it flew
on being released. Then he got a strip of hide from the eighth
brother, and with it replaced the root, and this made a weapon
equally good for either throwing or striking. His son invented
the pouch sling, by observing the ball fly with great power on the
breaking of the knot at the end of the thong. And this tribe with
the shng found little difficulty in killing the gazelles which were
not easily come at either with club, boomerang or reed. These
bola users and slingers were very great hunters and eaters of flesh.
The seventh brother was of a cruel and treacherous nature.
Since he made no friends, he remained in the forest, and he was
for ever quarrelling and fighting with all he came across. Besides
being quarrelsome, he was of great strength, so that men feared
him and fled at his approach. He improved on his striking club,
making one with a curved end, so that he could catch or trip up a
passing or flying adversary : and thus all his time was taken up in
quarrelling and slaying his fellows. He grew to care little for
hunting animals, and he and his family became like the second
brother, eaters of human flesh.
THE GENESIS OF ARMS. 37
The youngest of the eight brothers was in his way the
cleverest of all. His home was in a beautiful scattered woodland
abounding with game and interspersed with broad open glades
and lawns. So swift and active was he that he would Ue in
wait, and springing out he would overtake and catch a small
deer. His mind, like that of the seventh brother, was bent on
catching things, though wild beasts not his fellows, were his
prey. One day he found in the thicket a gazelle fastened tight
by a natural noose of tangled creeper. This noose he at once
imitated with a long tough tendril, and he placed it so cunningly
in the " trod" of an antelope that it was caught and strangled.
Then he went further ; he formed a loose noose of twisted thong,
and hiding in the foUage of a big tree, he dropped the noose over
the heads of animals as they passed beneath. His family all
used this dropping noose, and afterwards taking to throwing it,
theyTdeveloped the lasso. This tribe became very great hunters
and flesh eaters ; but the lasso they also used in war.
PART II.
chapter iii.
Arming the Hand.
Unhafted Appliances for Striking, Bruising, and
Ripping.
In the Vedas we see Indra, armed with a wooden club seizing
a stone with which to pierce Vritra, the genius of evil. Here we
have embodied the tradition of a very primitive human arma-
ment : the simple club to batter or " bray " with, and the simple
stone to hack with, or hurl at your enemies head.
Note, however, that it is specified that the stone was for
piercing, and was therefore edged or pointed either by art or by
nature ; the use of a gashing stone such as is evidently meant,
implies the elements of intention and design — in fact a primitive
culture. The fist alone, bare and clenched, or opened for clawing,
was the first arm of attack ; but very soon an unshaped stone or
cobble was used, which weighted it and added force to the blow.
As soon as the effectiveness of the weighted fist was noted,
a step was made in the evolution of the arm of attack. By using
an oblong stone instead of a cobble, a greater reach was obtained,
and the assailant did not smash his knuckles on his adversaries
head. This gave rise to a short hand club of stone, which how-
ever never developed, because the wooden club was better and
more easily obtained. The combination of wood with stone
came later.
Yet curiously enough the weighted fist left traces in a
variety of curious types. It survived into advanced culture in
such forms as boxing gloves, war bracelets and gauntlets, and
knuckle dusters. Most of these we shall again notice, but the
point to observe is that practically all this group are either (a)"
sporting, (b) treacherous or murderous, or (c) purely barbarous
and hardly to be classed as fair play weapons. The fact is that
the human hand whether weighted, or provided with cutters or
talons was soon found ineffective in attack or defence when
matched with even a club. In consequence the type was rele-
gated to simple contests of strength and skill, or to the uses of
secret treachery.
The simple unshaped hand stone as a pounding or crushing
utensil was universal among the less cultured races, and still is
common among the poorer sections of most communities. But
probably the most primitive of all the shaped hand weapons, were
certain palaeolithic types, which from their rounded butts are
42
ARMING THE HAND.
conjectured with probability to have been used unhafted as
choppers or gashers. Of these we give a figure
(fig. i), but we should remark that the line of
demarcation between these and hand daggers and
hand axes is hard to define. Some of the forms would
inflict a bruise or gash, while others would be found
to make a real cut or pierced wound. Even in the
i8th century the inhabitants of Grand Canary used
sharp hand flints in duels (i), and at the beginning
of the 19th century, the Tasmanians used unhafted,
unpoUshed hatchets, and other weapons (2).
There is also evidence that weapons of the
polished " celt " type were sometimes used unhafted
in the hand, both by prehistoric and modern races.
This is curious, because the type seems certainly
inappropriate for such use ; and one would think
that a race cultured enough to shape the stone
would not overlook the great value of hafting.
Yet in such a way celts were used by the Botocudos,
who also used them hafted ; and also in different
parts of Australia (3). Lane Fox has figured two
large weapons from Ireland, celt-like in type, which
seem to have been shaped at the butt end to be
grasped in the hand (see Fig. 2). These are shown
on a plate illustrating the transition from Celt, by
the Patii-patii type, to paddle-spear and sword 7,,
forms (4).
It does not appear that stone
clubs were ever regularly used as
weapons ; and indeed such a clumsy
type could only be adapted where
durable and not heavy stone occured
in lengths (a very rare combination)
and where the infinitely more suitable
material of wood was unattainable.
We find indeed that rude clubs of
stone, some with formed handles,
and ranging in length from 10 to 21
inches have been found in Shetland
- and Orkney (see Fig. 4) and although
3 the suggestions which have been
made at times as to their use are
I — We shall describe this case under clubs.
2 — Proiessor Tylor at British Assoc, 1900.
3 — "Ancient Stone Implements," 153. In the British Museum there
is a very fine axe shaped blade of stone from Hawaii, 9 inches long, labelled
"for cutting wood," Fig. 3.
4—" Primitive Warfare," Joum. R.U.S.I., xii., p. 421 PI. xix.
ARMING THE HAND.
41
riV-
/ ('. )!
not very convincing, the best opinions are that they are not of
great antiquity (i). Perhaps they were for domestic
J$',\^h|^ purposes, possibly for some sort of game ; but they
i^m ^^ sufficiently club like in appearance to merit notice.
rPwk There is, however, in the British Museum a well-
formed stone club with a handle, about 15 inches
long, and flatfish in shape, from Queen Charlotte
Sound, N.W. Coast of America. (Fig. 5).
We now come to a remarkable type, which has
attracted considerable attention, yet the origin of
which, like the bow, remains a debateable
question. This is the
Patii-Patii or Merai of
New Zealand ; but as a
matter of fact the type is
not confined to these
islands nor even to Aus-
tralasia, for although New
Zealand appears to be the
true home, examples have
been quoted from the
West Coast of America,
j,Mi;j and kindred forms from
i'lif; Australia and New
Guinea. (2).
The Patu-Patii may
be roughly described as )^\\\\
something between a
cricket bat and a tennis
racket in shape, but with
a handle formed for the
grasp of one hand only,
and no projecting shoul-
der. The weapofi is gen-
erally between 14 and 20 inches long, and the
normal form in stone is edged at the rounded
end, and also along some portion of the sides
from the end. In all, or most cases there is a „. -
hole near the handle end for suspension. Fig. 6. MO
In New Zealand this curious weapon was
sometimes formed of the intensely hard green
)
I
I
I — Mitchell " The Past in the present," 136.
ments" 230.
" Ancient Stone Imple-
2 — In the British Museum is a series of rudely formed stone clubs from
Chatham Island which need only to be polished to be Merais. Nootka
Sound, Peru, and Brazil are mentioned by Lane Fox, and a copper one from
Michigan was exhibited in 1876 at Philadelphia, but as far as is known this
is the only example in metal. (E. H. Knight " A Study of the Savage
weapons at Philadelphia," 1876).
44 ARMING THE HAND.
jade, beautifully finished and highly polished. Such weapons
were the possessions of great chiefs, and being emblematic of
the chieftainship were hereditary. Wood mentions one as
weighing 2 lbs. 6 oz.
Turning, however, to the wooden sorts, we frequently find a
marked variation. Many of these examples are one edged, or
speaking accurately having their sides unsymmetrical, one
being convex in outline and sharp, the other concave and often
ornamentally carved. The sharp edged is con-
tinued right round the end with a sweeping
curve till the concave curve is joined. (See
" Cutting Instruments," Fig. 147).
Now the question is, are these sym-
metrical and unsymmetrical types variations
from one original ? Further, if they are, which,
if either, is the prototype ? Lane Fox has no
doubt that the weapons are the same ; for
his theory is that types originally symmetrical
were as a rule reproduced either curved to one
side or dimidiated ; and that such variations
depended on the purposes to which the weapon
was applied.
We should not accept this proposition as proved. To begin
with, though there are various theories as to the origin of the
two types, and though most are plausible, they do not bear out
each other. For instance Burton calls it "an arrested develop-
ment prevented becoming a sword," and says "The shape Uke
that of an animal's blade bone suggests its primitive material." (i ).
Lane Fox, however, rejects the blade bone theory, and arguing
from the fact that the Patii-Patu is generally sharp at the end,
and is often used to prod with, favours the idea that it is really
a development from the celt used in the hand (2). Professor
T. Mc.K. Hughes, considers that the unsymmetrical bone types
were suggested by actual jaw bones, some of the smaller
examples being, in fact, jaw bones of the smaller mammals, and
some of the larger constructed from the jaws of cetaceans (3).
Perhaps we have in reality distinct weapons from distinct
prototypes. The stone symmetrical Merai may represent a long
hand celt ; and the one-sided Patii-Patii of stone or bone may be
suggested by a natural bone as Professor Hughes says. But in
all probability the retention of these short types was the result
of special natural conditions, which to students well acquainted
with New Zealand ought to be easily recognised ; though they are
certainly not apparent to the present writer. It is said that in
I — " Book of the Sword," 47.
2 — Catalogue, p. 68, and Joum R.U.I.S., li., p. 421 and pi. xix.
3 — "On the Natural Forms which have suggested some of the commonest
implements,"Arch. Joum. Iviii., p. 199, etc.
ARMING THE HAND.
45
attacking with the Merai, the weapon is first directed at the chin
or temple with a prod or thrust, and that this is followed up by
a blow. This method it is thought, is evidence of its develop-
ment from the celt which is edged at the end, and it would
therefore be desirable to know if it is the stone Merai only that
is thus used. Since, however, the Merai is also a missile we attach
little weight to this theory (i).
In Advanced Culture.
The armed hand sur-
vived as we have said, into
conditions of later culture,
but either in the form of
sporting appliances, or for
secret or treacherous use ; or
at any rate as purely bar-
barous weapons.
Boxing, which is the art
of fighting with the fist,
either bare or clenched, or
else weighted, is now and
always was widely spread.
The cestus of Greece existed
even in heroic times, when,
however, it was a mere wrap-
ping of leathern thongs (Fig.
S) to be displaced, as civilization advanced, by a knuckle-duster
heavily weighted with metal knobs. The Egyptians, however, it
is said, did not know boxing or the cestus, although in a group
at the Beni-Hassan tombs, combatants are depicted apparently
striking each other. The Romans boxed with the fist, and so did
the Lusitanians, while among modern " Barbarians," it is, or was,
practised in Polynesia, by the Haussas, Central Africans, and
Russian peasants. At the Court of the Great Mogul, among other
sorts of combatants, there were Persian and Turani wrestlers
and boxers (2).
The methods of hand boxing vary much, or rather primitive
boxing seems to have been very different to the present methods
of the " ring." The Etruscan vases shew combatants with both
hands gloved or rather " mittened," and striking with the
<Jenched fist, while they parry their adversaries blows with the
other hand wide open. (See Fig. 9, next page. )
I — See also Joum, Anthrop. Instit. xxx., PI. iv., for some remarkable
instruments from Pitcairn Island. These are apparently large edged celts
to hold in the hand. They appear to me too long and heavy to haft ( 1 5 to
19 inches). I cannot help thmking that they were used much like the Pat6
Patfi, but then the outline is somewhat suggestive of their following metal
types. Exhibited by J. A. 3rown, F.G.S.
2 — Egerton's " Indian Arms," 146.
46
ARMING THE HAND.
Haussa boxing as described by Major Denham seems very
similar, for they parry with the left hand open and strike with
the right fist. Moreover the professional boxers have the right
hand and arm carefully bandaged to make the blows more telling.
The bandage is of narrow country cloth beginning with a fold
round the middle finger ; and the hand being first clenched with
the thumb between the fore and middle fingers, the cloth was
passed with many turns round the fist, wrist and forearm.
Denham's whole account of the encounter is very amusing ;
but we can only extract here a description of the actual fight.
" On taking their stations, the two pugilists first stood at some
distance, parrying with the left hand open, and whenever oppor-
tunity offered, striking with the right. TheyJ generally aimed
at the pit of the stomach and under the ribs. Whenever ^they
closed, one seized the others head under his arm, and beat it
with his fist, at the same time striking with his knee between the
antagonists thighs. In this position with his head ' in chancery,'
they are sometimes said to attempt to gouge or scoop out one of
the eyes. When they break loose, they never fail to give a swing-
ing blow with the heel under the ribs, or sometimes under the
left ear. It is these blows that are so often fatal." (i)
Various sorts of knuckle weights or gloves have been adopted
to add to the damaging character of the blows. Some of those
appliances were used for professional contests, others perhaps
as life preservers. The Indian Shattries or itinerant boxers made
use of such an appliance of horn which was called the Vajrar
Moostee, which somewhat resembled the Cestus (2). The
Carohne Islanders wore the Karcal a ring of fern stem armed at
I — Wood's "Natural History," i., p. 710,
2 — S. Cuming, Journ. Brit. Arch. Assoc, iii., 28.
ARMING THE HAND.
4S
the edge with fish teeth or spines, for boxing contests ; and in
the Caucasus the Chevsurs loaded their fingers with spiked rings
of steeh
Heavy metal rings or war bracelets are found in use among
some races. In East Central Africa, the Dor tribe wear on the wrist,
a heavy steel bracelet of flat metal,
sharpened at the outer edge. The edge
is protected at ordinary times by strips
of hide. (Fig, lo.) The Nuehr also carry
an iron wrist ring with projecting blade
(i), and the Djibba tribe of the Upper
Nile wear two sorts, one Uke that of the
Dor described above, and the other a
hollow roll or half cylinder notched at
the outer edges (see Fig. ii). When on
the wrist the two ends are brought
together.
The first of these Djibba types is
thus described by Wood. It " is made of
a flat piece of iron about an inch and
a half in width. On the inside it is very
thick, a quarter of an inch at the least,
and it is thinned gradually to the edge, which is kept ex-
ceedingly sharp." He then describes how the sheath can be
easily removed and replaced. " Whenever the warrior comes to
close quarters, he sUps off the leathern sheath, and rushing in
upon his adversary, strikes at his face with the sharp edge, or
flinging the left arm round him, cuts his naked body almost to
pieces with rapid strokes of this terrible weapon." (2)
Heavy metal bracelets are also used by the Khonds of India
to kill the Meriah victim, by battering in the head.
We now come to a particularly barbarous type of fist weapon:
namely, sharp talons or teeth so fixed that a blow would cause a
terrible ripping or gashing wound on the adversary.
Though not common, this type is somewhat widely spread.
It is a conception entirely Eastern in its abominable cruelty, and
must originally have been suggested by the tearing power of
the carnivora or other wild beasts. In spite of this we find a
Polynesian example in the Samoan sharks tooth gauntlet of
which we give a figure from Wood (Fig. 12.) (3). These dreadful
I — Knight's paper (see Bibliography), p. 257.
2 — Natural History of Man, i., p. 520.
3 — Natural History of Man, ii., 354.
48
ARMING THE HAND.
appliances are of cocoa nut fibre, and so fastened on to the hand
that all the sharks teeth project backwards, and an adversary
seized in this terrible grip cannot free himself without fearful
lacerations. The Samoans usually strike at the abdomen, and
in consequence a broad belt is worn for protection (i).
The best known weapon of this type is the Waghnakh (Wag-
nuk) Baghnak or Baymak (as it is variously written) of India.
This contrivance consists of several sharp thin talons of metal
joined by a bar on which are two rings. Put on, the claws lie
unseen in the palm, and the closed fist shews
only two gilt or metal
rings on the index and
little fingers. The at-
ja tack was like the Sam-
^\ Q^^ glove by ripping
open the abdomen.
Figs. 13 and 14.
The Wagnakh is
best known as the
weapon with which the MardthA (Mahratta) prince Sivaji trai-
torously assassinated Afzal Khan, a general of Aurangzeb, in
1659, The story need not be repeated, but Burton denies the
assertion of Demmin that Sivaji invented it (2). Probably he
is right, for a tiger claw was too tempting a model for the cruel
Oriental not to have imitated it centuries earlier. Poisoned
Waghnakhs have been noticed ; while horn (and at an earlier
date, steel) wagnakhs are described by Rousselet (1864) as being
used in combats held by the Gaekhwar of Baroda. The antag-
onists were nude, intoxicated with hemp, and tore each other
so that they often bled to death.
Egerton has described a sort of Waghnakh as having been
used by boxers in Rajput games. This weapon (Woodguamootie)
seems to have been a gauntlet with talons projecting from the
knuckles when the fist was closed (3), a barbarous but not a secret
form. The weapon was also used in Hawaii. An ovate piece of
wood with one side flatter than the other, perforated for the hand
to pass and grip it, and armed on the knuckle side with sharks
teeth. Sometimes, however, it was a plain curved piece of wood
about seven inches long, meant to be grasped in the middle, and
each end armed
with a big shark's
tooth (Figs. 15,
16). Lastly the
Roman "bague
de mort " was
I — The Kingsmill Islanders use nearly exactly the same gauntlet, the
teeth being fastened on nine or ten fibre cords.
2 — " Book of the Sword," 7, 8.
3 — Egerton's "Catalogue Indian Arms," 1880, p. 146.
ARMING THE HAND. 49
armed with poisoned talons, and lay hidden like the waghnakh
in the palm of the hand (i). This must have been an importation
from the East.
Before leaving these knuckle-dusters, some mention must
be made of an interesting series of weapons which are perhaps
all originally derived from a type of this sort. The Katar of
India is totally unlike any western arm. It is a short wide
thrusting dagger from the base of which project two parallel
bars of meted joined by a cross bar like the rung of a ladder.
This cross-bar is the gnp, so that attack is intended by a direct
blow from the shoulder exactly as with the closed fist. Figures
113 and 114, shew the Katar, and a simple type of knuckle-duster
from which it may have been improved. But the matter does
not end here, for if this derivation be correct, we can trace step
by step a development from this crude type to the splendid Indian
Pata or gauntlet sword and some remarkable sword breaking
weapons. These we shall speak of later (see figs. 113-118 in
Chapter V.)
The Simple Club.
The heavy stick is perhaps one step higher in culture as a
weapon than the hand stone. A cobble from a stream bed can
be used at once, but generally speaking the club, even of the most
primitive sort must be cut or prepared. A blown branch might
be used, but blown branches are soon rotten, and when sound,
require trimming. Animals (apes) sometimes use stones or nuts
as missiles, but it is doubtful if they often use clubs (2). In fact
missiles are not improbably the earliest of all weapons, and it is
only for convenience that in this work we leave them to be treated
after hand weapons.
The handstone as a weapon has no great part in the history
of attack ; and its influence on types in higher culture is far less
apparent than that of the club. The latter, as we shall see, is
now represented by the sword ; while the battle-axe, the wood-
man's axe, and the spear are all directly developed from the im-
proved or compound club.
From the first, the club was a head-smasher. With a pointed
club the savage prodded his enemy in the eye, the stomach, or
some other delicate part and so disabled him. And the satis-
faction felt in cracking a crown has never died out, as is shown by
Paddy's shillelah at the present day.
There are on record two very interesting accounts of the
primitive duello, one ancient and the other recent, which are of
interest when placed side by side. Herodotus (iv. 180) tells us
that a ciuious custom existed among the Ausenses who lived in
North Africa on lake Tritonis. Every yeeir the maidens divided
I — Steindhal's " Promenades in Rome" ; and Knight's Paper, 257.
2 — The use of clubs or sticks by apes is probably imitative, but of
missile nuts, quite natural.
50 ARMING THE HAND,
themselves into two bands, and fought with stones and cudgels.
This was a ceremonial rite to their goddess ; and those who died
from their wounds were called " false maidens." A part of the
ceremony consisted of the dressing of the most beautiful maiden
in Greek armour, so that it would appear that the ceremony was
Hellenized.
There is nothing to shew whether the stones were used in
the hand, or as missiles. Perhaps the latter is most likely ; but
at any rate we have here a sort of ritual combat in which the most
primitive weapons were used by a community acquainted with
a far advanced culture.
The other instance is from the Canary Islands (i) a group, it
should be noted, which was always influenced by the Libyan
mainland and its culture. The author, among other things,
describes the Canarians of the 15th century, (the aborigines found
there by the Europeans), as armed with clubs, spears with fine
hardened points, and " swords of Te-a or pitch-pine, the edges of
which were hardened by fire and tempered in such a manner that
they cut like steel." The last statement is sufficient to raise
doubts as to the accuracy of detail of the work under notice, but
we may certainly accept the account which follows as having a fair
basis of foundation. The ceremonial is evidently a survival, and
a survival of a kind which no eighteenth century traveller would
have thought of inventing. "They (i.e., the Canarians) had pubhc
places set apart for fighting duels, in which were eminences or
stages, raised for the combatants that they might
be more easily observed by all spectators. When a challenge
was given and accepted, the parties went to the Council of the
Island .... for a license Then they went
to the Faycag to have this license confirmed ; which, being done
they gathered together all their relations and friends, not to assist
them, but to be spectators of their gallantry and behaviour.
The company then repaired to the public place, or theatre, where
the combatants mounted upon two stones, placed at the opposite
sides of it, each stone being fiat at the top, and about ^ a yard in
diameter. On these they stood fast without moving their feet
till each had thrown three round stones at his antagonist. Though
they were good marksmen, yet they generally avoided those
missive weapons by the agile writhing of their bodies. Then
arming themselves with sharp flints in their left hands and cud-
gels or clubs in their right, they drew near and fell on, beating and
cutting each other till they were tired ; when the parties by con-
sent, retired with their friends, to eat and drink, but soon after
returned to the scene of action, and renewed the engagement
. . . . until the Gayres cried out " Gama Gama," (enough)
I — See Pinkerton's "Voyages," xvi., 818. The History of the Dis
covery and Conquest of Canary, a Spanish MS. found in the Isle of Palma,
and translated, 1764, by George Glas.
ARMING THE HAND. 51
when they immediately left off, and ever after remained good
friends."
These duels took place at public rejoicings or festivals and
amid a great concourse. It will be seen that in them is retained
the use of the three most primitive weapons, the throwing stone,
hand club, and hand flint.
The club as a weapon has a wide range of types. Headed
with stone, a composite weapon, it becomes a mace or hammer.
But even the simplest type of one piece of wood only, to which
we here confine ourselves, has many variations. Here are a
few, but the hst is far from exhaustive.
Plain straight club, bludgeon or pole.
Knobbed type, with spherical head.
Knotted, bossed, and root ended types.
Plain curved club.
Knobbed type, in which the knob is on one side.
The Lotus Flower, or gunstock type.
Paddle shaped type.
Fancy types — ^like imitations of plants, or the war fan, and
axe shaped types.
Mushroom headed type.
The Straight Club.
The straight club, or fighting stick, is, not, as a rule, an
usual type. A tribe or people who adopted the club as a national
weapon, generally developed some special form dictated often
by the material to hand, or by peculiar conditions in their fives
by their methods of warfare, or in some cases perhaps by individual
fancy.
Nevertheless it was used frequently in ancient and modem
times. The Dynastic Egyptians used two types, viz., a short
stick which they manipulated fike our single stick, with small
shields in their left arms, and the long " nebfit " or quarter staff.
This last was 8 to 9 feet long, held by both hands either by the
middle or ends, according to the action of the user whether de-
Uvering his attack or parrying that of his adversary (i). This
nebdt is particularly characteristic of Bible countries at all times.
To this day it is the staff, support, or weapon of peasant, boat-
man, shepherd, or village guard in the Nile Valley. Burton
describes how skilfully it was wielded by the inhabitants of
Wadi es-Samt, near Jerusalem, and how expert the tribesmen
of Yambu in the Red Sea were with it at defivering a head blow
(2. ) Possibly our mediaeval eight foot quarter staff was adopted in
the Crusading period ; but we need hardly seek a foreign origin,
since in fenny England the long staff, suitable alike for striking,
walking, or leaping dikes, must have from the earfiest times
been adopted by the peasantry.
I — Wilkinson's " Modem Egyptians," 1878, i. 206-8.
2 — " Book of the Sword," 186. " Meccah and Medinah," i. 229.
52 ARMING THE HAND.
Among the " arms of the staff," however, the short staff or
even the smaller cudgel were more usual than the " long staff."
In the Egyptian monuments the allies are seen carrying a short
straight club, and on Trajans column, it is the weapon of the
Dacians. In the middle ages it was still a war weapon ; it is
seen on the Bayeux tapestry, and the Germans carried it till the
13th century or later (i).
In mediaeval England we have then three survivals of the
old club weapon, (i) The quarter staff held by both hands,
(2) the " short staf of convenyent length," which was about
shoulder height and held in both hands at the end, and (3) the
cudgel or prentices " wafter " held by the end in one hand ; all
"unknightly" weapons, and only to be used by "clowns and mean
fellows."
Among modern savage races the long pole weapon is little
known, and neither the plain two-handed club, nor the short
cudgel are very common. We find, however, the type of the
intermediate and short lengths both in Australia and Polynesia,
where it is to be remarked, most original types appear to have
survived.
The Australian waddy is a very simple weapon indeed.
Occasionally it is simply a heavy stick, but the characteristic
waddy is bludgeon shaped, by which we mean that it has a gentle
swell in the half furthest from the grip. The waddy is of heavy
hard wood, and as a rule is well balanced in the hand. As it is
often under three feet long, a waddy is something like a policeman's
truncheon, only its use is much more varied. It is pointed at
the end and is used for stabbing or prodding if need be, and lastly
it is a recognised throwing weapon, several waddys being often
carried and hurled rapidly in succession at a foe. The Austra-
lian, however, makes a special pattern for throwing only, while
his ordinary waddy is for all purposes. Lane Fox has sought to
shew a development from the waddy to the malga 01 war pick on
the one hand, and to the boomerang on the other, but to this we
shall return later.
In Polynesia we have at Fiji the plain cylindrical staff, as
well as the straight type, the weight and balance of which is im-
proved by an increase of thickness or swelling towards the end.
Fiji is indeed remarkable as shewing not only the simpler but
some of the more complex forms. We find here cdso both clubs
and other weapons enriched with minute and careful carving,
even if somewhat monotonous in design. A club of this sort in the
writers possession is 3 feet 5 inches in length, and the entire sur-
face except the butt is covered with decoration of this character.
This weapon is most beautifully balanced, and if it was not for
ceremonial use, must assuredly have been a chief 's possession. The
Hervey and Friendly Islanders also carve their clubs elaborately.
I — ^Lane Fox's "Catalogue," 67.
ARMING THE HAND.
53
The Knob Club,
Who was it who found out that with a blow of equal force,
a thin club ending in a knob did greater damage than a straight
thick knobless club ? With some confidence we would suggest
that it was the small weak man who was the " inventor." May
we not indeed go further and say that it is to the small weak man
that we are indebted for a host of clever contrivances. He was
handicapped in his struggle with the big fellows, but he was en-
dowed with a special quota of brains, and he saw the need ol
every artifice in the struggle for existence and in actual combat
with his taller brethren.
The knob club probably suggested the ball headed mace
— that is the composite knob club in which the shaft and knob
were separate and of different materials. Yet not impossibly
under some conditions the reverse order would be followed. First
the plain stick club, then the stick with a holed stone on its end,
and lastly, this type being found efficacious, but holed stones
requiring time and labour, the all wood club with a heavy spherical
head was adopted. It is impossible to lay down arbitrary lines
of development for all conditions.
The knob club is peculiarly
characteristic of the African con-
tinent, although it is not confined to
it. It is the " kiri " of the Kaffir, or
as it is called by the Colonists of the
Cape, the " knobkiri," and varies in
length between 14 inches and three feet (Fig.
17). It is generally of hard wood but oc-
casionally of rhinoceros horn, and is used both
in the hand or for throwing. It is also found
among the Bushmen, Somalis, Hottentots, and
in fact among various African races. These
African forms are generally straight, but in
some cases, the ball is to one side, and this is
generally the case in knob clubs from other
parts of the world, as the North American
Poggamoggon. In Fiji and other parts of
Polynesia a straight short throwing knob club
is carried in the belt. There are some curious
American varieties of the ball club with the
head on one Side, and the haft of flattened
wood (i), while the Mohawks and Pai-Utes
carry a very short club with a head Uke an inverted
tumcated cone. This club is like a mallet in appear-
ance and is pleasantly termed a " face smasher."
It is very singular that the simple ball headed club is not
found in Australia. Lane Fox says it belongs to advanced cul-
I — See Knight's Paper, p. 221. Also Fig. 18 in this work from Dakotah
54
ARMING THE HAND.
ture (i) ; but the curious thing is that it is characteristic of the
Kaffir who like the Australian does not use the bow.
Root Ended Clubs and Knotted and Bossed Types.
Clubs, the heads of which are simply formed from the root
of a young tree, with the branches cut short to form points or
knobs, occur in Fiji, and elsewhere in Polynesia. To this proto-
type we are inclined to ascribe all varieties of bossed, spiked and
knotted clubs. ; Yet we find that the simple root like the simple
ball is little known in Australia, while a carefully knobbed or
almost spiked type is in use (2). It is not necessary to cite the
numerous examples and variations of these types. Herodotus tells
us that the Assyrians in Xerxes' army, and also the ^Ethiopians
carried knotted clubs, in the former case studded apparently
with iron knobs or nails, a type perhaps a culture modification
of the root-ended club (3). In modern times we find knotted
clubs in Australia (Fig. 20), Fiji and other
parts of Polynesia, the White Nile, and in the
Philadelphian exhibition of 1875 there was
one from Mozambique, which has been
thought to be derived from a
maize pod, but may really belong
to this group (4). Some of the
mediaeval European maces appear
to be survivals from this type of club.
In the same way that we find
the kiri sometimes eccentric to the shaft, so in
Fiji we find the head of the root or knotted
club bent to one side. In these cases the club
is formed of the stem and root of a young tree,
which according to Wood is selected when very
young, bent down, and secured horizontally so
that it grows in that position with its roots still
in the earth. When about the thickness of a
man's wrist, the top is cut off and the root dug
up. The branching roots are then trimmed off,
and the tap root which penetrates directly
downwards, is made into a strong spike. The
weapon thus made is a formidable one. Fig. 19
shews a Fiji example.
The less common shapes we can only briefly allude to. Some-
times a plain curved club was in use. Representations exist on
EgjTptians monuments, and if we read Wilkinson's text right, it
is there in the hands of Egyptian troops. This weapon is much
like a hockey stick in appearance, and is used by various North
I — Catalogue p. 63.
2 — Lane Fox's "Catalogue," p. 66.
3 — Herodotus, vii., 69.
4 — Knight, " Study of Savage Weapons," 217.
ARMING THE HAND.
55
African races such as the Bishari, Ababdi, and Abyssinians at the
present day. It is called "lisan" (tongue), and is possibly the
phalanx of the Africans when fighting against the Egyptians (i).
The so-called "gun-stock" type of Fiji (Fig. 21) has never
yet been explained. The idea that it was a copy from an Euro-
pean gunstock has been set aside by Lane Fox on the ground that
the variations of the type prove it to be indigenous. Wood con-
sidered that the projecting spike was simply a trimmed off branch-
let, and saw in it only a natural form. In many cases, however,
the spike projects in the wrong direction, namelj^ towards the
tree trunk. Another idea is that of Professor T. Mc.K. Hughes
who considers that the simplest form of the type (which is simply
a curved club, showing a slight projection where the more elabo-
rate examples have a regular spike) is obviously suggested by
the rib of a cetacean (2). Our own belief is that this curious
type is but an exaggerated fashion like the crinoline or top hat.
Paddle Types (see introductory chapter p 18-20.)
In Figs. 23-28 we have a selection of paddle like contrivances
which however appear to be actually used as clubs.
I — Pliny vii., 57. Another similar type in recent times was in use by
Islanders of Esperito Santo, New Hebrides.
2 — Arch. Journ, Ivrii., 206.
56
ARMING THE HAND.
The Pagaya of Brazil is variously described as a sharpened
paddle or paddle-sword, but with a long handle, so that it is plainly
a paddle shaped club with a sharpened edge. The Tacapd and
Macana of the same country appear to be somewhat similar (i) ;
and a paddle shaped war club was used by the tribes of
British Guiana. Figs. 24-25 are Fiji examples from Wood (2),
Fig. 23 from Samoa. A curious type is shown in Fig. 26 from
25
12
n
New Ireland (3) ; and it is remarkable as being evidently copied
from a short double bladed paddle ; while the strange " glaive
shaped" examples (Figs. 27-28) are types like those of a group of
Solomon Islands clubs at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, so
arranged as to shew the presumed transition from paddle to glaive-
shaped club. The two given are mid-way types.
I — Burton " Book of the Sword," 42.
2 — " Nat. Hist, of Man," ii., 276.
3 — Lane Fox Catalogue pi. vii. The double paddle in the Easter Islands
and Caroline Island was a dancing wand ; used we suppose for swagger, like
the ladies fan and beau's shirt front, hence perhaps its adoption as a showy-
weapon.
ARMING THE HAND. 57
Paddle clubs are so widely diffused that a volume might be
formed on this subject alone.
Lane Fox has given us a sequence of type from the plain
waddy to a throwing hatchet-boomerang, that is a throw stick
with a wide axe-like head. But there is also a New Zealand club
very axe like in character. This weapon was called Patu, and
was about 5 feet long with one end sharp, and the other carved
into a flat axe-like head with a sharp edge. It was not, however,
used hke an axe, but was whirled about in the hands like a quar-
ter-staff, and alternately a thrust delivered with the sharp end,
and then a blow with the back edge of the broad end (i). The
club seems peculiarly unsuitable for such play, and we cannot help
thinking that the Patu must have originated in some sort of mimic
or friendly combat with the club, in which a display of skiD,
without serious wounds, was intended. Wooden axes are how-
ever said to be used by the Djibbas of Africa, and axe shape
clubs by inhabitants of Australia and British Columbia. The
Djibba weapon is described as like a golf club with a flattened
head which is so sharp as to require a leather protection when
out of use. It is very likely that some of these types are merely
imitations of the English sailors axe, one of the first European
implements the Australian would see. Among the widely spread
types, we have also the mushroom headed club, found in Australia
and Africa, a simple and primitive form which should perhaps
have been mentioned along with the knob club. The type ap-
pears to have been originated in the removal of a portion of the
tree trunk along with the branch itself, which portion was then
trimmed to a sharp edge. If this is so, this mushroom shape may
well have formed a model for a particular shape of stone head of
certain composite clubs. By notching the mushroom edge, a
star was got (a common type for stone headed clubs), and by
elongating one side, a bird like head was suggested, a shape
continued in Asiatic metal maces until modem times.
Taken all round really fanciful types are not common among
clubs. The " gunstock " and paddle forms we have mentioned,
and though other eccentric types exist, they are not numerous.
Most big collections will give examples. In the British Museum
there is from the Tongan group, a club cleverly fashioned as a
spreading fishes tail, and there is a similar type from Pentecost
Island, New Hebrides. In the same collection there is one, the
shape of which evidently represents a bean pod, and we have
already cited a type believed to copy the maize head, Ratzel
figures two clubs from Lunda, Africa, one surmounted by a bird,
the other by a horseman on a human head. But these are pro-
bably official or ceremonial forms. Some clubs again are cer-
tainly Phallic in design (2) ; but of all clubs the most ridiculous
I — Wood's "Natural History." ii,, 156.
2 — Lane Fox's "Catalogue," PI v,, No. 50. ...
58 ARMING THE HAND.
is the Japanese war fan. In Japan it seems, at one time no one
went without a fan, and rather than be out of fashion actually
carried one to battle (i). In consequence a regular type of war-
fan was invented ; huge of size and fitted with an iron sheath. An
instrument of weight sufficient to use in an emergency as a club
itself (2). Of course, the "self" club is of other materials besides
wood. Elsewhere we have noted that the leg bone or heavy ante-
lope horn which early man would find in the forest where there
existed beasts of prey, would form efficient weapons. The Kaffir
Kiri is sometimes of rhinoceros horn, and among the Friendly
Islanders, clubs have been noticed made from the bone of some
large cetaceous fish (3).
Development of other Forms from the Club.
It is certain that from the club was developed at least one
other appliance, and a very different one. The club is undoubt-
edly the prototype of the shield, the arm of defence par excellence.
Even in modern times there are many races which carry no shields,
but use their clubs, or sometimes their spears as parrying weapons.
The Dinka of East Central Africa carried his club, and also a
long stick curved forward at either end, which he used as a parrier.
The root ended club, the knotted type, and even the pick shaped
types of Australia and Africa, have all been noticed to be used
in this manner, and careful observation will probably shew that
that there are few, if any, forms of savages clubs which are not
parrying weapons.
The simplest shield is simply a club, expanded somewhat in
the centre and with a hole to grasp it by. From this primitive
type Lane Fox has traced the varieties gradually widening to a
real shield of oval shape, (4) .
It is certainly rather hard to believe that there was really
no primitive shield of " tough bull's hide," nor even of a turtle
shell ; but there seems no recorded evidence of such having ever
been used.
The Wooden and Bone Sword.
There are a large number of recorded instances of wooden
swords, but the term is very unsatisfactory. When classified
we shall find that all or most examples may be grouped in two
classes, first flat edged clubs which strictly speaking are not swords
at all, and secondly imitations by savages, of modern metal
I — Compare however our officers in the Boer war, who were recommen-
ded not to carry pianos and kitchen ranges.
2 — Wood's " Natural History of Man," 845.
3 — See Labillardiere " Voyage of La Perouse," 1791-3, 3 vols., trans-
lated 1800. Cap. xii., vol. ii., p. 96. Prof. T. MckHughes in his paper " On
the Natural Forms," suggests that the Malga or pick club is derived from the
cetacean rib. Also a Fiji type, as above mentioned. His arguments are far
from convincing to the present writer.
4 — " Primitive Warfare," li., 433, PI. xix.
ARMING THE HAND.
59
swords. If we look into it, we shall find that races without metal,
made it their aim to produce the best smashing or battering, and
the best piercing weapons. The plain bludgeon was the first
type, but a pointed, knobbed, or edged club was found to do more
damage. The pointed stick they found could be hardened in
the fire, and thus was started a regular piercing group. But
with the edged club there was no idea of severing a limb or in-
flicting a real wound. The idea of cutting was taken up, when
the use of splintered and chipped flint was discovered, and the
metal swords followed on the long sharp hand flint, or more likely
on the stick armed at the edge with sharp flints or with fishes teeth.
In some cases the edged wooden club may have been sug-
gested by the paddle or boomerang, but in any case it was a club
and was used as a club.
The occurrences of weapons of this sort have been collected
by Lane Fox and copied and added to by Burton. Their lists,
which are not, however, exhaustive, include examples from North
America, Brazil, West Indies, New Guinea, Polynesia,
AustraUa, Abyssinia, West Indies and New Zealand.
There are only two or three examples that need be
noted : and among these, undoubtedly that of greatest
interest is the so-called wooden sabre of Prince Tflaii (17th
Dynasty) preserved in the Cairo Museum, and
found at Thebes. This weapon is 4 feet 3 inches
long, slightly curved and made of sycamore. It
bears a cartouche and hieroglyphic inscription,
and the whole shape of it strongly suggests that
it is really a development from the Egyptian
boomerang. A good illustration of it is in Mas-
peros' " Struggle of Nations," p. 76, (Fig. 29). (i).
Plate xix of Lane Fox's " Primitive Warfare,"
contains several very sword like weapons from
AustreJia, New Zealand, and Pol5mesia (2), which
the author suggests are elongated representatives
I — There are two otherwooden swords in the Museum
of National Antiquities at Cairo. One is straight, and
one curved, like a boomerang type, but with a well
formed handle. Not improbably they were models, or
tomb furniture. Among the prehistoric finds at Ehenside ,
Tarn, Cumberland, there was a sword club, rather like a
tennis bat in shape but more pointed, and with sharp
edges. A model is we believe at the British Museum.
See Archaeologia xliv., 273.
2 — Figs. 61 and 65 Australia and Marquesas are
reproduced in our Figs. 30-31,
6o
ARMING THE HAND.
of the New Zealand Patti Patvi type. But we
must again remark that these derivations are
very questionable. These appliances are mixed
up with paddle types ; and it is evident that a
rough flattish club would suggest a paddle,
and a paddle in its turn might suggest a care-
fully finished bladed club.
With regard to wooden or bone swords
which are evidently copied from true metal
swords, we may refer to the old "Travels of
La Perouse," (i), where is depicted a very
good bone cutlass like a carving knife, and
also a straight bone cutlass with a cross guard.
Another example from Queensland in Burton's
"Book of the sword " looks very like a copy
of a long sailors knife ; while the wooden
sword pictured by Wilde (p. 452) which was
found five feet underground in Wicklow, is,
if not simply a copy, possibly a sand mould
for casting a metal weapon.
At a very early date the use of the blow
pure and simple was recognised as a factor
in siege warfare. The primitive savages who
battered in the doorway of their enemies
wigwams, introduced a weapon which as the
battering ram, played a great part in the war-
fare of most nations.
I — Labillardieres "Voyage of La Perouse," 1701-3, plate xxxiii., vol. ii.
chapter iv.
Reinforcing the Arm.
The Developed Striking Weapons which Originated in
Combination of the Stone and the Club.
In the last chapter we have reviewed those types of weapons
which in their original forms consisted of one material only, either
stone, horn, or wood. The combination of materials was the
first great step forward in the history of arming, and we shal
devote this chapter to the various types which were adopted,
with some account of the representatives of these types as culture
advanced.
When we begin to analyze the subject of hafted weapons,
we find that they really drop into two main groups fairly dis-
tinct. Thus we have,
(i) All axe and adze types and also hammer types, which
form a class derived from the discovery of the art of
fastening flint hand weapons, or stone mauls and poun-
ders, on to a stick, long bone, or animals horn.
(2) The maces, which are simply war clubs, weighted by
stone or metal.
War hammers, even of an early period, and in stone, are of
•course a subsequent invention, properly classible under group i,
but frequently modified or developed from mace types.
Since we gave the hand stone precedence in our last chapter,
the first of these groups must have precedence now.
Rafting.
Whatever gave rise to the first adoption of hafting, there is
no doubt that once found out, its great use would prevent its
■ever being discarded. The actual value of a haft is rather hard
to define. The fact is, it greatly increases the efficiency of the
machine (which is compounded of the human motor and the tool
and weapon), by supplying a third joint to the arm. This gives
a very much bigger radius from the centre of impulse, and with it
a vast increase in actual force.
The actual discovery of hafting may have been, indeed pro-
bably was, accidental. The primeval club or hand stone using
savage would find either
(I ) A creeper or a tree root which had grown on to and en-
closed a stone, possibly a frost broken one with a sharp edge.
62 REINFORCING THE ARM.
Here was an entirely natural hafted axe, and hence the series
to be described in which we have a club, in a hole in which, a
blade or pounder is inserted.
(2) A root which had grown through a natural holed stone.
Hence the perforated mace.
It will be observed that in both cases, the haft would be found
to be more or less a flexible one, so that these natural forms were
the model, not only of the handled celt hammer and mace, but ■
also of an interesting group which we shcill call the ball and thong
type. Further, that although both discoveries would take place
at the same early stage, No. 2 presented much greater obstacles
to be overcome by savage man, so that artificial perforation for
stone was not generally practised until culture had considerably
advanced (in certain centres not until the metal ages). But very
probably naturally perforated hammers, clubs, and bolas were
used by very early man and for a long period.
Methods of Attaching the Head to the Shaft.
(i) By perforating the end of a club, and securing the stone
or metal axe in it.
It is interesting to note that this very simple method was
in use in prehistoric Britain and that examples of stone celts with
their hafts have actually been found in Cumberland. It is also
characteristic of Africa in modern times, where it is sometimes
found with stone blades, but, of course, much oftener with iron.
It should be observed that the hole in the wood is not always a
perforation right through. Very frequently and generally where
the blade is not heavy, it is simply inserted in an incision in the
knob head of a club.
(2) The stone blade was either made of a suitably long form,
or else was actucdly provided with a groove round the
centre, and a flexible branch or withe was passed round
it, and lashed together so as to hold it tight and form a
haft. Common among modern savages. But very few
prehistoric grooved celts occur.
(3) A stick was cleft at the end and the blade lashed in, in a
similar way.
(4) A beaked root., i.e., a root with a projecting beak at one
side was selected, the beak was split and the blade bound
in betwixt the halves. This is a Swiss Lake-dweUing
type, but it was also used in the bronze age to haft
the palstaves.
(5) The blade was simply lashed to the end of the haft,,
which was widened out generally to a sort of crooked T
shape or crutch head as a seat for the blade. A club
with a suitable branch was usually selected. This
method was very common for adzes, which were some-
times weapons, and was used for bronze adzes in ancient
Egypt.
REINFORCING THE ARM. 63
(6) The blade was first secured in a socket of bone or wood
which was again inserted in a hole in the shaft end.
A Lake-dwelling type. The reason was that the wedge
shaped stone was liable to split the wood. The socket
was however provided with a shoulder to prevent it
being driven far in. There are variations of this type :
sometimes the socket was of some size and was perfor-
ated to receive the haft.
It should be noticed that in such of these methods, as now
exist abroad, the use of binding was very common though not
universal. Also that various resinous gums, or pitch or bitumen
were often used to secure the blade. It cannot be doubted that
similar methods were in use in prehistoric times.
(7) The blade itself was perforated to receive the shaft.
It has often been suggested that the primeval savage having
noticed how a root or branch would grow into and nip a stone
suitably placed, adopted this growing power of nature, and that
early hafting was effected by sphtting a branch, inserting a blade,
and leaving nature to secure it. It has been thought that
the perforated hammers were thus hafted, and Lane Fox says
that a Brittany peasant will actually haft a stone celt in this
manner (if he finds one) at the present day (i). Possibly a
peasant may have done so now and again as an amusement ;
but it is most doubtful if such a method of hafting was ever re-
gularly practised either among the prehistoric races or later
savages. It certainly appears unknown to-day (2), and we think
that any experimenter would find that in consequence of the
shrinkage of wood when the branch wels cut off, such a method
would never be a practical one. A particular type of African
haft, where the branch of a young tree formed the handle, and a
small section cut out of the bole itself, formed a head into which
the blade was inserted, has, not improbably, suggested the grow-
ing tree theory to travellers; but the mallet shaped head is cut
off and formed before insertion of blade.
Generally speaking the hafting of the plain 'and simple types
of bronze and iron celts was done in similar manners to that em-
ployed for stone axes. In metal, however, at an early period,
special types were adopted, in which certain features specially
formed for giving stability to the blade in the shaft, can be fol-
lowed through a process of development. These features are
pecuharly interesting in the series of bronze age celts and axes.
AxE AND Adze Types.
In any considerable collection of palaeolithic implements we
can trace, among the well defined types, one marked feature
which divides the whole series into two groups. The point (never
I — " Primitive Warfare," No. li., p. 415.
' 2 — O. T. Mason' " Ori^ns of Invention," p. 39.
64 REINFORCING THE ARM.
sufl&ciently insisted on) is this. One class has one end quite blunt
and rounded, generally in its natural form, and was meant to be
held in the hand ; the other was chipped to a sharp edge at both
ends (in fact all round) and being quite unsuitable for hand use,
was evidently to be mounted on a
shaft or handle (see figs, i and 34).
Many of these latter are more pointed
at one end than the other. It seems
possible, or even probable, that this
type, is the archetype of all spear,
lance, or arrow heads, on the one
hand, and all axes, adzes, and even
spuds and spades on the other. It
will be noticed that a flint of this
type if hafted by having the sharp
end inserted in the side of the end
of a club and secured, became a
stone axe similar to certain recent
savage weapons, while if the wider end was placed in the cleft
end of a pole it was an effective stone lance or spear (i). It is
interesting to note that this apparently palaeolithic type has
even occurred in Babylonia.
We do not propose here to treat of the plain stone celt in all
its variations, polished or unpolished. To all intents and pur-
poses it may be described as having been an universal weapon,
mounted axe-wise, at one period or another wherever man dwelt
in the world. A study of the stone axe in detail is of the greatest
importance and interest in the examination of the progress of
arts, the migrations of race, and comparative culture, but it is
not germane to an enquiry into the art of attack. The stone axe
is the same all the world over. It has one edge sharpened, its
general shape was wedge-like, though there are variations such
as the grooved type we have mentioned.
The axe of the pre-metal cultured races appears (if we may
judge by modern savages) to have only exceptionally been made
of other material than stone. Axes of shell, however, have been
used in Barbadoes (2), and we have noticed in the British Museum
a regular axe blade from the EUice Islands made of a piece of tur-
tle bone (3).
Very exceptionally also we find weapons in stone which
cannot be classed except as axes, but which are widely different,
from the " celt " type. An example of this is found in the New
Caledonian form consisting of a big flat disc of jade or other stone.
I — See Lane Fox's " Primitive Warfaxe," 11., p. 408.
2 — Two are figured in the Catalogue of the National Museum of Anti
quities of Scotland, 1892, p. 121.
3 — We are unaware if there is a notable dearth of hard material in these
Islands ; but it is significant there is in the British Museum an axe made
altogether of wood, but most carefully copied from an European iron one.
REINFORCING THE ARM. 65
perforated with small holes near one side and lashed into a haft.
The type seems, however, far from being a very efficient one.
(Fig. 156).
The Metal Axe.
The history of the metal axe commences with the enormous
series of bronze (or in a few cases copper) celts or palstaves (both
bad terms ) with the more ordinary types of which at any rate every
museum student is familiar. Nevertheless our knowledge on the
subject is very incomplete. We know that we can divide all the
European forms and the few Eastern or Asiatic ones, into about
five main groups, each group represented at any rate in the main
divisions of Europe, though locally they present minor variations.
It has been said that the bronze celts belong more especially to
Northern Europe, but as yet the minor antiquities of the furthur
east have been but little collected or classified. One old theory,
— that they were of Phoenician origin — ^may probable be put
aside, since so far these weapons seem practically unknown in Phoe-
nician territory, or at any rate are very unusual. The great
interest of the series is the remarkable type development which
is traceable throughout, beginning from a copper reproduction of
the polished stone axe and passing through a long series of im-
provements until the socketed type is reached. The curious
thing is that the various "improvements" were practically the
same in all parts of Europe. It would therefore almost seem that
we must look for some centre or centres where these improvements
were actually made, and that each of them passed thence
from race to race (i). Otherwise it is difficult to think that there
would not have been developments in type on widely divergent
lines in the different areas. We have indeed much still to learn
about bronze age culture and manufactures.
It is presumed that a large proportion of these so-called celts
or palstaves were mounted as axes, though it is not denied that
other methods were in use. It is possible to divide the European
series into a large number of groups, but many of these are really
unimportant variations. In fact the whole series falls into five
type groups, which are as follows :
(i ) A plain blade apparently copied in shape from a poHshed
stone celt. This type is generally in copper in Europe
(2) and the Levant, though sometimes in bronze in
Britain. This is a very important point.
The early variations from this type is the expansion of the
cutting edge ; and the introduction of a ridge or stop across the
centre to prevent the blade being driven into the shaft.
(2) The flanged celt in which the edges are raised as flanges.
I — See Lane Fox's " Primitive Warfare," Ivi., p. 537.
2 — A leaden celt has recently been found in Thessaly at a prehistoric
site along with stone celts. It is probably unique. Joum. Hell., Soc.
xxii., 393.
66
REINFORCING THE ARM.
This type was mounted in a bent or beaked-haft and
the beak was spHt and bound. The ridges or flanges in-
creased the security of the blade in its position.
The type is often ornamented. The principal variation is
a well marked ridge or stop. (Fig. 35).
(3) The winged celt in which the flanges are beaten out thin
and hammered over the stop ridge, thus forming a sort
of double socket. Uncommon in England but common
on the Continent.
In this type a loop or ring is often found, in one side to help
in securing the blade. Occasionally adzes were made with these
flanges. (Fig. 36).
(4) The pocket type (i), which is a flanged celt, only with
the part above the stop ridge cast very much thinner
than that below. This and the last are two parallel
steps in the development of No. 5. Loops are found
but are not universal. (Fig, 37),
(5) Socketed celts cast hollow, with the end opposite the
edge open to fix the point of a beaked shaft. Loops are
general (2). (Fig. 38).
•.• I — Lane Fox's name for this type. Evans confines name "palstave" to
types 3 and 4.
2 — It has been surmised that some of the bronze celts were used either
as spuds or ferrules at the butt end of spears, or as a small sort of spade im-
plement itself. There are numerous instances of both uses of a similarly
formed blade. A blade edged ferrule of this shape is used at the butt end
of spears in parts of Africa and Asia, its puipose being sometimes only for
fixing the weapon upright in the earth, sometimes for actually digging or
grubbing with, a^ seems to have been the case among the ancient Jews
(Deut. xxiii., 13).
For the use of a similar metal blade on the end of a short spade like
shaft, we have examples from Iceland figured in Evans' " Bronze Imple-
ments." Also, in some Assyrian reliefs representing the seige of a city, we
find men wielding an implement about 4 ft. long, which ends in a blade like
a big celt, for destroying wall masonry. In spite of the shape, however,
it is probable that these siege tools must have been all metal like a crowbar-
Demmin figures three bronze weapons of unusual type. First a very spup.
like bronze socketed celt from Geneva (p. 144), second a long chisel like
celt with an ornamented socket ; and on the same page (131 ) a remarkable
variation of the bronze winged celt, the wings being on a narrow tang, while
the blade is very wide. These are both German. (Fig. 39).
Personally we greatly doubt if the ordinary bronze celts were ever
REINFORCING THE ARM.
67
The Celt in Iron.
As might be expected, there are sporadic instances of some
of these types in iron in Europe, but we have only to turn to
modern Africa to find a very large series of iron axes formed like
the flat bronze celt, to be simply secured in a perforated shaft.
The blades however vary considerably. Wood figures an example
used by the Banyai tribe (Zambesi), seemingly identical with the
early flat bronze type, but in this case used on a club provided
with two slits T — wise, so that the blade can be shifted, and the
implement be used either as axe or adze (i). We have already
mentioned the method in use by this tribe of fitting their axes
with a haft formed of a tree branch on the end of which a section
of the bole itself is left ; and the blade thus fitted is of the simple
flat type only prolonged to a thin pointed and.
The prolongation of the end of the metal axe is characteristic
of Africa, and it is not easy to see the exact object. It must be
noted that these blades are fixed at a rather sharp angle to the
haft, so that while a blow at a short distance would
be very destructive, the long point projecting out-
wards would be quite useless. This long point or
tang is very pronounced on one of the
Banyai axes, in which the blade and
shaft are of almost equal length, some-
times about three feet, while the point
or tang is curled upwards in a fashion
that is apparently only ornamental (2).
(Fig. 40).
There is another form of Banyai axe, which
is of interest, and which takes us into a new line
of development in axes. The haft is a rather
thin club slightly bent and ending in a big knob.
This knob is perforated at a rather acute angle
to the haft itself and in the hole is secured the
blade about two-thirds the length of the haft.
This part of the weapon is nothing more or less
ferrules or spuds. They are so uniform in character and are so carefully
finished, that they were intended for more important purposes than for
sticking upright a spear, which in European soils could be done without any
ferrule. Again they were made by races, which, if not altogether ignorant of
agriculture, certainly regarded it as a secondary matter. We may be sure
that as a class the bronze celt was a valued appliance equally ready for lopp-
ing off an enemies hand or a tree branch as was required.
1 — Natural History, i. 404. The Dyaks of Borneo also use a con-
vertible axe adze. And Lane Fox cites the same type from Mindanao in the
Malay Peninsula. A good example of the plain blade not convertible is
given on p. 149 Evans'" Bronze Implements."
There is a curious variety used by the warriors of Bomu. In thb the
iron celt is perforated, and a chain attached thereto, terminates in a ring
which runs on the handle. If the axe head is struck out of the wooden
socket, it is not lost. Wood's " Natural History," i., 693.
2 — Knight's paper, p. 246.
68
REINFORCING THE ARM.
than an iron hand javelin, and Hke a javeHn, the sharp end is
pointed, arrow Hke, not axe edged. With this weapon the Banyai
hamstrings and incapaci-
■■ ■* tates an elephant with a
single blow (i). (Fig. 41.)
This axe introduces us
to a whole African series derived
it would seem from the combina-
tion of club with a metal spear
head, and therefore distinct from these we
have described. It is well
known that the African
races use their metal blades
interchangeably as knives, spears, or
other implements. A spear head
stuck in a club made an efhcient
weapon, which we can hardly class
except among battle axes.
Lane Fox gives on plate xi. of his catalogue
a good group shewing variation of African forms
from a spearhead to a widely expanded edged
blade. This we supplement by a more advanced
form from Angola (2). This expansion of the
cutting edge took place probably wherever the
haf ted axe was in use ; and to this we shall return
later. (Figs. 42-47.)
Perforated and Socketed Types.
This great series, which exists up to the present day among
metal using savages, and even among the highest civilizations as
a parade arm or tool, is, of course, headed by the perforated stone
1 — Wood, I., 404. 2 — Knight, 245.
REINFORCING THE ARM. 69
£ixe and hammer axe. Curiously the stone series is of a decidedly
limited extent, for it is characteristic of Europe and especially
Northern Europe, though such implements exist elsewhere. The
reason for this has never been discovered, nor do we know yet
for certain whether any of the stone axes belong to the neo-
lithic period, or if all are subsequent.
Evans hafj divided the British series into four groups, which
we re-arrange as follows : —
(i) Adzes, rare. Some of these appear to be simply flat
celts, perforated through the broad side. The type
would be both tool and weapon.
(2) Axe, edged at one end and rounded at the other.
(3) Axe, edged at one end, flat for hammering at the other.
(4) Double edged axes, cutting at either end.
The same general types are
found on the Continent, but fre-
quently of higher finish and of more
elaborate design. Some of those
from Denmark are really beautiful
(i) (Fig. 48), though probably they
do not date from the stone age (2).
They occur in Russia, occasion-
ally in Greece (3), Schiemann found
them in the Troad (4), and the writer has purchased a small
but fine example of type 2 at Smyrna (5). There is a con-
siderable series from the United States which are supposed to be
ancient, but from their eccentric shapes, and the frequency that
they are of soft stone, and with very small holes, it seems rather
probable that they are votive or parade (6). Evans says they
are practically unknown in Central America, South Africa, or
New Zealand. An example made of stags horn has been found
near Stirling associated with whales' skeletons and believed to be
of early date (7). Some of the Russian types are very extra-
ordinary being made like a pick at one end, and terminating at
the other with an animals head (8).
Over most of these types we need not linger. They tell
their own tale — the smaller and carefully finished examples were
certainly war axes, the heaviest and clumsiest were almost as
certainly tools, and many of the intermediate types were doubt-
less used for all purposes. A local paradox is found in the writers
own district, where it is no exaggeration to say that 3 or 4 heavy
perforated axes or hammer axes are found to one celt. These
implements, common in Westmorland and the Lakes, are from 9
to II inches long, of clumsy fabric, and sometimes of soft stone.
1 — Worsaae Danish Arts S.K. Art Handbook p. 27.
2 — Demmin, p. 144 figures the same type in bronze from Hungary.
3 — Evans p. 183. 4 — Ilios. 5 — Now in the British Museum
6 — Knight's paper, p. 43, fig. 8. 7 — Munro's " Prehistoric Scotland,"
58. 8 — Demmin, 84.
70 REINFORCING THE ARM.
What the actual period of these objects are and to what local
conditions we must ascribe their number has yet to be
explained (i)
The double edged stone axes are the originals of a very in-
teresting group that we shall meet again — the "bipennis" or
double edged Amazonian axe. It seems to us very possible that
the first double edged axe was of the club type with two celts
fixed therein at opposite sides. We are not aware that this has
ever been suggested, and we believe that no such weapon has
been observed in use among modern races. Yet it is almost
certain that such a form would occasionally be tried.
This double axe became at a very early period a symbol
in Eastern and Mediterranean culture, occurring at Mycenae,
Crete, on Greek coins, and even in metal work in Scandinavia. It
was a Scythian and Assyrian (2) weapon, but as far as is known
was not adopted in Egypt (3). It was a sacrificial axe, however,
in Rome ; and both Scandinavian and Germany (4) give us ex-
amples in stone.
The double edged stone axe has led us a little in advance of
our subject, and we must go back to the single edged and holed
or socketed metal axe.
As might be expected the simplest forms of bronze holed axes
are very hke the more highly finished perforated stone axes.
That is to say they are made of thick metal and the shaft hole
passes through. We believe the type is unknown in Britain,
but it occurs in Hungary (5) (of the type from Denmark in stone),
in Denmark and Southern Italy (6) . Where great similarity occm^s
it is very difficult to decide whether the bronze are copied from
stone, or vice versa ; but we think that speaking broadly, when-
ever we find a perforated metal axe, clumsy and lumpish in shape,
and with a very short (i.e., unexpanded) cutting edge, we may
take it as the work of a people not long acquainted with the work-
ing of metal.
I — The author's local collection will shew the proportion of these.
Eight big hammer axes and axes ; three ordinary celts ; one perforated
adze ; and three hammer stones or pounders of different types. The celts
are the only ones that can be ascribed to the NeoUthic period with certainty.
The actual use of these heavy hammer axes is as obscure as the reason for
their number. It is just possible that they are a sort of late survival of
the Scandinavian axe hammer type used by the 10th century Norse settlers
for numerous domestic purposes about their homesteads.
2 — On Assyrian bas-reliefs.
3 — Wilkinson, i, 360.
4 — One with expanded cutting edges in Demmin, p. 77.
5 — Demmin, 144.
6 — Demmin, 125, 142. On p. 144 Swiss and Russian bronze tj^es
with a sort of cresent curve.
Some of the bronze perforated axes from Denmark are of great beauty,
high finish, and large size (up to 20 inches). Some, from the high finish of
ornament and the strange and useless position of the shaft hole appear to have
been ceremonial or votive.
REINFORCING THE ARM.
71
The metal axe seems to have developed almost at the same
time in two totally different directions. These were, the expansion
of the cutting edge, and the forming of the blade with a true socket,
by which we mean that the weapon was no longer a simple wedge
perforated, but was cast or forged with a socket, formed at the
side opposite to the edge. No doubt a certain amount of edge
expansion took place before this true socket was invented, but
the completion of both seems to have been about synchronous.
The developed war-axe is supposed to be pecuUarly char-
acteristic of Asiatic nations, but it is nevertheless in Egypt, that
we can best trace these very interesting changes. The simple
type of bronze axe in Egypt was a fiat celt, the back of which
instead of being pointed was expanded with two points parallel
to the blade edge. This expanded back was let into the shaft,
and the points facilitated the securing of the blade and shaft by
binding. (Fig. 49).
This development is shewn in figures 50 to 56. After the
first expansion of the edge we come to the crescent type, which
is generally socketed, and in which the points of the crescent are
recurved (i) till they almost touch the shaft. Very curiously
this type is not represented in ancient Egypt, though common
elsewhere (Fig. 50) . Apparently the Egyptians having made this
crescent type imsocketted, forthwith improved it by prolonging
the crescent points backwards, until
they equalled in length the original tang
or end. The three tangs were passed
through the shaft and rivetted there.
(Fig- 52).
Some one, perhaps the Phoenicians,
carried this type across the Mediter-
ranean, where it was improved on, and
fitted with a socket. We shew examples ir^^^ ^^ t a
from Greece (Vaphio) (Fig. 53) (2) and fa^"^, ^^m*-^^^ v5o
I — Occasionally we find the socketed bronze celt with a very widely
expanded edge. A Gallic example will be found in Demmin, p. 135.
2 — In the Mycenaean room, National Museum, Athens.
72
REINFORCING THE ARM.
Beirut Syria. (Fig. 54) (i.) It is shewn I think unsocketted
on the Hittite sculptures
at Eyuk, and evidently
was a wide spread wea-
pon. In Egypt itself the
type was elongated (still
without a socket) until it
became a sort of glaive
or voulge (2). (Fig. 51.) Sometimes, however, they
adopted an elongated socket or tube, and in Figure
55 we see an example in the British Museum where
this type of axe is fitted with a silver tube for the
shaft. The short socket never was popular (if used
at all) in Egypt, but in Figure 56 from Viziniagram
India, we see a similar weapon in which two short
rings are intended for the shaft. The elongated glaive
like types were much affected in more advanced
culture.
It will be seen that one result of these develop-
ments of form was to provide a weapon with a wide
cutting edge without increasing excessively the weight.
This gave rise to a whole series of advanced types
which we shall soon notice. But in some places a
similar object was attained by simpler methods. If
we look at Figures 57 and 58 of Viking types (3) we shall
see that in the north of Europe at a date when the use of
iron was well established, the battle axe was often length-
ened, so to speak, by cutting out a portion of the flat of
the blade, while leaving the more or less expanded edge
itself untouched. A similar but more pronounced Merovin-
I — See Canon Greenwell " On some rare forms of Bronze Weapons,"
Archaeologia, vol. 1, p. 13-14.
2 — The glaive and the voulge had the edge on the convex side of the
ong blade, the war scythe on the concave.
3 — Du Chaillu, The Viking Age, i'., 88.
REINFORCING THE ARM.
73
gian example is shown in Fig. 59 (i). It is,
however, rather singular that while blades
thus expanded, and true crescent blades, are
common in Northern Europe in the gth to nth
centuries, the elongated glaive in which the
points are brought back to two or more sockets
does not appear to a somewhat later date.
The Tube Socket.
The peculiar system which we have already cited as occurring
in the Egyptian falchion, in which a tube was attached to the
socket into which the shaft was inserted, occurs elsewhere at an
early period. The most interesting example is a Swiss one, cited
by and illustrated in Evans' " Bronze Implements " (2). In
this the tube is shorter than the blade, but both round the tube
and the blade part are fine mouldings which shew pretty clearly
that the whole is a repoduction in bronze of a bronze
celt bound into a wooden haft on which a small pro-
jecting branch is left purposely to be split for receiving
the metal blade. Another example of an axe with a
longer tube comes from the Hallstatt cemetery, and is
remarkable as being decorated with an animal on the
back of the tube (3). We shall again meet the type
used with pick weapons.
In later mediaeval times an interesting change
takes place in the use of the axe. As warfare became
systematized and armies were more carefully organized,
the arming of the respective branches of cavalry and
infantry became an object of attention. Thus the foot
soldier adopted the pole axe, a long shafted weapon
that would reach a riders head and could be used a
dozen ways. The horseman retained the short shafted
battle axe which was for cutting only.
The long shafted axe thus grew into a series of most
fantastic weapons, combined types of axe, spear, hook
and sword, bearing a score of names. The eccentricity
of the shapes can only be compared to the HungaMunga
throwing weapons of Africa. So fantastic and intermixed
are they that it is no t always easy to say whether a weapon
is a halbard, bill, glaive, or voulge. We adopt, however,
Demmins' groups which are the clearest we know.
(i) The Bill or War Scythe. — This had a long
curved blade and was edged on the inner or
concave side only. (Fig. 61.)
I — Demmin, p. 55.
2 — p. 154.
3 — Demmin 131. — The type is oriental. One similar with a couchant
lion from Van was exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries in 1902 by Canon
Greenwell. See vol. Iviii Archaeolo^a, p. 8-10, where 3 Persian bronze axes
are shewn decorated with lions or lion forms, carrying us back to Assyrian
art motifs.
74
REINFORCING THE ARM.
.'""^^ ~
(2) The Glaive or Scythe Knife. —
Of similar outline but edged on
the outer or convex side. It is
said to have been used as a breach
knife. It is worth noticing that
a similar type occurs in the
Phillipines (i). (Fig. 62).
(3) The Guisarme or Gisarme. —
Which was edged on both sides
and also armed with hooks or
spurs. This barbarous type was,
and probably still, is in use in
China ; and it has been found in
Dahomey, Africa, where it ap-
pears to be a copy from an
European model. (Fig. 63.)
(4) The Voulge. — A Swiss or French
type arid simpler in shape, being
a broad single edged blade cutting
on the convex side only and
sometimes armed with a hook or
spur. (Fig. 64.) Weapons of
similar shapes both to the
gisarme and voulge have been found in the
Phillipine Islands and Isle of Timor.
(5) The Foot Soldiers Pole Axe (2) — A weapon
very varied in shape, being sometimes an
ordinary axe head sometimes a voulge (which
is practically what the Scottish pole axe or
Lochaber axe is), and sometimes as in certain
Russian shapes, closely akin to German and
Egyptian glaive types we have already
described. (Fig. 60). The long handled axe
appecirs in the hands of the Normans on the
Bayeux Tapestry.
(6) The Halbard. — A name which seems applied
&I:
to such a variety of types, as to be of little use.
Halbards range from military tridents or ranseurs to a
weapon combined of axe-spear and spur.
I — Knight's paper, page 272. Glaive is generally derived from gladius.
2 — Said by Burton to be the " axe of Poland " which seems a far fetched
derivation even for Burton.
REINFORCING THE ARM. 75
It will be seen that the bill, and the glaive or scythe knife
have much the appearance which would be presented respectively
by a scythe blade or a sword blade lashed securely to a staff. In
consequence several writers have sought to trace these forms, to
peasant revolutions in which the insurgents armed themselves
as best they could, with sickles, scythe blades, pruning knives, etc.
lashed to the staves of their flails or forks. That such weapons
have been made in revolutions, is acknowledged, but it seems
more probable that in doing so, the insurgents were imitating in-
fantry weapons already in use than that their rude makeshifts
originated the types. Some of these forms indeed existed among
races without metal culture, and poles or long clubs armed down
the edge with small worked flints, or fish teeth, form examples.
But the mediaeval varieties are properly the result of an advance
in war organization when the footsoldier was powerless against a
mail clad horseman, without a long shafted and powerful weapon.
Then became evident the value of a weapon combined of axe and
spear, or sword on a pole. The numerous and useless variations
simply betray the fantastic humour of European culture which
after the fourteenth century could never, either in art or indus-
try, content itself with the simple and necessciry. Naturally
these types eventually dropped into their proper places as cere-
monial or official weapons, and we may now find a rural church
warden bearing a symboUcal halbard with a tin gilt blade and
velvet tassels.
The geographical distribution of the axe is not uninteresting,
but hardly concerns us here. A noted weapon was the Fran-
cisca or Francisque the single-bladed battle axe of the Franks
which was used for throwing as well as for striking. In the same
way the Plains Indians used their Tomahawks (i), and also the
Bangas of the PachmarH Hills (2), The African Hunga Munga
weapons which were always thrown, were in some ways akin to
axes, but all these throwing weapons we shall treat of later in a
separate group.
The word "Tomahawk" is of loose application, generally given
to the handy tool weapon of many savages. The Maori tokl o^
adze was generally a tool, sometimes a weapon. The AustraUan
tomahawk was a rude affair — a rough formed celt lashed in a
handle and used for all purposes. The North American Indian
had many varieties, from the primitive stone celt grooved and
fastened adze- wise with a curved withy handle to the steel-headed
Birmingham-made tomahawk with a tobacco pipe head at the
back of the blade and tube in the shaft. This strange contrivance
was used as a weapon both missile and in the hand (3).
PiCK-AxE Type. — A weapon with a sharp-pointed blade or
I — O. T. Mason's " Origins of Invention," 270^
2 — Egerton's " Catalogue of Indian Arms."
3 — Wood's " Natural History, " ii., p. 652.
76
REINFORCING THE ARM.
projection at right angles to the shaft makes an effective weapon
in warfare, and has been occasionally used at all times. The
eariiest was probably an antler of a deer of which one point was
left (i). The Australian waddy or Malga followed the same
pattern, and the African club with a spear head fixed in the head
was used in the same way (Fig. 42). The Virginian Indians had
horn and stone clubs of pick-axe type, and picks sharpened at
both ends were used by various Indian tribes and inhabitants
of the Pacific Coasts of America (2). Lane Fox pictures the deer
horn war club of the Iroquois, which is a good example, and
shews how the type was re-produced in iron (3).
The type re-appeared sporadically in bronze culture.. A
bronze blade exists with rivet holes for attachment, but with a
curve in the blade which suggests that it was hafted at right
angles on a club end, rather than as
a dagger or pike which the shape
otherwise suggests. That this was
so, is rather supported by the ,
remarkable weapon from Arup in
Scania with a long tube socket and
pointed blade at right angles (Fig. 65) (4). To this
may be compared a remarkable example from
Krasnojarsk in Siberia, also with a tube socket
though much shorter (Fig. 66) (5). A Chinese
example on the other hand appears to have been
made to fix into the club itself.
The horseman's war hammer or M artel de fer,
which in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries hung
like the mace from the saddle, was a real-pick with
a long sharp beak at one side and a hammer at the
other.
The Mace.
We restrict here the name of mace (Lat. Massa,
n^
65
hi
a lump or nugget) to
weapons of which the
head is of heavier
material than the haft :
in fact the composite
club. The mace fulfils the purpose of the
knobkiri in a more advanced culture.
How it may have originated — in the find-
ing of a tendril grown through a perforated
I — Perforated pick heads have also been found in prehistoric flint
workings both in France England, and elsewhere. These were for grubbing
among chalk and flint, and were of course tools.
2 — O. T. Mason's " Origins of Invention," 374.
3— "Primitive Warfare." xlvii., p. 2, lii, figs. 57-58-
4 — Evans' " Bronze Implements," p. 261.
5 — Nadaillac " Manners and Customs of Pre-historic peoples," p. 237.
REINFORCING THE ARM. 77
stone — we have already mentioned, and we may see that such
a find might suggest equally well the ordinary mace, the pliant
handled ball and thong type, and even the missile bolas. The
mace appears to belong to all stages of culture and to all periods
except modern civiHzation. It was used alike in the prehistoric
times, among savages, under the great ancient civilizations and
all through mediaeval times until warriors shed their armour. It
seemed curious that the true mace should have then disappeared,
but the fact is it had become recognized as an armour smasher,
and except for this purpose would have been discarded earlier
in European culture.
The mace does not exist in the older stone age, and is not
characteristic in neolithic culture. Stone hammers similar to
the perforated axes, but flat, blunt, or pointed at the ends, occur,
and some were probably war hammers. Variations occur which
may be considered mace types. Evans figures a circular or disc
like type, and irregular oval weapons all perforated, which haf ted
would make good striking weapons. The Corwen stone hammer
is hardly a mace and must be official from its elaborate ornament.
Among modern savage races the mace is generally in one of
three types, the flat disc, the star, or the knotted.
The plain disc perforated in the centre and sharpened to the
edge is found in New Guinea, Torres Straits, Australia, Darnley
Island, etc., while the star shaped club, apparently originated by
notching the edge of the disc, occurs in New Caledonia (i), in
Peru (in copper), with faces carved on alternate points of the star)
(2), New Guinea, etc.
Professor A. C. Haddon has made a careful study of this
type of weapon, in British New Guinea (3), though he most un-
satisfactorily terms them stone clubs. All he gives cire perfo-
rated to be mounted on shafts, and all come under the mace group.
His classification is as follows : —
(i) Natural stone clubs with a slight amount of working.
(2) Ring clubs (by which he means circular flattish but not
edged weapons).
(3) BcJl clubs (i.e., spherical or orange shaped). (Fig. 67).
(4) Ovoid clubs.
(5) Disc clubs (i.e., flat and sharp edged, but by no means
always circular) (Fig. 71.)
(6) Flat clubs with notched edges (sometimes with one row,
sometimes with two rows of notches).
(7) Knobbed clubs (there is a great variety, and generally
they resemble the knotted wooden clubs from which
they seem derived. Some resemble mediaeval maces),
(Figs. 68, 70.)
I — Labillardiere, pi. xxxv.
2 — Catalogue of Scottish Nat. Museum, 1892. p. 120.
3 — A classification of the stone clubs of British New Guinea. Jour.
Anthrop Inst., xxx., p. 221.
78
REINFORCING THE ARM.
(8) Pick-axe clubs (with either two or four sharp points).
(9) Star clubs (with several rays or points, and which might
equally well be developed from the notch edged mace,
or elaborated from the four pronged pickaxe.) (Fig.
69.)
Classes 8 and 9 are hardly maces since they are piercing, not
bruising weapons.
The mace was used both in Assyria and Egypt. In the latter,
as represented in the monuments it was a heavy ball of stone, on
a short straight haft (i). A curious feature is generally found
in these representations consisting of a large hook projecting from
the haft some five inches from the end, and turned downwards.
This has been mistaken by Demmin for a sword breaker, and
though this explanation is quite evidently incorrect, the true use
is obscure, since the weapon shaft is frequently represented as
grasped by the holder above it, which rather negatives the
otherwise probable explanation that it is a hand guard.
The Egyptian mace appears in the early dynasties. We see
it in the third dynasty sculptures of Wadi Magharah, in the up-
raised hand of the king as he smites down captives. Recent re-
search has given us elaborate examples of the weapon itself of the
same early periods ; for the excavations at Hierakonpolis and
elsewhere have produced heavy limestone mace heads, pear shaped
and carved with figures.
A curious composite type was also in use, consisting of a
globular or oval headed mace from which projected a long glaive
shaped blade. This weapon Wilkinson calls a Pole Axe, and in
the hands of a powerful man would inflict a terrible wound.
(Fig. 72.)
The mace of Assyria (as shewn on the reliefs) varied in shape,
having the head sometimes spherical sometimes like a rosette
or flower, (perhaps really a knobbed ball) or otherwise ornamental.
I — Wilkinson, i., 363-4.
REINFORCING THE ARM.
79
It was fitted with a loop at the butt end, presumably to suspend
from the wrist. Yet generally in the monuments it is grasped
somewhat like the Egyptian mace, half-way up, or near the head.
From Assyria its use descended to Persia, in which coimtry some
of the early kings carried the " gurz gowesir," or cow- headed
club. Lastly it became a characteristic Indian weapon, the iron
war mace being mentioned even in the " Institutes of Menu "
(i). The modem Indian forms we shall mention again.
The mace is but little mentioned in classical times. We
have the mace bearer in the Iliad ; (2 ) and the secntores in the
gladiatorial shows used maces of lead against their armoured
adversaries ; but the evidence is rather in favour of the mace
having passed from Africa into Asia where its use spread widely,
and was then reim ported to Europe in crusading days.
The mace in India is as varied in type as that of mediaeval
Europe. It is said, probably correctly, to be a Persian intro-
duction. There are maces with
'-^ plain ball heads, others with balls
from which spear heads project.
There is the bladed type or
"gargaz,' with seven or more
small blades side by side forming
the head ; and there is the
" morning star" mace, the head of
which is a metal ball bristling with
flamboyant spikes (3). These
were all fighting patterns, but
Indian or Persian fancy invented
fantastic mace like types which
were carried by fakirs or durwnshes,
and were emblematic of the
bearers pretensions, though the
objects themselves must have been
suggested by the mace. Fakirs
crutches and Durwish's maces
are overlapping types (4) (Figs.
73-77-)
The mediaeval European mace
was as a rule all iron, and we '
find all the Indian types we
have mentioned. The heads are
spherical, pear shaped, ridged,
bladed, or spiked. The last was the morgenstern
I — vm., 315, XI. loi.
2 — Iliad vii., where the mace is mentioned as of iron. Korundtes is the
mace bearer or cudgeller.
3 — Egerton's " Indian Arms," an illustration of a fine one from Delhi.
4 — The Persian Durwish's staff with an animals or an homed devils
head called " gaosar," can I think be only derivable from a mace.
8o
REINFORCING THE ARM.
76
or " morning star," though that name is frequently incorrectly
applied to the ball on a chain or flail. The proper " morning
star " was of two patterns, long handled for infantry and short
handled for cavalry. No weapon could be more easily manu-
factured by a peasant than this, for he only required a heavy
ended club, and big nails to spike it with. It is, we think, far
more probable that this type was adopted from the use made of
it in peasant revolts in Germany, than the war scythes we have
already described (i).
The mace has per-
haps more than any
other weapon been
adopted in mediaeval
times for ceremonial and symbolic
purposes. It has indeed become
almost the emblem of civic corporate
life. It has been remarked that the
sceptre of Agamemmon which was
preserved by the Chaeronians, and used
for ceremonial purposes forms an early
example of such a custom.
Weapons of the Ball and
Thong Type.
In this group we have an interesting
series, the principle of which is a ball
of stone or metal (sometimes spiked)
fastened to a thong or chain, which in
the simpler form was simply held in the
hand, but more generally was attached
again to a shaft or haft. This last form
of weapon was common in mediaeval
times, and is often (though according
to Demmin erroneously) called the
"morning star." (2.) The more usual'
name seems to be " holy water
sprinkler," which we shall use here.
The true derivations of these types we have
'^ mentioned, and we cannot see that it can be as
Evans suggests, a modification of the staff sling (3). Lane Fox
classes them under "Morning Stars" Flails, and Holy Water
Sprinklers, and suggests that the weapon is of Mongol origin and
" to have been allied to the whip which is usually carried by
Tartar horsemen." (4). It seems, however, very probable that,
like many of the more uncommon weapon types, the ball and
thong was adopted independently in different parts of the world,
I — Demmin 422. *
2 — p. 424. 3 — " Stone Implements," p. 378. 4 " Catalogue," p. 152.
'"^4.
REINFORCING THE ARM,
8z
although its use became specially characteristic in some.
The name " sling halting" has been sometimes applied,
and is a fairly satisfactory term (i) ; but " slung shot "
is unsatisfactory as it suggests that the type was used
only by races using engines of war which was not the
case in many instances (2).
We may conveniently group these weapons under
four different heads, as follows : —
(i ) The ball attached to a thong which was held in
the hand.
(2) The ball on a thong or chain, which was
attached to the end of a staff.
(3) Two or more chains or thongs, attached to the
end of a handle, and the chains terminating
in knobs or heavy rings.
(4) A bar of wood linked to a staff (the flail).
Class I is a primitive type no doubt used in pre-
historic times. The ball is not always perforated. In
fact, it appears more
often to have been en-
closed in a leathern
covering, the flexible end
of which was grasped in
the hand. Such a "life
preserver " was used by
the Assyrians and per-
haps by the Phoenicians,
The bearded figures
from Khorsabad and
Kouyunjik which pin a
writhing lion under the
left arm, grasp in the
right hand a weapon that from its
bulbous end and flexed shape must
be a heavy weight secured into a
leathern pouch. (Fig. 78). The
same weapon is in the hand of
the lion slayer on the Amrit stela.
Modern America, Asia, and
the Far North, all give examples
of this form of weapon. The
Eskimo used at one time the
simplest form of all, a
stone ball perforated, with
a strip of hide for a handle
(3)- IB
I — O. T. Mason's " Origins of Invention," p. 41. 2 Knight's paper, p. 225.
3 — Evan's " Ancient Stone Implements," p, 5.
n'\
82
REINFORCING THE ARM.
In North America Ratzel- tells us, oval stones (used by the
Mandaris) were attached to a leather thong, to form a striking
weapon, which reminds us of the bolas (i), Evans cites a variety
of examples. There is the hand bola of the Pampas a ball of
metal with a three foot thong used for striking.
The Patagonians use the same contrivance, and
both in Patagonia and on the Pampas we should
observe that the elaborated throwing bolas are in
use. Lastly there is the remarkable series of stone
balls (mostly from Scotland) with elaborately
decorated bosses separated by grooves, which were
evidently intended for securing them in a leather
thong. These remarkable objects are apparently
of the Bronze age and could equally well have
served for a sling hafted weapon or a throwing
bolas. But there is as yet no other evidence that
a missile bola was ever used in Britain (2) (Figs.
290, 291.)
Class II is very widely represented.
In the Roman games the combatants
were sometimes armed with clubs to the
end of which were thongs terminated
with leaden balls. The Kalmuks,
Mongols, and Chinese use the weapon
with a 2 lb. perforated iron ball (3).
The Kalmuk weapon had a 13 inch
handle, and was used for wolf hunting
which brings back to us the lion hunting
Assyrian figure. Lane Fox gives an
example from India with an 18 inch
handle and a double chain (see Fig. 79).
the same type with a spiked ball is said to have
appeared at the Norman Conquest and lasted to the
century (see Fig. 80). It was the
" Flegel" {flagellum) of Teutonic Europe (see
Figures 81, 82) and was known as a war
weapon also among the Swiss and Russians.
Lastly it was held in the hands of our
Guildhall Magog, and appears in the hand of
mediaeval statues at Naumburg and Verona
(Fig. 82).
A variation of this type of weapon was
used by certain American tribes. The
Shoshone Indians had a weapon called
Poggamoggon, which was formed of 2 lb.
ii
u
In England
i6th
1 — "Natural History of Mankind," ii., 36.
2 — Illustrations in Catalogue of Scottish Museum, "Ancient Stone Im-
plements," etc.
3 — Klemm quoted by Evans.
REINFORCING THE ARM.
83
stone covered with leather and attached by a two inch thong to
a 22 inch handle (i). The Apaches of Arizona made a sort of
club by covering a stone with the tail skin of a buffalo ; and a
pliant withy lent a shght degree of rigidity to the thong part (2).
A similar contrivance was in use among the Algonquins (3), but
since the securing of these weapons depended on the drying of
the skin, it would appear that the makers were rather aiming at
a rigid mace like weapon, than the loose ball and thong type.
Class III is chiefly an Oriental one. The
multiplication of the chains at first suggest that
this class was in some way copied from a scourge
of the "cat o' nine tails" order. But this does
not necessarily follow.
A weapon of this sort
with a I3i inch haft
and two chains, each
ending in a spiked ball
was used in Japan, and
is shown in Figure 84
(4). Egerton figures a
similar weapon with
plain balls, a 15 inch
handle, and 19 inch
chains from Vizianagram (5) (Fig.
83) ; and a weapon of this sort is
mentioned as being used at the siege
of Delhi. The German " Scorpion "
in the 15th century had four chains
ending in rings of larger size than the
links of the chain (6), and in India a
similar weapon was used, the chains
of which terminated in steel quoits. (Fig. 85).
Class IV. Although many of the above
described weapons are termed (not incorrectly)
flails (flagrum and flagellum) we prefer to reserve
the name for the bar (often iron, sometimes
wood spiked with metal) linked to the staff.
This weapon is identical in shape with the
agricultural or thrashing flail the only flail
known to this or to last century, and the use
of which in Britain has almost expired. It has
of course been suggested that the war flail took
its rise in peasant revolts, but it is really quite
as probable that the fighting flail suggested the thrashing flail.
We have no evidence on the question nor is it likely that there
will ever be any forthcoming.
I — Evans, 379. 2 — Knight 224. 3 — Evans 379.
4 — "Lane Fox's Catalogue," Fig. 1 14. 5 — "Indian Arms," p. 62 and 78.
6 — From Prague Museum, figured p. 425. Demmin.
84
REINFORCING THE ARM.
This shape as
0/ being used in the
00 14th, 15th, and
i6th centuries in Germany, Russia, and
Switzerland. Sometimes the Hammer of
the flail was plain and
sometimes it was spiked,
but generally it was made
of iron, though its square
shape suggests that the
type originated in wood.
A rather unusual variation is shewn in Demmin (i)
from Geneva where the hammer terminates in an
oval open work end of iron (2). (Figs. 86-88).
Flagellants.
Flagra and scourges are really quite distinct
in origin from the ball and thong types, but they
overlap a little. The real scourge is properly
derived from the rope, tendril, or wand only, and
is a primitive or corrective appliance, and not a
weapon. But the ball and thong type probably
suggested a composite form severer than a straight
wand, but not a weapon. Equestrian races adopted
these knouts, and they became the symbol of the
slave driver.
The straight pliant whip is much used in
modern Africa ; witness the kurbaj of Egypt cut
out of solid "hippo." hide; and in Bornu the
same thing, only armed at the end with a metal
knob is, or was in use for punishments. Wood
I — p. 428.
Q_ 2 — The Bull Roarer (Figs. 89-91). All Anthropologists
0?7 and Folklorists know this mystical appliance, the strange
customs connected with it which Prof. A. C. Haddon has
traced out in many parts of the world. The "bull roarer" is simply a
small board of wood connected with a shaft or handle by a thong, which
when whirled round makes a buzzing noise. The question is, how are we
to account for the mysterious uses it is put to. Sometimes it is used for
spirit raising, or ghost scaring, sometimes to bring wind or storm ; in one
glace it is a charm or it is used to drive cattle with, in another it seems to
e looked on as a God; often it is sacred, and now and then a toy only. We
suggest that it is in origin simply a primitive fighting flail — the wooden block
on a leather thong. The noise made when the owner whirled his weapon
was observed to scare animals, and to be rather like thunder. Hence it was
adopted into all sorts of savage ceremonies and ritual. And, commencing
as a weapon, it has a world wide survival as an object of superstition.
According to Mr. Andrew Lang (Morning Post Nov. ist 1902), bone bull
roarers or amulets in the shape of bull roarers have recently been found in
French palaeolithic settlements.
rM
.'11 1
REINFORCING THE ARM.
85
describes the most extraordinary whip
dance among the Maquarri of Guiana
in South America. The whips used are
stiff elastic affairs made either of silk
grass fibre, either bound together, or
covered with cane, and three to five feet
long. The "pastime" consists simply
of two youths standing up and altern-
ately " slogging " each others calves
with their utmost strength. Though
each blow raises a great bleeding wheal
it is always apparently taken smiUng.
There are different methods of spending
our times, happily (i).
In Egypt a scourge is continually
depicted on the monuments, but it had
no likeness to the modern "kurbaj."
Osiris carries always a scourge and
crook, but the scourge is short
handled and heavily lashed or
thonged,
0 The Roman Flagrum or Flagellum
had two or more thongs with bones
or bronze rings knotted in the lashes
and sometimes terminating in metal hooks. It
was used in gladiatorial exhibitions and as a slave
whip. The armed whip itself in more modem
times seems mostly confined to Asia and especially
to the Tartar races. The Koreans of the 17th
century had cavalry carrying whips armed with
small points of metal. The Turks used a knout
for military punishment, of which the tails were
armed with brass knobs ; and our cat o' nine
tails may have been adopted from the suggestion
of some intelligent attach^ or " bashador " to the
Sublime Porte. (Fig. 92).
I — Natural History, ii., 615.
T
chapter v.
The Point.
As a method of attack the simple forward thrust would be
soon adopted. Yet it was a stage in advance either of the blow
or missile. Those few writers who have treated the subject of
the development of the simpler weapon types, have indeed sug-
gested that early man learned this lesson from the models which
occur in nature. It is certainly true that in each of the divisions
of the animal world, we find creatures armed most efficiently with
sharply pointed thrusting and piercing weapons. Among the
pachyderms we have the great homed rhinoceros, the tusked
hippopotamus, and the wild swine. Cattle, deer, antelopes, and
the gnu deliver their attack with the sharp point of the horn or
antler. Among the felines there was the sabre toothed tiger
(now extinct), which could kill with a thrust. The walrus among
amphibians, ripped downwards ; while certain cetaceous
mammals and fish, as the narwhal and sword fish, are provided
with a strong pointed weapon. In a somewhat similar way some
of the smaller fish used their sharp spines. And in the bird world
the bittern, the crane, the heron and others, pierce with a long
and strong beak, while the gallinaceous orders attack with a stroke
from a pointed spur (i).
The theory that mankind directly copied these animals is one
that may be doubted. At a period of man's history so early that
he had not adopted any thrusting weapon, the larger animals
would only be a source of terror, not an object of study or a
quarry of the chase ; while to his uncultured imagination nothing
probably would be suggested either by the combats of birds, or (if
he ever saw them ) by the weapons of fish. The lesson was learned
but not so directly. The shed horn of an antelope would be
found, picked up and retained on account of its beauty. The
shape, strength, and sharp end would soon suggest the thrust,
while from its light weight and lack of balance it would be useless
for a blow. But shed horns were not to be found everyday ; and
probably very soon our early parents were imitating them in the
imiversal material of wood. First came the simple pointed stick,
and then perhaps a more elaborated and distinct imitation of the
horn itself.
Few instances, however, of the actual use of the simple horn
I — See Lane Fox's " Primitive Warfare," p. 629. Burton's " Book of
the Sword," p. 9.
88
THE POINT.
or tusk as a weapon seem to be recorded, though the hafting of
teeth, spines, and spurs is not uncommon. The French traveller
Mouhot has described a Laotian chief killing a large rhinoceros
with the sword of a sword fish (i) ; and Crantz mentions the
Greenland " Nuguit " — a narwhal tusk hafted with a curved
wooden handle (2). In the Dublin Museum there is also a thrust-
ing weapon made from a red deer antler.
In India there were some very curious and interesting sur-
vivals in metal from early horn types. These we endeavour to
illustrate in Figs. 73-77 and 93-97 (3). Figure 73 shews ^^
a rude weapon or crutch made all of antelope horn but
with a steel point. This is believed to be the crutch or
staff of a Fakir, a class not supposed to carry weapons,
although they held a crutch for rest or support. Never-
theless the sharp metal point shews that this
example could at a pinch be used as a thrusting
weapon. Figure 74 is a Fakirs crutch dagger
a real metal weapon, with a jade and crystal
handle or crutch which however is recognisable
as a copy of the last type. Figures
75-77 are other Fakir and Durwish
crutches and maces and it will be
Figure 75 represents a
hand holding a horn though all is of
steel.
The group (Figs.
93-97) is more interest-
ing. Figure 93 is a well
marked type of Indian
double dagger used by
the Bhils and Indian Fakirs, and
known variously as Madu, Maru, and
Singhouta (4). Figure 94 is more
advanced but the daggers are all horn,
though tipped with gold damascened
steel points and furnished with a small
shield to protect the hand, and a ,
Q/L sharp projecting dagger blade. A m ^3
' ' curious variant from Vizianagram is V
I — ^Mouhot's travels in Indo-China, Siam, Cambodia, 'and Laos ii., 47.
2 — Illustrated by Lane Fox, " Primitive Warfare," pi. lii., No. 52. The
other examples of the use of horns, spines, thorns, or birds beaks, given by
that writer do not really illustrate the hand piercing weapon, but the arming
of missile spears and arrows.
3— 'These illustrations are drawn from illustrations in Lane Fox's " Pri-
mitive Warfare," Egerton's " Indian Arms," and Burton " Book of the
Sword." Fig. 76 is believed to be from Kolapore, yy from Bagdad, 94 from
Datiah, 95 Vizianagram, 96 Spanish or Moorish.
4 — Egerton, p. ii., No. 434.
THE POINT.
89
shewn in Figure 95 called Sainti,
which has no points, and is really
a parrying stick finished with a
projecting dagger, but in No. 96
we have a similar type to No. 94
but without the target, which
apparently belongs to Spain, to
which part of the world the pre-
sumption is the type was intro-
duced by Arab merchants and
travellers who had visited
India (i).
This weapon is not
quite confined to India
for double pointed daggers held
by the middle to strike right
and left with, are, or were used
in Australia, by the Sandwich
Islanders, and the Kutchin Indians
of N. W. America. Probably the
prototype was a single horn held
qtin the hand as a parrying stick.
^ Then two horns were secured at
their wide ends to be more
effective. The addition of
buckler or basket-hilt is a further confirm-
ation of the method of use. But the
interest lies in the way a primitive type in
horn was preserved in metal and high
culture.
The East supplies us with other
weapons' which retain the form of mammal
horns. In many modern collections we
may see examples of the Indian khanjar
all formed with a beautiful natural double
curve but in three distinct methods of
" make." The simple type is just the
split half of a buffaJo horn retaining its
natural shape, curve, and point. Fig. 98.
The next in advance is a reproduction of
the last but with a metal blade inserted in
1 — The Moorish "adaxgue" which Burton
derives from el-darakah, a shield, the origin of
our targe or target. But according to Demmin
" dague," in " venery," was the first horn on the
head of the stag in his second year. If so the
dague is a fairly good name for this type of weapon. Dagger also
presumably preserves this word, i.e., the pointed ]iom. (See Boutell's
" Arms and Armour," p. •sfio^.
iQQa
269).
96
THE POINT.
*^S
an ivory handle. (Fig. 99) ; while the
third example is made entirely of metal
(Fig. 100.) The point to notice is that
the shape of the horn, and also the fiat
and round sides is preserved in these
metal and semi-metal types (i). Burton
says that the Arab jumbiyah made of
metal, preserves its original form in a
similar way.
The Malay Kris (Fig. 102) which
later we shall describe more fully, is a
very remarkable weapon. It has a flam-
boyant or wavy blade to which the grip
of the handle is sometimes at right angles,
so that it is used for a thrust straight
from the shoulder, not for a downward
stab or upward rip. The small waves of
the blade suggest the spirals of a horn
which may have been the first model.
There are indeed many Indian blades,
the curves of which point to a similar
origin.
Daggers cut out of hard bone
would be common in many ages and countries.
The old Mexicans used such, and Wilde figures
one found in the river Boyne in company with
stone spear heads ; and the dagger itself has an
appearance of being copied from a bronze type
(2).
The horn or tusk formed therefore probably
the first thrusting dagger, if it was not also the
prototype of the spear. The sharp
hard point of the natural weapon
would suggest the artificial sharpen-
ing and hardening of wooden sticks.
In certain countries stone of any
degree of hardness is of extreme
scarcity, and sometimes wanting
altogether, and in such places the
pointed horn would soon be copied
in wood. Such may have been the
case in the Lower Valley of the
Amazon river ; while in Sumatra
I — See Syer Cuming's "Weapons and
Armour formed of horn," Journal Brit.
Arch. Assoc., iii., p. 27.
2 — Descriptive Catalogue of Antiqui-
ties in Royal Lrish Academy.
THE POINT.
91
we hear in the i6th century of short lances made of Sago wood
with fire-hardened tips (i).
The pointed staff or stick thus originated, became in war the
spear, and in peace the cattle goad. The latter is an appliance
of historical interest. The Hebrew goad for oxen was probably
a staff eight to ten feet long sharpened at one end " with a pric-
kle," as Maundrell describes it in Palestine in 1697, and " with a
small spade or paddle of iron strong and massy for cleaning the
plough." (Fig. 103.) This is the goad of Syria and
Asia Minor to-day, and it was probably with this form
that Shamgar and other husbandmen slew 600 Philis-
tines using no other weapon (Judges iii., 31.) The
spade or paddle of iron was a femile such as is found
on the butt of some African speairs.
Goads much longer are used elsewhere. In the
Pampas, where the waggons are drawn by teanis of six
oxen, they have a 20 foot goad with a projecting spur
which is used for the leaders and middle
pair, while a shorter goad is kept for the
wheelers. The long one is described by
Darwin as looking like " some weapon of
war" (2). The artistic Indian developed
the goad into a wonderful and elaborate
form. The " Ankus " or Rajput elephant
goad is often a beautiful thing richly inlaid
and damascened. (Fig. 104). It termi-
nated in a straight spear like point, but has one
or two hooked lateral spikes which rather suggest
that it may be developed from a real weapon of
another type, the crowbill or " buckie," which is
really a pick. The spur is the smallest sort of
goad — a prick tied to the human heel. The
Syrian and Mesopotamian muleteers of to-day
carry a big packing needle at their waist to goad
their mules with.
The Flint Dagger.
Stone or flint was not on the whole a likely
material to be adopted for the purpose of making
a thrusting weapon of, where a wooden stake or
bone was procurable. It came in of course for
pointing the composite weapon. But there are
also types of worked flints which suggest that
they were intentionally designed as pointed
weapons to be held in the hand for stabbing. These are worth
examination especially since the question will arise whether the
1 — Giambattista Ramusio who died 1557.
2 — Darwin's "Naturalists Voyage."
ro3.
104
92
THE POINT.
earliest types of metal daggers were
copied from stone, from wood, or
from bone.
It is interesting to find that even
in the remote palaeolithic period,
flints were turned out which seem to
have been so used. Perhaps neither
these nor the more elegant neohths
should be called daggers, though the
difficulty is to find a better name.
These implements are of an elon-
gated tongue shaped pattern sharply
pointed at the "business" end, but
at the broad end being massive and
heavy and unchipped, so that they
were very evidently intended for
holding in the hand, and not to be
mounted. The published examples
from Britain and North Europe
range from 5 inches to 9 inches in
length, and the length and conse-
quent weakness of the pointed blade gives some ground for
believing that they really were made with
the idea of actually stabbing an enemy.
An example from the Thames Vcdley
(Ealing) is shewn in Figure 105 (i).
In the Neolithic series, so-called dagger
types are far from unknown — and Egypt,
Britain, Scandinavia, and Mexico all give
examples. In reality probably " pointed
knives" should be the name applied to all.
The British type is generally lanceolate —
being widest about the middle, and form-
ing a more or less acute point at one end,
while the other terminates in a blunted or
squarish end. The blades are thin and
delicately chipped and generally measure
5 to 7 inches ; the lower edges are fre-
quently rounded or ground off, and the
actual butt really blunted, perhaps, if not
probably, to make them to be grasped in
the hand. Some, however, were certainly
hafted (see Fig. 106).
With these should be compared the
Scandinavian examples, wonderful examples
of dexterity in the art of flint chipping, and
elaborate in form. They vary from eight
I — Allen Brown's "Palaeolithic Man in N.W. Middlesex.
DAGGERS.
93
to sixteen inches and many of the straight
forms have a proper handle (either triangular
or quadulateral in section) chipped in the
material itself. The beautiful and regular
curves of the blade, the elegant outline of the
weapon, and the remarkable zig-zag flaking Kiwyi^v
along the angles of the handles of some of "'^
these " daggers," evince not only a consider-
able culture, but even appreciation of the
beauty of form (i). (Fig. 107).
The Metal Dagger.
The cultm-e of the bronze age was a
remarkable one, for we find fully developed, ^^^l
nearly all the hand weapons which sufficed " ''
for later metal civilizations. Perhaps we
have yet to learn how long this bronze
cultm-e took in developing, and that the
more elaborated forms are widely apart in suVL4-iJijii!i///f
actual date from the simpler. At any rate ^?^n?^'Mi
in the bronze age in Britain and Europe as
we know it, the hand dagger or poignard
was quite a feature. In Britain there is a
regular series, but curiously it overlaps both
with the knife-daggers, and swords, each
class being pointed and sharp at the end.
It is, therefore hard to define at what size
the knife used for cutting is to be dis-
tinguished from the dagger ; or the dagger
(a stabbing weapon) from the longer sword
which would be wielded as a cut and thrust.
The daggers, however, as a rule, are
between five and twelve inches long, and
are either tanged, riveted, or socketed.
The first of these having a straight tang for
insertion into a wood or bone handle may
be sub-divided into (i) the plain group, 3
to 10 inches long with a rather wide blade,
and the tang short ; (2) the Arreton down (2) type which has a
longer tang which fits into a bronze ferrule, which enclosed part
of the handle. The blade of these pretty weapons is widest n^ar
the ferrule and tapers gradually to a point. They are frequently
ornamented by longitudinal ridges, headings, or flutings, and are
about 10 inches long. The writer purchased in Samos a fine
1 — See Worsaae's " Danish Arts," South Kensington Handbook, p. 23.
Some of the remau-kable and elaborately worked flints from Egypt are
dagger shaped, but presumably these are ceremonial. They are 6th to 10th
dynasty, see F. Petrie's " History of Egypt," vol. i.
2 — The Arreton down hoard (Isle of Wight) was found about 1735.
94
THE POINT.
tanged dagger sword, very like
these weapons, but 19 inches
long, and probably of early
Greek date. The connection be-
tween the European bronze
culture and its designs, and the
Mediterranean is still being
worked out, and the evidence of
similarity or identity of weapon
types is alwaj's worth noting.
The Samian dagger is, however,
we beUeve, is a much rarer
type than the shorter English
examples. (Fig. 108).
The more usual method of
fastening the dagger to the
handle was by means of 2 to 5
rivets, the holes for which were
formed in the broad end of the
blade. The handle itself was
either horn, bone, wood, or occasion-
ally bronze (Ireland), sometimes a
solid piece with a slit into which the
blade base was inserted, but more
frequently two plates of horn, or
bone, between which, at one end
the blade was secured, while the
two other ends fitted into a metal
pommel which was also riveted. A
large proportion of these riveted
daggers are somewhat thin, but
there are a great variety in the
shapes ranging from a very small
blunt weapon 5 to 6 inches long
(see Evans A.B.L fig. 297-300) to
a beautiful rapier shaped blade 30
inches long, only f inch wide at
centre of blade and with a strong
midrib (i). This remarkable weapon is from
Lissane, Co, Derry. Evans also illustrates
what may be called small sword types, inter-
mediate between sword and dagger, and a
remarkable bayonet like weapon, triangular
in section and with a tang and ferrule for
attachment to the shaft. Probably this
weapon was used as a sort of pike. (Figs,
109-111),
I — Royal Irish Academy (Evans' A.B.I, Fig. 318.)
DAGGERS.
^5
wi
The bronze cultures, far
apart as their homes have been,
give us examples of poignards or
daggers ; and there is sufficient
similarity in the types to suggest
that there might be a common
ancestry. The Egyptian poig-
nard varied in detail but the
blade was wide and tapered
straight to a point, and the hilt
sometimes fitted with ebony and
an ivory pommel (Fig. 112).
The method of mounting some
of these beautiful weapons was
similar to French examples. The
Assyrian dagger was of a like
type to the Egyptian as regards
the shape of the blade. Cyprus
in the bronze age gives us a large
series of blades which at first
sight look like spear heads, but
the end of the tang is curled or
bent (i) Tound apparently to
secure a wooden handle to grip.
The tangs are, however, rather
short. iEgean civilizations shew
us some finely designed types.
At Hissarlik copper daggers were
found in the lowest stratum. In
Minoan Crete, the present in-
vestigations are resulting in the
discovery of sword-rapiers and
daggers cast in bronze in great
perfection. The blades were
attached to their handles by
rivets, much like the European
bronze age types. The daggers
from Mykenae (at Athens), shew
considerable variety, in some
cases the blade and grip being cast
in one piece (2).
"U'l
m
iirlti
.IV.
m::£
llVl".
^V'il
KaK'I'
u
<r^h
^
)i^
M
vm
:¥
:o
m
flirCJi.^-'
I — They are found in large num-
[{•■ V bers in the Cyprian cemeteries and the
'** writer has brought many examples
from Lamaca.
2 — The writer has just examined the series (as
yet unpublished by Dr. Evans) at Candia. The
sword-rapiers of Mykena; and Cnossus, will be
mentioned under swords, although as they seem almost solely for thrusting,
it i« rather a question if they should not be classed here. The wonderful art
of the four inlaid "Mycenaean" daggers at Athens cannot be discussed here.
96 THE POINT.
In copper also, there are many American Indian daggers
and knives : it is, however, said that the Indians did not smelt
the metal, but treated it as a malleable stone and shaped it by
hammering, (i) Generally speaking all these bronze and copper
types are straight ; but Demmin figures a very remarkable curved
bronze dagger from Siberia now in the Klemm collection at Dresden
(2). It has a graceful double curve, a sharp point, and the handle
is a rams head which must have been grasped in the palm of the
hand. It is a regular stabbing weapon, and I think, must, like
the khanjar, be classed with those weapons whose shape was first
modelled from a split horn. (Fig. loi.)
Glancing over the whole series of bronze age daggers, it is
difficult to imagine that the types have been suggested from
any flint or stone weapons of the latest neolithic age. This we
know is otherwise with the bronze celts ; but since such a con-
nection is not readily traceable in the piercing weapons, we pro-
bably shall not be wrong in concluding that the types were intro-
duced either with the metal, or at a somewhat later date.
The straight dagger thus introduced in the bronze age,
never was completely superseded. It was the Greek Para-
zonium or Roman Pugio (poignard), both worn on the right side,
and generally a pointed weapon made with a tang, wide where it
joined the hilt, and tapering straight to a point. In the same form
it reappears under Merovingian civilization, and is found up to
the 15th and i6th century as the "langue de boeuf," " anelace,"
or " misericorde." These forms were of course iron, but it was
the same weapon and generally ran to about 17 inches in length.
Other short mediaeval daggers give us the names of " lansquenet "
and " stilleto."
Foreign races also have their hand daggers. The American
Indians made theirs of copper, as we have said. The scalping
knife of the Blackfeet and Sioux was very like the broad flat
bronze age knife daggers, but it was made of iron (3). Daggers
and knives of iron are common among African races. Schwein-
fiurth says that the dagger or dirk knife is diffused over a great
part of Equatorial Africa, and serving also for domestic purposes,
forms the characteristic mark of a whole series of tribes between
the Zambesi and Upper Nile (4). Most of the African forms
however appear to us as more truly knives thaa daggers.
The Katar of India and its Derivatives.
We find in India a very remarkable group of weapons which
illustrates very well the way in which types are gradually
developed and elaborated. This series we have illustrated in
I — Knight's paper, p. 253.
2 — Demmin, p. 144.
3 — Knight's paper, 256.
4 — " Artes Africae," 1875. Figs. 6, 10. O. T. Mason's " Origins of
Invention," 376.
DAGGERS.
97
Figs. 113 to 124 (i). Fig. 114 shews the Katar (sometimes spelled
Kuthar), a cmious weapon which though miknown elsewhere,
has a very wide range over India. Egerton calls it one of the
|i
national arms of India, but the place of its origin is
at present a mystery. It will be seen that it is a
very short thrusting or piercing weapon (2), hafted
in a manner unknown in any other weapon. From
the base of the blade spring two pareillel metal bars
which are joined together by one or more transverse
bars which are graisped in the palm of the hand.
This peculiar grip seems especially contrived to allow
I — For all of which except Figs,, 113 and 124 copies have been made
from Egerton.
2 — Sometimes much shorter in the blade than that shewn, even almost
triangular.
98
THE POINT.
a piercing stroke to be given with the utmost power of the arm.
Fig. ii6 shews a Vizianagram weapon called Pattani Jam-
dadu which is simply an elongated form of the Katar but other-
wise the same weapon. It could, however, like the next, be used
for cutting as well as thrusting. Fig. 117 is the Bara Jamdadu
of the same length, but the blade is^onger and the handle shorter
■ ^^_^^^^_^_ in proportion, and the
^'^^^^^fyTi^ "7(0 > — -^ grip or handle is pro-
ll<^ |_1 JW ^(^ --^^ tected by a sort of steel
^^^^_^m[>JJ^ _^2-i^ — --' ^ basket or guard. By again
lengthening the type we
arrive at Fig. 118, the Pata, a magnificent weapon, 4 feet 4 inches
long, in which the grip or handle which is still of the same
type, is completely hidden and protected by a beautifully made
steel gauntlet.
This very remarkable weapon was used by the Mahratta
cavalry, the Sikhs, by Mohammedens at Moharrem, and by
Egerton is supposed to be
of Tartar or Mogul origin
(i). Its origin, however, is
pretty clearly shewn by the
drawings. The remarkable
thing, however, is that the
primitive Katar with its stunted blade was retained in use along-
side this elaborated slasher. The retainers of Sivaji carried both
(Fig. 123) ; the Katar in the belt at the right side to draw and
use as a left handed parrying dagger if the shield was lost.
It seems very probable that the Katar was in its first form,
nothing but a knuckle-duster, or armed gauntlet such as we
show in figure 113, prob-
ably with lumps of sharp
stone stuck in a handle
of wood. Then the steel
Katar developed into the
slashing Jamdadu and
Pata, but the short form was retained as a left hand dagger and
parrying weapon, Uke the I5th-i6th century Main Gauche for
duelling. Evidence of this seems to be found in the existence
of numerous multi-point variations of the Katar such as Figs.
119 and 120, the Jamdhar doulicaneh and Jamdhar sehlicaneh
('* two scratcher, and three scratcher death bringers "), and the two
bladed type (Fig. 121)
from Nepal. That
these examples were
meant for catching or
entangling a blade as
much as for delivering a thrust seems fairly borne out by the
existence of the true sword breaker type (Fig. 122) in which
I — Indian Arms, p. 104, no.
THE POINT.
99
there are really five blades which spring
open when the bars of the hilt are pressed
together (i).
Thus we seem to have a regular line of
development from a rude knuckle-duster to
(on the one hand) a magnificent slashing
sword provided with a steel gauntlet guard,
and on the other to an elaborated type of
sword catcher with spring blades (2).
The beautiful rapiers, duelling
and otherwise, of Europe, in the 16-
1 8th centuries give us the latest and
most perfected examples of a type
developed as early as the European
and ^gean bronze ages.
The Kris of Javanese and Malay
races has been already alluded to as possibly modelled from the
deer horn dagger. It is a weapon of a very unusual character,
unlike indeed anything else. The blade is double edged, straight,
sometimes with wavy edges, and the handle often put at a slight
angle, or even at right angles to the blade. The total length
varies from 12 to 30 inches, and the surface of the blade is
always rough and uneven, in consequence of its being formed
by welding together a number of fine steel wires, and afterwards
corroding the surface with lime juice. It is said that a fine
weapon may cost up to as much as 1^20. This remarkable stiletto
never appears in Buddhist sculptures before the 15th century.
It is seldom used in warfare, but is carried either as a sort of
dress sword, or used in executions. The Malays sometimes poison
it ; and whether it is used for executions, or otherwise, it is
always as a thrusting dagger. Some of these Krises are very
elaborate in finish and are greatly prized by their owners, and
although the weapon has points of resemblance to other types,
it is probable it has a distinct origin (3) (Fig. 102).
Shafted and Handled Piercing Weapons in Primitive
AND Advanced Culture.
The pointed
stick (suggest-
ed as we have
seen probably
by a horn) was
no doubt soon
I — Fig. 124 shews the European sword catcher on exactly the same
principle.
2 — Gauntlets with short swords or daggers attached were occasionadly
used in Europe : see two examples figured in Demmin p. 336, believed
to be used in bear hunting.
3 — See " Wood's" Natural History of Man," ii., 472-3, for methods of
execution.
100 . THE POINT.
tipped or armed with either horn, shell, or flint ; but this
advance was, as a rule, made among savage races who were
partly dependent for existence on small game and animals.
The spear therefore was generally missile, and as a hand weapon
(used only for thrusting and never thrown), was, and is, very
rare among natural races, except perhaps in some parts of the
east. In the bronze age there are many types of spear and
lance heads (though some are difficult to discern from daggers).
There are, however, numerous socketed bronze age spear heads,
and although perhaps some of the largest may have been retained
in the hand for fighting, it is very probable that most were fre-
quently discharged like the assegai. In countries where long
cane shafts were procurable (India, etc.), long thrusting spears
were soon adopted, but generally a comparatively short shaft
was used and the weapon was missile. Perhaps the reason the
long spear was adopted among Orientals was also the early domes-
tication of the horse, a mounted warrior being better armed with
a long hand spear, than either a sword or a missile. The author
has himself travelled among the great tribes of Northern Arabia,
who are always either on camel or horseback, and never without
their 15 foot lance. So in the Indian Museum at South Kensing-
ton we can see many examples of spears of the same length, with
shafts of bamboo or other wood, and elaborate metal ferrules.
The Abyssinian spear with its remarkable spud like ferrule pro-
bably came from Arabia (i).
Turning to classic times we find much the same evidence.
The HopUtes were armed with a great pike or spear 24 feet long,
but even it was sometimes thrown (2). Among the heroic Greeks
the spear seems to have generally been misssiJe, for the Abantes
of Euboea who used the hand lance were noted as exceptions.
" Their hands dismiss not the long lance in air.
But with portended spears in fighting fields.
Pierce the rough corselet, and the brazen shield." (3).
Some of the Australian aborigines, however, use a very long
and heavy hand spear thirteen feet in length with wooden barbed
ends. This is somewhat curious among races so low in culture,
and so remarkable as missile using peoples. (4). It is possible
that the use was an importation.
The plain thrusting spear never became extinct in mediaeval
times though it also ramified into very strange variations. Never-
theless from the 8th to the 13th century a simple pointed spear
with a shaft about 12 feet was in use.
I — This is the saurdt^r of the Iliad. Saul's spear stuck into the ground
while he was sleeping probably had a ferrule.
2 — " Boutell " Arms and Armour," p. 43.
3 — Iliad iii., 11. 650-53.
4 — Wood's " Natural History," p. 41, (fromjPort Essington.)
BIDENTS AND TRIDENTS.
lOX
BroENT Trident and Multipoint Spears.
The use of the bident and trident spears originated probably
in the double pointed fishing spear of barbarism. It became the
emblem of the sea god and sea power. Neptune brandishes it in
his hand, and Britannia carries it as her emblem. It is the eel
leister of the Cumberland poacher, and the modem sailor's pronged
"fish gig." (i). In Rome the gladiatorial combats had the fisherman
soldier who entangled his prey with a casting net {rete) and spiked
him with a trident. So also Cortez found net armed soldiers in
Mexico ; while the trident was also used by the Thracians, whose
country was washed by three seas, the Aegean, the Propontis,
and the Euxine (2). So also we find it in lands where great rivers
127a
I — Tylor "Anthropology," 214.
2 — A wonderful steatite vase found in 1902 at Aghia Triada in Crete,
shews a relief of twenty-seven men, of whom four are singing, and twenty-
three armed with remarkable trident-like weapons or implements. A portion
of this procession is shewn in Fig. 127a sketched by the writer from a cast.
Up to the present, archaeologists have failed to agree as to the meaning of
the procession, and what the tridents really are : most of the Italians (who
found the vase) regarding the procession as warriors armed with tridents,
while the English school hold out for a harvest home with winnowing forks.
A double pointed bronze spear head has been found at Phaestos only three
kilometres distant, but it is very unlike the long pronged spears on the vase.
Crete was a " thalassocracy," and with diffidence we suggest that this may
be a procession of fishermen with fishing spears.
102
THE POINT.
have furnished food for man-
kind. It occurs on the coins
of Bactriana where the Oxus
runs, and on early types. In
Siam the " tri " (i), was a
missile of this sort in modem
times. The head of a trident
type weapon was found by
Layard at Nimrud on the banks of
the Tigris (2), while the Ghutwals
of Ghat used a bident spear, with
two spirally twisted prongs, and a
socket of brass (3). In the Pitt
Rivers collection at Oxford are war
tridents with fine steel heads from
China and Assam. It will be seen
that this weapon was widely known and used in all
continents but perhaps particularly in Asia. Trident
spears very like the mediaeval Corseque (i.e., Corsican
spear) were used in the Philippine Islands and the
Island of Timor (4) though perhaps only for fishing.
Figs, 125, 126). The Saracens also had it.
Lane Fox in his catalogue instances many multi-
point spears in use, and many undoubtedly are for
fishing only. Fiji and the Friendly Islands had four
pronged spears, and different forms of forked spears
are found in man}^ parts of Africa and
even among the Eskimo.
Denham and Clapperton illustrate a
remarkable two headed spear used by
the cavalry of Baghirmi as a war weapon
(5) (Fig. 127), and Texier found at
Konieh (Iconium, Asia Minor) the stele
of a warrior of the Greek period carrying
a weapon of similar type (Fig. 128).
This is, however, quite short, and was
probably missile, while the costume of
the figure is Asiatic and possibly
Hittite (6). Barth also shews an African
example of a Musgu trident which was
perhaps for fishing as well as warfare.
The trident was also a goad among
the ancients.
Ill
I
l\
ii il,S
1^8.
I — Egerton " Indian Arms," p. 94.
2 — Layard, "Niniveh, and Babylon, page 194."
3 — Egerton, p. yy. 4 — Knight's paper, 272-3.
5 — Denham and Clapperton's " Travels and Discoveries," p. 279 etc.
6 — Perrot and Chipiez " Art in Sardinia, Judaea, and Asia Minor," p. 224
The warrior also carries a remarkable curved falchion.
THE POINT.
103
The fancy of later mediaeval times produced
many curious long-handled thrusting weapons which
were placed in the hands of the infantry to enable
them to resist the onslaught of cavalry. There was
the plain pike — a heavy hand spear (i). The half
pike or spontoon remained as an officer's weapon to
the 17th and i8th centuries, and was a pike with
spurs and fancifully curved barbs. (Fig. 129). The
partisan was plainer but somewhat similar and
belongs to an earlier period — the 15th and i6th
centuries. The ranseur or corseque (Corsican weapon)
was a strong pike with two projecting points which
were in some cases barbs, but in others were curved
forwards so that the weapon was
trident like in character (2). The
military fork dates apparently from
the 15th century. The types vary
very much : some resemble the
ranseur but others are regular tridents or forks
(Figs. 130, 131). The two pronged fork was
especially adapted for scaling walls in sieges,
and Demmin illustrates a late example fitted
with hooks in the back for fixing it to a wall.
By furnishing the fork shaped weapon with
spring catches inside, it became a hooking
weapon or catchpole. This type of weapon we
shall treat under another heading.
Many of these late types we have alluded
to before as in most of them they are furnished
with a scythe like cutting edge. Thus the guisarme
itself which appears to be a shafted glaive
frequently terminates in a long sharp point ;
while the German and Swiss pole hammer though
sometimes terminating only in a lateral spike
and hammer is frequently found with a strong
thrusting pike.
The latest development of the plain thrusting
weapon is ver}^ interesting. The bayonet, which
is a pike adjustable to the end of the firearm,
made its appearance about the middle of the
17th century. It was at this date that the pike,
which had played so important a part in the
I — During the i6th century continental infantry consisted of mixed
forces of musketeers (arquebusiers) and pikemen. Gustavus Adolphus
reduced the number of pikemen, and at the end of the 17th century and
beginning of the i8th century, the pike was ehminated from European
armies, it is said because the Turk was such a superior swordsman, that
gunpowder only could keep him at arms length.
2 — see Demmin, 445.
I04 THE POINT.
history of European infantry, was being discarded in
favour of the musket. It was, however, found that
the musketmen, while loading were defenceless against
cavalry, so that in many cases, mixed corps of pike
and musket were retained. Where this method was
not adopted, the musketmen in an emergency reverted
to the point •weapon, by sticking the handles of their
daggers into the muzzle of their pieces to receive
cavalry. This gave rise to the first pattern of bayonet,
the plug bayonet, Fig. 132, which is said to have been
adopted in England about 1672 and in France about
1675 (i). The dagger of this period also had rings on
the guard, which may have suggested the next improve-
ment, which consisted of making a bayonet fitted with
two rings which slipped onto the muzzle, and therefore
allowed the firearm to be used. This improvement is
said to have been made in Scotland, 1689, and about
100 years earlier on the continent. The real socketed
bayonet as we know it was introduced at the com-
mencement of the i8th century (1703) into the
• French infantry.
The Modern Military Lance.
A discussion is now ( 1 903 ) in progress as to whether the cavalry lance
shall be done away with : and we cull from a paper the following opinions
of experts. Lord Roberts is strongly in favour of the abolition of the lance.
Lord Hardwicke calls it " a sentimental weapon." Lord Stanley " the
disappearance of the weapon is necessarj'^ in the interest of the efficiency of
the army." Lieut-General Sir Drury Drury-Lowe " Expert lancers are
overwhelming." Lieut-General Sir H. Wilkinson " The abolition is a
perfectly retrograde step." The modern lance in our army seems to be an
introduction since Waterloo, before which there were no lancers.
In face of the controversy of experts on this question it would be imper-
tinent of the present writer to attempt an opinion. Lances seem incon-
gruous in a warfare where gunpowder, electricity, aeronavigation, and every
kind of machinery are brought into requisition but so also do swords. Pro-
bably swords and lances will be retained until all the savage races are des-
troyed or disarmed, when we shall be free to murder our enemy by machinery
or electricity (the arm of the future) alone.
I — Demmin gives 1640 which is earlier than most authorities allow.
Lane Fox also quotes a plug bayonet dated 1647 (Cat. 173), and Demmin
himself says the bayonet was known in 1570. The above dates, however
are probably quite true as regards its adoption as an army weapon.
chapter vi.
Capture.
Hooking and Catching Weapons.
Whether weapons of this class should precede, or follow the
thrusting or piercing weapons, is not an easy question. Would
primitive man learn to stab before he learned to trip up an enemy ?
Probably there is no real sequence, since the selection of a curved
branch and its application, betokens about the same degree of
resourcefulness, as the adoption of a shed horn as a hand spear.
This tj^e of weapon would nevertheless come into regular
use only under certain circumstances. Suppose a forest land
where a strong Ind cruel race lived close to a small and peaceable,
or cowardly, one. In their colUsions, the weak or cowardly
would seek safety in flight, and the stronger or braver would arm
themselves with long sticks curved at the end, by which the
fleeing foe could be adroitly tripped and secured. As intelligence
waxed, the lesser and weaker folk adopted poisoned arrows or
other devices, and the bigger men became less keen on running
them down. Capture weapons were therefore only effective
against the weak or unarmed, and are in consequence few in
number.
This curved catching stick however existed, and perhaps
gave rise to certain types of weapons used otherwise by modern
savages. There are certain clubs, with a right or obtuse angled
bend, the derivation of which is uncertain, though possibly they
may have originated in curved catchers. Among them are the
Malga or curved waddy of Australia and New Caledonia, and the
Trombash of the Upper Nile (Figs. 233-235, Throwing clubs)
which, however, have been associated (perhaps more correctly)
with bumerangs and throwing clubs, under which head we shall
again refer to them. There are, moreover, numerous pick-like
types which might have only originated from the curved club, in-
cluding even the great glaive like wooden weapons of the Solomon
Islands. These derivations, however, are so incapable of proof
or disproof that there is little to be gained in following them up.
Weapons of capture though of limited value in combat
between human beings, were soon found of great use in the chase.
Hence arose a series of capturing apphances, most of which, how-
ever, were missile and will be noticed elsewhere. Such were the
lasso eind bolas (both also used in war), the pole noose and net.
The last (the reU) indeed, was the recognised arm of one sort of
io6
CAPTURE.
\\
gladiatorial combatants ; but it was not a regularly developed
arm of attack, since, with the trident, it simply symbolized the
fisherman turning warrior.
The lasso is a noose ; and in some countries a
noose on the end of a pole was adopted for sporting
and possibly man catching purposes. In like manner
we find a simple form of catchpole, supplanting the
primitive pole hook. In the Pitt Rivers Museum at
Oxford we may see a long pole which ends
in a big cane loop, while from the end of
the pole itself projects a sharp spike. This
strange weapon is from New Guinea, and
it was used also in the Cape York district
of North Austraha as is shewn by the
following extract of a letter sent to a friend
of the author by Mr. F. L. Jardine : " The
only approach to it (i.e., the lasso) is the
' head catcher ' which is a cane loop with a
strong wooden handle into which a sharp
spike is inserted ; the loop is thrown over
the head of the retreating enemy, and
pulled back with a jerk which causes the
spike to be driven into the neck or base of
the skull ; this weapon was only used in the
extreme North of Cape York Peninsula,
and was introduced from the Papuans." (i)
(Fig. 133.)
The simplest sort of catcher, however,
was a bident or two pronged spear with
barbs on the inner edges turned backwards.
The fork was forced on to the neck of a man
or into a fish and caught it with the barbs
without actually piercing it. The Illanoon
^ pirates used such a spear for catching men
^ (2), and the Malays had a seven foot spear
(a police spear Wood calls it) which was
used to catch an escaping prisoner by the
neck. The barbs of the instrument were
sometimes made of thorns. The Aht of
Vancouver had a long bident arrow of the
same sort for fish catching (Fig. 135) (3).
134 I — There are fishing spears closely akin to j 1^5
I — There are fishing spears closely akin to
this. The Frobisher Bay Eskimo has a central
iron spike, and two horn prongs on each side with
incurved nails at the ends. The Pasquamoddy Indians had a spear with
wooden prongs and an iron central prick. The Choockee fish spear (see
Fig. 134) is similar but with ivory barbs. Knight's paper.
2 — Idem. ? — Wood's " Natural History." ii., 727.
CAPTURE.
107
So far the catching instruments of " barbarous ' races. It
is interesting to find that the type of the spear with two prongs
and centre spike existed still in the civib'zation of the continent
till late times. The German catch-pole (Fig.
136) of the 15th and i6th century is really the
same type though the head (14 inches long) is
skillfully wrought in iron. This weapon and
also the double example (Fig. 138) with a
central pike, had long shafts and were meant
to neck and unhorse a horseman. It will be
observed that these catchpoles are furnished
with springs which allowed the fork to pass
over the neck when they sprang back to position
and secured it. Fig. 137 is a
Swedish example at Oxford.
Hooking appliances were
used in other ways in warfare
especially in sieges and naval
warfare. Sometimes these
were hand weapons used for
tearing, Hke the battle hook III \yj.
shewn in Fig. 139 and the
siege hook of the Germans which was furnished with a long shaft
and was used for tearing away burning arrows. (Fig. 140). (i)
But hooks were much earlier. The Assyrians used grappling
hooks at the ends of long
chains to catch and secure
the links of the battering
ram, in the same manner as
the Lupus ferreus of the
Romans, while Gildas describes the wild
Picts and Scots in the 5 th century dragging
the Roman-Britons from the Roman wall
with hooks (2).
Lastly there was the Polyspaston of|
Archimedes (B.C. 287-212) which is des-
cribed as a sort of crane to raise or tear to
pieces war vessels, though more probably
it was really a huge boat-hook to grapple
and hold them fast. )^0
A curious development of the catching
weapon is found in the different sorts of
sword breakers both of Europe and Asia.
There was the Main gauche of the i6th centiury with spring blades
furnished with hooks and an Indian form of Katar which was
similarly designed. (Figs. 122, 124). Even more interesting were
I — Demmin 484.
■2 "Chronicle" Cap. xix.
io8
CAPTURE.
the short German sword-breakers
{Main gauche or Brise ipie) shaped
like a short sword with a cross guard,
and with deep indented teeth on the
ledge, to catch the descending blade,
'which a sudden wrench from the
holder would break. (Fig. 141.)
These curious appliances Burton
seems to think were simply elabor-
ated from the saw edged or tooth
edged sword (i), but as a matter of
fact they are only ingenious devices
for defence entirely in keeping with
the spirit of the age which produced
them. Demmin has also suggested
that the curious hook placed near the
handle on the Egyptian mace of the
monuments was used as a sword
breaker or blow warder (2), but since
it is at the handle end of the weapon,
the explanation of its use seems
unsatisfactory and it was more pro-
bably a hand guard.
From capture, the use of hooking appliances
spread to all sorts of purposes, practical and even
ceremonial. Small hooks were made for fishing, big
hooks shod with metal, took the place of the great
stone which formed the primitive anchor. The savage
became tamed, and from hunter or cannibal turned
ploughman or shepherd, and either used his hook to
pick the clods or to catch the goats or sheep by the
hair or wool. Hence came the shepherd's crook which
we still use (see Fig. 142 a Cumberland
" lamb stick " ) and the pastoral staff — now
the emblem of the prelate. These are
instances of application of types. Again
what was the origin of the Lituus or staff
of the Augur — a symbol of priesthood and
the instrument with which he marked out
the heavens ? In form it was a short staff
curved or hooked which at once recalls a
shepherd's crook (Fig. 143); but there
was also a trumpet called lituus, and it
does not appear which appliance borrowed
the name from the other. It seems,
however, now agreed that lituus is an
I — " Book of the Sword," p. 138.
2 — ^p. 27 and 104.
CAPTURE.
109
Etruscan word meaning " crooked," so that perhaps we may find
in the East the origin of the htuus itself. It is at any rate
interesting that on the Hittite sculptures of lasili Kaia and
Eyuk at Boghaz Keui, the priests carry a curved " lituus " about
3I feet long, differing only from the Roman type in its greater
length, and in that the end held by the hand sometimes curves
in the same way, and not in the opposite way to the spiral of
the head (i).
The Roman harpago {harpdgi kredgra) was a many pronged
grappling hook, and the name was generally applied to the
cuHnary instrument or flesh hook. The curious instrument
shewn in Fig. 144 belongs to a type well-known in our museums
which though it has puzzled many, is generally considered the
cooking " harpago " (2). However this may be, its form, like a
human hand thrown open, leaves little doubt that the shape of
the Manus ferrea, or "iron hand" which was used in naval contests
for throwing into and catching the enemies tackle was practically
the same. These types are very puzzling to antiquaries. Fig.
145 represents a 3 pronged hook found in Lochlee crannog in
Scotland ; and though it would be a formidable weapon, is in
fact a cook's flesh hook of the late middle ages, just such as con-
temporary illustrations shew us some borne in the hand of the
cook in the Canterbury pilgrims.
I — Perrot and Chipiez " Hist, of Art on Sardinia Judaea," etc. Vol. xi.
Figs. 314, 321, 328.
2 — Or perhaps it was sacrifical. See references on this subject quoted
in Dennis "Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria," i, 411.
chapter vii.
Cutting Weapons.
The Edged Tool.
No weapon has played the part in the world's history that
the sword has done. At once it is the embodiment of the
romance and reality of war. The Bible teems with references to
its power, to its vengeance, to its symbolism. Tribes and families
were wiped out by the " Edge of the Sword." Indeed most
faiths either have been propagated by it, or have fallen before it.
Literature has glorified it, Poetry has sung it, and Art has em-
bellished it.
Yet strange to say the cutting weapon is seemingly in no
sense a primitive arm. We have seen indeed that men in the
stone ages ever3rwhere, have flaked flints to an edge or point, but
there is no evidence that in these metalless days, man habitually
used any weapon of wood, bone, or stone, which we could call a
sword. There were certainly numerous types of cutting appli-
ances, but speaking generally their use was as tools or implements,
not as weapons ; while the wooden or bone swords which travellers
have told of, are in reality only either edged clubs meant to
inflict a gashing blow, or else mere copies of European swords of
metal. The edged club indeed developed in some cases into the
missile boomerang.
If we could put ourselves in the position of a man in a non-
metal culture, we should realise that while his sharp edged flint
oould be used, when grasped in the hand, for gashing an enemy,
or, when hafted, as an axe or a spear, it could never be applied
for real cutting in the manner of the true sword. The metal
sword was not suggested by any flint or stone hand weapon, which
even if with a sharp edge would only inflict a gashing blow. It was
formed simply by elongating the short bronze knife, or else it
represents in metal the composite weapon type in which a club
or stick was edged either with animal or fish teeth, or with bits
of sharp stone. We shall return shortly to this.
Cutting as an art (if it can be so called) may therefore have
been adopted in early culture, for it would be suggested by the first
broken flint that was handled. Where hard stone was absent
the cutting edge of the human tooth in mastication, was in itself
a model hardly to be overlooked. But that the cutting edge of
the forearm of the insect called the mantis, and the method of
using it in combat, or the sharp edge of sUicious grasses and wild
112 CUTTING WEAPONS.
sugar cane would be taken as models as has been suggested, ap-
pears at least improbable (i). At any rate flint knives were in
common use in prehistoric times; and probably in those rare
regions where little or no hard stone was found, bone and shell
and even wood knives may well have been used. The sword,
however, was reserved for the days of culture.
It is worth while, at 9,ny rate, to glance at a few other simpler
cutting apphances in wood, bone, stone and metal, for it would
be expected that a few at any rate of the plainest metal types
would have been copied from either stone or bone, and that these
metal knife types would have been expanded, in some regions,
into swords without there having existed any intermediate ser-
rated or tooth edged forms.
There are not many examples to be quoted of cutting instru-
ments of either wood, bone, or shell. Of the first material, how-
ever, we have examples from those countries where canes or reeds
grow freely, for both are of a nature to split naturally with a sharp
incisive edge. In Virginia for instance, Captain John Smith at
the beginning of the 17th century found the native using a knife
made of a splinter of reed, with which he feathered his arrows,
jointed a deer, or cut out the material for his shoes and buskins
(2). In many parts of Polynesia we find a knife in use formed
of the split bamboo ; indeed according to O. T. Mason it is their
only knife (3). The inhabitants of Fiji and New Guinea used it
to cut up the human body and for decapitation ; and the same
sort of instrument has been found among the Andamanese, and
Minduracos of the Amazon for decapitation (4).
The New Guinea decapitation knife is an interesting contri-
vance. It is formed of a section of bamboo 15 to 18 inches in
length, one end of which has the tube left complete, while a longer
section is split longitudinally leaving one half which forms a blade.
The cutting edge is always on the left side when the instrument is
held in the right hand with the concave side upwards. After a
head had been severed, a strip of the blade edge was removed on
this side, and a notch cut close to the handle as a record or tally.
Consequently after some use the blade became thin and weak and
eventually was laid aside as a record. The neck vertebrae were
probably divided by means of a stone axe (5). (Fig. 146).
A somewhat similar instrument was noticed by Captain
Speke at Uganda where a sort of stiff grass blade " Mawingo
I — Lane Fox, and Burton.
2 — Pinkerton's "Voyages," xiii., 35.
3 — O. T. Mason, " Origins of Invention," 45.
4 — Knight's paper, 250. Smythe " Ten Months in Fiji."
5 — See "Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist" (July 1898), where
several examples from the Homiman Museum are described by Mr. Richard
Quick, who also says that the loops attached to the handles are for carrying
skulls. Spears were sometimes notched as tallies in the same way, or a
hole was bored in the weapon for each victim as in the Asiatic Islands.
CUTTING WEAPONS.
"3
wingo " {Permtsetum Benthami) was used by the executioners
of the kings Sunna and Mtesa to cut up human victims (i).
Edged in-
struments more
weapon - like in
character are cer-
tainly known,
,^, but they are rare,
'^°' and even if they
were weapons,
cannot be classed
as primitive
forms. Thus there was the Patii Patii of the Maoris which
occurs in bone and wood as well as stone, and often edged on
one side only. (Fig.
147. ) But this
weapon which we
have dealt with in
the chapter " Arm-
ing the hand," is
\^'l somewhat obscure
in origin and is at
any rate only an edged club. The so-called wooden swords
which travellers have described are mostly either clubs of the
paddle-type group, or heavy boomerangs, or in some cases
simply imitations of metal types. (Figs. 30-33, etc.)
Bone properly selected would form a good material for
knives ; but for many purposes it would not be hard enough, and
for the same reason bone knives of early date have seldom been
preserved. Still examples probably of considerable antiquity
have been found in Ireland, and we have already described the
horn types of the East (Khanjar, Jumbiyeh, etc.) In the far
North where stone is little known and
timber a luxury, we find Eskimo Lap-
'^° lander, and Greenlander using bone
freely both for knives and other purposes. The Eskimo split
walrus tusks for making knives, and Fig. 148 shews a bone knife
of these people used for
cutting the snow in
[50 making their houses.
Figs. 149 and 150 are
1 — " DLscoven,' of the Source of the Nile" (1863), p. 652.
114 CUTTING WEAPONS.
Greenland implements of bone, the first for cutting fish with,
the other for blubber (i). In the far South, shell was employed.
The inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego made a knife of a big
mussel shell, knocking off the thin edge and grinding out a new
one where the material was more strong and solid. But not
one of these appliances was made for a weapon, though no doubt
most were so used on occasion. In the Friendly Islands however,
a really weapon-hke cutlass of bone was noticed over a hundred
years ago by Admiral D'Entrecasteaux in his voyage in search of
"LaPerouse." (2) (Fig. 151). In shape it resembles a big carving
knife, with a slight curve and a formed handle without a guard.
In the same group and figured in the same work is another bone
sword, in this case with a straight blade, but it has a cross guard
and is evidently a copy from an European metal original ; so that
not improbably the other has a similar origin.
The stone using ages produced nearly everywhere knives and
cutters of flints, which are capable of being grouped in types.
There was the plain long flake, which, mounted at the end of a
short handle made a simple hand knife ; or there was a broader
flake trimmed at one side and secured laterally in a wooden
handle like the oldest type of the Eskimo woman's knife called
" Ulu " (3). But many of the palaeolithic cave and drift types
themselves were well adapted for cutting, and some forms such
as the oval with one flat or unchipped side could hardly have been
intended for any other use (4). Such an appliance was unshafted
though perhaps hke the " Ulu " it was fixed in a wooden handle.
Besides the simple flake knife, and the early ovate cutting
examples, there are many others, some primitive, and others
elaborate and perhaps of a period subsequent to the introduction
of metals. Fig. 151a Plate shews
an Australian example formed of
a very stout flake of hornstone
with a wide back and pointed
end, and simply covered at the
butt with skin and cord to protect the hand (5). The shape of
the flake is well adapted for and has evidently been chosen for
cutting purposes.
I — Knight's paper, 251.
2 — Labillardiere's Edition, 1 800. PI. xxxiii.
3 — Also a Swiss lake-dwelling type (Evans A.S.I. , Fig. 197). The Ulii
•was originally chert in a wooden or horn back. Then of metal from wrecks.
or manufactured by Europeans and taken by traders. See O. T. Mason on
" the Ulu or woman's knife of the Eskimo."
4 — Lubbock "Prehistoric times," 1865, p. 264.
5 — Evans " Ancient Stone Implements," 264.
CUTTING WEAPONS.
115
Figs. 152, 153, 154,
shew examples of the
skill which flint working
attained to in various
parts of the world.
The beautiful curved
example from Fimber, Co. Yorks. (i), is very Uke many
elaborate Scandinavian examples, while that from Eg3^t (Fig.
153) belongs to the wonderful series of worked flints from Abydos,
which is at any rate
-^
of great antiquity
(2). It can hardly
be the case that any
of these were made
for weapons, though
as we shall see they may have been sacrificial or ceremonial;
but Fig. 154 from Denmark is a very remarkable instrument ; it
is 14 inches long and has apparently been made to insert by the
short tang into a wooden grip. The shape is remarkable, and
the curves suggest a distinct appreciation of design ; and though
Worsaae puts it in the later stone age, it may be doubted if it
does not really belong to a later date. The shape suggests a
ceremonial or symbolic reproduction in stone of a metal type.
With regard to this ceremonial use of flint knives, we
have already in the introductory chapter mentioned some
instances under " retention of flint as a material." Among them
we have cited the use of flint or stone knives, for sacrifice among
the Romans, for embalming among the Egyptians, for circum-
cision by the Hebrews, and for sacrifice among the Aztecs, and
probably in Labode in West Africa. Also in Albania for a cere-
mony of divination, and in Teneriffe for cutting open the bodies
of dead chieftains. The New Zealanders also gashed their
bodies with flint knives, as a symbol of mourning, and it is pro-
bable that although very few of the flint knives known were made
as weapons, the highly finished examples such as we have illustra-
ted from Egypt, Yorkshire, and Denmark may have been used
I — Evans, A.S.I. , 317.
2 — They have been called pre-dynastic, but Professor Petrie in Vol. I.,
" Hist, of Egypt," says they are now known to belong to the period between
the 6th and loth djoiasty. Fig. 153 is sketched from Archaeologia, 56, pt 2.
ii6
CUTTING WEAPONS.
for ceremonial or even for sacrificial purposes. It is further in-
teresting to note that the iron sacrificial knife of Egypt (Fig. 155)
was of a very simple type ; so much so that it may to some degree
retain the traditional type of the ceremonial flint of early dynastic
times (i). This is, of course, theoretical, since German war
knives of a very similar type occur. We cannot illustrate these
stone and flint knives or cutters used ceremonially and sacrificially,
except perhaps the example from Abydos which belongs to a
regular series. (Fig. 153). There is, however, a remarkable
exception in the singular instrument shewn on Fig, 156. This
is the Nbouet of New Caledonia which was found in use by Admiral
D'Entrecasteaux in his " Voyage in search of M. La Perouse,"
in 1791-3. It was made of an oval disc of serpentine about 8
inches in its longest diameter, fastened to a short wooden handle by
means of perforations and cords, so that the instrument itself looks
like a battle axe rather than a knife. Yet we are told that it was
with this instrument that the cannibals of New Caledonia divided
the limbs, and cut open the bellies of their slain enemies, after
which the intestines were removed by an instrument formed of
two human " ulnae " tapered, well polished and fixed in a mat
made of bats hair (2).
We need pot pursue the distribution of the flint knife much
further. Indeed its use was probably universal among stone
using communities. Australia, to which we look for the most
primitive types has already been mentioned, and in the central
districts big flake knives with wooden handles were in use, which
it is said were really used for fighting (3).
The oldest Mediterranean civilisations have yielded similar
I — Burton "Book of the Sword," loi. The iron knife is however
tanged, and from it was fonned the hieroglyphic at or kat shaped like a
sword knife.
2 — Labillardiere "Voyage in search of la-Perouse," by Admiral
d'Entrecasteaux (1800), Cap xiv., 224.5, Plate xxxvii.
3 — B. Spencer Gillen " Native Tribes of Central Australia" (1899), 593.
CUTTING WEAPONS.
117
objects. Schliemann found many flint knives in the strata of the
stone period at Hissarlik, and deep down were double edged
obsidicin flake knives (i).
As a final example of a stone cutting implement we give in
Fig. 157 a stone " sword "from New Zealand, the home of the
mysterious Patd Patii. Its length, unfortunately, is not given by
Knight (2), but it will be seen that it has a formed tang to insert
into a handle, a flat back, bevelled edge and point, the result being
that it looks Uke an imitation of a sailor's steel knife or ordinary
dinner carver. It is probably not a native type at all.
The British bronze age produced a large series of well made
knives of various patterns. They were, like the thrusting daggers,
double edged, and either socketed, riveted, or tanged ; and they
are only separable from the dagger group in having the point
rounded. Taken as a whole there
is Uttle to indicate that these
blades follow any prototype in
stone or bone. There do indeed
exist a few uncommon one edged
forms which might possibly do
so. Both France and Britain have produced a few bronze
blades with a long edge something like a wide flat celt (3), and
evidently made to hold in the hand like the Swiss lake dwelling
type of flake hafted
laterally, or the Eskimo
" Ulu. " The rare,
British forms shewn _^___^ ^^-_-,-^
in Figs. 158 and 159 ^ '^^^=^'^^25^:^;^^^'^.,
are from Wicken Fen ^^'
Cambridgeshire, and Wigginton Herts, and are worth comparing
on the one hand with the iron example from Egypt, and the
b-'autiful elaborate one edged forms shewn in Figs. 160 and 161,
('-'
I — " Troy and its remains," 79,
2— p. 258.
3 — Evan's A.B.I. Fig. 261.
ii8 CUTTING WEAPONS,
which are respectively from Denmark and Switzerland. It will
be noticed that the projection or shoulder just in front of the grip
which occurs in the sword-like flint from Denmark (Fig. 154), is
retained or repro-
^^ ,_„_„„^„.„ _^ duced in these
^^^'^^^^^^^'uT'^^ ' European bronze
°°°^^' ' ^ types and also in
the iron Egyptian form.
Before leaving this section of cutting weapons, it may be
noticed that the Kaffirs and some other races used their spear
heads for other purposes than piercing ; such as for carving,
basket work, etc. It is possible that some of the bronze age types
answered similarly a double purpose. But the single edged
blades are knives only, while the double edged types were as much
dagger as knife.
In the stone age therefore, there was no stone sword ; nor
can we refer with certainty to the non-metal races, any weapon
of bone, horn, or wood, which is a true sword ; and such as have
been noticed, appear properly to be either edged clubs or imita-
tions of metal types.
The sword was in reality the off- spring of metal culture.
The stone and wood using " savage " had no material of which he
could form a long weapon of light weight, and so keen or hard of
edge that it would sever flesh or bone. Yet certain recent races
and no doubt also some prehistoric tribes were not without light
edged striking weapons ; for from pointing their darts and daggers
with flint, it required but little invention to slice out a groove
down the side of a light club, and fasten therein flakes of flint or
teeth of animals. This formed a serrated weapon which may in
some ways be taken as a prototype of the sword.
Serrated Weapons.
While, however, it is correct to say that this edged club was
the only sword type of pre-metal races, it must not be assumed
that it always or even very generally preceded the true sword.
Many races which used swords, never had in their pre-metal days
any serrated weapons ; but received, no doubt by transmission,
the metal spear head which they eventually developed themselves
into the hand dagger, and true metal sword.
It is curious also that in America and the Pacific where we
find this toothed sword, the true metal sword was never known
until Europe introduced it. Yet Africa, though nine-tenths
" savage," till the last century, had the weapon in many forms.
So also early Europe. Must we conclude that the true sword
was a legacy of Eg5^t ?
This edging or toothing in a matrix, was, it is thought, sug-
gested in the first instance by nature models — such as the Mantis'
cutting arm, or the tooth edged tusk of the sawfish. Yet such a
theory is perhaps uncalled for. It is true that the best examples
SERRATED WEAPONS.
119
of the serrated type at the present time are those
Pacific Island types in which sharks teeth are thus
utiHzed ; but I venture to think that the tooth was
used in these parts as an arrow point, or as an awl,
before a club was edged with them to imitate the
sawfish saw. The same remark appUes to the similar
use of flint.
Lane Fox who I think first
hinted at the nature model of
the serrated weapons, figures
"Primitive warfare," a strange
'6^- weapon used in New Guinea. It
is the serrated saw of the sawfish itself
the base cut down into a handle so
that we have a frightful spiked
weapon, the wound from which would
be a dreadful one. (Fig. 162.)
But the weapon is clumsy to a
degree, and though it might be
the custom of a savage tribe
to utilize such saws if they
found them, they would
hardly, we venture to
think, deliberately copy
them.
The ordinary ser-
rated types, may be thus
classed : —
1. Weapons edged
with fish teeth.
2. Weapons edged with flint
or other silicious points.
3. Weapons edged with glass.
4. Weapons edged with metal.
The first named group is a
very remarkable one, and con-
tains some very elaborated forms.
Yet it occupies the first place,
because the teeth may have been
sometimes so utilized by a race
ignorant of the art of stone
working. Though now chiefly
confined to Pacific races, who
can say that such weapons were
not often used by prehistoric
races dwelling near the sea ?
Figs. 163 and 164 shew two
examples of these remarkable
weapons. Fig. 163 is in the
120 CUTTING WEAPONS.
writer's possession and consists of a curved wooden club 35
inches in length, carrying no less than 59 sharks teeth firmly
secured on each edge with their points projecting outwards.
Fig. 164 shews a shorter weapon of similar manufacture with
three curved auxiliary blades, and containing four rows of teeth
on each blade. This weapon, Wood tells us in his " Natural
History of Man," contains over 200 teeth. It has been noticed
that in some cases the teeth on these weapons project in opposite
directions on the same example, though this is certainly not an
unvariable rule. Nevertheless the attack with this weapon was
perhaps always with a violent backwards and forwards sawing
motion. The Pacific is the principal home of this type, which
has been noted at the Marquesas group, Tahiti, Depeysters
Island, Byron's Island, the Kingsmill group, Radact, the
Sandwich Islands and New Zealand. Besides these Lane Fox
instances teeth edged weapons among the Greenlanders, the
South Sea Island " Pacho," and the Tapoyers of Brazil. The
Pelew Islanders used weapons edged with shell ; while the Aus-
tralians of King George's Sound arm their spears with the bar-
bules of fish.
These sharks tooth weapons of the Kingsmill and Marquesas
groups, are found in considerable variety of type,
and display great ingenuity. There are long
spears and swords and also quite small hand
daggers only 6 inches or so in length. One curious
feature in many of the larger weapons is the
addition of projecting branch blades somewhat
scythe-like in character. In some instances the
165 swords have cross guards and appear to be
copies from European metal types (i).
Weapons edged with bone pegs are recorded as having
been i^ed by the Eskimo (2), with staghom points in
Virginia (3) (in 1584), while Wilkinson says that a club
with wooden teeth is depicted on the Egyptian monuments,
but is believed to have been used by some rude neighbour-
ing race (4).
We are not aweire that the type occurs in modem
savage Africa.
Weapons edged in a similar fashion with pieces of
sharp flint were used in historic times in various parts of
the world. Fig. 166 shews an Australian spear the end of
which is armed laterally with sharp points of obsidian or
I — The teeth are attached generally in one or two ways. They
are perforated, and are either let into a groove cut in the weapon
edge, and then secured with fibre st.-ing, or they are placed between
two fine slips of palm leaf rib, and secured by thread. Fig. 165.
2 — Transac. Ethnol Soc. Vols. i. ii. 290. J |^_
3 — "Book of the Sword " 49.
4— "Ancient Egyptians" i. 364.
SERRATED WEAPONS.
121
flint set and fastened in a groove. These spears
like many others of savage races were no doubt
intended to strike with the edge rather than
with the point. Other examples from Australia
of the same type are armed with obsidian,
crystal, or even glass ; and somewhat similar
types have been found in Scandinavia (i). In
many peirts of the world indeed where worked
flints are evidence of a stone age, finely chipped
flakes occur which would be well adapted for
arming serrated weapons (2).
In Central America weapons of this sort
were still used in the middle of the i6th century.
These Mexican types have been figured in
various works and are sufficiently remarkable.
Fig. 168 shews an ironwood shaft into which ten
obsidian blades, seemingly very symmetrically
shaped are fastened. It is said to be
15th century, and is just over 2 feet
long (3).
Figs. 169 and 170 shew other
strange shapes of which, however,
the principle is identical, (4) while
Fig. 171 shews another type in
which the flints are more rounded in
outline.
These weapons appear to be _
the Mexican Maquahilt or war club
described by various Spanish writers in
the middle of the i6th century, as formed
of wood with flakes of flint or obsidian
fastened into a groove, with bitumen and
thread. Thirty thousand men armed with
slings, bows, fire hardened spears, and these
serrated weapons, defended Copan against
Hernandez de Chavas, an unrivalled example
we should imagine, of primitive armament
on an extensive scale in modem times.
I — " Prim. Warfare." 636.
2 — Fig. 167 is from the Lane Fox Catalogue, and
is carved in one piece with wooden teeth, presumably
copied from a type with flints. It is catalogued
AustraUan, but Mr. Partington assures the author it
is from the Solomon Islands.
3 — Sketched from Burton who copied it from
Demmin, p. 84.
Yjl 4 — Lord Kingsboroughs Work on Mexican
Antiquities.
It-}
/ya
122 CUTTING WEAPONS.
The Sword.
At last then we arrive at the true sword — ^the " Queen of
weapons " as Burton styles it in the panegyric with which he
heralds his monograph (i) : and indeed considering the part it
has taken in history, the beauty of form it has assumed, the art
with which it has been adorned, and the skill and knowledge which
need to be cultivated to use it efficiently, the sword merits the
epithet.
So large, however, is the subject, so numerous the sub-types
into which the sword can be grouped, that we cannot here do
much more than treat it superficially. The sword strictly speak-
ing is the weapon with which a cutting wound can be inflicted,
although in Europe from Roman times, the point, (already treated
of) became of equal or greater importance.
The rapier itself, however, was no sword, but an elongated
stiletto or edgeless dagger, and was seldom, if ever, a war arm.
The dagger as we have seen was often edged, but the difference
between it and the short sword, was that its main use was for
stabbing, while in the latter the cutting edge was used as much as
the point.
If we walk through an armoury of European or Asiatic arms,
we are amazed at the endless variety of shape and size, in a weapon
which has failed to develop at all on two continents — Australia
and America. How are we to explain the gap which divides
mankind into two groups, the history of one of which (Europe
and Asia) was moulded and influenced by their use in war of a
simple sharpened metal blade — a device, nevertheless unknown
to the other group. Yet America was rich in metal, the culture
not low, and the native races cast even knives and daggers in
copper (2).
It follows then that the sword is the attribute of the old
world civilisations, and of the races inheriting their traditions. It
was a weapon of Egypt and Africa, of Chaldaea and Asia, of pre-
Hellenic Greece, and of Europe. If, however, we adopt a geogra-
phical classification, we should probably find a rearrangement
necessary, such as (i) Oriental and Asiatic, (2) European, (3)
African ; for Egypt was perhaps just as much the parent of
many of the Asiatic types, as she was of the African. In course
of time, however, the Oriental types assumed an unmistakable
character very different to that of Europe, and this was probably
due to the spread of Islam.
I — Richard Burton, traveller, writer and mystic, failed to complete this
monograph. One volume only of three appeared, and that is a marvellous
medley of research and criticism, of the observations of an explorer, the
experience of a swordsman, and the gleanings of a bookworm. It treats ot
the " birth parentage and early career of the sword," and whatever its
demerits, one cannot but regret that the later volumes never saw the hght.
2 — The Peruvian scymitar mentioned by Tschudi (1841), may have
been a copy from an European model.
SWORDS. 123
For our purposes the geographical will not do ; while classi-
fication by metals is useless. For a general view of the sword,
the best way to group is by type, which is perhaps especially in-
structive since it indicates for us the equivcdent condition of cul-
ture in different lands at different periods.
The simplest classes into which we can put swords are these
1. Straight swords with one edge.
2. Straight swords with two edges.
3. Curved swords with one edge.
But these classes are again inadequate since there are curved
swords edged on the outer side, and others on the inner. There
are swords with double curves and there are pointless swords.
Lastly there are barbarous and eccentric types, which will go into
no class and must be mentioned together..
It requires a good many classes to embrace a general view
of the sword types of the world. These classes we give here, and
we shall proceed to give a summary shewing where the types occur
and the periods in which they were made.
1. The two edged straight sword.
2. The one edged sword or sword-knife curved or straight.
3. The one edged spud ended sword (Parang type).
4. The scymitar or curved sword with expanding blade.
5. The curved pointed sword edged on the inner or concave
edge ( " Shotel " type).
6. The Egyptian " khopsh," or so-called " Falchion."
7. Eccentric types. Serrated, Flamberge, Barbarous, etc.
Before taking these groups seriatim, a point is to be observed.
This is that the straight, pointed sword is largely the sword of
Europe, a type it would seem of the directness of Western thought
and action. The curved scymitar is ths sword of Asia, or at
any rate of the nearer East, curved and crooked as if symbolical
of Oriental subtlety. This is not imagination. Both swords
perhaps originated in that home of ideas, Egypt, but the Asiatic
retained and developed one, the Western man the other. Both
patterns were during the period between the 13th and i6th cen-
turies, beautified, and fancified into endless sub-types which we
shall not notice here, as far beyond the scope of this work. The
sword of the duello alone would require a volume to treat in detail.
The Two Edged Straight Sword.
Swords of this sort can be sub-divided into two classes —
those called leaf shaped into which the edges are neither parallel
nor straight, but the blades of which widen at some place between
grip and point — and those which have straight edges and are
either with or without points.
It is curious that the leaf shaped sword, generally of bronze,
was in common use among many of the prehistoric metal using
races, and was in some cases (as in Italy) superseded by the plainer
straight edged sword, such as was commonly in use among the
124 CUTTING WEAPONS.
Romans. It is for instance rather puzzling to find as we do in
Britain that the earhest sword in use was almost invariably leaf
shaped, while in later iron using times the simpler straight edged
types were nearly invariable.
The reason is apparently because the leaf shaped was a better
one for work in bronze, than in iron, and the greater weight of the
blade was less necessary when metal with the temper of wrought
steel was used. The leaf shaped sword of the bronze culture may
well have originated from a fusion of the spear head and dagger
types, and the satisfactory results found in this combination led
to a very wide adoption.
It is remarkable also that the leaf shaped bronze sword occurs
in Egypt, Greece and Italy, and there is reason to believe that
many examples date from a period prior to the great historical
cultures in these lands.
From Egypt a true leaf-shaped sword exists in the
collection of Sir John Evans. It was found in the Suez
Canal works, and measures over 22 inches including the
tang. Daggers somewhat leaf shaped are known, and
these types are very unhke the weapons shewn on the
monuments to which we shall refer later. In the
Museum at Candia, Crete, are several short leaf-shaped
swords, from Mouliana, Chamaizi. The Phasganon of
the Greeks appears to have been a leaf shaped sword
not longer than 20 inches, more a dagger than a sword.
Demmin, however, has figured a magnificent Greek
bronze sword 32 inches long (i). (Fig. 171a) ; and
there is another about 30 inches long to be seen at the
National Museum, Athens. It appears therefore that the
leaf shape was at any rate known both in Aegean
(Minoan) and Hellenic civilizations. Leaf shaped bronze
swords occur both in Spain and Italy.
The Roman sword was both leaf shaped and
straight and possibly the former is the earlier type. The
weapon averaged about 22 inches during the great period
of Roman history, and was used as a regular cut and
thrust. This was the Roman Gladius made no doubt in
early days of bronze, though it would appear that even
|*jfj" in the time of Polybius (the second century B.C.) steel had
nearly supplanted bronze for offensive arms. (Fig. lyq.)
The cemetery of Hallstadt in Austria, the finds from which
are especially interesting as covering the transitional period from
bronze to iron, has given up leaf-shaped swords in both metals,
those with iron blades evidently still manufactured after the bronze
I — The Greek Xiphos was sometimes a blade with a slight even curve
on both edges from hilt plate to point, and was about 1 8 inches long. About
350 B.C. a much longer sword was introduced for the Peltasts. Classic swords
are often represented on the vase-paintings, with the blades straight but
diverging from the hilt to a point near the end.
SWORDS. 125
type. Some are composite, bronze handles and iron blades, and
one of the features of these weapons is the remarkable horn-like
ornament which terminate the handles. The leaf-shaped sword
occurs in Gaul Britain, and Scandinavia, and probably there are
not many parts of Europe in which it will not eventually be ascer-
tained to have existed.
The leaf-shaped British sword (Fig. 172),
was between 16 and 30 inches in length, and
varied a good deal in detail. The blade at the
handle end was beaten out into a flat hilt plate
with a raised edge, on to which were fastened by
rivets plates of bone to form a grip. Occasionally
the handle terminated in a metal knob, or in a
few very rare instances in curved horns or spirals,
a fashion far more common in examples from
Gaul, Germany, Austria and Scandinavia.
To what extent the leaf sword will eventually
be noticed outside Europe it is difficult to say.
Among modem savages the type seems little
known, though it is shewn on the bronze placques
from Benin in the hands of warriors, (i), and
Lane Fox describes leaf-shaped swords from the
Gabun district in East Africa. We have not seen
the latter weapons, but since they are described
as having square ends (2 ) they do not appear to
be true leaf-shaped type Denmiin figures a long
blade from East Africa. (Fig. 173.) (3).
The leaf shaped sword then is the sword par
excellence of the age of bronze culture. A graceful
weapon and as effective as it could be in the material.
The handle grip was very small, probably because the
bronze age warrior held it lightly and loosely, and used it
" delicately," with a drawing cut such as Orientals use
now. The swelling curve of the blade would be good
for a cut of this sort, but it would also add great force to a
straight cutting blow, which with a straight edged weapon of
small size would not be very penetrating. Lane Fox pointed out
that the big handle is an European fashion of the middle ages,
adopted neither by Brahmins, Moslems, nor any European pre-
historic peoples. The small handle, and the weighted blade,
(for such the leaf-shape is), is ample evidence that the bronze
age sword was meant to cut with, as much as or more than, for
the purpose of thrusting or stabbing.
I. — Presumably of iron, as most of the Benin knives, etc., are.
2. — " Book of the Sword" 165. Lane Fox also mentions leaf-shaped
swords from Burmah and the Asiatic Isles (Catalogue 168), but we are
unacquainted with any such.
3. — P. 397. This blade is long, and as it only widens near the point,
;it is very unlike the bronze age leaf shape.
126 CUTTING WEAPONS.
Generally speaking the straight cut and thrust sword with
straight edges, is characteristic of advanced culture, and denotes
knowledge of iron. There are, however, some notable exceptions
which we shall mention. Egypt, we have seen, used a poignard
or stiletto, sometimes leaf-shaped, sometimes with straight
tapering edges in the dynastic period, and probably a leaf-shaped
sword in pre-djmastic times. In the dynastic period there are
numerous representations on the monuments of soldiers carrying
a heavy tapering sword very wide in the blade, but narrowing
gradually to an acute point. This weapon was 2 ft. 4 in. to 3 ft.
in length, and is so generally represented in the
hands either of Auxiliaries or Asiatics, that it is
possibly an Asiatic weapon. The Egyptian
weapon was the " Khopsh," absolutely different
in character (i). (Fig. 174).
That the straight sword was Asiatic is rather
confirmed by the numerous representations in
the Assyrian sculptures of a long straight sword.
This weapon, sheathed in an elaborate scabbard,
hangs at the left side by a band passing over the
right shoulder, and was about 3 feet with the
handle, (Fig. 175). This was presumably the
double sword mentioned in the inscriptions, in
distinction to the curved one edged weapon or
the dagger.
Coming to Ancient Persia, which succeeded
to so many of the traditions of Assyria and
Babylonia, we find as we should expect a straight
cut and thrust. This Persian sword is the Acinaces
(Akinakes) a short weapon, straight edged, which,
being worn at the right side, seems to have been
originally at any rate the representative of the
Assyrio-Egyptian poignard. (2). Thence it passed to
India, where we find it represented in early sculptures of
the ist to 4th centuries (3), and even on Bactrian coins.
In comparatively modem times in India we still find the
cut and thrust, though curved blades are commoner.
Egerton shews a beautiful crossguard sword of ancient
Nepalese work (4), measuring 3 feet 3 in. in total length, with
the edges of the blade straight but slightly diverging from the
hilt to near the point, which consequently is an obtuse one.
I. — Examples of the cut and thrust are hardly to be found, and I am
not aware that any examples now exists of the true " Khopsh." The
poignards are fairly numerous.
2. — Burton says it was sometimes " wave-edged " like the Malay
" Kris," in which case it was dagger pure and simple.
3. — As at Sanchi and Udayagiri : see Egerton's " Indian Arms,"
p. 12.
4. — PI. ix "Indian arms."
SWORDS.
127
This peculiar form. is perhaps a survival of the bronze leaf shape,
or it may be only Indian " fantasia."
It appears then that the sword of Western Asia was generally
a straight cut and thrust, until, at about the date of Islam, some
influence, probably from further East, introduced generally the
curved blade or scymitar. Yet though we associate the curved
scymitar with Islam, the preachers in the Cairo Mosques carry a
straight wooden sword as symbolical of the Mohammadan
conquest. The Sudani diu^ishes also carried a straight
cut and thrust, widening a little near the point, but to
this sword we shall again revert.
It is, however, remarkable that the pre-Hellenic
culture of the ^gean produced the finest possible
examples of the tapering two edged sword in bronze,
often so narrow and delicate as to be practically a
rapier t^/pe. There are two groups ; those found ^
at Mykenae in the first and fourth sepulchres of >\
the necropolis : and those now being found at
Cnossus and elsewhere in Crete.
The type at Mykenae is a straight cut and thrust
blade, often very narrow in proportion to the
length, which is some times over 3 feet : some have
a marked midrib, and are elaborately plated and
|j|M inlaid. (Fig. 176). The Cretan swords belong, it
^ft ' is believed, to the later period of Minoan civilization.
The finest blade as yet found (1905) is about 37
inches long including the handle which was covered
with bone or wood fastened with gold studs or rivets.
The blade is very narrow (only about i in. in the
centre) but expands at the handle, and is cast with
a heavy midrib to strengthen the blade against a
thrust. The other blades of the type are smaller,
about 2 feet long.
Nothing more unlike the leaf-shaped swords of
Europe can be imagined than these delicate weapons,
made it would seem for thrusting only. It may
\J6 possibly turn out that they were the dress swords
of grandees, and not ordinary fighting weapons.
In support of this suggestion it should be noted that
Schliemann also found in a Cyclopean house a bronze
sword of the ordinary European bronze age type. This
sword is very nearly leaf-shaped, and is almost a pair to a
bronze sword from Ireland, engraved on p. 292 of Evan's
Ancient Bronze Implements (i). (Figs. 177-178).
I. — Cf. the Mykenae sword, p. 144 of Schliemann's " Mycenae "
and Evans' Ancient bronze implements, fig. 355 ; and for the
Sepulchre blades " Mycenae " (1878), p. 144, 219, 278, 302, 304, etc. Burton
discusses the Homeric sword names, Chalcos, Xiphos. Phasganon, Aor, and
Machaira, but they hardly fit the existing examples of Mykenaean weapons.
128
CUTTING WEAPONS.
From Etruria there are some long narrow iron blades, the
shape of which recall the Mykense swords. One from Bologna
measures 25 inches, and the blade, which is i| inches wide near the
grip, tapers gradually to a point, and has a midrib. Such a
weapon is a rapier like sword, but it is incorrect to call
it a rapier. It is uncertain if these remarkable blades
are of Etruscan origin or if they are Gaulish.
The iron Roman sword (Fig. 179) was a straight
edged weapon during probably most of the Empire.
It seems to have been about 22 inches long during
the early reigns, but varied from time to time, and
grew larger about the time of Trajan. Those that
have been discovered in Britain are from two to three
feet in length. The gladius was carried often at the
right side, hung by a belt over the left shoulder, and
this fashion seems to testify to its origin as a dagger.
One cannot help feehng that at best this Roman
.:.j|j|i sword, which conquered the world, was in itself a
[jfl !p clumsy weapon ; but it was apparently the right
weapon for the " 3 feet of ground " which the Roman
soldier covered, and the three feet clear round him
for the use of his weapon (i). The Spatha was a
longer sword, adopted, it would seem, either from
■' ' Spain, or from some Barbarians at a later date, but
writers differ as to whether it was single or double edged.
This brings us to the remarkable series of iron swords which
have been for convenience termed swords of the " Late Celtic
period, * an unsatisfactory term, since it is now known that these
swords and other objects exhibiting the same art occur over a
considerable portion of Europe.
The swords themselves measure between 20 and 42 inches.
The blade is iron, with straight edges, which taper slightly from
the tang, and finish with a point, which, however, is not acute.
Some have bronze handles, others iron, and a considerable number
have been found with bronze scabbards beautifully decorated in
relief, with the spirals and other motifs which have been
called " late Celtic." It has been thought that this remarkable
art shews Etruscan influence which perhaps made its way through
Gaul, and the date of this class of weapons is somewhere between
300 B.C. and 50 B.C.
These swords have occurred in Britain, Ireland, Switzer-
land, Austria, France, Germany, and even Hungary, and we may
consider that the type stands in the same relation to the later
iron age and Viking swords, as the latter do to the Mediaeval
cross guard weapons (2). (Fig. 180).
I. — Polybius.
2. — See A. W. Franks in Archaeologia xlv, p. 264, etc., for a. summary
on the subject of these swords. It is curious that in England the sheath
is generally of bronze, but abroad of iron.
CUTTING WEAPONS. 129
:; Similar swords in general character appear in many parts of
Europe during the iron age, both eariy and late.
They are not characteristic of any particular " Barbarian "
race. Ireland, Spain, Germany, the Hallstadt Cemetery, and the
Merovingian period, all gives us examples, and
rome of them are large and heavy weapons (i).
Among Teutonic nations there was in use alongside
these, the one edged "scramasax," which is in
origin a hunter's knife, and a poor affair as a
weapon of war.
But of the straight two edged swords we find
by far the finest series in Scandinavia. It may be
said indeed that the long cut and thrust sword
lasted with but sHght variations, right through
from the commencement of our era to about 1000
A.D. Some even of the bronze age swords are |j,ii':
practically straight edged, and are precursors of "■■"•»
the series in iron. **
The early and middle iron ages of Scandinavia
may be said to have lasted to about 700 A.D.,
when the Viking period commenced. The swords
of the earlier ages vary somewhat in the character
of the grip and pommel, and guard or plate, but
they merge into the later Viking type, (see
IttO. Fig. 181).
On the " sverd " of the Viking, every art and
craft was lavished. The scalds sung it, praising its
beauty and giving it such names as " Flame of Odin " or
" Snake of battle." The skill of the swordsmith was y '^'•
such that it could be bent point to guard, and the metal
worker lavished on the decoration of the pommel and hilt plate,
and sometimes on the grip itself, the most beautiful "incrustation"
of precious metals and stones, and most delicate chased work.
Some of the Swedish and Norse swords are priceless monuments
of the culture of the period.
The Viking sword measures 34 to 44 inches in length. The
blade, is rather wide with a shallow central groove throughout its
length, and sometimes damascened. The edges are straight, but
often taper sHghtly, so that the blade terminates in a rather
" rounded point." The pommel is generally triangular in outline,
and the junction of the grip and blade is covered by a hilt plate,
which sometimes is replaced by a short cross guard (2). (Fig.
182).
The Saxon two edged sword is similar but smaller and poorer
I. — Demmin illustrates many on p. 151 ; a Germanic one with rounded
point 37 inches long. An Irish one engraved in Worsaae's " Danes in
England." p. 328, has a well marked midrib.
2. — For these swords see Worsaae "Danish Arts," 194. Du Chaillu
" Viking Age," ii 68.
130 CUTTING WEAPONS.
in character, and is usually found without pommel or cross
guard.
From the gth to the 13th, and even up to the 15th century,
the pattern of the straight edged sword only changed by the blade
becoming narrower in comparison to its length, the
hiltplate developing into a longish cross guard, and the
pommel becoming heavier, globular, or highly ornate.
Generally the weapon measured between 3 feet and 4 ft.
3 in., but Demmin shews a huge 13th century German
sword, which belonged to a knight called Konrad
Schenck, which measures 8 feet 2 inches, and the hilt
alone 10 inches. The proportions, however, are not
those of a two handed sword, and Konrad must have
been a giant. In the 15th century the slender rapier
seems to have been developed from these types.
The two handed sword is Swiss or German, and
seems to have been mostly in use from the 15th to the
17th century.
We have remarked on the big Sudan sword, of which
so many examples were seen in Europe after Omdurman.
Central Africa is full of swords of this type, and it would
appear that similar weapons have been imported from
Malta to Benghazi for a very long period (i).
These swords made their way to Bornu, Haussaland,
kano, etc., and Barth tells up that at the last place,
50,000 swords per annum, were received from Solingen.
A long straight sword with rounded point from Abyssinia
is given by Demmin (2), and it is hard to say for certain
whether these imported blades originated the type in
Africa, or simply supplied a demand. We have yet to
know what was the sword in general use among the
warriors of early Islam. At any rate these swords can
hardly be an indigenous form (3).
The One Edged Sword.
The straight single edged sword is only an elongated knife,
and it is rather difficult to see why it was retained at all as a
weapon by races who possessed the two edged blade. It was the
weapon of hill men and hunters, who thought as much or more
of the chase than of warfare. It would seem, in fact, that though
I. — Denham and Clapperton : Clapperton's "Narrative," p. 46. The
writer evidently thinks that the import of these swords, which were exchanged
at Benghazi for buffaloes had been going on since the time when the knights
of Malta used the straight cross handled sword.
2. — p. 396. These Abyssinian swords are said to bear the Solingen
mark.
3.- The writer has an old German blade of this sort, bought at a
" rag and bone" stall in Tripoli (" Trablus el-Gharb " ). It is single edged,
and as the blade is chased with the crescent, star, and Solomon's seal it
W21S probably one of these Malta swords.
CUTTING WEAPONS. 131
such races blended and became coherent, turning from wild
tribes into confederacies or even nations, they still retained their
long knife as a weapon sometimes alone, or sometimes as supple-
mentary to the more efficient sword. In some groups this arm
must have been used for other purposes than war, as was the case
with the Teutonic Scramasax ; but many of the Oriental types
are certainly fighting weapons.
These are a few examples of ancient sword knives,
but probably there is no connection between them,
and the Mediaeval Scramasax or Yataghan. In the
early iron age it is likely that numerous barbarian
races had this weapon, but representations are rare,
and actual examples have not been recognised. There
was indeed in ancient Egypt a one-edged sword (the
khopsh), of a type unlike anything else, but of this
we shall speak later. Denon has also figured a sword
from Egypt, chopperUke in character, with a wide
blade curved back at its pointless end. (Fig. 183).
This " breadknife " may possibly have been an
adaptation of the expanded crescent axe, or it may
even have been a variation on the Khopsh (i).
Other ancient chopper blades exist. Schliemann
found one of bronze in his fourth sepulchre, but it is
broken, and we do not know the curve of the point;
and other wide bladed choppers are in the Mycenae
room at Athens, and at Candia from Cnossus. (2).
The Hellenic Greeks had not, we think, a straight sword
. of this character, though they used Yataghan of
''^^ barbarian origin, while the Romans adhered to the
straight cut and thrust.
The European type, which we are most familiar with under
the name of Scramasax of the Franks, was, however, used by
many Teutonic races in the' iron age. It is a blade of very
simple form, either straight backed or with a shght convex curve,
a fairly sharp point, a straight cutting edge, and a long tang
which fitted into the handle. Burton describes a Germanic
type (3) which was curved, (a semi-spatha) , and was probably
used as a missile ; and a good many Scandinavian Sax weapons
with the curve exist (4). The length varied from 20 to 27 inches,
and the Frankish examples are frequently grooved on the blade,
probably for giving lightness and balance to a clumsy form of
,.^^^.-. -r-..-^-..:t±^.-^^ ,. . 7<^_^y^ sword (5). (Fig.
*--^^ "'- ' — - ■:::ir^-T^-4:^^^ -- — - -» 184 is a Viking
184 type).
1. — See Burton's " Book of the Sword," p. 161.
2. — " Mycenae," p. 279.
3. — " Book of Sword," 272.
4. — See " Viking Age," ii 81, and Demmin 158.
5. — Boutell (p. 93) says for poison apparently only because Fredegonde
used poisoned saxes to kill the Bishop of Rouen.
132
CUTTING WEAPONS.
The Sax as a rule is straight, or with a slight curve, but a
few examples occur with double curves, as for instance an early
iron age sword from the Hallstadt cemeteries. This curve may
point to influence remotely derived from Egypt through Greece
(i), or it may be related to the Yataghan Kukri type we shall
now describe. We shall see that a sword of the scramasax type
occurs rather widely among Oriental and Mediterranean races,
and it was this sword knife curved and expanded which
partly produced the scymitar.
There is no reason to imagine a common origin for the
Teutonic and Oriental groups, since such a weapon would
be naturally developed and adopted in different centres (2).
The Eastern and Mediterranean Sword knives ^^
may have sprung from one or two centres, in
which hardy mountain races found the long knife
the best for all round purposes. We find it in
early Japan, in Afghanistan, Persia, Albania, in
Greece and Turkey, and also among the Kabyle
races of African Barbary.
The Japanese swords of this type have been
only recently noticed. They belong to the iron
dolmen building age of Japan, which appears to
have lasted from the 3rd century B.C. to the 8th
century A.D. These swords have an absolutely
straight back, a plain tang, or else one that termin-
ates m a ring, and the longer specimens are up to
45 inches long, including the tang. They are
narrower in proportion to their length than any of
the swords of this sort, except the " flissa," which
we shall mention. They had an ornate guard or
hilt plate, though it appears to have been the
. fashion to bury the blade alone without fittings.
^^ The scabbards, though not often preserved, were
enriched with gold, silver and bronze. Mr.
Gowland, who describes these weapons, suggests
that, since in Japan there are no intermediate
forms between the bronze and iron types, these
iron swords (or we presume the type) were
introductions (3). (Fig. 185).
The finest, however, of these swords is the
Afghan Salawdr Yataghan, or " Khyber Knife," an excellent
example of which is in the writer's collection. Its total length
is 38 inches, and the blade next to the grip is 2^ inches wide and
I. — " Book of the Sword," 263.
2. — Lane Fox, usually .so careful, says in one paragraph that the
" Scramasax " appears to have been of purely Teutonic origin," and that
it " very probably may have been derived from the East" Catalogue p. 170.
3. — The Dolmens and Burial mounds of Japan, by Wm. Gowland,
F.S.A "Archaeologia" 55, p. 483.
186.
CUTTING WEAPONS.
133
handsomely engraved. This, however, is an unusually large
example. These swords have a wide rib along the back, so that
the blade is quite rigid. (Fig. 186).
The Persians and the Ghurkas may have borrowed
the type from the Afghans, for both had it, only with an
ogee curve. The Ghurka Kukri (Fig. 188) is a wonderful
little weapon, and it is practically identical with a sword
used in Greek times (which we shall describe), though
the curve of the back is greater. The Kukri is of the
finest temper of " wootz " steel, and has a very small
handle. Its use is both in the chase and in war, and the
cut is a drawing one upwards. With it the Ghurka kills
a tiger single handed, first laming him, and then slitting
his windpipe.
Again in Albania we find a sword knife, in this case
straight, or nearly straight, for the Amauts were brutally
direct in their ideas. They may have handed the idea
to the Osmanli Turk, with whom it reappears, often with
a twist, as the Khanjar. In Barbary the straightforward
Kabyles used a straight form called the Flissa, similar
to but narrower than the Khyber knife (Fig. 187).
It has been thought that some of these forms are
deducible from the Greek Kopis, which it is sought to
identify with a blade represented on Greek vases (Fig.
189), as used by giants and Amazons, which in shape
is practically identical with the Kukri. According to
Xenophon, the Kopis was used by the Persians and
Barbarians. Quintus Curtius tells us it was used by the
Persians for the chase, while from Polybius we learn that
the Persians had it before the Greeks. We are therefore
only where we were, except that we know it
was used in classical times. The occurrence in
Spain of one or two ancient examples is useless
as evidence, since that country was in regular
intercourse with the East, from the earliest
times. The vase painters probably placed these
sword knives in the hands of giants and
Amazons, as attributes proper to their wild and
non Hellenic character. It does not appear that
the type itself was Hellenic in origin, though it
was certainly known to the Greeks (i)
There are, of course, other single edged
swords, but the Scramasax and Khyber knife
groups are the most important. A short straight
narrow blade was used in Zanzibar, where.
\8T
nss
I/-
however, many types were importations (2).
I. — See Lane Fox's discussion on p. 174 of his catalogue (and illustra-
tions). This sword in Seyffert's Classical Dictionary is called Machaira.
■ ■7. — " Book of the Sword," 166. : '. ' ' .* ."
134 CUTTING WEAPONS.
: A casual review of practically all swords except the two
edged straight blade gives us the idea that they are modifications,
or rather improvements on the simple knife sword. This, however,
is not quite certain, and at any rate there is such variety in the
curves found, that very different influences must have operated
to bring about their adoption.
For instance there are the two classes in which we have a
simple curve, but in one the edge is on the outward or convex
side of the blade, in the other on the inner or concave side.
One group is huge, ramifying with the Scymitar in all its
branches. The other is small and localized, but so remarkable
that something very peculiar must have led to its use.
The simple curved knife sword, or cutlass as we may call it
for want of a better term, is familiar to us in the army sword,
which is, however, but a modified Oriental scymitar. The
blade, simple as it looks was never very common before the
days of Islam ; for it found little or no favour with the great
civilizations of antiquity, who generally stuck to the straight
sword ; and it seems to have been regarded as the weapon of
Barbarous peoples.
Thus we find in Trajan's column the Dacians represented
with a long fine curved sword, apparently two-handed, but
without a guard. As these people carried a shield, however, it
must have been used by one hand only. The weapon in appear-
ance is almost identical with the Chinese sabre-knife, which,
however, is rigid, while the Dacian's sword was probably not
so. (i).
A short curved blade seems to have been earned by Roman
auxiliaries and -also by gladiators, armed thus, we presume, " bar-
barously," and there seem to have been found a few examples
of the iron age in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe (2), but
the form was hardly known in the West until it was introduced or
reintroduced from Asia.
The Scymitar and Eastern Swords.
We have seen that a plain curved blade was known in Roman
times, though it was apparently then recognised as a barbarian
weapon. As we know it, it is the weapon of the East, and
especially of Islam, in distinction to the straight sword, which, in
its emblematic cruciform shape became the weapon of Christen-
dom. The name Scjonitar is derived from the Persian "shamshir"
which some writers seem to connect with Acinaces, which,
however, was a short straight sword.
The old scjmiitar of Turkey, Persia, and India was not a
I. — Burton calls the Dacian sword a sickle type, edged on inner edge,
but the representations suggest a fine convex edged type. Burton made a
group of concave blades all sprung from the Egyptian falchion, which is yet
an Eastern mystery.
2. — Lane Fox Catalogue. 170.
CUTTING WEAPONS.
135
plain curved blade (i), but had some peculiar features, which
appear to be derived from a fusion of the plain curved weapon,
with a peculiar type, which must have existed from very e«irly
times throughout the vast regions of the maritime Indo-Chinese
races dwelling between Borneo and Assam. These swords variously
named, merit some notice, for I believe nothing like them exist
elsewhere, and the influence of the type was far reaching. It is,
however, impossible in the present condition of our knowledge
to state where it originated.
The sword of Borneo, which is used both by the Malays and
the native Dyaks, is of a shape totally different to anything we
have yet seen, and is not easy of description. There are two
sorts, the Parang-latok and the Parang-Ihlang.
The first, used both for timber feUing, agricultural operations
and warfare, is characterised by a remarkable bend at an obtuse
angle, and about one third of its length from the pommel. Fig.
190, shews the shape. At the point a it is square, and from
there the same weight of metal is beaten out thin till we reach the
wide end b. It is said that when used as a bill hook it is grasped
at^A, but if to chop something on the ground, at c. The result
of striking with a sword with so singular a bend is a sort of draw-
ing cut, similar to that of the scymitar. Wood says that with
this weapon a good swordsman can sever in two a live pig
on the ground, a much more remarkable feat than severing a
hanging carcase.
The points we notice in this weapon are
the bend and the broad end cut off diagonally.
The Parang-Ihlang is used both as a chopper
and a sword, chiefly by the land Dyaks. It
is a straight sword beaten out thin and flat
like the Parang-Latok, and terminating either
in a diagonal or squared off end. The blade
has an ogee section, with the remarkable result
that the weapon can only be used for two cuts,
one up and one down. If used in the wrong
direction it flies off, and perhaps injures the
swordsman. It is said, however, to inflict
terrible wounds (2) .
We find weapons akin to this Parang in
Malay, Burmah, Nepal, and Assam. In Assam
the weapon is called the dha or dao (Fig. 191 )
,, "The dao is the hill knife, used universally
" throughout the country. It is a blade about
18 inches long, narrow at the haft, square and
broad at the top, pointless, and sharpened on
one side only. The blade is set in a handle
I . — A curved chopper sword is shewn on some of the old Indian sculp-
tures, but httle seems to be known of it.
2. — Wood. Nat. Hist, ii 467.
136 CUTTING WEAPONS.
of wood The fighting " dao " is a long pointless
sword, set in a wooden or ebony handle ; it is very heavy, and
a blow of almost incredible power can be given by one of
these weapons." (i). Like the parang it has a slanting edge,
and only two cuts can be made, i.e., from the right shoulder
down, and the left foot upwards. It is used for all sorts of
purposes, even to dig with.
By no means all of these dhas have the curious bend of the
Parang-Latok. There is great diversity, some being straight,
some two-handled, some one-handled. The universal feature
is the squared off razor-like end. The most alarming looking
specimen of these curious weapons is the Kora of Nepal, a fearful
looking curved blade, ending in a squared-off end with a huge
back spur on it (2). The Nepalese are a
mixed race, and this type must be introduced
from Assam (Fig. 196).
Another remarkable sword was in use
among the " Non-Arian " Nairs of Malabar,
where we find a sword " kinked " at about the
same angle as the Parang-Latok, but near the
middle of the blade. This weapon, however,
is edged on the inner edge, and may not really
belong to the Parang group (3). (Fig. 192).
Turning to China and Japan we find a
national sword, differing much, yet having
considerable points of resemblance to the
Parang group. These swords are generally
double handled, have a one-edged blade with
a very slight curve, and ending in a point, and
are fitted with a small ornamental hilt plate.
As a rule the edge and back are parallel, but
sometimes they expand a little too near the
point. The blade is rigid, the temper of the
steel fine, and the edge of the utmost sharpness,
\9pfi It is said that expert swordsmen can sever a
limb with one blow, and a thick iron bolt has
been cut in two without damaging the edge (4).
(Fig. 193).
Such is the Japanese sword of recent times ; and
it is interesting to notice that the shape may be derived
from the sword of the dolmen builders which we have
described. Other sword types are known, for the real
I. — Egerton's "Indian Arms," 88.
2. — Idem plate ix.
3. — It is worth notice that this razor-ended sword cropped up
occasionally in Europe. Demmin figures a square ended sword with a long
handle, presumably oth century, figured on a diptych at Hallerstadt ; also
a cutlass or mariners sword of German origin.
4. — Wood ii, p. 844.
CUTTING WEAPONS.
137
scjonitar was used both in China and Japan (i) ; while in China
also a short straight double edged sword was used, often carried
in pairs, two in a sheath. We may perhaps consider that the
long slightly curved sword knife is an old established Mongol
type, perhaps but hot certainly of Ainu origin (2).
The Parang appesirs to be this sword modified by a race
using some sort of spud shaped implement for domestic purposes,
the fusion resulting in a chopping sword with curious widened
end. This widening of the blade was then adapted into the single
curved sword knife producing the scymitar, which we shall now
describe.
A characteristic feature of a scjmtiitar is the curved blade
widening from the hilt, either right up to the end, or else to a
point about § of the distance from hilt to end, from which place
it is reduced to a sharp point.
The appearance presented by
the latter type is that of a formid-
able and long chopping blade, from
which a portion has been obliquely
broken away from the back. The
other characteristic is the small
single handed grip, and insignificant
guard, which at most is a plain
cross. The hilt and grip therefore
are totally unlike either the long
handled parang or Chinese types,
or the gauntlet swords of India.
Fig. 194 shews an old Turkish
scymitar, and a blade of remark-
ably similar shape was used in
China ; one such is figured by
Demmin, and with the exception of
the shape of the guard and a slight
difference in curve the parallels are
remarkable. Both are end heavy,
spade ended and pointless, and the
curve is slight. In Mozambique
again is found the same scymitar,
/jq4 but without any guard ; and in this
case we can only conclude that it
has been an importation of the Malay population
of Madagascar (3). Fig. 195.
This heavy modified parang did not satisfy.
It was pointless, and probably found useless except
for one big gash ; and its balance was bad. So
1. — See illustrations Boutell, 272, and Demmin, 393.
2. — Gowland's paper on Dolmens referred to.
3. — Demmin 393. Knight 260. The semi-Turanian Nepalese use a
curious variety with a sort of back spur, see fig. 196.
138
CUTTING WEAPONS.
both Chinese and Turks planed off the back angle of
the square end, and produced the sword shewn in
Fig. 197, in which the centre of percussion was
brought down some distance from the end, making
the weapon much more efficient, giving it balance,
and the addition of a point. This is the true scymitar,
though the " fantasia" of Indian and Persian intellect
produced many variations, from the straight scymitar
shewn in the Ain-i-Akbari (i), to the beautiful
Khorassan " Shamshir," shaped like the sword of our
general officers (Fig. 198). Indeed the true scymitar
became rare, and Indians reverted to a plain light
curved weapon, which required the
skilled drawing cut.
There are of course other curved
blades which do not fall properly into
the Oriental Scymitar class. Egypt
had apparently a curved chopper sword,
already alluded to, a rough ugly
weapon, as most of the swords of early
civilizations seem to have been. Equally clumsy
was the Bohemian Dusack (Fig. 199) (15th
century), in which blade and handle were all in
one piece of metal, the grip being either an iron
ring or a slit in the blade (2). The lack of a guard
was made up for by the use of a long gauntlet,
which, however, would have no effect on annulling
the jar of the blow. These weapons seem distinct
from the European scymitar-sword, generally
called sabre or cutlass, which was perhaps intro-
duced after being noticed by the missions and
" suppliants" we sent to the Turkish and Barbary
Courts.
Savage races know the scymitar only where
they are being improved by contact with Islam.
There are, however, some very curious blades in
Africa which have been called scymitars because
they are curved and sharp on both edges. Such
I. — This i6th century sword seems simply a broad curved scymitar
straightened out till the point is in a straight line with the hilt and pommel.
2. — Demmin 379.
CUTTING WEAPONS. 139
blades are found in Nubia and among the Niam-Niam
of the equatorial provinces. There is, however, no
doubt that the business side of these is the inner or
concave edge, and they fit in to a class of weapons, of
which the Abyssinian "Shotel" is the finest example.
The curved blade edged on its concave or inner
side appears to be, at first sight, simply the single edged
knife sword curved inwards, as the proto-scymitar was
curved backwards. It is not, however, quite certain
that this is the case. Swords curved thus are rare, in
fact they form an insignificant group, and since the
use of such a blade is not easily seen, it would appear
that the group either follows some particular type or
fashion, or was made for special circumstances. It has
been thought that all the African blades of this sort
derive from the Egyptian Khopsh falchion, but this is
doubtful, since we hope to show that this curious
weapon had its edge on the convex curve. A sword
which is curved in, so that the edge of the blade
cannot strike until the point which is in advance of it,
penetrates the object or passes over it, is on the face
of it, a bad weapon for ordinary purposes. Such a
weapon might be useful for striking down over a shield
or for slicing off a head. It would probably fly better
if thrown as a missile, than a straight sword, but it was
useless for guarding with, and as bad as it could be for
a fair blow. A falcate weapon of this sort with a sharp
point, might be used to pick at a helmeted head, or
one covered with some protection Uke the heavy coiffure
of some savages, but this implies a sort of duello, which we have
no reason to suppose the users of these types particularly
affected. Surely no race in their senses would adopt for the
national weapon a type simply intended for picking holes in
the top of an enemies skull. It is far easier to imagine that the
type represents some appliance in common use adapted for the
purposes of a hand weapon It might thus be a sickle, which was
in use among a race of grain growers, forced by events to turn
warriors ; or it might be a throwing boomerang copied into iron
and then haf tedi
This sickle-Uke shape reminds us indeed of the Hittite "lituus"
mentioned under "Capture." But we do not know what this
was. There was, however, some likeness between this and the
sickle shaped symbol or weapon figured in the hand of the Royal
statue found by Layard at Nimrud (i), which, whatever
its purpose, we find repeated on bas-reliefs, sometimes orna-
mented and sometimes plain. Demmin indeed figures it socketed
as though it was a sort of shaped scj^he (Fig. 214), and gives
I. — Nineveh and Babylon, p. 361.
140
CUTTING WEAPONS.
as a parallel a similar instrument found at Poestum (Poseidonia)
in S. Italy. Since, however, the object in the kings hand seems
symbohc, the Italian instrument may be quite different.
Concave edged weapons may perhaps be put into two
classes, those with a boldly curved blade peculiarly sickle-like,
and those with a broad heavy blade like a cleaver or chopper.
Both types are represented in Africa and in India, though the
sickle like weapons form a well marked group in the region of
the upper Nile basins, which include Abyssinia and Nubia. Out-
side, these groups there are only sporadic instances. For example,
there are on several Etruscan monuments representations of
curved swords, and one with a sharpened inner edge was
formerly in the Campana collection at
Rome (i). Some few of the Teutonic
" Sax " swords were incurved, but the
curve was very slight (2), very different
from either the sickle or chopper blades.
The Abyssinian " shotel " is the
most marked example of the
sickle-type (Fig. 205). The
blade, which has a midrib
the whole length, either com-
mences its curve only a few
inches from the handle and
then makes a bold equal
curve, ending in a sharp
point a little in advance of
the handle, or else is straight
from the handle for a con-
siderable length, and then
turns suddenly with a sickle-
like curve. (Fig. 206).
In the former
i?05; the blade is fairly
equal in breadth
throughout, but in
others there is a
widening of the
blade towards the
point. The handle
end of the blade is
wrought to a tang,
which is let into a
handle of horn or
I. — Dennis " Etruria," i 201 Texier, over half a century ago figured
a stela of a warrior at Iconium, Asia Minor armed, in Greek style, but
with a two-pronged spear and a remarkable billhook. No modern illustra-
tion, we believe, exists.
2. — One in the Copenhagen Museum, figured in Demmin.
CUTTING WEAPONS.
141
wood about 5 inches long, but so badly
designed with projections both above
and below the group that it is hard to
see how it could be used without
damaging the wrist.
Like many African weapons this
sword is made of soft iron. It is slung
on the right side, in order to be out of
the way of the shield, which hangs on
the left arm.
It is curious such a weapon should
be used by a race of fighters, and pre-
sumably the Abyssinians are rather
spearsmen than swordsmen. It is, in
fact, said that any good swordsman,
with sword only, can make short work
of the Abyssinian with sword and shield.
For he cannot .parry with .his sword, and
is unable to cope against the "feints"
of an expert adversary. At the same
time, one down blow from the shotel is
a dangerous attack, for it cannot be
parried directly since the point descends straight
on the head, while the centre of percussion is as
much as 2 feet above it.
Among the Nubians we find the sword shewn
in Fig. 207, which is practically the same as the
Abyssinian type, but with less curve than the
shotel. Far further south we find among the
Nyam Nyam the weapon type shewn in Figs. 208-
209. It will be seen that it is closely related
in type to the Nubian sword, but it is sharp on both edges, and
in Fig. 208 widens suddenly about half-way up the blade, while
there is a curious projection near the handle. This weapon is
either a hand bill or a missile, in which latter case it is recovered
by a line which is fastened to the projection.
With this type of weapon the Nyam Nyam use the Kulbeda
(sometimes called " trombash "), which is an iron throwing
boomerang with prongs (Fig. 223). Of this weapon we shall
treat elsewhere, but the point we wish noted here
is that all the Nyam Nyam weapons
are said by Schweinfurth to be
made for them by their neighbours,
the people of Monboto, who are
skilful smiths.
Turning to the Monboto, who
live almost on the Equator, to the
west of the Albert Nyanza, we find
308. in use a very remarkable series of
142 CUTTING WEAPONS.
falchions, or scymitars as they are called. It is impossible to
describe them very accurately, and the Figures shew better than
description, their character. The type is a double edged broad
bladed blade, with a midrib and sharp curve, and acute point.
There is sometimes a neck or shoulder at right angles to the
haft and between the curved and straight part of the blade.
This singular instrument
is generally of iron, and
is not thrown. Schwein-
furth found the King of the Monboto, King
Munza, in full dress holding one of these
falchions made of copper, and evidently a
symbol of dignity. (See Figs. 210-211^
J i We have said that the Monboto forge
the throwing Kulbeda for the Nyam Nyam,
though they do not use it themselves. Yet
if we place side by side a group of the
Monboto falchions and another of the Nyam
^fO Nyam Kulbedas and throwing scymitars, no ||^ 211
doubt can remain that these weapons are '^iW
the same in origin. It would appear indeed
that we have a case here of a boomerang using race, who have
abandoned their missiles, but still use a hand weapon, of which
the type is missile in origin, while they still make missiles for
their less advanced neighbours (i).
We are left then with two theories as to the origin of these
concave African swords. One, hinted at b}' Burton, that they
are derivatives of the enigmatical Khopsh of Egypt, and the
other that they originate from and preserve the form of
throwing weapons, first made in wood and later in iron. The
Abyssinian shotel shewn in Fig. 206 is indeed nearly the same
in outline as boomerangs of Australia. It is also worth noticing
that in ancient Egypt, the boomerang was used alongside the
Khopsh, and it is reasonable to suppose it has been an appliance
among African tribes, since dynastic times.
The connection of these falcate blades, however, with the
Egyptian Khopsh is altogether unlikely, and we shall shew
that elsewhere the wooden missile boomerang was copied into
iron, and this once done, it is easy to imagine the users hafting
the iron form as a hooked chopper. This would at once produce
a " shotel " type, which would be naturally used to strike at
the enemies head. Savages whose neighbours were thus armed,
would soon protect the head with a coiffure or helmet-like
covering.
No sword like the shotel is known elsewhere, but we find
short chopper-like blades curved on the inner edge in India
and far away on the West coast of Africa. It seems rather
I. — See Schweinfurth's "Heart of Africa."
CUTTING WEAPONS.
143
doubtful however, if there is any connection between these and
the well defined shotel. There is the curved chopper of Liberia
in West Africa, which is a wide parrot-billed implement that is
certainly very distinct from the shotel. The Habshi people of
Janjhira near Bombay use an applicance almost identical in
shape, and since the Habshi are of African origin (though
Burton says they are not Abyssinian, as their name implies,
but Wasawdhili of Zanzibar), it seems probable that
it is an African type. The Nairs and Moplahs of the
Malabar coast, where there seems to be an
admixture of Dravidian and Arab elements
also use the same weapon and several other
kindred bill types. (Fig. 212). There seems
no reason why these handbills and choppers
should be connected either with the shotel
or the Egyptian Khopsh, for just such a
type would be employed by races living in
jungle and underwood, such as actually exists
in Coorg and Mysore (i) (Fig. 213). and
many parts of Africa. To poor races weapons
are of great value, and where it was neces-
sary always to carry a chopper for making one's way about,
that would easily become a national weapon. Africa gives us
other chopper forms, but as a rule they are edged on the convex
edge of the blade.
We now come to the Egyptian
Khopsh sword, a few illustrations of
which are shewn in Figures 215-220.
This cvuious weapon is continually
represented on the monuments, and
was evidently in use by all ranks from
the Pharaoh downwards. It is singular
that writers seem not to have decided
whether this weapon was edged on the
concave or convex sides. The difficulty
arises from the fact that it's position is
sometimes represented grasped with the
convex edge presented, and sometimes
reversed with the concave edge to the front. (2).
I. — Egerton, p. 80.
2. — ^To .shew the uncertainty of authorities, see Burton's " Book of the
Sword," who on p. 150 alludes to it as a sickle type "originally a throwing
weapon as well as a cutting arm." On page 161 he quotes the curved
Egyptian scymitar of Denon as a Khopsh derivative. This, however, was cer-
tainly " outside " edged. On p. 235 he alludes to the " inside cutting edge "
of the Khopsh, and derives from it the kopis of Greece, and the shotel, and
danisko, a pronged African boomerang. On p. 1 56 he gives a group of illus-
trations entitled " Different forms of the Egyptian Khopsh (Kopis) with
edge inside and outside." In 1900 the writer called on Brugsch Bey at the
Gizeh Museum, and was told that the khopsh was certainly concave edged,
but since then considerable correspondence on the subject both with En^ish
and foreign savants, shews that the view taken here is now general.
144
CUTTING WEAPONS.
The weapon, as shewn on the monuments,
is of so curious a shape that it is difficult to
describe. (Figs. 215-218). The very thin
handle terminates in a pommel, but above
the grip are two small projections, presumably
a guard, but the distance between these and the
pommel is in some cases so great that two hands
might almost grasp the handle. Just above the
guard is a sharp bend, to which follows a short
curved blade projecting at one side near the
handle, and often truncated or cut off square, near
the point. The paintings very
often shew a white line along
the concave side, which is made
the width of the handle itself
(Fig. 216), and this it is that
Wilkinson alludes when he says
" the back of this bronze or iron
blade being sometimes cased
with brass" (i). The khopsh
seems to have been 18 inches
long as a rule.
This brass backing, if such
is meant, is sufficient proof that
the weapon was a convex edged
blade ; but there are other indi-
cations which seem to us to
leave little doubt on the sub-
ject. For instance, there are
sculptures shewing the King of
Egypt in his chariot strik-
ing down on his enemies
with the khopsh (Fig. 217), 2 1 8
and here the arm is raised
high overhead with the blade turned up in such a way that the
I. — i., ^61.
CUTTING WEAPONS.
145
'blow could only fall with the convex edge (i). We know no
instance where the inside edge is represented in use, although
■soldiers and even gods are represented holding it with the
hollow edge advanced, which may represent in the one case
a parade position, and in the other may s3mibolise peace
<Fig. 218).
Finally in Champollion (Monuments Plate 188), is figured
the khopsh shewn in our figure 219, and this drawing is, we
believe, from the original weapon mentioned by Champollion
as backed with gold and discovered in the tomb of Rameses
III. On the handle we see a figure of Anubis (Jackal) just
at the commencement of the concave curve, while a hiero-
glyphic inscription runs along the blade near the same side.
It is certain that this weapon could not have been used except
convex edged, nor would the blade be inscribed near the
■" business " edge, which would, if a war weapon, require
regrinding (2).
If on the other hand the khopsh was sometimes made, as
Burton held, with a concave edged blade, it has been suggested
that it was a metal copy of the Egyptian sickle, which it is be-
lieved was in remote times modelled from a jaw bone of an ox
or horse, which, fitted with flints in the teeth socket formed the
earliest sickle types. A figure from a 12th Dynasty Hieroglyphic
at Beni Hassan shews that there really was some resemblance
"between Egyptian sickles and the khopsh (3), but a weapon
built after such a model would be useless, and the theory may be
dismissed as futile, and since there appears really no evidence in
iavour of the khopsh being concave edged, we may fairly accept
it as simply a sword knife with an unusual curve.
Did this peculiar weapon type take its origin in Egypt, or
•was it an introduction ? It is not an easy question to answer.
I. — See Maspero "Struggle of Nations," p. 217, for an example.
2. — Of course this particular weapon may have been only funeral or
tomb furniture. This figvure was redrawn by Mr. Rylands for Balls "Light
from the East," and Professor Schafer of Berlin was good enough to draw
our attention to Champollion.
3. — See Notes on Early Sickles, by F. C. J. Spurrell. Arch. Joum.
xlix p. 68. The khopsh is often called by German Egyptologists Sichel-
schwert "sickle sword."
146
CUTTING WEAPONS,
Right away up in Cappadocia on the presumed site of Pteria,
we find in the rock sculptures of the sanctuary YasiH Kaia
a procession of warriors carrying
over the shoulder a weapon of
the Khopsh type, about 3 feet in
length, half of which appears to
be handle. (Fig. 220). These
figures have been called reapers
with reaping hooks, but Egyptian
art influence is strong in these
sculptures, and we do not doubt
that these "Hittites" are soldiers
carrying the same sword we see
on the Egyptian sculptures (i).
This is not all. From Assyria
we have a curved yataghan —
similar to the khopsh — and differ-
ing so entirely from the Assyrian
swords of the monuments
that we may assume that
the type is not Assyrian.
This bronze weapon is
220 ^^^^ known, and is simply
' a big sword knife, with
an ogre curve, the blade being of nearly equal width
throughout. The handle was jewelled and inlaid with
ivory, and there are three inscriptions on the back
and flat of the blade, shewing it to be the sword of
Ramman Nviari I. of Assyria. It is supposed that it
was placed as an offering in a temple at Amida near
Diarbekr, where it was discovered (2). Its total 200,1
length is 21 J inches, rather longer than the khopsh, but
smaller than the Yasili Kaia weapons (3). (Fig. 200).
Lastly Fig. 200a shews a bronze sword in the
British Museum, which, though differing from the type
of the monuments, is
practically identical with
the Amida sword knife
(4). We have, therefore,
evidence that the same type, or types closely connected, were
20(>t
I. — Perrot and Chipiez " Art in Sardinia and Judaea" ii. 138.
2. — Maspero, " Struggle of Nations," 607.
3. — It has been said that the sword appears in engraved cyUnders in
the hands of gods (Burton "Book of Sword" 208), but the object is
probably the ball and thong (a hfe preserver) held in the hand of the
Nimrud colossus who strangles the lion.
4. — No. 202 in the Egj^tian section, 21 inches long and fractured.
The handle must have been fitted with bone or ebony plates. It is not
labelled with any locahty.
CUTTING WEAPONS.
147
known in Asia Minor at an early date. The Egyptians may
have borrowed it from the Hittites, a much more Ukely supposi-
tion than the converse, for the ungainly curve is just what
we should expect from the Mongohans, and just what we should
not expect from Egypt. As a weapon in the hands of these
two great races it must have been widely known, but the type
and shape was not simple enough for barbarians generally to
adopt, while the Greeks would see its uselessness (i). Egypt
did not win her battles by the use of such an unpractical
weapon, and her retention of the type when once adopted is
but one example of her mule-like conservatism. Even the
Phoenicians, the commercial travellers of the Medi-
terranean, who carried all articles, good and bad,
found no market as far as we know for the
khopsh (2).
We have now reviewed perhaps not very
adequately the principal sword types of the world.
There are, of course, unlimited variations on these
types, and here and there these variations are so
marked or eccentric, as almost to make them
appear types in themselves. Of course the strangest
come from Africa. The savages of the Guinea
Coast, including Dahomey, invented and used for
execution and sacrificial purposes the most elaborate
but barbarous chopper swords which we know.
These implements are generally extremely broad
in the blade, and widen very much from the hilt.
One edge is concave, the other convex, and some-
times one and sometimes the other is the sharp
one. The end was rounded, one edge was knotched,
and the blade was ornamentally perforated. Burton
calls them " fish slicers," of which, indeed the
shape is at once suggestive. (Fig. 201). Some-
times these weapons are of brass or more precious
metal. The handle is curious — the grip between
two special knobs. A sword of this pattern but
with two blades side by side was used in Dahomey
I. — Burton cast his net wide, and tried to include in the class, the
Shotel and all African concave edged weapons, the Greek Kopis, the
Kukri, Yataghan, etc. In the majority of these cases the theory will not
bear examination.
2. — A Cyprus scarab in possession of Mr. G. D. Pierides, of Lamaca,
shews Theseus killing the Cretan Minotaur. Mr. Hogarth first published
this scarab in " Devia Cypria," p. 9, indentifying the subject as the Herakles
and lion group. Later Mr. Pierides repubUshed it in the Joum. Hellenic
Studies (xvi. p. 272), with an engraving, but neither of the writers
noticed, nor does the illustration shew (what was very distinct to the
author), that Theseus holds the Egyptian Khopsh. Of coarse the work
is Phoenician.
148
CUTTING WEAPONS.
for executions (i), and from the illustration this double blade
appears to be forged in one piece.
The same type is found in the East. The
Ram Ddo of Nepal used for sacrificing bullocks
is edged on the outer edge, which has a bold
curve and ends in a point behind (Fig. 202).
These Nepal types are decorated with an incised
human eye, like some Portuguese
boats are at the present day (2).
The Chinese also had a sheer with
a great curved end for criminals to
commit self-execution with. These
dreadful tools have no places among
true weapons, but should be rather
classed with implements of torture.
(Fig. 203).
There are two other fashions in
swords which may be just mentioned.
There is the sword with the wavy
edge, used as we have seen by the
Malays as a dagger, and known in-
Europe as a cross-handled sword called j^,
" Flamberge." This is waved on both
sides, and seems rather to represent
a tongue of flame than to be con-
nected with the notch edged or serrated
swords in metal, the idea of which
was only, we think, to add to the cutting power of the edge.
Oriental swords were often so notched, as we are told was the
sword of Ali himself. Thus Demmin figures a straight Arab
sword with cross guard and curved quillons and saw-like notches
on both blades ; while in the writer's possession is a fine inlaid
scymitar with notched edges, obtained in Tunis, where it was
said to have come from the Beys Palace (3).
The gigantic two-handled sword, awkward as it looks to us,
required skill and dexterity, as it could not be used with a shield.
It had its own system of fence, and was the favourite sword of
Henry VIII. In Europe its use lasted from the 15th to the 17th
century, and it was in regular use among the Swiss foot soldiers.
Museums contain numerous German examples, which it is said
were used as siege defence weapons since the shield was less
required by the besieged within his sheltering walls, than
I. — Knight's Paper, 258.
2. — Egerton, pi. ix.
3. — This sword is remarkable. It has a long inscription in Arabic,
which looks like a form of Kufy, but which no authority has managed to
decipher. Possibly this sword was a present from some dynasts of the
Sudan, where Arabic lettering is queer.
CUTTING WEAPONS.
149
in open fight. Two-handled swords were also used in India.
Fig. 204 shews a two-handled Norwegian sword with the flam-
boyant edge.
The throwing swords of various patterns will be treated
under missiles.
PART III,
MISSILES-
Missiles.
chapter viii.
Hitherto we have treated only of hand weapons, of which
the range is Umited by the length of the human arm, plus the
length of the weapon ; while its efficacy is according to the
strength and activity of the user, plus the sharpness, weight,
curve, or other incidents in the actual design of the weapon used.
We now come to a totally different class, one of which, while
taking its origin from the very beginning of mans' history, plays
a far more important part in modern warfare than the hand
weapon. Missiles are of two kinds, those hurled direct from the
hand at the foe, and those which are projected from a special
instrument or thrower. When to the knowledge of the engine or
thrower, was added the knowledge of the power of explosives,
the missile turned to the deadly bullet, and later to the shell.
At present, however, we have only to deal with the simple
missiles projected by the strength of the human arm alone, after
which we shall turn to a class of great interest, viz. the simple
hand throwers which preceded the mechanical engine. As we
shall see, the simplest forms of missile, the stone, the short javelin
and the long spear, aU passed through at least two phases, one in
which they were propelled by the hand, and the other in which
a specially constructed thrower was used. It is wonderful how
great was the accuracy and force of these simple contrivances
when used by active and powerful races.
Stone throwing as a method of attack would come natural to ■
our earliest forefathers, like the use of the simplest club. Indeed
such use might precede the last named, since no branch could be
used without some trimming, while suitable stones lay ready
almost everywhere.
-154 MISSILES.
Interesting then as instances of the use of missiles by animals
are, we cannot imagine that man with his intellect had to look to
these lower ranks of life to borrow such an art. Accounts real
and traditional, of apes using missiles are not rare. Hanno the
Phoenician who travelled about 500 B.C., noticed hairy men and
■women, (gorillas, or more probably chimpanzees), who defended
themselves with stones; and as far as we can ascertain, the locality
was somewhere about Senegambia on*the West African coast.
In the present century the explorers Denham and Clapperton
had a similar experience on the Western bank of Lake Chad.
" The monkeys, or as the Arabs say " men enchanted,"
" Beni Adam Mashood " were so numerous that I saw upwards of
150 assembled in one place in the evening. They did not appear
at all inclined to give up their ground, but perched on the top of a
bank some 20 feet high, made a terrible noise, and, rather gently
than otherwise pelted as we approached within a certain
-distance " (i).
This habit of monkeys was not confined to Africa. Swainson
says that the howling monkeys of America will pelt intruders with
tree branches (2), and el-Wardi relates that in the Island of Apes
in the China sea, the Simian inhabitants had a king, and were in
the habit of torturing and stoning such luckless mariners or
merchants as ventured to land (3).
Stone throwing was common among the ancients, and
among the Greek and Trojan heroes it seems to have had its
regular position in the order of attack. The ponderous missiles
Khermadia were big enough to crush a shield. We read of Hector
" stooping to the ground,
with his broad hand, a ponderous stone he seized,
that lay upon the plain ; dark, jagged, and huge,
and hurled against the seven fold shield, and struck
full on the central boss ; loud rang the brass.
Then Ajax raised a weightier mass of rock,
and sent it whirling."
The order of battle in the Iliad as a rule is this. The heroes
first cast huge stones at each other, then their spears, and
finally draw swords. Sometimes the stone throwing is omitted,
and in one instance (the battle between Hector and Ajax) it
-comes after the spear throwing and before the sword play (4).
Stones were also used in seige operations, and in the dissensions
•of the gods, Athene even strikes Ares himself with a boundary
stone.
Stone casting in the Mediterranean was not confined to the
heroic age, since we find that petroboloi were often used in
I. — Denham and Clapperton " Travels and Discoveries" 1826. 152."
2. — W. Swainson " Animals in Menageries," p. 22.
3. — We have not the original text, which possibly refers to the operation,
called in Arabic Khasy.
4. — Spears and swords only were often used in duels, such as those
.between Achilles and ^Eneas, and Paris and Menelaus.
MISSILES. 155
large numbers even in the Greek armies, and these stone throwers
were generally disposed on the flanks, in company with the archers
and slingers, as in the Athenian army at Syracuse in 415 B.C.
(i). We know also that it was used at any rate in the defence of
besieged towns in the Assyrian and Egyptian monarchies, for it
is represented on the sculptures. Stoning to death was a regular
ceremonial execution among the Hebrews, and examples are found
both in the old and new testaments (2). Examples come from
ancient Africa. We have already in a previous Chapter (p. 49-50),
quoted from Herodotus the account of the strange ceremonial
combat of the maidens of the Ausenses armed with staves and
stones. Diodorus Siculus also tells us that the Libyans used
neither swords, spears, nor other weapons, but only three darts in
certain leather budgets, wherewith they fought in pursuing and
retreating, and with them they endeavoured, at the very first to
hit their enemy.
Other survivals of this primitive form of attack are found
both in mediaeval times and among foreign races. The Vikings,
armed as they were with shield, spear and sword, did not disdain
it, and used both hand-stone and sling (3). In the Eredwellers
Saga we find Katla of Holt the witch-wife stoned to death in
exactly the same way as in the Bible.
Possibly in the stone throwing sports of different periods,
there existed a survival from the days when the stone was a
weapon. In the 12th century the holiday amusements of Lon-
doners included the throwing of stones, darts, etc ; and these
exercises were so popular that they were suppressed in the
time of Edward III. as being the cause of the neglect of archery.
Stone throwing or stick throwing at cocks (sometimes suspended
in a basket) was a popular shrovetide amusement till the i8th
century. Hence we get the words " cockshy " and " cockshot."
These instances suffice to shew the actual practice of stoning
in attack in ancient times, and ceremonial and other survivals.
Let us now turn to modem examples of stone throwing.
Australia, where all the most primitive forms are found, of
course gives us examples, and it is said that some of the natives
will hurl stone after stone with such rapidity as to resemble a
machine, and while doing so the throwers will leap rapidly from
side to side so as to make the missiles converge from different
points upon the object aimed at (4). In Nine or Savage Island,
artificially shaped stones of stalagmite were used as missiles with
force and accuracy (5). The Kawas of Tanna, New Hebrides,
was a stone as long as and twice as thick as a " counting-house
I. — Petroboloi were no doubt sometimes slingers. Lithoboloi were
catapults.
2. — " Ramy " or stoning the "great devil" at Mekka is worth
mentioning in connection with these.
3. — Cf. dn Chaillu, "The Viking Age," ii 94.
4. — Wood "Nat. Hist." ii. 5. — Id., p. 395.
156 MISSILES.
ruler," and was an accurate missile at a 20 yards range (i)., and
other examples are known from the Sandwich, Easter, and Disap-
pointment Islands.
In that strange land Tierra del Fuego, the miserably clad
natives, though acquainted with the bow, spear, and sling, were
great stone throwers, and many carried a little store of stones in
the corner of their mantles. They are described as hurling these
with such strength and accuracy as nearly to strike Europeans
who thought themselves out of musket shot (2).
In Africa stone throwing was extensively used, and in the
adjacent Canary Islands there was the strange duel with missile
stones hand flints and clubs, which we have described on page
50. The Basutos used to defend their villages by volleys of
stones, and Kolben describes how (in the beginning of the i8th
century) the Hottentots " could hit a mark with a stone to a
miracle of exactness, though the mark be a hundred paces dis-
tant and no bigger than a half-penny. . . . He stands not still,
with a lift-up arm, and a steady staring eye upon the mark . .
but is in constant motion, skipping from one side to another,
suddenly stooping, suddenly rising, now bending on this side, now
on that, his eyes, hands and feet are in constant action ; and
you would think that he was playing the fool, and minding nothing
less than his aim, when on a sudden away goes the stone, with
a fury, right to the heart of the mark, as if some invisible power
had directed it " (3).
This leaping and skipping while in the act of throwing,
which has already been noticed among the Australian aborigines
most probably is really the savage idea of inspiring terror in the
enemy. It matters little to the person aimed at whether the
stones converge, as Wood says, from different spots or fly in each
case from the same point; but it is possible that it is more difficult
to " duck " from stones of which the exact place of projection
cannot be identified.
The young Eskimo were at one time, and possibly are still,
instructed in stone throwing at a mark.
In the East as in ancient times, stoning is common. The
Bedawi on their ghazu, whether for camel lifting or blood feud
purposes, have been known to stone their victims, and peasants
in the East are often very skilful in the art. Wanderers in little
visited Moslem towns, no doubt often have the experience the
author has had, of being stoned as a " christian dog " by an
infuriated crowd of fanatical urchins. The Javanese who became
Moslem in 1478 were in 1812 using stones and slings in an attack
on the Sultan's palace (4).
Special discs for hurling were used in some countries, but as-
I. — Turner quoted by Burton, "Book of the Sword," p. 18.
2. — Wood ii 517-8.
3. — Description of the Cape of Good Hope.
4. — Egerton " Indian Arms," 89.
MISSILES.
157
Ihey were thrown by a thong in most cases, they should perhaps
be classed with sling or bolas.
A Peruvian appliance of this sort is described as of diorite
with teeth at the edge and an opening in the centre an inch wide.
Something similar was used in Mexico and Australia, but whether
in some instances they were used for games or throwing compe-
titions hke the discus is not stated (i).
Wooden Missiles.
Z
These are of three kinds, the straight club
generally knobbed at the end, which is thrown
twirUng, and meant to stun or kill with a blow ;
the curved club, which is also thrown whirling,
and from which, when fiat, came the "come
back " boomerang ; and the pointed stick, which
was thrown to pierce with its point, and origi-
nated the javelin and throwing spear. It is
impossible to separate the two first classes as
the one passes insensibly into the other, and
their origin is identical. Figs, 225 to 235 shew
how every gradation can be found between a
short straight truncheon and various boomerang forms
(2). Of this interesting connection of types we shall
have more to say.
The best known examples of straight throw-
,5^ ing sticks and clubs are from Australia, the
Pacific, and South Africa. In Australia there are
two principal types, first the " Dowak," which in
its primitive form is a plain round stick used for
throwing at birds and animals. The " waddy,"
however, bulges out to a wide heavy part about
two thirds of the whole length from the handle
end, so that like the old scymitar it has a centre
of percussion. The waddy in its simple form is
straight, but there is a curved variety, and a
development has been traced to the curved
boomerang, and the pick-like club called Malga.
The Kaffir and Hottentot knobkeri on the other
hand is a straight club with a spherical ball end,
sometimes put on straight, sometimes turned on
one side (Fig. 17). It is said that some of these weapons are so
thrown as to ricochet from the ground and strike upwards. It
is also said that in S. Africa the Zulu carries a long kiri, and the
Hottentot and Bosjesman shorter weapons. In Fiji and the
Friendly Islands a short knob-club is used, and is named " Ula,"
and a curious variant is found in the latter group, in which the
I. — Knight's paper, 230.
2. — Boomerang is here used in its popular sense.
158
MISSILES.
knob is made with a bowl in it for tobacco and a side hole, for the
insertion of a pipe stem. The Friendly Islander thus carries in
one hand the material for self protection, and for a comfortable
smoke. All or most of these clubs are for hand use as well as
missiles, and they are as much used for the 2^0
"^"^^ chase as for fighting. In the Anthropological
Museum of Oxford is a remarkable little
Arbutus wood club 10 inches long from
Vancouvers Island, Nutka Sound, the use of
which is said to be for killing salmon, (Fig.
236), and a similar short weapon is used by
Kaffir boys for rock-rabbits.
In West Africa also the inhabitants of
Fida, (between Dahomey and Benin), used in
the beginning of the i8th century a club 3 feet
long and 5 to 6 inches thick, " round and even
except a knob at the bottom," with which,
Bosman writes, they were so dexterous that
they could " fling them several paces, and hit
their enemy, and wherever it (the club) falls,
it bruises it very much, and breaks their limbs ; wherefore the
gold coast negroes are almost as much afraid of these devilish
weapons as of a musket itself " (i). , »
231. y? 233. -^34-.
^3^
In Southern Central Arabia the mountaineers of the Gara
district use a throwing stick called " ghatrif " both for fighting
and for sport. It is about a yard in length, pointed at both
ends, and is probably, therefore, thrown twirling like a club, and
not cast point first like a javelin (2).
In Southern America also we find throwing clubs in use.
The Gran Chaco " Macana " is a very curious missile over 2 feet
long, and something like a square dice box in shape. It is used
I. — Bosnian's Guinea Vol. xvi. of Pinkerton's voyages, p. 506.
2. — Bent "Southern Arabia," 248.
MISSILES.
159
tit
m.
both as a hand weapon and missile, and
sometimes has a cyhndrical butt of hard stone
fixed in one of the ends Uke the blade of a
knife. (Fig. 238). It is said that this is
embedded in the tree when alive, and the
macana cut out when it is firmly grown into
the wood (i).
The Caribs of Guiana use a long heavy
club square in section, which Wood thinks is
a modification of the Macana. But it does
not appear that it is thrown, and the con-
nection must be remote.
Before passing to the peculiar missile known as
the boomerang, we may note that most hand weapons
have been used as missiles at one time or another
(2). The stone Patii-pati'i, elsewhere described, is
thrown. So is the Tomahawk or pick of the copper
coloured American. Knives were thrown by the
American trappers and also in Africa and Spain. The
axe among the Franks : and till quite lately, Turkish xfS
soldiers, carried a throwing mace (3). The Bengas y
of the Pachmali hills throw a hatchet at big game (4).
Casting the "barre stone and plummet" was a regular
sport in mediaeval England, and was considered at
one time a necessary part of the training of a hero,
and more than one English monarch practised it..
In Scotland they still toss the caber. However, in
the time of Edward III. these throwing sports were
prohibited, as we have noticed (5).
To us with our smooth and choke bore hammerless
ejectors, and a score of different shots, and sporting
powders, it seems rather paradoxical how sporting
savages can go out with a short knobkiri and make a
bag of game. Yet birds and small mammals are thus,
or were thus killed, with the straight as well as the
curved clubs. Wood says the Kaffirs set out in
couples, walking some 50 yards apart, and when a bird
rises, one throws just above and the other just below
it. If the bird sees the kiri overhead it "ducks" and
is caught by that below, and the reverse. That this
system of " firing " can be acquired by Europeans is
evident by the fact that Wood himself tried for snipe
with a friend, and after a few failures they dropped their bird.
I. — Wood "Nat. Hist.," ii., 570.
2. — It seems natural for man, when irritable to " chuck " the nearest
available object, whether a stone or a decanter, at the offender, whether
that be a dog or a relative.
3. — Tylor's " Anthropology," 193.
4. — Egerton, 76. '• ' '
S.— Strutt, 75.
^6o MISSILES.
Boomerangs.
The general idea that the curved throwing sticks used by the
Austrahan aborigines, and by a few other races, are all boomer-
angs, is an error ; and the belief that all so-called boomerangs
are " come backs " or weapons with a returning flight, is equally
without foundation. The word " boomerang " is from the
root " buma," to strike, fight, kill, and ara-arai, ara-arang, all
formative terminatives. It is therefore strictly only applicable
to the curved fighting missile of Australia, which has no return
flight (i). " Bargan " is a name applied to the " come back "
toy or sporting weapon, at any rate in new South Wales ; and
■"KyUe" is the name in Western Australia (2), but the names
differ in every district. Since, however, these curved throwers
are now known to exist or have existed in various parts of the
world, some inclusive name is necessary, and in this chapter we
•shall use " boomerang " simply to denote all curved or wooden
throwing weapons, flat or flatfish, in section, used either for
sport or war, and whether with or without a come-back flight.
Since, however, the come-back boomerang is the most re-
markable development of all the class, we shall treat of it first,
•shewing how and where it seems to have originated. It is indeed
invested in some degree with a fictitious interest which it scarcely
merits, for instead of being the terrible weapon with which an
Australian savage is commonly supposed to be able to kill his
•enemy when out of sight, it appears that it is seldom if ever used
to fight with, but that it is merely a clever toy or at most a
fowling stick (3). It is doubtful if it is known elsewhere than in
Australia, (where the bow and arrow are unknown), and it cer-
tainly occupies an unique position, whether it be classed as toy or
weapon, among savage appliances.
" The " come back " boomerang may be described as a
thin blade of wood, with a bend, generally at the centre, forming
a sort of elbow or angle, of which the degree of sharpness is very
varied. No two boomerangs are the same, for the shape and bend
depends on the grain and shape of the branch from which it is
iormed. Some have only a slight bend throughout, others have
a quite sharp bend in the middle. Some are of equal breadth
throughout, others wide in the middle, and as far as we are aware,
all Australian "come backs" are made with one side slightly
■convex, and the other side flat or even a little hollowed. The size
and weight varies, probably nearly all working " come-backs "
"being somewhere between 6 and 12 oz. in weight, 16 to 30 inches
long, 2 to 4 inches wide, and about ^ inch thick (4). Larger or
I. — J, Fraser "The aborigines of New South Wales," Sydney, 1892.
2. — K. B. Smith, " Aborigines of Victoria," i., 336.
3. — Mr. Fraser, however, says the bargan is used occasionally in
battle.
4. — Fraser " Aborigines " : Western Australian bargans, however,
are often only 4 oz.
THE BOOMERANG. i6i
heavier weapons were not meant to return, and the best " come-
backs " are thin, and rather wide.
There are other features in some, or all of these weapons.
Many, but by no means all, will be found on looking along the
edge over the points to have a " windmill " twist or screw, which
was made on purpose. The object of this w<i shall describe later.
In appearance most boomerangs look roughly made almost
unfinished weapons, on which one would judge only a few hours
at most were expended in manufacture. This is, however, not
the case, for a native with his few rough tools of flint and shell
would spend several days looking at and taking off a chip here
and a chip there until satisfied with the balance. Some natives,
it is Sciid, can make no boomerangs that will fly, while every
weapon made by a " genius " will be a good one. Probably
fashion has something to say to this. We know what a shooting
man will pay for a 12 bore by a crack maker, with which neverthe-
less he misses half his birds, while John Hodge the farmer deals
death with every cartridge from a far worn gun of some unknown
provincial make. Yet the aforesaid shooting man will tell you
and everyone else that you must have So-and-So's guns, and such-
and-such a powder, and none else. For the difficulty of making
a boomerang the writer can vouch having spent weeks in trying
the arts, both of making and throwing. Possibly if he had been
a savage with only flint knives instead of saws and planes to help
him his success would have been greater.
Now the next point is to notice how the " come back "
boomerang is thrown, and what it can be made to do by a skilful
thrower. Authorities and writers differ enormously in their
accounts, the reason undoubtedly being that some tribes are
more skilful than others, and there are duffers and experts every-
where. Writers on the boomerang judge what can be done by
what they have seen. Though the writer has never been among
Australian Aborigines he has toiled and sweated with boomerangs
until heart broken at his inabihty to perform the mysterious
feats of which he has read. Yet it would not do to say that such
feats are impossible. A month or two in a country place, with
" boomerang on the brain " will convince, we imagine, any honest
student, that however great his failures an Australian savage
with nothing else to *do than to make boomerangs and throw
them, might by practice learn to do " things most admirable."
A boomerang thrower grasps the missile by one end (which is
generaUy roughened on the surface with cross lines), in such a
way that the convex side lies uppermost, and the other horn of
the curve is pointed in direction to be thrown. In throwing, the
weapon is discharged with a violent sort of jerk, so as to make it
spin with the utmost rapidity, and the aim being directed either
upwards at a moderate angle, or at a point on the ground about
40 feet distant.
i62 THE BOOMERANG.
A " come-back " thrown in the first way against a slight
breeze, skims through the air and rises gently at first, and then as
the force of propulsion slightly diminishes, it rises more quickly,
and then, still twirling, it slips back through the air, passes the
thrower and embeds itself in the soil or sand behind him.
This proceeding is a simple one and can be learned by any
active European, but the Australian is reported to do fancy
throws, no approach to which can be made by an Englishman.
Thrown at the ground about 40 yards distant it touches and then
rises, and curves, pirouettes and whirls in loops. An article in
the " Wide World Magazine " on boomerang flights shewed
double and treble loops in the flight.
Now the most ardent practice on the writer's part, with
Australian and home-made boomerangs, failed to produce either
double or treble loops, either on the outward or homeward
flights. Single loops occurred, but they were " flukes," conse-
quent it seemed, in a sudden change of wind. In order to
satisfy himself as to the possibility of such flights the author
wrote to a friend, who had long resided and travelled in different
parts of Australia, and he obtained a number of opinions from
Austrahan anthropologists and others who had much experience
of natives (i). Several of these experts stated that a double loop
in the flight of a boomerang could be only a fluke, and that
the most a native could (intentionally) do, was a flight with a
come-back curve. In fact this was the general view, but on the
other hand the greatest authority on Australian weapons wrote :
" There is no doubt but that an expert thrower can make a
good weapon perform double and treble loops during its fUght.
In this respect there are, of course boomerangs and boomerangs."
Putting the information together, the conclusion is unavoid-
able, that double and possibly treble looped flights are some-
times made by an expert native thrower, but that as a rule the
ordinary native simply makes it return to or behind him. The
looped fancy shots are no doubt the exceptional performances
of experts, similar to our " professional " shots or golfers. Even
then, it is probable that such remarkable flights depend rather on
circumstances, such as changes and puffs of wind, and cannot
be done at will of the thrower. A great deal must depend on
strength and knack in giving the drawback jerk in throwing, for
it stands to reason that the greater the rapidity with which a
light boomerang is spinning in the air the longer it will float, and
the greater the chance of its being affected by air currents, which
might cause it to sail in loops crossing and recrossing its own
path.
The same remarks apply to the art of striking objects in the
1. — Among these were Professor Baldwin Spencer, Mr. F. J. Jardine,
Mr. Moreton (Cloncurry). We are indebted to Mr. J. H. Stanley, of Dune-
din N.Z. and Queensland, Australia, for obtaining these opinions.
THE BOOMERANG. 163
come-back flight. There may be, and probably are, throwers
who occasionally strike an object out of sight or behind a tree, or
even mark an object, and then turning, throw in the opposite
direction, so that the come-back strikes the ..
^^'^ mark on the completion of its come-back flight
behind the thrower. But these are fancy and
probably generally " flukey " shots, and have
nothing to do either with the use of the come-
back or the objects for which it is rnade.
There is nothing miraculous in the come-
back flight and nothing difficult to explain or
understand. At the moment the boomerang is
projected into the air it has two motions — one
a straight forward advance, the other a spinning
or rotatory motion upon its own axis. Should
the last be exhausted or much diminished by
the time its outward course is finished, it will
fall dead. Should on the other hand the rotatory
motion be given with such force that at the moment its
outward movement comes to an end, it is still spinning
sufficiently rapidly, it becomes self buoyant something like a
parachute, and sUdes back through the air at the same angle, and
consequently along the same course it followed in its outward
journey. Puffs of air will deflect their coiurse.j,
like they would a piece of falling paper, and in
such airs a light " comeback " (given a sufficient
rapidity of rotation), will perform astonishing
curves or even complete loops. The theory of
flight can be studied to perfection in one's study
by the old schoolboy trick of cutting out little
bits of cardboard to the proper shape and flipping
them sharply off the point of the finger.
The curious twist given to the edge of some
light boomerangs, similar to that of the blades
of a propeller, has the effect of screwing a
rotating boomerang upward in the air. It is,
however, far from common, being entirely un-
known in the central districts of Australia and
elsewhere (i). It is also quite unnecessary for the come-
back flight, and would only have the effect of making the
weapon " tower." This effect was no doubt accidentally
discovered by the Australian, to whom dynamics of all sorts were
unknown, and as far as we know at present, the twist was not used
by other boomerang races for " come-back " or other weapons.
When we leave the " come-back " boomerangs, and make a
I. — Baldwin Spencer, " Native tribes oi Central Australia." The come-
back occurs in Queensland and W. Australia, and used to exist in Victoria
and New S. Wales.
164
THE BOOMERANG.
m
more general examination of curved throwing sticks, it will be
apparent that the " come-back " flight was no invention, but
simply a discovery. The flat club was found to fly further and
truer than a round one, and as all curves were with the bend of
the wood, a short bent flat club was noticed
to return partly towards the thrower. The
advantage was at once apparent, as the risk of
losing the stick was less, and practice soon taught
the throwers that they could even fling at birds
or branches overhanging water. A heavy fighting
club would not return, so that the " come-back "
was limited to minor sport, and fancy throwing.
Of all the other races using throwing sticks
and clubs, it is not quite certain that any were
acquainted with, or practised the "come-back"
flight. Lubbock objected to classing Australian
with other boomerangs, since they alone were known to
have the return flight. But Lane Fox says that a
wooden Indian type used by the Marawas of Madura has the
return flight, and such is said to be the case with the Bhils of
Central India (i ). Furthermore a model carefully copied from an
ancient Egyptian example was actually made to "come back"
by an expert thrower. Nevertheless without venturing a decided
opinion, it seems possible that in these cases the makers and
users were unacquainted with this pecuUarity ,
and even if they were not, it is unlikely from
the types of the groups, that they valued it
much, and practised it to any degree.
We have now seen the two extremes of
type in wooden missiles, the straight knob-
stick and the fluttering " come-back " toy.
There is every gradation of type between the
two. Simple sticks with a bend or angle in
them form the first deviation from the knob-
club, and whereas the knob club was as useful
for striking as for throwing, the club with a
distinct bend must have been adopted rather
for throwing than for striking. Thus the
Djibba negroes used a club (Fig. 244) (2) which reminds one of
a short handled, long-headed hockey club. It is cut out at the
junction of a main and minor branch, and would be of little use
except as a missile.
This Djibba throwing club is somewhat akin to the so-called
" lisan " or " tongue " (Arabic) shewn in Fig. 240, which was
used by the ancient Egyptians, and by various races in Northern
I. — See a paper by Professor T. McK. Hughes on " Natural forms
which have suggested some of the commonest implements." Arch Journ.,
Iviii., 210.
2. — According to Lane Fox in the Christy Coll.
THE BOOMERANG.
165
X48.
Africa, such as the Abyssinians and the Ababdeh and Bisharin
of the Nile Basin (i). The same shape occurs in Victoria, Aus-
tralia (2), but although the last-named is a
missile, we do not know for certain that the
African forms ancient or modem were
used otherwise than in the hand, though
such was probably the case. The Egyptian
type, as we shall see, is closely connected
with the undoubted throwing sticks of that
age. The Romans used a short curved
stick {pedum) for throwing at small game,
and possibly a throwing stick was used
by warriors of the Mykenae period, since
on a silver vase there is a representation of
the siege of a town, in which it is believed
boomerangs of some sort are intended to
be represented (3). Engish fowlers used '^
a throwing club called a " squoyle," but the shape of it was
probably very varied (4).
We now pass to the true flat curved boomerang used for
fighting, and not
meant for fancy
flights. These
may be divided
into three or four
*T*i groups geogra-
phically. I. Australia. 2. Africa modem and ancient (Egypt).
3. India. 4. North America.
The Australian boomerangs have so unlimited a variety
in shape and size, that their general character only can be indi-
cated here. As a
rule their length is
greater in com-
parison to their
width, than the
short wide " come-
backs." The curve
is more open 5'*'^
(sometimes very slight), and although one side is often flatter
than the other, this is not always the case, and the weapon is
more stick like in character. Probably none of these weapons
I. — Wilkinson i., 365. Among the clubs in Ghizeh Museiun are
curved ones ending with a knob.
2. — Knights paper, p. 277.
3. — A. J. Evans "Joum., Hellenic Studies," xiii, 199.
4. — Tylor "Anthropology" 193. Halhwell "Diet, of Archaic and Pro-
vincial words," gives " Squail " to throw sticks at cocks, " Squailer " the
stick thrower : and from the note which follows, it appears that the squail
was sometimes loaded with lead.
i66
THE BOOMERANG.
have an intentional twist, and the curve is regulated by the
branch selected. The wood is fig, willow, iron bark of the oak,
or gum tree bark, and a fair length is 30 to 33 inches. A heavy
fighting boomerang is said to have a range of 150 yards, and it
can break a limb or pierce a man's body. (i).
A glance at the sketches will
show how varied these weapons
are. Figs. 250, 251, 252 shew
various "comebacks," all wide,
thin and markedly curved or
angulcir. Fig. 249 is a small
plain boomerang not meant to
return, and rather more curved at one end than the other. Figs.
225 to 230 shew intermediate gradations between the plain waddy
club (225) and the plain curved boomerang (230), while Fig.
233 and 234 shew the Malga or leowel of Australia and New
Caledonia, which, I believe, are non-missile, though identical in
type with the African trombash (Fig. 235), which is missile.
A few Australian
boomerangs have a
double curve like fig.
243, and there is a
very curious variety
in which there is a
25i. sharp spur or horn
projecting backwards at one end (Fig. 253). This type is in use
in the Gulf of Carpentaria and among the Workia tribe of the
Upper Georgia River, Queensland, and on one such in the British
Museum is a label stating that the intention of the horn is to catch
onto the " warding off" or parrying stick, and so to secure a
blow being struck. Anyone accustomed to boomerangs, however,
will see that if this
type is thrown in
the ordinary way,
held by the unhom-
ed end, the inner
or unhorned side of
the weapon would strike the
parrying stick, since the
weapon always rotates on leaving the hand in a given and
known direction. For the same reason the inner side and
not the spur side, would strike the object aimed at, and we must
confess that at present we fail to see that this spike would be any
advantage to the weapon. It is possible that it is only intended
to, and may really, add impetus or force to it as a missile (2).
I. — Frazers " Aborigines."
2. — Baldwin Spencer ("Native tribes Central Australia,") says the
beaked boomerangs were sometimes used in the hand as a pick, but it is
not clear if this horned type is meant or the Malga type. Fig. 233.
THE BOOMERANG.
167
That a form of boomerang was used by the ancient Egyptians
or allies has long been known from representations on the monu-
ments, but it is only within recent years that the subject has
received much attention. ' In sculptures and paintings there are
two kinds shewn, the sporting throwing stick and the fighting
weapon. The sporting weapon is generally represented in the
hands of a fowler standing on his pap5n-us punt in the middle of
the reeds, from which rise flocks of wild fowl. The boomerang
raised in the right
hand is ij to 2
feet long, and has
a slight double or
S curve, like some
Australian exam-
ples. The fowler
often grasps a bird
in the other hand,
and a decoy duck
stands on the prow
of the canoe (i).
(Fig. 243 and 257).
As far as we
are aware no ex-
ample of this type
has actually been
discovered, and
from its shape it
was not a " come-
back."
The fighting boomerang has been recognised as depicted
from the very earliest dynastic times. Pottery of a very early
date has been discovered at Abydos, which shews foreigners
carrying spear, boomerang, double curved bow and dart, and a
similar subject occurs on a slate palette of the first dynasty. It
is as yet uncertain if these people are Libyans or Asiatics (2).
That the non-Egyptian races in Dynastic times carried the
boomerang is shewn by an i8th Dynasty sculpture, in which
the chief of the Puanit, believed to be Somali, is so represented,
I. — Wilkinson i., 234-6.
2. — See Maspero " Struggle of Nations" 767, and Soc. Bibl. Aichaeology
xxii. p. 1 30. Maspero calls the pottery Libyan, and the figures Libyan hunts-
men, but Mr. F. Legge writing on a slate of ist Dyn. in the Louvre notices that
they are armed with boomerangs, double axes, and lasso. He thinks this
is a monument of an invading Asia Minor race who conquered non-Egyptian
natives. The slate seems identical in style with Maspero's pottery, but
Legge says it (the slate) was offered to Maspero as from Abydos, and the
two things seem to be of one find, if not actually the same object. The
mixture of weapons is most remarkable, and we are inclined to think points
to Asia, though it is an open question.
i68 THE BOOMERANG.
(i). Lastly, in the tomb of Khnum Hotpa at Beni-Hassan, we have
a bowman, apparently an Egyptian, carrpng a long bow under
his left arm, while in his right hand, he poises, ready to throw, a
large heavy and broad boomerang, with a single curve, which
exactly reminds us of some of the larger Australian types (2).
(See Title Page Fig. 258).
Of recent years a number of real ancient Egyptian boomerangs
have found their way into Museums and other collections, and
while there are minor variations among them, there is a persis-
tency of type throughout that enables us to describe them
altogether.
General Pitt Rivers, in a paper on these weapons (3), figures
ten examples, five of which are in the Egyptian collection, three
in the British Museum, one at Paris, and one in his own collection.
In 1900 there were, we think, two or three additional examples at
Cairo, and besides these we have seen two examples on sale in
the hands of London dealers, and there is also a broken one in the
Ashmolean Museum. No doubt there are a good many others,
but we have here about a dozen examples, which is a fair basis
for study.
These weapons are mostly between 23 and 28 inches, though
there are some which must be 40 inches in length, and others so
small (8 to 10 inches), that they were probably for boys' use.
They differ entirely from the Australian weapons inasmuch as in
no known instance are they wider in the middle than at the ends.
On the contrary we find that in the majority of cases they
widen at the ends shghtly, this widened end being either cut
straight off or else being of an oval shape. Some have the widen-
ing at one end only, but generally it is found at both ends. About
half of them are rather more curved at one end than the other.
Those with the oval terminations have equal curves.
The section is flatfish but convex on both sides.
In a few instances they are ornamented with parallel grooves
down each face. One example, however, in the British Museum,
although evidently of the same make, presents one markedly
different feature. One end widens in the usual way, but the other
instead turns back with a sharp curve, almost like a hook. This
example is grooved on the side, and bears the cartouche of
Rameses the Great. ; ; It was brought to England by that wonder-
I. — Masjjero, " Struggle of Nations," 249-50. There is also the pectoral
jewel of Amenhemat III found by de Morgan at Dashur, on which is
depicted the king with a pole axe striding over a foreign prisoner who
grovels at his feet and delivers up a boomerang more curved at one end
than the other, and expanding at both ends. For illustration see Ward
" Pyramids and Progress," 53.
2. — Maspero : " Dawn of Civilization," p. 59. The original drawing
(which we have copied), by Faucher Gaudin.
3. — "Egyptian boomerang and its affinities," Joum. Anthrop. Inst.,,
xii., 454-
THE BOOMERANG. 169
ful collector, and the writer's fellow traveller, the Rev. Greville
Chester. (Fig. 245). It is difficult to explain why one example
only should have this shape, though some of the toys or boys
weapons have a very unequal curve, (i).
In looking at this series, there is only one or two things we
need remark. First that we have not among them the S curved
type shewn on the monuments, which is a very remarkable fact.
Secondly, that although General Pitt Rivers succeeded in making
a model which could be thrown with a " come-back " flight,
there could not be a series of boomerangs put together which
have less of the characteristics of the " come-back." In the
absence of details as to the discovery of these weapons, we can
only look at the general type, and it is easy to imagine that they
were actual fighting weapons, possibly carried by barbarian
auxiliaries or allies.
After looking at these relics of long past culture, it is of pecu-
liar interest to turn to North East Africa in modem times, and
find that the boomerang is still in use. Figs. 235, 242, and 246
shew examples of the African weapon, which is called Trombash,
a name with a peculiar but presumably accidental likeness to
" Tombat," the word applied in Australia to the type 232, which
is almost identical with 235. (2) . These trombashes are used by
different tribes in Abyssinia and the Upper Nile regions. It
will be seen that Figs. 235 and 242 are sharp at the points,
and generally resemble Australian examples, but Fig. 246 shews
a trombash with square ends and a sharp curve at one end,
which is hke the one described with the royal cartouche of Ra-
meses (245). This particular example was on exhibition at the
R. United Service Institution in 1899, labelled as " loot from
Omdurman," and as belonging to the Upper blue Nile tribes.
We shall see that numerous metal throwing types are found in
the same region, so that the boomerang has been a Nile Valley
weapon from time immemorial.
Fig. 247 shews a remarkable weapon shewn on a tomb at
Beni-Hassan, carried by the Aamu, supposed to be Nomads of
Southern Arabia, and armed also with spear and bow. (3).
It is not, of course, a boomerang, but appears to be a throwing
axe, the head of which is a socketed metal celt, and the handle
with a boomerang curve. If this is the correct explanation, the
1. — A boomerang nearly of this shape is clearly shewn on a carved
slate now in the Louvre, to which it was given by Tigrane Pasha. It is
labelled " Oriental," which means Asiatic, and in the same room is another
fragment found at Beirut. Porcelain boomerangs used as offerings have
been found.
2. — Figs. 235 and 242 Adapted from Pitt Rivers drawings ; the
originals are at Copenhagen.
3. — Ball "Light from the East," p. 74. "Amu" (Aamu) is said actually
to mean " boomerang throwers." Bedawi are often shewn with boomer-
angs in early Egyptian monuments, see L. B. Paton, "Early Hist, of Syria
and Palestine" (1902), p. 12.
170
THE BOOMERANG.
<53
weapon must be derived from a hafted celt such as is shewn
in Fig. 248, which being used by a race accustomed more to
throwing than striking had the curve of the neck modified.
Crossing to India we find wooden and steel
boomerangs used in widely distant parts. Fig. 253a,
shews a true wooden boomerang used by the Kolis
of Guzerat, N.W. India, which is large and heavy,
so that it will not return, has both sides rounded,
and is cut off square at the ends. It is called
" Katureea," and is intermediate in general form
between the AustraUan and ancient Egyptian groups.
Far away in the south the name " Kattaree " seems
to be applied to wooden boomerangs used in Tinne-
valli, and Madura (Madras) (i), and true but rude
weapons of the boomerang form are also used in the
Bombay presidency (2).
The boomerang also developed into a new form
altogether in Madras, for in Fig. 254 we see a
remarkable type called the " KoUery," made of thin flat wood
cut off square at one end, but terminating in a knob at the
other. This weapon is made both in wood and steel, is used
by the Marawas of Madura, and it is said has a return flight (3).
The shape, unknown elsewhere for boomerangs, seems to be the
result of the introduction of metal culture to a primitive race
using the simplest forms of weapons.
Australia was the home of the boomer-
ang, but Southern Asia and North East
Africa both have areas where this curious
weapon was or is used. But though it has
apparently been but little used in the new
world, it is not unknown. Many of the tribes
of Southern California used a curved throwing
stick, and one, a rude affair used by the Moqui
and Shimmo Indians for killing rabbits, is
figured by Knight (4). In Arizona and New
Mexico a game boomerang was used by the Indians, about 20
inches long, of oak or ash with a thin edge. It was of varied
shape, from a " cavalry sabre to an obtuse angle of 130 degs."
• Hitherto we have treated of the missile only in stone and
wood, but missiles did not become extinct with the adoption of
I. — Sometimes Katari ; see Egerton, "Indian Arms," p. 81, and S.
Kensington Museum, Indian section.
2. — In the Pitt Rivers Collection.
3. — In " Primitive Warfare," p. 511, is given an account of the use of
these forms in India by Sir W. Elliot, who notes that in the S. Mahratta
villages the people turn out in the hot season armed with crooked sticks,
and bag all sorts of game, even tigers. Angular rough sticks are all that are
iiised in the North.
4. — P. 229.
THE BOOMERANG.
171
metal, for as we have. pointed out swords, axes and knives were,
and are widely used in this way. In India, however, and in Africa,
we find certain groups of metal missiles, which from their shapes,
and the methods employed in using them, probably are really
adaptations into metal of the throwing stick. In India indeed the
Katari or KoUery of the type of Fig. 254, was exactly reproduced
in steel, and was then sometimes called " Singa." These steel
boomerangs are 18 inches to 20 inches in length (i). (Fig. 255).
The most remarkable steel missile used in India, however,
was the Chakra or war quoit of the Sikhs, used by the Akali
sect, who in obedience to the rule of their founder Govind,
dressed only in blue, and were armed only with steel, their wea-
pons including the steel bow, sword, pistols, and these quoits,
which to the number of six were carried either on the arm or
on the turban (2).
The chakra is described in the i6th century as used by the
warriors of Delhi, being "wheels" called "chacaram" sharp at
2S6. *^^ ^^.^^ ^ carried on the left hand : in use they
" put it on the finger of the right hand, and make it
spin round many times, so that they hurl it at their
enemies, and if they hit any one on the arm or neck it
cuts through all, and with these they carry on much
fighting, and are very dexterous " (3),
One of these quoits, a thin steel ring razor-like at the edge, is
shewn in Fig. 256. Some are plain, others beautifully inlaid with
precious metal. Though formerly Ceirried on the arm, the more
recent method was to slip them round the high Sikh turban, of
which two drawings are given, one from Wood and one from
Egerton. (Figs. 260-1). This Quoit turban was called Dastkr
I. — Examples from Madure, Egerton, p. 81.
2. — Burton says in the hair.
3. — Lane Fox P.W. p. 427 ascribes this description to Magellan, but
Egerton, p. 20, alludes to a singular description by Barbosa. Probably
one author copied the other.
172 THE BOOMERANG.
Bungga, and a tall conical one similar to that first figured exists
in the museum of the R. United Service Institution. It is about
28 inches high, and is encircled with several quoits, and steel
crescents, knives, and tiger claws. The chakra when thrown is
first twirled rapidly and then launched spinning into the air,
and it is said to be deadly at 80 yards. Sometimes, like the
boomerang, it is thrown to ricochet from the ground, and in
war several were thrown with great rapidity in succession. The
principle of flight, retaining the direction in the air, through
rotation, is similar to that of the boomerang in aU essentials.
The chakra is frequently represented in the hands of the god
Vishnu and sometimes of other gods.
Metal and stone discs are thrown in other parts of the world.
A brass quoit called " Thai," is said to be used by the Mooches
of India, (i), and something similar 6 inches in diameter has
been brought from Guatemala (2). Hurling discs mostly of
stone have been also found in Brittany and France, of diorite
in Peru, and in Mexico and Australia. The disc of the Greeks
was of stone or metal, and although only a sport (in which way
it was used even in Homeric times), it is possible that it may
have originated in a war quoit seen in use among adversaries (3 ).
As far as we know there are not in Africa any real boome-
rangs in steel like the katari, nor any metal throwing discs.
But on the other hand there is an extensive series of pronged
throwing weapons, which must replace earher types in wood.
These weapons are in use among numerous Saharan races
between Senaar on the Upper Nile, and Gabun on the Bight
of Biafra. The names and variations of type are endless, but
the general type is a throwing weapon with a curved point or
beak, and one or more prongs or spikes projecting from the sides
(4). No one can doubt that all these weapons have one origin.
All have the sharp edge, the spikes also sharpened, and some
varieties are convex on the upper side and flat beneath, exactly
reproducing the section of the wooden boomerangs. Though
all these weapons are used in the hand, they are also missiles,
several being carried by one warrior, and sent spinning on its
axis in exactly the same way as the boomerang. Of course
such a cruel weapon inflicts a terrible wound. Some of the
intermediate and connected types are very instructive. For
instance Figs. 208, 209 shew curved blades little different from
some of the Nubian concave edged swords which we have else-
where described, and which are remarkably boomerang-like in
I. — Wood, ii., 771.
2. — Knight, 230.
3. — The heavy iron quoit was thrown at the games held in honour of
Patroclus.
4. — The reader should refer to " Primitive Warfare," PI. xx., Figs.
1 15-129. Wood, "Nat. Hist.," i., 492, 593, 705, 693 712,. Schweinfurth
" Heart of Africa," &c.
THE BOOMERANG. 173
type. It naturally occurs to one that this simple form may
be the original, and the beaks and spikes the additions of
savage inventiveness. At the same time there is no doubt that
the intention of these salient prongs is as much to act as
wings for buoyancy in the rotation of the weapon, as to inflict
wounds. A peculiarly simple form, however, is used by the
Lurs, which is quite a short spade ended weapon with a solitary
spike on one side, looking rather like a hand with fingers closed,
and thumb extended (i). Some, however, of the more elaborate
shapes seem to be meant to represent bird's heads or beaks.
(See Figs. 221 to 224). The names of these weapons seem quite
unconnected with each other. In Bornu and among the negroes
south of Lake Chad, the name generally applied is " Hunga
Munga." "Danisco" is used by the Marghi," " Goleyo " by
the Musghu, " Njiga " in Baghirmi. The Fans of Gabun and
the Tibus also use the type, and it is one of the chief weapons
of the warlike Nyam-Nyam, among whom it is called " Kulbeda"
or " Pingah." It is found in Kordofan, among the Mundos,
Dinkas, and Shilluks. Schweinfurth tells us, that while the word
Trombash (properly a wooden weapon) is appUed in the Sudan
Arabic in Senaar to all negro missiles, these pronged weapons are
properly " Kulbeda." " Changer Manger " belongs to the Marghi
and Musghu races. Most of the Nyam Nyam kulbedas are manu-
factured for them by the neighbouring Monboto, who do not
use them themselves, but have the remarkable falcate sword des-
cribed in Chap. VII. (Figs. 210, 211), but although this is not
thrown, it can hardly be doubted that it was originally the same
weapon, so that we have a most remarkable instance of a tribe
which having ceased to be boomerang throwers themselves, still
make them for their neighbours (2).
It has been suggested that a weapon called cateia or cateja,
which is somewhat vaguely described by classical and other later
authors, was of the natvu^e of a come-back boomerang. The
passages, however, when examined carefully, seem to leave little
doubt that the cateia was a javelin or throwing lance either
thrown by means of the ankuU or loop which we shall later
describe, or else actually recovered to the thrower by means of a
line like a harpoon. The only instance in which the word cateia
may indicate a boomerang is a passage in Silius Italicus, in which
we learn that one of the Libyan tribes which accompanied
Hannibal in Italy was armed with a bent cateia, which might
well be an African boomerang (3)
I. — Ratzel " Hist, of Mankind" iii., 68.
2. — After " Omdurman " many strange weapons worked down to
Cairo. The writer bought in 1901 a double bladed axe with flat projecting
prongs. Half Sudani, half Arab in character. This was evidently the work
of an Arab niaker.
3. — The passages cited by Lane Fox in "Primitive Warfare," p. 429,
and by Burton, are Virgil Aeneid vii., 730, 741., Bishop Isidore of Seville
600-636 A.D. Strabo iv. Diodorus v.. Cap. 30, in which the cateia is
174 THE BOOMERANG.
There is a missile used in Southern Australia which is en-
tirely different in character to the boomerang, but which must be
mentioned here. It consists of a conoidal, or apparently a
double conoidal piece of wood, to which is attached a long thin
and very supple handle made of cane, whale-bone, or wild buffalo
horn heated and pressed. Its total length is 2 feet to 3 feet, and
it is apparently used either as a toy for children, as a sport, or it
is actually used as a missile weapon. The " Kangaroo rat " or
" weet weet " is held by the thin tail, and swung backwards and
forwards until it is " whipping " violently, when it is let go
flying with a jerk. If thrown skilfully it darts through the air
seven or eight feet above ground, and then ricochets and bounds,
like a stone skinning on the water. On account of the elasticity
of the " tail " it renews its vigour after striking the ground, and
will fly, it is said, up to 220 yards (i). Such a curious missile
may have been invented by a native who, throwing a knob club
with a thin and elastic handle, would observe its bounds and
jumps on touching the ground. (Fig. 237).
As to the questions of the peculiar geographical distribution
of the boomerang, and the possible connection of the boomerang
races, we are in reality in the dark. Australia is the home of the
boomerang, which with the wummerah or spear thrower, take the
place of the bow and arrow, which are practically unknown.
Lane Fox in his " Primitive warfare" discussed the whole ques-
tion with suggestions which, though illuminating, were far from
convincing. He pointed out that three real boomerang races
existed in Australia, the Indian Deccan, and Egypt. In these
areas Huxley had tentatively identified cognate Australian
features, and Lane Fox conjectured that the boomerang might be
a relic of the original Australioid stock, originally an effective
described as " whirled in the Teutonic manner," and " coming to the
thrower." But it was thrown \yith a thong or " Amentum " ; and as
a mattei- of fact the texts taken all together suggest that the writers or
some of them were confounding more than one weapon. Professor McK.
Hughes has cited most of the passages in his paper " on the Natural forms
which have suggested some of the commonest implements of stone, bone,
and wood." (Arch. Journ. Iviii., p. 199), which shews how obscure they
are. General Pitt Rivers in his later paper on " Egyptian Boomerangs "
acknowledged that " speculation on this subject is more interesting than
instructive." There are a score of myths or traditions concerning inanimate
objects which mysteriously returned to their home or owner. Thor's
hammer did so, and in our own lake country there are two old halls in
which were at one time human skulls, and a big lantern respectively, which
could not be parted from their home.
The peculiar similarity between the word " Cateia " and the name of
the Indian boomerang " Katari " is probably only a coincidence. More
remarkable is the fact that there is a Maori whip sling for casting darts,
which is called " Kotaha," both the name and the appliance in this case
being probably not dissimilar. But presumably no one will argue for any
identity of origin.
1. — Fraser. "Aborigines of New South Wales," Brough Smith:
"Aborigines of Australia," i., p. 352.
THE BOOMERANG.
175
weapon for all purposes, and surviving in India and ancient Egypt,
as a weapon of the chase or a toy. This he acknowledged was
theory, but he based it on the supposition that the boomerang
was unknown elsewhere, whereas we have shewn it existed as an
American appliance. And this being so, it seems that the ex-
planation, unconvincing as it was with the three areas only to
consider, becomes quite untenable, when we find the weapon
elsewhere. We venture indeed to think that we shall eventually
know that the boomerang was more widely known and used
than with our present limited information, we are aware of.
chapter ix.
The Throwing Spear.
spears missile, and spears for use in the hand are classes
•which overlap, such weapons being used by many races according
to circumstances. But the difficulty attending the subject does
not end here. There are two sorts of missile spears, one which is
balanced in the hand palm upwards, thumb pointing backwards,
and which when launched in the air glides through it direct,
its only other motion being a rotation on its longest axis similar
to that of a bullet from a rifle. This is the true casting spear,
is always long, six feet or so at least, and is in origin simply a
pointed reed. The other type is rare, short and heavy pointed,
and it is thrown overhand as a walking stick is thrown at a dog,
and twirls in the air like a boomerang. This is sometimes called
the javelin (i), a term we shall use when describing it, and
since its most important part is the sharp and heavy head, it is
hardly so simple a form as the pointed casting reed. Yet since
both consist of shaft and point they are in fact nearly related.
The short javelin is sometimes called a dart, a word, however,
we shall rather require for the spearlets propelled by the blow
tube. The object of the long shaft to the throwing spear is two-
fold. It ensures accuracy of flight, being far less liable to de-
flection by the wind than a short weapon, and it gives greater
penetration by the weight. The javelin (cast head over heels)
strikes in a totally different way, gashing and tearing with a
violent chopping blow.
It has been said again that the missile spear is barbed, so
that the enemy or animal struck cannot get rid of it. The non-
missile spear is unbarbed, so that it can easily be withdrawn
for further use, but no hard and fast line between the classes
really exists. Arrows, for instance, are only spears or spearlets,
feathered and notched, and propelled from a hand engine, yet
there are innumerable unbarbed arrow heads.
A curious survival of the simplest form of casting spear
■seems to exist in the Arab game of Jerid, played generally on
horse-back, by Persians and Arabs. The jerid is simply a
stripped palm branch thrown and often caught with great dex-
I. — According to Nuttall a javelin is a short light spear, in all above
■6 feet in length, with a barbed pyramidal head, a definition we must
ignore here.
178
THE THROWING SPEAR.
terity (i). Like the comeback boomerang it is no longer a serious
weapon, though many Bedouin Arabs still carry the long bamboo
lance. As a sport the Jerid has been carried by the Arabs to
various places. The Weezees or Wanyamuezi of East Central
Africa play the same game, only with maize stalks, and on foot (2),
and no doubt they received it from the Arabs of
Zanzibar. The Abyssinians also played it, apparently
under the name of " Guks " and a picturesque description
appeared in the Times (3) recently on the occasion of
the entry of Ras Makonnen into Harrar.
The simplest spear is of course a thin lance of wood
sharpened at the point, and in regions where bamboo or
cane was abundant a spear could be formed in five
minutes by simply selecting a suitable cane, cutting
one end off straight and the others diagonally, which at
once formed an acute point. This simple weapon was
actually used in Borneo, though in some cases the shaft
itself was not bamboo, but a rod on to which the
bamboo point was fastened something like a bayonet.
(Fig. 262). The races who in ancient or modern times-
used spears without a tip of another material, are fairly
numerous, but as a rule the sharpened point was also-
fire-hardened, which not only gave a temper to the wood,
but made sharpening easy. And this fire-hardening
was so simple a process that it is improbable that it was
unknown to any race who understood the use of the
spear. Herodotus tells us that the Western Libyans
were dressed in leather and carried fire-hardened spears,
and that the Mysians were similarly armed (4), and the
same practice is mentioned by Strabo (5) in Ethiopia,
and by Tacitus among the Germans : but since Herodotus
describes numerous other barbaric races in the army of
Xerxes whose spears and arrows were variously tipped
with stone, metal, or horn, we see that culture and
custom in these matters were in no way different from the races
of recent times who were untouched by what is called modern
civilization. The use of fire-hardened points has been observed
by travellers in Australia, America, Asia, and elsewhere (6) from.
I,— See a description in " Land and the book," 554.
2. — Wood i., 436.
3. — May 30th, 1901.
4.— vii., 71, 74.
5, — xvi., 4, 9, II.
6. — Lane Fox has made the following list. New Holland for lances-
(1688), Tasmania for lances; New Guinea, ditto; Virginia (1584) ; San-
Salvador in time of Columbus ; Copan (Stevens) ; Chille (1649) > Brazil
(1640) ; and it is known that the Peruvians used fire hardened lances, after
they could work gold and silver. Burton says the Hadramaut Arabs used
spears only of wood, but it is not stated if they were hardened "Book of
Sword" 31. In Australia the method was also used.
THE THROWING SPEAR. 17^
the i6th century. Giambattista Ramusio, scholar and ambassador,
who formed an early " collection of voyages and journeys,'*
tells us of the lances which the inhabitants of Sumatra made.
" One end is sharpened and charred in the fire, and when thus
prepared it will pierce any armour much better than iron would
do."
The advantage of pointing a spear or arrow with a tip
formed of a separate piece, generally of a different material, are
several. FHnt, glass, or metal can be given a sharper and more
penetrating edge and point than wood itself, and the head made
separate can be barbed, the intention of which is that it may be
left in the wound. The actual weight also of a metal head
increases the range, force, and penetrating power of the missile,
and above all the bruised or broken head is easily replaced.
The manufacture of spear and arrow heads is therefore a thriving
industry among primitive communities. Spears and arrows are
tipped or pointed with every imaginable substance, and the
methods of attachment are very varied. Separate wood points
themselves are not uncommon (i). Flint, bone, shell, and the
spines or thorns of the vegetable world have been utilized, and
the broken European glass of explorers has been seized upon by
savages who never saw glass before. When knowledge of metal
came to any race, it would be the first use to adapt it to their
weapons, and iron spear heads were known and made in Africa
before any contact with modem Europe had taken place.
The forms and peculiarities of spear heads are so
varied that it is not possible to detail them here. For
instance the spear heads of the bronze age in Europe,
or even in Britain alone, present so many types that
they are a study in themselves. At the same time
they only present two methods of attachment to the
shaft ; that in which a socket is provided, into which
the shaft is secured, and that which ends in a tang,
which is inserted into the shaft. Curiously enough the
tanged spear heads, though not uncommon in the
eastern end of the Mediterranean (including Cyprus
and Troy), and in S.E. Europe, is rare in the rest of
Europe, and is unknown in Great Britain. In the
British series, practically all are provided with sockets,
and the chief differences are found in the shape of the
blade, which is most often leaf or tongue-shaped.
The sockets have often" holes in them to secure the
shaft by means of pins or rivets. Some again have
flattened loops on each side of the socket, through which no
doubt, thongs were adjusted, while others are formed with
holes through the widest part of the blade for the same pur-
pose. (Fig. 263). In others there are lunate openings in the
I. — As in Borneo ; see example in Wood i., 479.
i8o THE THROWING SPEAR.
blade itself to diminish weight. Many of these bronze heads
are of very beautiful make and finish, but in the present state
of our knowledge it is very difficult to distinguish between the
heads which are meant for missile or hand spears, and for short
javelins or long arrows. The majority of them are between 2
and 15 inches long, and the actual use of each can be guessed only
from its individual character. There are a few examples, mostly
heavy, of which the blade is prolonged into barbs, but the shapes
of these are altogether unusual, and it is difficult to say whether
they were for hunting or fishing, or indeed if they belong to the
true bronze age at aU (i).
As far as we know, no bronze age spears possess a remarkable
feature found in many parts of Africa, and in India and other
parts of Asia. In these heads we find that on each face of the
blade one side only is either sunk, or it contains a longitudinal
groove, which depression or groove is repeated on the other face
of the blade on the reverse side. Consequently the
section of these blades is a sort of zig-zag. In others
the section has a true ogee curve, the intention and
origin of which must be the same. African iron spear
heads have very often this feature, but so had also
spear heads of the Saxon and Frankish periods (2).
(Fig. 264).
The reasons for casting spear heads with this curious section
must be more than one. First a spear of this kind would rotate
in the air like a bullet from a rifle, only that in this case the air
pressing on the blades causes the rotation, whereas the bullet's
rotation is caused by the incised spiral groove in the barrel.
In the Norse Sagas we read of the twirl spear, which " twirl "
may or may not have been thus caused. But the value of this
motion has long been known, and in the missile arrow was gener-
ally obtained by the method of feathering. But it is possible
that the plain ogee curved blades were made, simply because,
when soft iron was used (as was the case in Africa) the shape was
particularly easy to resharpen. It would then be found that
spears so bladed spun in the air, and modifications and improve-
ments were attempted in casting or forging.
A spear which having struck either an enemy or game,
could neither be pulled out nor shaken off, was more certain to
completely incapacitate than a weapon which could be extricated.
So that the system of fashioning points in the reverse direction
to the penetration point was soon adopted. Among savages
some of these " barbs " are terrible evidence of the savage
cruelty of human nature.
The simplest form of barbing, that of forming the lance or
I. — See Evans "Ancient Bronze Implements," 310-342.
2. — Lane Fox (Cat. 136), shews that this characteristic even appears on
daggers (from the Caucasus) and on African axe heads of the type shewn
in Fig. 44, which is in fact merely a spear head mounted in a club.
THE THROWING SPEAR.
r8i
h?65
U
arrow head either a simple sharp pointed triangle, or
with a tang and real barbs, was known and practised
by prehistoric races of the Neolithic period, but as far
as we know, never by the men of the earlier stone age.
Even a triangular arrow head, of which the points
projected well to either side of the lance or arrow shaft,
could hardly be withdrawn from a wound, at any rate
without making additional lacerations. But this
legitimate barbing of weapons does not satisfy the
modern savage, with whom many other and more
cruel methods are in use; and it is more than likely that
many of these methods were also known to prehistoric
races.
Among modern races it is very common to find
that the barb was made separately, and then
attached to the spear or arrow head. It is,
however, not unusual to find AustraUan
spears, the wooden points of which have
seven to fifteen notches cut along one side,
each point being sharp and curved back-
wards. (Fig. 265). The applied barbs, how-
ever, whether of wood or bone, were simply
pieces with both ends very sharp, bound
obUquely to the end of the spear, and
sometimes forming both the actual point
as well as the barb. (Fig. 266). These
applied barbs were made of various mater-
ials, prickles, thorns, spines of trees, or
claws of animals, and very often indeed
we find several groups of such barbs on V
the shaft below the actual point. In others
we find the same part set with jagged
pieces of flint or saw teeth, but these
weapons are properly speaking, rather
serrated than barbed.
We have shewn that in the bronze age
culture the barbing of spear heads was at
all events very Uttle practised. This, how-
ever, is far from being the case with the
iron using races of the present times. A
Bechuana Assegai has besides the actual
barbed head, a double row of barbs back-
wards and forwards, on the iron neck or
foreshaft. (Fig. 267). So that a warrior
struck with it can neither draw it out of
the wound nor push it through, as can
sometimes be done with an ordinary barb.
This weapon Wood says, is called "Koreh,"
^^^ the weapon of torture, and is " generally
I82 THE THROWING SPEAR.
used by being thrust down the throat of the victim — generally a
captive chief — who is then left to perish miserably " (i). It is
thought that this fashion of weapon originated in Central Africa.
There are also arrows used by the Dor tribe, doubly barbed in the
fore shaft, a pair pointing in each direction, and in Fiji, and
formerly in New Zealand similarly arranged barbs were made
of other materials. The use of barbs on spears and arrows is
generally alluded to by classical authors as barbarian (2), and
certainly if the Scythians, Arabians and others who are
mentioned, used barbs like those of modern savages,
they merit the name (3). It is possible that the
plan of attaching barbs for general use originated
among fishermen tribes, who utilised thorns as fish
hooks, and for barbing fish spears, but deductions
of this sort are after all largely guess work.
Where strong hardwood shafts were procurable
the missile spear shaft was made all in one part, but
in tropical countries and other regions where cane is
the chief growth and the most suitable, it was found
that in addition to the actual point of stone, bone
or hardwood, it was advantageous to have a foreshaft
one third or one fourth of the total length of the
i
spear, which was either of a hard and heavy wood,
to the end of which the head itself (if one was used)
could be attached, or was entirely of iron with the
head or point included. (Fig. 268). This foreshaft
added weight to the spear, and improved both its
powers of flight and its penetration. This system
was applied both to missile spears and to arrows,
which thus became an elaborated appliance of several
distinct parts. How complicated some of these types
were, especially in fishing spears, is apparent from the
description of the " toggle headed " American Indian
harpoon or fishing spear. " Its parts may be shaft,
foreshaft, loose shaft, toggle head, ice pick,assembling
line, toggle head becket, leader, hand rest and float,"
(4) but of course some of these are always absent in an ordinary
fighting or hunting spear. Lane Fox gives a long list of instances
of the use of foreshafts, but as regards spears, wooden foreshafts
seem mostly confined to Australia, Polynesia, and New Guinea.
In Africa the foreshaft and tip are of iron an example of
which is the Kaffir Assegai. The Roman Piltim and Angon of
the Franks shew that the type has long been known.
I. — "Nat. Hist." i., p. 314.
2. — Lane Fox, Cat. 93.
3. — Probably the Lycians used the barb, since the arrow shot by
Pandarus the Lycian at Menelaus was barbed.
4. — O. T. Mason "Origins 6f Invention," 285.
THE THROWING SPEAR.
183
Spears with two, or more than two points, have been made
from time immemorial, and by many races. (Figs. 125-131).
But only in rare instances were there missile fighting spears of
this form (i). Bident and trident were as we know used as hand
•spears, and it has been shewn elsewhere that these
were in origin the fishing spear used as an arm.
The throwing bident and trident was necessarily
too light in the prongs to be regularly used for
any other purpose than its original one of fishing.
It is easy to see that spears with more than
•one point were especially adapted for killing and
•obtaining fish. A regular fork or trident with stiff
prongs of equal length would hold secure a big
fish, which would writhe clear of a single point.
And the Ught spears with these whippy points
radiating from the shaft would entangle and take
alive eels or even other fish when thickly crowded
in the water. The trident fishing spear which was
used by the ancient Egyptians was long and very
slender, and the two points were quite thin and
lying close together. Wilkinson says it was
sometimes thrown and sometimes only pushed,
and it was occasionally secured by a line to recover
it, and frequently also feathered. It therefore
possessed some of the features both of the arrow
and harpoon, of both of which we shall have to
•-speak.
Since these pronged spears are not usually
weapons they need not detain us very long. The
Australian bident spear has pointed and barbed
prongs, fastened to the shaft by " black boy gum "
and sinnet, and kept apart by small wedges. In
Fiji a fishing spear was used with four points,
•each over a yard in length, which were dovetailed
and lashed to the shaft. (Fig. 280). The Tahitans
had a trident pointed with bones from the tail of
a sting ray, which were detachable, and this, as
described by Wood, was actually a weapon, though
he does not say if it was missile. In Borneo a long
bamboo spear with four iron prongs was in use
for fishing, and forked and pronged spears and arrows were
also used in Canada, North and South America, Queensland,
■etc. The Eskimo used a very curious type in which there were
ivory prongs projecting forward from about the middle of the
shaft, and also in some cases, more prongs near the point. These
-spears were projected by a " spear thrower," and are said to have
I. — We have mentioned in Chap, v., the bident spear shewn in the
hands of a warrior on a stele at Lycaonia which was possibly missile.
«(Fig. 128).
i84 THE THROWING SPEAR.
been used for fish and also for birds, the prongs often striking the
object aimed at, if the aim was not sufficiently accurate to strike
with the point. These rather remind one of some of the Kingsmill
serrated spears, which have -subsidiary toothed blades projecting
A from the shaft, and these formidable objects were really
*o'./A weapons. Another type found in America and among
the Eskimo was like a fork, each prong terminating
with incurved barbs, and having sometimes a central
spike, the intention of which seems to have been to catch
and hold the fish (i).
The flight of the missile spear was sometimes
improved by feathering them exactly in the same
manner as arrows. We have mentioned that the Egyptian
fishing spear is sometimes represented as feathered.
Demmin represents a feathered boar hunting spear
in the Arsenal at Berlin (2), and we have seen a fine
spear with feathers in a country museum, labelled
" N. Wales," which should be probably " New South
Wales" (3).
The butt end of a spear in most cases was untouched,
but in the European bronze age, knob shaped or pointed
ferrules were used. A spud or spade shaped metal
ferrule has been traced in use of over a wide geographical
area both in Africa and Asia. Both the pointed and
spud shaped ferrules would primarily be intended to
stick the spear upright in the ground, when not in the
hands of the owner, but it has been shewn that the
spud ferrule is of very great antiquity, and was adopted
and retained because the heavy end of the spear could
be used as a useful implement. Denham and Clapperton
found the people of Bornu using their spear spuds to
bury their clothes with during a storm of rain, and still
more remarkable is the passage in Chap, xxiii of
Deuteronomy, where the Jews are expressly bidden to
use the spud or paddle of their weapon to dig with and
cover over excrement for the sake of decency.
There is a type of spear which may be called semi-
missile, since it is made to be darted through the hand
but not actually released. The geographical range of
the type seems limited to India, ancient Assyria and
Egypt, and North-Eastem Africa, and with much
probability we may attribute the origin of the type
to the Nile Valley. The Egyptian form as shewn in the
monuments had a big metal blade, and the butt end terminated
in a bronze head, surmounted by a knob and tassels, which
Wilkinson says acted as an ornament and counterpoise. (Fig. 281)-
I. — Already alluded to in Chapter vi.
2. — P. 419.
3. — Kendal Museum.
THE THROWING SPEAR.
185
Presumably this and similar knobended spears were used at
close quarters, and darted through the hand, to their own length,
when the terminal knob reaching the hand it was restrained.
This is said to be the case with the Abyssinians, who cany
two spears, one of which they throw 30 to 40
yards with precision, while the heavier is used
in the hand, but darted through the grasp
until stopped by a roll of iron on the butt (i).
The same method is said to be employed by the
Bisharin and Ababdeh ot the Nile Valley,
'V. while the Assyrian Monuments shew a straight
and rather short spear ending in a knob,
which must have been used in the same way
(Fig. 283). This spear type is, so far, in a
fairly compact group, so that when it crops
up in India we naturally conclude that it
must have reached India through Persia. It
is shewn in the Ain-i-Akbari of Abu Fazl
(c. A.D. 1600). And in Fig. 282, we shew an
example with three knobs now in the Indian
Section Museum at South Kensington. It is
manifest that the force and penetration of
a spear is increased in proportion with the
weight of the knob.
In the Old Testament the word spear
frequently appears in the A.V., but is tran-
slated from several distinct Hebrew words.
" Chanith," the weapon of Goliath, was
probably a big hand spear non-missile.
" Romach " and " Shelach " were perhaps
lighter weapons, and in some cases the text
suggests a missile use, though direct references
to throwing spears are rare. The javelin cast
by Saul at David was a throwing weapon, but
whether it was a spear or a javelin is a little
uncertain. On the whole the spears seem
to have been heavy, often with a staff
like " a weavers beam," and light missiles
uncommon. The Assyrian sculptures seem
to bear this out, for missile spears are not, we
believe, represented; although the representation
of streamers attached to the butt end has been thought
to be evidence that the Assyrian spear had been missile at an:
early date.
Greeks and Romsms both used throwing spears, and among
the heroic warriors we find a heavy spear was first hurled at
I. — ^Mansfield Patrkyns.
:i86 THE THROWING SPEAR.
•short range, after which sword play began, (i ). The same order
■of battle remained for a long while, for the legionaries hurled the
pilum before they engaged hand to hand. This renowned
weapon seems to have changed much in pattern, size, and weight,
at different times. It consisted of iron head, foreshaft and shaft,
and seems to have been in the time of Polybius about 5 feet long,
of which the foreshaft was about 19 inches. Other pila are
described as made of a wooden shaft 3 feet, and an iron foreshaft
and point in one, also 3 feet. It was used either as a bayonet
or hand pike, or, thrown at short range, it could transfix a
soldier through his shield. Other missile spears were thrown by
means of the amentum or ankule, of which we shall soon
speak. According to Lane Fox, the angon of the Franks was of
the same type, and probably derived from the pilum. The
framea was the German spear and national weapon. In certain
parts of North Africa the throwing spear is called " Bellem " (2),
which has been thought to be the word " pilum " retained since
the time of the Roman occupation. It is unnecessary to enu-
merate other races who use or have used the weapon.
The manufacture of the spear shaft among races of culture
such as the Romans or Egyptians, probably differed very much
from that practised by modern savages, whose weapons are
nevertheless very efficient. Nothing could be more unlike the
complex pilum than, say, the shaft of the Kaffir assegai, or the
Australian spears. The latter are always plain sticks cut from
the tree, trimmed of its knots and twigs, and tapering from the
tipped end to the butt, which is quite thin. They vary from 6 to
9 feet, and are seldom an inch thick at the thickest part. Any
big bends are taken out of the wood by softening it repeatedly in
hot ashes, a method also used by the Abipones of South America
(3). The Eskimo also straighten the shafts of their arrows by
steaming them.
The Kaffir's assegai is similar in make and use, though unlike
the Australian spear it is always tipped with iron. It is re-
markable that neither the true Kaffir race nor the Australians
use the bow and arrow. And the former, though surrounded by
bow-using races, reject it as an unworthy weapon, and they do
not have any other spear throwers, like the Wummerah of the
Australians. The assegai is made of a special tree, said to be
Curtisia Jaginea, and is a rough thin branch straightened by
heat like the Australian spear. There are many varieties, but
one with a long straight stabbing blade is also used for numer-
ous purposes, cattle slaughtering, as a knife, and even for shaving.
Wood gives a most entertaining account both of its manufacture,
I. — As a signal for a parley we find in the Iliad, that the hero ap-
peared before his army with a spear held by the middle.
2. — Lane Fox "Catalogue," p. loi.
3. — Klemm.
THE THROWING SPEAR. 187
the method of throwing it, and its flight. The danger of an
attack from a Kaffir seems to be that a warrior throws them so
rapidly in succession that there may be three in the air at the
same moment, one aimed straight at his adversary, one to his
right, and one to his left. Thus to stand fast or to dodge is
•equally dangerous. In throwing it, the Kaffir first makes it
vibrate and hum in his hand, and once launched, it continues to
vibrate in the air, " the head describing a large arc of a circle, of
which the balance point forms the centre," and appears " instinct
with life," and " like a slender serpent undulating itself gracefully
through the air." (i).
The range of the hand thrown spear has been described as 60
to 70 yards by some writers, but probably 40 to 50 yards is as
long a distance as is ever thrown with accuracy. With missile
throwers both accuracy and range are increased, and even a
short attached loop for the finger (which was used in classical
times and by certain modem races) , greatly facilitates the casting.
This and other devices we shall mention under missile throwers.
But what was the Hak Sat, a 7ft. spear described as in use in
Siam and cast by the foot ? (2). It is difficult, to imagine any
able-bodied person using the foot instead of the hand for such a
purpose.
Arrows, as we shall see, were often made with the heads
socketed and detachable, to come off on striking, and remain in
the wound. The same system was adopted for harpoons, and
probably occasionally for fighting spears. It is said that a Kaffir
chief notched the shaft of his spears near the head so that if it
missed its mark and struck the ground, it whipped over and broke
off, becoming useless to the enemy to return fire with (3) ; a
practice also in use by the Bushmen with their poisoned arrows.
Spears are used as paddles, or were specially made to be used
ior either paddling or fighting in Northern Australia, the Nicobar
Islands, and elsewhere. The question whether there is any order
of development traceable in the connected types of club, spear,
and paddle, has already had some discussion.
A curious variation of the missile spear is found in the
hippopotamus and elephant spears of Africa. This weapon as
vised in the Zambesi district is a four or five foot beam armed
at the point with a spike or spearhead, and suspended by a cord
over a path frequented by hippopotami. The end of the cord
sustaining it, is brought down and fastened in such a manner
that the animal passing beneath trips, and releasing the cord, it
falls on and penetrates his back. The Banzai use one, which it is
said is additionally weighted with big stones. The Fans use the
same appliance ^ and among the Unyoro a similar one is used for
elephants.
I. — Wood, "Nat. Hist.," i., 106.
2. — Egerton's ' 'Indian .\nns," p. 94. List of adopted arms used in Siam.
3. — Wood. "Natural History," i., 106.
i88 THE ARROW.
The Dor elephant spear is a heavy spear six feet long, half of
which is iron socket and point. At the butt end is fastened an
oblong block of wood of some weight. When in use heavy stones
* and masses of clay are again attached to this
2g4:|| block of wood, and the elephant spear, thus
complete, is dropped out of a tree on to the
elephant's back. (Fig. 284).
The Arrow.
The arrow is only a small spear, propelled
by means of a bow, which again is not the
only contrivance which has been invented for
the purpose. The weapon is the same in
principle whether projected into the air by the
hand, by a bow or by a throw stick. Tike the
spear, the arrow is a pointed missile rod in its
;i| simplest form constructed in one piece of a fine
shaft of wood, but it is often, like the spear,
made with a fore shaft, and with an attached
,, point of flint, metal, or other substance. It is
li!, much more generally feathered than the spear,
in order to make it screw in its flight through
the air, but this is by no means universal.
The wide use of unfeathered arrows is
evidence, if such were necessary, that the arrow
is but a modified spear. Nevertheless the bow
and arrow are so old, and have changed so
little, that even in classical times featherless
arrows were noticed. The Lycians, Herodotus
tells us, used feathered arrows of cane (i), and
no doubt there are other references of the sort.
Among modem races, unfeathered arrows are
found in America, Asia, and Africa. In Guiana ^*
many of the arrows, which were as long as a
spear, were unfeathered, but had instead a bunch of
parrot plumes lashed to the middle. The Arowaks
used featherless arrows, and in New Guinea and many
parts of the Pacific the same is the fashion. In Africa
the ogee head, which we have described under spears,,
seems to have taken the place of feathers in many
parts, or rather to have made them unnecessary,
(Fig. 278).
There is some variety in the "feathering" of an
arrow, both in the material used, the number of
feathers, and the method they are affixed. The light-
ness, durability, and resisting power to the air, of the
feathers of a birds wing, however, must have com-
mended itself as the most suitable material as a rule,
I. — vii. 92.
THE ARROW. 189
and probably the actual use of it, in the natural flight of a bird
suggested it. Leaves of plants are, however, sometimes used, as
among some of the hill tribes in India, where dried leaves are
passed through slits in the shaft, and among the Fans of West
Africa. The feathers are sometimes laid on to the shaft complete,
and are three in number, as among the Eskimo. The more usual
fashion is to divide the feather, and set it on to the shaft edgewise.
In cases where feathers thus set are only two, they were taken
(at any rate in Guiana) from the opposite wings of the bird, so
that they curved in different directions, and made the arrow
screw or rotate in flight. More often there were sometimes three
feathers, or even five (as among the Veddahs of Ceylon), and
generally these were set with a bold curve or spiral so as to make
the arrow rotate like a rifle bullet.
In the Pacific and among certain tribes of South America
and Africa the arrows have no notch, again shewing that the
arrow is not a separate invention. In some cases, as in the
Society Islands, a piece of gum is fastened to the end of the
arrow to make it adhere to the cord of the bow.
Arrows may be untipped, that is simply fire-hardened, and
made sharp, or they may be tipped with harder wood than the
•shaft, or with a different material, such as bone ivory, natural
thorns or spines, flint or other stone, or metal. The head may be a
variety of shapes, pointless, chisel edged, double pointed, barbed,
leaf-shaped, lozenge shaped, or quite fantastic. The shaft may
be in one piece or there may be a foreshaft. The head and part
of the shaft may be poisoned, which forms really a distinct arm in
attack, the arrow being only the agent by which the poison is
conveyed.
Regnard, who travelled in Lapland at the end of the 17th
century found the people using three differently pointed sorts
•of arrows.
" Some are composed solely of wood, and are employed to
kiU, or rather to stun, the minevers, the ermines, and the martins,
and other animals, whose skins they are desirous of preserving ;
there are others covered with the bone of the reindeer, made in
the shape of a harpoon, and long pointed ; this arrow is thick and
heavy : the latter is employed against birds, and never comes
out of the wound when it has once entered the body ; it also by
its weight prevents the bird from flying, and carrying away with
it the arrow and the hopes of the huntsman. A third kind is
•covered with iron, in the form of a lancet, and is employed against
the large animeils, such as the bears and the wild reindeer ; " (i).
Although heads of flint, metal, or other material have been so
widely adopted by arrow using races, it does not appear that they
possess any real advantage over eirrows tipped with hard- wood.
Schweinfurth noticed in Central Africa that " arrows that had
I. — Pinkerton : Voyages i., 188.
igo THE ARROW.
wooden heads I observed to have a range of at least 300 paces^
and to fall with scarcely a sound. Such as had iron tips on the
contrar}/ came whizzing through the air, but would not carry
half the distance ; these appeared only to be used when the
natives felt tolerably sure of their aim "(i).
Arrows with a blunt or rounded end were used by various
races for knocking over and stunning small animals and birds
without damaging their feathers or fur. Lane Fox has noted
instances among the Eskimo, Persians, in different parts of India,
in Lapland, and among the American Indians. The Bushman used
a reversible head of bone, one end sharp and the other rounded.
Sometimes the arrow was made blunt, and shot so as to strike
with the side, not with the point. Such was the case among the
people of Sind, who killed partridges with such an arrow (2). Of
course no arrows of this sort are fighting weapons.
Herodotus tells us that the iEthiopians in the army of Xerxes
(B.C. 480) carried arrows tipped with stone of the sort seals were
made of, and presumably flint is meant (3), and flint arrow heads
are so numerous on the surface of the desert that the use of stone
for weapons in Africa must have been of long duration, in spite
of the fact that the making of iron has been so long established
among savage races of that continent (4). It is, however, certain
that in Africa and in many other countries flint tipped arrow
heads were common when bronze and even iron was in use. The
shapes of flint arrow heads over all the world can be classed thus :
(i) leaf-shaped ; (2) lozenge or diamond-shaped ; (3), tanged ;
(4), triangular. The latter two types are frequently barbed to pre-
vent extrication from the wound, and there is some difference of
opinion as to whether there is any sequence in the development
of the types. This, however, need not concern us here.
Many eccentric shapes were adopted in iron, both among
modern savage races, and the mediaeval cultures. We give
in Figs. 270-277 examples from Africa and mediaeval
Europe, which shew a great similarity of design, while-
some even of the types such as the horn or
crescent Figs. 274, 275, the spade shape. Figs.
273 and 277, are very nearly related indeed (5).
Besides the small barb of the arrow point,
there are frequently one or several additional
barbs on the shaft, but there is nothing radically
different between this barbing of arrows and
that already described of spears. The barbs
I. — Schweinfurth " Heart of Africa" 3rd Ed., ii., 155.
2. — Egerton "Indian Arms, ' 137.
3. — Herodotus vii., 69.
4. — In the 1st Egyptian Dynasty beautifully finished arrow heads o£
ivory have been found at Abydos by Petrie. Eighteenth Memoir Egypt
Exploration Fund.
5. — Taken from Demmin p. 472, and Knight's paper, 287.
THE ARROW.
are sometimes only on one side — a sharp recurved point a good
many inches from the actual tip ; or the barbs occur alternately
on either side of the shaft, or project backwards and forwards,
as we have described in some spears. Where the barbs consist
of fme iron pricks, they almost certainly are copied from natural
spines or thorns, which must have at one time been carefully
lashed to the shaft of the arrow.
Arrows with foreshafts are perhaps commoner than spears,
and like them are found both of iron and of specially selected
hard wood. They occur in many parts of the world, being very
general. in the Pacific and also in South and Central America,
West Africa, Zanzibar, etc. They do not appear to have been
used in the bronze age civilization, or in classical times. Some of
the weapons of modem savage races of this sort betray great
ingenuity and skill in workmanship. For instance, the arrows
used in the Aleutian Islands fitted with foreshaft, bone or copper
barb, and braided sinew cord, have been called the most highly
finished projectiles in the world (i).
The actual point of the arrow was frequently made detach-
able, so as to come off on striking and remain in the wound. This
is particularly the case with poisoned darts, and it is reasonable
to believe that this is really a case in which a nature model was
followed, since many insects (like the bee) actually pierce the
flesh with a barbed and poisoned prick which remains in the
wound.
The people of Tierra del Fuego simply place a barbed flint
or obsidian head, lightly secured, in a notch at the end of the
shaft, but the poisoned wooden head of the Macoushie (Guiana)*
arrow, fits into a socket at the shaft end, and is kept loosely in
position by a small sprig of wood within the socket (2). The
poisoned arrow of the Bushmen is partly severed, so that it breaks
on striking a bone, and it also has a metal barb which remains-
when the arrow is withdrawn (3).
The barbarous custom of poisoning arrows was practised in
ancient times, and among savage races in the Pacific, and on the
Asiatic, African and American continents. The subject will
receive attention in a later chapter.
I. — O. T. Mason " Origins of Inventions," p. 290.
2. — Wood ii., 517, 592.
3. — Lane Fox C^t., 98.
192 THE JAVELIN.
Arrows with two or three points were made by various races,
but probably only for fishing. The Ahts had a beautiful arrow
feathered spirally, and with two delicately formed prongs of bone,
very elastic and toothed on the inner edge, so as to grip and hold
the fish like a jaw. Captain Cook and other explorers have
recorded similar contrivances in the Pacific and Malay Peninsula,
and North and South America. (See Fig. 135).
Where arrow heads were meant to be firml}' fixed, all sorts of ,
methods were probably used for their attachment. The simple
triangular flint arrow heads, both of the stone age, and modern
" savages," was probabl}' just slipped into a split at the end of
the shaft, and secured partly by some sort of simple cement
(such as the black boy gum), and then bound fast with either gut
fibre or thong. To facilitate this binding such arrow heads are
frequently notched at the side for the thongs to hold by. In
Africa the iron heads are secured by wet hide. Among the Eski-
mo, there is used a curious contrivance to take bends out of the
shaft of the arrow, consisting of a piece of bone with a hole in it,
which is slipped over the arrow shaft.
Arrows were sometimes made to whistle in the air, some of
those from Guiana having a ball-shaped swelling below the
point, in which is a hole which produces this effect in flight.
English arrows were also at one time made to whistle, and it is
said the Chinese also have similar weapons. It is suggested that
the intention was sometimes to signal, but probably the idea in
most cases was to inspire terror or panic during an attack, (i).
THE JAVELIN.
By javelin, we mean here, a short pointed missile flung by
the wrist, not propelled straight by the forearm, but twirling in
the air end over end before striking the object aimed at. A wea-
pon of this sort is identical with the throwing sword or knife, and
differs in origin from the true missile spear. As a weapon, the
jiast is far more usual, possibly because the javelin thrown twirling
as we have described, would almost invariably smash its point
whether flint or metal, on striking any substance with any degree
of resistance. Moreover the breakage would affect the socket of
the shaft, and this difficulty would not be got over by the use of
a detachable head as in the spear. The javelin therefore though
not difficult to throw, and capable of inflicting a terrible wound,
was never widely adopted, though it was probably used for fancy
throwing or as a sort of amusement. We are not aware that as
a weapon it is in use among any modern races.
We have pointed out that the old Testament allusions to
'" spear," "dart," "weapon," etc., are very confusing, and in the
text there is little to indicate the type of spear, and often even to
-distinguish to what category the weapon belongs at all. The
I. — Wood ii., 598-91.
THE JAVELIN. 193
javelin which Saul held in his hand as he sat in his house, and
hurled at David, suggests a short weapon, since it seems unlikely
that a king would sit indoors with a six-foot hunting or war spear,
nor would he be likely to hurl such a weapon at short range ; yet
if this javelin was the same spear which stood in the ground of
his pillow (and we believe the Hebrew word used is the same in
each Ccise) it must have been a regular missile spear with an iron
ferrule.
The Persians also used javelins, which they carried either two
or three in one sheath. These weapons are short, about 2| ft.,
and being all of metal must have been thrown javelin- wise, not
spear- wise. Somewhat similar was the Arab Mizrak described
by Burton as belonging to the Karashi, Lehyami and other tribes
in Arabia. It has a head 15 inches long, unbarbed, and an orna-
mented wooden shaft 23 inches, bound with wire, and terminating
in a spike at the butt. The misrak therefore is 38 inches long,
and end-heavy on account of the length of the metal head.
Burton says it makes a " pretty as well as useful dart," but he
does not say how it was thrown. As far as its dimensions go it
might be used either way (i).
The names given to the different forms of Greek and Roman
spears and javelins are numerous, and their character and dimen-
sions are as difficult to identify as the Biblical weapons. The
A cits and Grosphos were small missiles, but the former had an
amentum or thong, so it could not be a javelin. The grosphos
was about three feet long, and had a thin head a span
long, which bent on striking so that it became useless to the
adversary (2). Enkhos was also a short pointed missile, perhaps
with a detachable head (3). Bdos was a missile dart from
BdUein to throw, but it would require a long study of Greek
vase subjects to decide how all these were thrown. A javelin
pointed at each end was used by the Greeks, and is perhaps
alluded to by Homer (4). Such a weapon if short, would be
thrown twirling end over end, since whichever end struck the
mark was armed with a point. Other spears of greater length
appear, however, to have had a pointed blade at either end, and
the spears carried by Assyrians on the sculptures are often of this
character (5). Similar spears of considerable length and with
I. — A Syro-Babylonian seal cylinder in the author's collection, pub-
lished by Professor Sayce in Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch. (Jan. 1903 ), and possibly
dating from the time of Sargon, B.C. 3800, shews two figures (one only
half human) stabbing with feathered arrows, which though very short,
are held like true throwing spears.
2. — Smith "Dictiona of Antiquities."
3. — Lardner's "Cabinet Cyclopedeia" of Arts, etc, of the Greeks and
Romans, Vol. 1., 229.
4. — Winckelman " Monumenta Anticha."
5. — In the knights armoury at Malta are many double pointed javelins,
with wooden shafts and heavy barbless steel points, same size at each end,
about 2 feet long. They were, probably, missiles for throwing from the walls.
194 HARPOONS.
long thin shafts and a point at each end were used in
India and Persia. (Fig. 285), but it is not improbable
that in these, the sharp point at one end was merely
used as a ferrule to stick the weapon upright in the
ground.
There are other weapons which were thrown in this
manner, but whether the method was suggested by the
javelin cannot be stated. Wilkinson published a sculp-
ture, which apparently represents Egyptians competing
in throwing long knives to stick in a wooden block.
This explanation has been doubted, but apparently
without sufficient grounds. Knives were thrown also
by the old Germans, by the Spaniards who throw the
clasp-knife either off the palm or by the handle, the
weapon turning in the air and striking point first. The
Spaniards took this knife- throwing to Brazil, and Darwin
comments on the precision with which they could throw,
or even inflict a fatal wound with the knife (i). The
women of Faloro in East Africa, according to Grant,
throw these knives, but held them by the tip. Another
missile which twirled like a javelin was the single-edged
axe of the Franks, the Francisca, which is said to have
been thrown with great precision.
Captain Cook says that the dart throwers of Tanna
Island (New Hebrides) were sure marksmen at 8 to 10
yards, but at double that distance they were not sure to
hit a mark the size of a man's body (2), and that what-
ever range they throw at they always throw full strength.
Yet as he says they will throw 60 to 70 yards, the pre-
sumption is that " dart" is here used to signify the real
casting spear.
Harpoons.
^K The harpoon in its completed form is so complicated
|V| that it is difficult to say whether it can properly be
W derived either from the javelin, or from the spear. The
principle is a barbed head, so lightly fastened to the
shaft that when fixed in the fish, the shaft is shaken loose, and
•remains floating, but being joined to the head by a line serves
still to mark the position or progress of the wounded fish.
The simpler form of harpoon, however, was merely a barbed or
bident fishing spear, attached to the fisher by a line, a type
which was used on the Nile in ancient times. This simple type
might be suggested by the fishing line, or (what is quite as
likely) the fishing line, (which is not a primitive contrivance),
might be suggested by the tethered spear.
I, — "Naturalists Voyage" Minerva Edition, p. 46.
2. — Captain Cooks second voyage.
HARPOONS. 195
The following has been suggested as the order of develop-
ment of the harpoon (i) : —
I- — The long-hand spear, generally multibarb, with a long
line to pull out the fish.
2. — The barbed head, detachable, but united to the shaft
by a line.
3-— The head socketed to receive the shaft, instead of being
made with a tang which is inserted into the shaft.
4- — The string or cord attached to the head halfway between
the barb and actual point (2).
As a matter of fact however, such stages of development
would not be arbitrary. There is no doubt that the harpoon
developed independently in many places, and its stages varied
much, according to requirements and materials at hand to
fulfil them. Thus in arctic and subarctic regions, where great
blubbery animals such as the walrus, seal, and whale were
the object of the chase, the order would be thus : —
I. — A heavy, very acutely pointed plain stick, or bone or
ivory shaft.
2. — The same barbed.
3. — The foreshaft.
4. — The detachable head.
No. I of these when used for smaller animals
would be often thrown javelin wise, while No. 4, the
detachable head, (meant to remain embedded in the ^-^^
flesh), might be easily suggested by spears of the type "^ ^
No. 3, in which the point consisted of a barbed fore-
shaft of considerable length, which sometimes became
accidentally separated from the shaft.
The harpoon is not a weapon, and it is so widely
distributed, that we cannot discuss it in detail here.
It is of great antiquity, the bone barbed foreshafts of
fishing harpoons having been discovered in the cave
deposits of the later palaeolithic period in France, and
even a rude drawing of a man harpooning a fish has
been discovered at Laugerie-basse. (Fig. 269).
The ancient Egyptians used for killing " hippo,"
what may be fairly considered a harpoon, since it was
a long spear with a detachable head, to which was
attached a line. This line was gathered on a reel,
which the hunter carried in his left hand, and which
I — Lane Fox Cat. 125.'
2. — The reasons for the improvement in No. 3. were that when the
shaft was shaken off, the head was completely embedded in the flesh, and
nothing could dislodge it. The object of No.' 4 was in order that, tension
being applied to the string or cord, the barb becomes embedded sideways
in the flesh.
m
196
HARPOONS.
was allowed to run out as the hippo tried to escape on being
struck (i).
The hippopotamus harpoon is found in different parts of
modem Africa, and it would be interesting to know whether the
Egyptians learned it from the Africans, or if they invented it and
bequeathed it to that continent. The Makoba tribe of Lake
Ngami have one in which the head is attached to the shaft by a
number of fine but strong ropes, the idea being that
while the hippopotamus might bite through a single
thick rope, a number of fine ones will only entangle
among his big teeth. In Zambesi also a harpoon
for hippo is in use : while the Hamran Arabs living
south of Kassala use one in which the rope is
attached at one end to the blade, but at the other
to a large block of wood, which serves as a float.
In this case it would appear that the hunters, who
approach quite close to the animal in striking, pull
out the shaft with their hands, and retain it as a
hand cudgel in the exertions which ensue (2).
Among some race§ we find bladders or inflated
bags attached to the spear shaft as an additional
float. This is often seen in the Eskimo seal spears,
which are made of old drift wood, lashed together,
which perhaps through long soaking has lost some
of its buoyancy. A spear of this sort figured by
Wood has a long hght shaft, and a detachable socketed
head attached by a line to the middle of the shaft.
Bladders are also used in Vancouver Island to shew
the whereabouts of a large wounded salmon that
has gone with the spearhead. (Fig. 286). Harpoon
arrows are also used by some races such as the
Andaman Islanders, who shoot them with the flat
bow, and by the Ahts of Vancouver Island one of
whose arrows is shewn in fig. 279 (3). The cirrow
here is 51 inches long. a.b. is the shaft with a pear
shaped end at b., into a socket in which is placed
the barbed bone point. The point is perforated
and is fastened by a very strong line, which is
single as far as e, from whence it is double, the
H two ends being fastened to the shaft respectively
at a point near the feathering and just below the
pear-shaped socket. The result is that the fish or seal having
shaken the shaft loose from the head, finds it has to drag a heavy
arrow shaft sideways through the water, which impedes and
gradually exhausts it.
I. — See illustration in Wilkinson i, 240, where, however, the line looks
absurd to use for hippopotamus.
2.— Wood, "Nat. Hist." i., 381, 755.
3. — ^Wood, ii, 727.
HARPOONS.
197
To examine the complicated types of harpooES in any detail
would be out of place in these pages.
chapter x.
Development of Missiles.
the bolas and lasso.
The Balls (or "Bolas") are unlike any other weapon in the
world, both in construction and method of use. They are used as
a weapon of war, as well as a weapon of the chase, and although
there are some doubtful instances of their use in ancient times,
and one or two somewhat insignificant modem appliances on the
same principle, the bolas in their elaborated form are remarkably
characteristic of one part of the world — the continent of South
America.
The bola or bolas may be of three forms — a single ball on a
single thong, — two balls on the ends of a single thong of some
length, — or three balls attached to thongs or cords of nearly the
same length, the ends of which are united. The first is thrown
to strike direct with the ball : the intention of the others is usually
to entangle and disable.
The treble balls are used in South America, often, as in Pata-
gonia and on the Pampas plateaus of La Plata, together with
either one or both of the simple forms. Except in one or two
places where this kind has been imported by Spaniards, the treble
form seems to be unknown out of America, though a single bola
is, or was, used by the Eskimo, in Hungary, and probably by a
good many ancient nations.
The bolas as used in Central Southern America, that is the
La Plata region, the Pampas, Entre Rios, Gran Chako, and Para-
quay, have been well described by many travellers, and were
probably an aboriginal weapon, though now used regularly by
Spaniards, Indian halfcasts, and Indians where they exist.
Alonso de Ovalle, who travelled in the early part of the 17th
century, gives a description of the bolas as used by the Pampas
Indians. " They have a very extraordinary sort of weapon
of a new kind, which is made 01 two balls, the one bigger, and is a
stone perfectly well rounded, about the bigness of an ordinary
orange ; the other is of a bladder or hard leather, which they
fill with some matter of less weight than the stone : these two
balls are tied strongly to each end of a strong whip-cord, which
they twist off a bulls pizzle : the Indian standing on a high
ground, takes the lesser ball in his hand, and lets the other fly,
holding it Uke a sling over his head to take aim, and hit ms
adversary with the heavy ball, which they direct at the head or
200
THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
legs of the enemy ; and thus they entangle him
so as to bring him to the ground, and then the
Indian leaps from the height where he was, and
without giving him time to disembarass himself,
they kill him, and this instrument is so powerful in
their hands, that it not only brings a man to the
ground, but a horse or a wild bull, which are very
common in these parts, since the coming of the
Spaniards among them " (i).
The treble bolas as used in Patagonia and
Argentina are exactly the same weapon. The balls
are from i lb. to i8 ounces in weight, and the cords
which unite them are of plaited or twisted thong,
two measuring about 3| to 4 feet from the common
centre and the other about a foot longer. (Fig.
288, 289). The balls are enclosed in hide, to the
edges of which the thong is laced. Darwins
description of the method of throwing the treble
bolas is as follows : — -
" The gaucho holds the smallest of the
three (balls) in his hand, and whirls the other
two round and round his head ; then taking
aim, sends them like chain shot revolving
through the air. The balls no sooner strike
any object than, winding round it, they cross
each other, and become fairly hitched. The
size and weight of the balls vary according
to the purpose for which they are made.
When of stone, although not larger than an
apple, they are sent with such force as some-
times to break the leg even of a horse. I
have seen the balls made of wood, and as
large as a turnip, for the sake of catching
these animals without injuring
them. The balls are sometimes
made of iron, and these can be
hurled to the greatest distance.
The main difficulty in using either
lazo or bolas is to ride so well as
to be able at full speed, and while
suddenly turning about, to whirl
them so steadily round the head
as to take aim ; on foot any person would soon learn the art " (2).
I. — "Historical relation of the Kingdom of Chile," printed at Rome,
1649. Pinkerton's Voyages xiv., p. 128. A poor translation. The above
passage evidently means that the horses and cattle are common, not the
men or the bolas. The same writer describing the lasso notes that there
were no horses in Chile before the Spaniards.
2. — "Journal of Researches," Minerva Edition, p. 61.
THE BOLAS AND LASSO. 201
The Patagonians apparently use a slightly different method
in throwing, since they grasp the thongs at the point of union,
and whirl all three together. The balls of the Patagonian weapon
seem to be all the same size, and as soon as the bolas are released
from the hand, they diverge, and this terrible wheel goes flying
through the air, making a pattern (as shooters would say), eight
feet in diameter, anything within which will be either entangled
or struck with a violent blow of a pound weight ball.
Occasionally, it seems, the Patagonian weapon is furnished
with more than three balls. " Sometimes two balls, each of
which has a cord about a yard in length, are fastened to the thong
of the larger set. This is to entangle the victim more effectually.
They do not try to strike objects with these balls, but endeavour
to throw them so that the thong will hit a prominent part, and
then of course the balls swing round in opposite directions, and
the thongs become so " laid-up " that struggling only makes
the capture more secure " (i).
As can be seen, the true object of the bolas is to entangle
disable and capture, not to kill outright ; yet they were widely
used for fighting as well as the chase. With the bolas a skilful
thrower could tie his enemy on his horse, or he could catch a
horse or " rhea " without doing more than bruising him.
In hunting the Rhea (the South American Ostrich) the In-
dians or half castes approach the herd (if that is the right phrase)
from more than one point, for it would be impossible to overtake
it in direct flight or to come near it by ordinary stalking. Our
illustration, which is taken from an engraved mate gourd of
native work (2) , shews a mounted Indian whirling the bolas by the
small ball, while two rheas are flying from him straight in the
direction of a jungle in which an Indian archer is in ambush,
(see Frontispiece). The action of the birds and hunters, the
prickly pear and Cactus, are all well pourtrayed, and form an
excellent example of native art. This gourd was sent the writer
by a friend owning a large Estancia in Argentina, who wrote
that his men would use the bolas regularly for cattle, etc., if he
would allow them, but as a rule they were only used to bring in
a wild horse, or for rhea hunting. The balls are sometimes of
hard wood, sometimes of lead, or when they can be got, billiard
balls are used. They were a regular war weapon among the
Gauchos of La Plata, who wore them round the waist, and could
undo them for use in an instant. He said also that they were
used in S. America before the Spaniards came, which agrees
vNdth Mr. E. B. Tylor's suggestion that the bolas were invented
I. — Captain King quoted by Wood, ii., p. 530.
2. — Mate is the fashionable drink of the Pampas, something between
tea and cofEee in character, and drunk scalding hot from a gourd or bowl
through a tube.
202 THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
in South America, although stones like bolas have been brought
from the Northern continent (i).
The Patagonians call their three ball weapon " Achico," and
that with two balls " Somai." The balls themselves are stone, iron,
or copper. The stone ones were made by the women, while those
of copper were rare and comparatively valuable. Of course, the
size of the ball depends on the material, the heavier the material
the smaller the size for the weight required.
The method of throwing the Patagonian Somai is the same
as that for the Achico, and the same whirling flight and entangling
stroke are intended (2).
With regard to the bolas of tlie three or two ball varieties, it
appears that 30 to 60 yards is considered by most writers the
effective range. At 50 yards it has been said " a victim marked
is a victim slain " (3). There is, however, no doubt that they can
be actually thrown much farther. Lane Fox (4) says that the
three ball weapon of the Abipones can be thrown accurately at
the distance of 100 paces. This, if correct, must apply to throw-
ing from horseback. Darwin saw the Spanish soldiers practise
on foot " with little certainty " at 50 or 60 yards, but " when the
speed of the horse is added to the force of the arm, it is said, that
they can be whirled with effect to the distance of 80 yards." (5)
That the bolas formed a terrible weapon among races ignorant
of gun-powder, need not be doubted, when we know that the
Phillippines used them with the rifle against the American troops
during the protracted struggle that went on in 1899 and 1900.
At first sight it seems strange to find this weapon at a place so
far removed from South America as the Philippine Islands are,
but the weapon must certainly have been introduced by the
Spaniard Colonists, some of whom may have come direct from
South America. At any rate the following extract from • the
" Times " of August 15th, 1900, reads curiously in modem
warfare.
" Colonel Grassa, in the vicinity of Tayug, surrendered
his command, consisting of a major, six captains, six lieutenants,
169 men, loi rifles, and 50 bolas."
I. — The same correspondent also says the Argentines have fights in
taverns with the bolas. They put one ball under the foot, the thong passing
between the toes, and the other two balls in the two hands. The balls are
thrown alternately with the hands, and with the toe ball (apparently
retained in that position) the combatant gives " nasty French hits."
2. — Boutell on pp. 87-88 of his "Arms and Armour" gives a description
of a kind in Patagonia, which is fastened to the thrower : but as he follows
this by calling the lasso a " variety of the bolas " and describing it (the
lasso) as a stone at the end of a long line which is not whirled " but pro-
pelled simply by the strength of the throwers arm," it does not seem that
any weight need be attached to this account.
3. — Wood, "Nat. Hist." ii., 530.
4. — "Catalogue" 155.
5. — " Journal of Researches," p. 121. *
THE BOLAS AND LASSO. 203
The single bola is used also in South America, where it is
called " bola perdita," the range of which is said to go up to 150
paces. The ball is again of various material, but often of metal,
and is used by the Abipones, Peruvians, Indians of the grand
Chako, and Patagonians. Among the latter the cord is described
as a yard long, and the ball a pound weight, and of course there
being only one ball, it is thrown straight, i.e., to strike with the
ball, not to entangle (i).
We have now got down to the primitive type of the weapon,
the simple ball suspended on a strong thong, a form so likely to
suggest itself, that it must have been widely known and used.
Schoolboys (who pass through all the "ages " of culture) make and
use it to the present day. The breakage of the thong knot which
restrained the stone ball, when whirled around the head, would
allow the latter to fly off with great violence at a tangent, and thus
not improbably suggest the hand sling. The doubling of the
length of the thong and addition of another ball made the two ball
" bolas."
The ball and thong weapons were no doubt as much hand
weapons as missiles, and we have already enumerated some in
chapter IV, It would not be difficult to enumerate instances
of such weapons which could be used to throw, or strike with. A
thong and iron bullet was used by a race of herdsmen called
Csikos in a recent European war (2). The Eskimo used a
drilled stone with a strip of raw hide through it (3), and several
of the Indian tribes mount a stone ball on a withe, and cover it
with raw hide, or the tail skin of a buffalo, which forms a flexible
handle half-way between a rigid haft and a soft thong. The
Poggamoggon of the Shoshones has been called a " slung shot "
(4), a misnomer, as we have already remarked. It would be of
course very interesting to know if any form of bolas was known
to the ancients, classical or otherwise. The ball and thong, we
believe, certainly was. It is said to have been used by the
Egyptians (5) and the colossal Assyrian figures from Khorsabad
and Kouyunjik, who held under the left arm the gasping and half
strangled lion, grasp in their right a flexible weapon globular
and heavy at the end, which seems to us a weight ended life
preserver " (6). (See Fig. y8).
There have been found in Scotland a remarkable series of
stone balls, some beautifully ornamented with incised spiral
I. — This is also sometimes done at close quarters with the two and
three ball weapons, the assailant using one ball only.
2. — Wheeler's Herodotus, p. 298, where it says " in the late Hungarian
war."
3. — Stevens " Flint Chips," 499.
4. — Knight's paper, 225.
5. — Burton " Book of the Sword," p. 19.
6. — We should doubt if this weapon was missile. It has been called a
boomerang, which is quite absurd.
204
THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
ornament of Celtic character, and divided
on the surface into four or six convex
discs, often with somewhat deep grooves
between them, by which they could be
conveniently secured with a thong.
(Figs. 290, 291). Some are covered with
small knobs, but apparently only in one
or two cases have they been found with
'^(□0. holes through them, it being evident
' that the grooving renders perforation
unnecessary. These balls, practically
unknown outside Scotland, could con-
veniently be mounted as a ball and thong
type weapon, or even as light bolas of the
perfected form (i). Nadaillac also suggests
that certain neolithic round balls may have
been used like the bolas "flung by the
ancient Gauls," (2), but we are not aware
of the authority for this statement. There
are some curiously shaped objects repre-
sented in sculptured Etruscan tombs,
which look like two little piles of oval balls
_ connected by a cord. (Fig. 292). These
peculiar objects are shewn among a series of
other weapons, and it has been suggested that
they are sling stones. Looking at the cord, it
seems, however, just possible that we may
have here a conventional representation of
some sort of bolas (3).
Returning to the entangUng bolas, we find
such a contrivance actually in use for birds,
at places so widely separate as the Pacific
and Behring Sea. In the Gilbert Islands stone balls are used
for catching frigate birds, but we are unaware how many balls there
are (4). The bird bolas of the Eskimo has seven or eight balls of
ivory, stone, or bone, or even of walrus teeth (5) suspended on
cords of reindeer sinew, each about 2^ feet long. (Fig. 293).
This weapon therefore rotated in the air, covering a diameter of
five feet, which would entangle and bring down a bird of consider-
able size on the wing. The same thing was used in the Aleutian
Islands, a stepping stone between Arctic America and Asia.
I. — Other explanations have been offered but the above is the best.
See Evans " Stone Implements," 375. Anderson " Scotland in Pagan
times," 161-171. Catalogue of the Scottish Museum, etc.
2. — " Prehistoric peoples," p. 88.
3. — See Dennis " Etruria," I., 249-254, the Grotte dei Relievi.
4. — See the "Ethnographical Album" (a private publication), by J.
E. Partington and C. Heape, 3rd series, plate 51, No. 6.
5. — Captain Beechey, and Lubbock "Prehistoric times" (1865), 404.
THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
205
One was recently sold at the sale of Mr.
Wallace's Museum at Distington in Cumberland,
which had ivory knobs, and although tangled
and knotted would hardly, we think, have a
rotatory diameter of as much as five feet (i).
The Piikoi of the Hawaian Islands appears
to have been on the principle of the bolas, and
was actually used for fighting, since the editors
of the Ethnographical Album say it was used
(or is used) to entangle the legs of an
antagonist (2). The weights, however, were
not balls, but of irregular shape. One of them
figured in that work is a fiat stone about three
inches long (3), while others are of wood some-
what club-like in shape, and fastened to a long
plaited cord. How many were on each weapon
is not stated.
Before leaving the subject it is worth remarking that some
early cannon projectiles were on a similar principle. The chain
shot consisted of two balls attached to a chain, which discharged
by gunpowder swept rotating through the ranks of the enemy,
mowing off legs as it went. Of course it was meant to maim, not
to entangle. A diabolical development of this was the sword blade
shot, which consisted of
three steel blades, folding
on each other Uke a jointed
measure, and the outer
ends terminating in balls.
Each blade was 8 inches
long, both edges sharpened,
and when loaded into the
gun, it was folded. When
fired, it opened out and
rotated, slicing everything
in its way. The example
figured (Fig. 294), is an
Indian-Mutiny trophy, now in the Royal United Service Institute
Museum in Whitehall. It seems very possible that the European
chained shot was an early adaptation from the East, and a
pre-gunpowder type may well have been a chain and balls
projected from a catapult. It is just the sort of projectile that
would be used in the wars of the Byzantine Empire.
I. — A writer in the " Wide World Magazine " of August 1899 (Mr. F.
W. Grauert) mentioned the " honda " of Paraguay a murderou-s instru-
ment of 4 to 6 strings, each about 2 feet long, with a musket ball fastened to
the end. The description does not make it clear whether this honda was
a light (bird) bolas, or a scourge, or cat of 6 tails.
2. — 3rd series, plates 7 and 8.
3. — If drawn real size.
206
THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
2<)S".
It is hard to see why such
a weapon as the bolas should
have been so universall}'
adopted throughout South
America, while in such locali-
ties as the North American
prairies, the South African
veldt, and the Asiatic Steppes,
where it would be equally use-
ful, it seems to have been, or
at any rate to be, unknown. The lasso to which we must now
turn had a much wider distribution.
The Noose.
Up to the present, we have no evidence that Palaeolithic, or
Neolithic, man made use of the noose either in war or hunting.
There is, however, every probability that such an appliance was
known, at any rate for capturing animals. In dense tropical
jungles, animals are found caught in natural nooses formed of
tangled creepers, and, where primitive man existed in such
surroundings, such natural nooses would certainly be imitated,
and suspended in the track of wild beasts. The small noose
snare used by poachers at the present day is exactly the same
contrivance as the formidable American lasso, only one is laid
on the ground, and the other thrown with marvellous skill.
The throwing noose was a war weapon, even in ancient times,
and although, like the bolas, it was most widely adopted on the
American continent its origin was different, and it has been
suggested that it is an imported type. Before, however,
describing the lasso, the term which we shall apply to the
throwing noose, we will notice a few examples of the use of
the same principle used otherwise than by throwing.
The placing of fixed noose snares is of course common
among hunting and trapping races. The noose is generally set
in a thicket on the " trod " of the animal, sometimes being
attached to a bent bow, which on being touched springs up,
and thus tightens the noose (i). Knud Leems, whose travels
in Lapland were published in 1767, describes how " a loop is
hung" in an opening hke a gate, "made of the thicker fibres
taken from the sinewy parts of the reindeer." The Laps, as we
shall see, also used the throwing noose.
Coming next, perhaps, to a simple snare of this sort, is the
noose attached to the end of a long rod, which the fowler cau-
tiously slips over the head of the unwary wild fowl; a sport more
I. — Tylor "Anthropology," 217.
THE BOLAS AND LASSO. 207
like fishing than fowling. This appliance is used by the fowlers
of St. Kilda to take the "fulmers" in their nests. The fowlers
go in pairs, one armed with a Ught deal pole about 10 feet long,
with a noose of horse hair and gannets quills at the end. He
descends the cliff supported by his companion by means of a
rope, and hooks the bird by sUpping the noose over its neck.
The puffin is caught with the same appliance (i).
In Australia a rod with a noose at the end is used for a
•similar purpose, but the fowler hides himself in the thicket and
leaves the rod with its loop, which is often barbed, perfectly
motionless. The bird actually perches within the loop, and i?
caught by striking the rod as in fishing.
In South America, the partridge of the Pampas {Nothura
Major), is killed by noosing in a way somewhat astonishing to
an Englishman. An 8 foot reed is furnished at the end with a
small running noose made from the stem of an ostrich feather,
which remains open by its own elasticity, until purposely pulled
tight. The fowler simply rides round the confiding partridge in a
decreasing circle, until he is close to it,* when he simply slips the
noose over its head. Both Patagonians and Argentines practise
this sport, and Darwin says that a boy on a quiet horse will take
30 or 40 birds in a day. It is said that in North Africa partridge
are taken by the same means (2).
A very different sort of bird is also noosed in South America.
The huge condor, after gorging itself with carrion sleeps so
heavily that the inhabitants of Chile climb the trees and slip a
noose over it before it awakes. Considering that the span of
this bird's wing is sometimes 9 feet, with proportionate strength,
the advantages of this method are evident (3).
The Namaquas, a tribe of Hottentot extraction, use nooses in
taming and training oxen. First they induce the ox to tread into
a noose laid on the ground. If the animal is too strong to be
restrained by this, a second is thrown across the horns (4).
In Siam elephants were noosed by the foot in a somewhat
similar fashion. The hunter on a tame elephant throws the noose
so cleverly that the foot could be caught even if raised only six
inches from the ground. The elephant was then allowed to run
loose, and he soon entangled the end of the noose in the jungle.
Another method was to set nooses in the forest. In this case the
loose end of the noose (which was of cord and buffalo hide) was
secured to a small anchor, which fastened itself in the jungle.
The animal after eating all within reach, starved to death (5).
In some parts of India trained antelopes are said to have been sent
among a herd of wild ones with nooses fastened to their horns,
I. — R. Kearton " Wide World Magazine," Vol. ii., No. 7,
2. — Wood ii., 534.
3. — "Journal of Researches."
4. — Wood i., 310.
5. — Turpin who wrote 1 77 1.
2o8 THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
and both Indian snake charmers and Malays use the noose for
poisonous snakes. Among the latter a pole noose is used for
taking snakes in a house (i).
In Samoa the noose is actually used for catching sharks.
The fishermen first threw offal out of the canoes to attract and
gorge the shark, and the native dives and slips the noose over his
tail while he eats it.
A hand noose was also used in Australia for strangling an
enemy, but examples are extremely rare in museums. Two,
however, are now preserved at Oxford (2). Each consists of
a loosely twisted 7 strand fibre cord doubled into a fourteen
strand cord, with a loop at one end, and a six to eight inch sharp
pin at the other (Fig. 297). The name of this weapon in Victoria
is " nerum," while the London River natives call it "knarrarm,"
evidently a connected word. The garroter marks down his enemy,
and when asleep he slides the pin under the neck, threads it
through the loop, and throttles him. Then he jerks the body
over his shoulder, and carries him to a quiet place to enjoy the
kidney fat (3).
The noose is of course a peculiarly well adapted instrument
for secret murder, since no sound need escape if cautiously used.
The Thugs of India, who propitiated Kali the goddess of destruc-
tion by wholesale assassination carried out their horrible sacrifices
I. — Wallace " Malay Archipelago," 1869, 303-4.
2. — Professor Baldwin Spencer writing to a friend said that he only
knew of one in existence, i.e., at Rathbone Museum. Two have, however,
been recently presented to the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford, and are
described by Mr. Henry Balfour in "Man" 1901, No. 94.
3, — Brough Smyth "Aborigines of Victoria" i., p. 351, fig. 169.
THE BOLAS AND LASSO. 209
by means of a sort of noose called " Roomal." The methods
of this sect, which was composed of both Mohammedans and
Hindus, could not be surpassed for their deliberate cruelty and
careful organization. Yet these abominations were carried out
in the name of religion. No doubt it was because of the
quietness and cleanness which generally accompanies murder by
strangulation that the noose was adopted for execution in the
East. The Turkish bowstring could put a superfluous relation
out of the way without any undesirable noise or bloodstcdn.
The Roman laqueus was a strangling rope noose, and it was also
applied to a throwing lasso, as we shall see. Hence also our
hangman's rope, and the "unpleasant manners" of the garroter;
who, however, improved away the noose, and substituted a
■suffocating bandage (i).
The Lasso or Lazo of America is the most remarkable weapon
of the noose type. It is in general use in South America over
the same area where the bolas is found, namely Argentina and
Chile. But it is also known in central America and California :
and on the subject of its geographical distribution we shall
speak later.
The lasso consists of a fine but very strong leather rope,
from 40 to 65 feet long, one end of which terminates in a ring
generally of metal, by which the loop is made. Don Antionio de
UUoa, whose voyage in South America began in 1774, describes
the lasso of Chile " thongs of a cows hide, cut round the skin, and
of a proper breadth. These thongs they twist and work with fat,
iill they are of a proper degree of suppleness, but so strong, that
though when twisted they are not larger than the Uttle finger, vet
they hold the wildest bull " (2).
The end of the lasso which is not looped terminates in a
button, which secures it to a " broad surcingle which fastens
together the complicated gear of Recado or Pampas saddle "
^3), for the lasso in South America is now almost always thrown
from horseback. Its use is largely for taking horses or cattle,
.and when one is noosed it becomes a tug of war between the
trained animal and the captured one.
I. — Garrot in this sense is, however, wrongly appHed, thLs being origin-
-ally a Spanish method of strangulation by means of bandage and tourniquet.
2. — The 65 foot lasso is an exceptional size, but is sometimes made in
California. Instead of leather, silk grass fibre ropes are sometimes used in
•Chile, and a grass rope lasso has been introduced into North America,
where, however, it was found too light, and apt to " kink." The Chile
lasso was of thong plaited into a cord f inch in diameter, but the last ten
feet of the rope was plaited square instead of round to give additional
strength. The Entre Rios lasso of the present day is of two sorts. One
(Torcido) is made simply of two thongs twisted together, but the Trensado
is of a number of thin thongs of hide very neatly plaited •together. Ap-
parently the lasso of North America is of very similjir make, since the best
are of a raw hide cut into strips, six of which are plaited to a rope f to ^ an
inch in diameter.
3. — Darwin, "Joumjil of Researches," p. 44.
210 THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
Since Buffalo Bill's " Wild West " appeared in England, the
method of throwing the lasso has become tolerably familiar to-
Londoners. The Gaucho takes the ring and cord which passes
through it, in his left hand, and adjusts the noose to a diameter of
six to eight feet. Then the noose, held secure at this diameter, is
whirled rapidly in the air round the head, the thrower dexterously
keeping the loop open by the action of his wrist. Finally the
noose is discharged from the hand and the remainder of the rope
which hung in a coil on the left hand follows it. So much skill is
there in this lasso throwing, that the accuracy with which it can
be made to fall on a given place is astonishing. The loop remains
open in its flight, but becomes smaller in consequence of the weight
of the loose rope itself.
In South America, the lasso when not in use is carried tied
up in a coil on the after part of the recado, but in North America
although fastened to the saddle, it is not coiled, but allowed to-
trail on the ground, the idea being that a dismounted horseman
can grasp the trailing rope and check his horse (i).
Though so largely used in hunting, and in managing the
half wild stock of the plains of South America, the lasso was at one
time a regular fighting arm. With it the Indians of Peru and
Mexico opposed the Spanish invaders at the commencement of
the i6th century, and in 1649 Ovalle tells us of the Indians of
Chile, " The arms they use are pikes, halberts, lances, hatchets,
maces of arms, bars, darts, arrows, and clubs; as also strong nooses
to throw upon a horseman, and slings." But perhaps because the
lasso is almost entirely a horseman's weapon, and the horse was
only introduced by the Spanish, it has been thought that this
weapon, known to various Mediterranean races, was introduced
with the horse by the Spaniards. The question is, could the
Peruvians and Mexicans have adopted it as early as 1523 andi535
to use against the race who introduced it ?
De Ulloa, whom we have already quoted, tells us that the
noose or slip-knot was used by the Spaniards and Mestizos, or
half-bred peasants of Conception, in Chile. He saj^s that with it
they seldom missed their aim even riding at full speed. An
anecdote is related of a skirmish at Talcaguano between the
crew of the long boat of an English privateer and the native
peasant militia, armed with lassos. The English wanting to
plunder the villages, first opened fire, but a skilful lasso thrower,
though at a considerable distance, and in spite of the fact that all
in the boat throw themselves flat, threw the lasso over one of the
Englishmen, and dragged him to the shore. The English were
so frightened that they got out of range as soon as possible.
The writer also says that the inhabitants frequently used the
weapon in personal quarrels, and that the only chance of escape
is to throw oneself flat on the ground, or to stand .up against a
I.— Wood, " Nat. Hist." ii.
THE BOLAS AND LASSO. 211
tree leaving no room for the loop of the lasso to pass between
the body and the trunk. The lasso at short range is little use.
"A small distance, that is under ten or fifteen paces, partly renders
their dexterity ineffectual ; but there is very great danger of
being entangled when the distance is thirty or forty."
Of course the great use of the lasso both in North and South
America at the present day is for catching a wild horse, bullock,
or buffalo. In taking the latter the lasso is thrown round the
horns as a rule, while a horse is lassoed round the neck. The
tactics that ensue differ. The red Indian drops from his horse
and is dragged along, until the horse,round whose neck the noose is
steadily tightening, pulls up exhausted by being nearly suffocated.
But in South America the lasso end is " snubbed " or hitched
round the pommel of the saddle for additional resistance, and
then commences a terrific struggle between the lassoed bull
frenzied with terror, and the horse. The struggle is, however,
a one sided one, for not only is the horses girth matched against
the bullocks extended neck (i), but the horse is absolutely
trained, and as the frightened animal dashes about, it wheels
as on a pivot settling down on its haunches, so as to set its full
weight against the strain. To attempt bullock catching on an
insufi&ciently broken horse is very dangerous, for the lasso gets
wound round the rider, who is nearly cut in two in consequence.
An expert lasso thrower on a well-trained horse can pull a bullock
anywhere he likes.
The lasso is not used we believe in Patagonia, but it is known
among the Mojos Indians of the Bolivian Andes. In Central
America it was in use in Mexico in the i6th century, a fact to
which we shall again refer since it bears on the interesting question
whether the lasso is indigenous in America. The Indicins and
settlers of North America have used it extensively, and the
"cowboy" (as near a centaur as anything the 19th century has
produced), is an adept in the art (2).
Outside the American continent we find the lasso used in
modem times, in India, the Mediterranean, Nile Basin, Scan-
dinavia, and in Arctic and subarctic latitudes. In Portugal it is,
I. — "Journal of Researches," 131, 159.
2. — A paper in the "Wide World Magazine," Aug. 1899, "Lasso in North
America," by H. Reynolds, gave the following methods of throwing : —
(a) Plain straight cast, noose swung over head right to left, a rotating
wrist movement. The aim should be i^ feet to the right of the mark in
a 25 foot throw, (b). The CaUfomia throw from left to right, which perhaps
gives a longer range, (c ) The "Gjrral drag " used a foot and at close quarters,
which is done by trailing a loop behind, and snapping it forward by an
underhand motion. The writer says that mountain lions are often ridden
down and lassoed, and four cowboys together can take a " grizzly." Trick
spinning is practised by securing the sUp noose, and making the loop rotate
like a hoop in the air round the operator. A skilful man can spin a 2 foot
diameter noose into an 8 or 10 foot diameter hoop (in which case the noose
cannot be secured), and can even jump in or out of it. This trick spinning
is said to be of use for catching animals by the feet. (See Fig. 298 ).
212
THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
or was, made use of in catching bulls in bull fights. A regular
lasso is to be seen in the Pitt Rivers Collection at Oxford, believed
to have been used by Bisharin of the Nile basin. Scandina-
vians and Lapps used it for taking reindeer, and as a weapon
it is said to be alluded to in Norse fairy tales (i). A friend who
has resided a good deal in Norway told me that she learned from
the British Vice-Consul at Tromso that the Lapps still use the
lasso there for taking reindeer, and that far up North, bear cubs
are taken alive by the same appliance. Eskimo boys in N.
America are also said to be very expert in its use (2).
The throwing noose occurs both as a war and sporting
weapon in India. A regular lasso with a running noose and metal
ring is said to have been once in use among the royal troops of
Ceylon (3). At the present day, however, the throwing noose
seems only used for taking elephants, though non-throwing nooses
are in use, as we have already described.
The elephant lasso of Nepal is of course a clumsy thing com-
pared to the light lasso of America, yet in principle it is identical.
The hunters are, of course on elephants, and the lasso is of
strong rope, one end being attached to the ridden elephant.
There is an additional rope or line to the noose, the purpose of
which seems to be to relax the noose in time to save the elephant
from suffocation (4). The hunters throw the noose on to the top
of the head of the wild elephant, which instinctively raises the
I. — Lane Fox "Catalogue," 157.
2. — O. T. Mason, "Origins of Invention," 287.
3. — Tennent's "Ceylon," 1-499.
4. — Wood "Nat, Hist." ii., 790. 1
m
THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
213
trunk to its forehead, whereon the noose sUps down and hangs
round the neck. The hunters then stop the ridden elephant,
which partly strangles the lassoed animal. A second noose is
then thrown, so that then he can be held between two elephants.
A considerable amount of strangulation is often necessary to
reduce the captive to obedience (i).
The Lasso Among the Ancients.
The throwing noose was certainly known to the ancients, and
actual representations are not wanting. Unless, however, these
are somewhat conventionalized, the rope in use was not long like
the South American weapon. The predynastic (?) slate (alluded
to in Chapter
VIIL, page
167), shews,
among a re-
markable
combination
of semi-sav-
age weapon
types, un-
doubted rep-
resentations
of a sort of
lasso in use.
In one case a
deer or per-
haps hartebeest is being noosed, while another man, about to throw,
grasps the loose end in his left hand, while he swings the loop with
his right. It is as yet uncertain whether Libyans or Asiatics are
indicated. Representations of noosed animals are known on
monuments of the djmastic period, and the two we reproduce,
Figs. 299, 300, are copied from Wilkinson. In one case we see a
I. — What was the Pasha or Indian lasso described by Biirton'as " ten
cubits long, with a noose one hand in circumference. It was composed of
very small scales ornamented with leaden balls and was not regarded as a
noble weapon"? " Book of the Sword," 210.
214
THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
gazelle noosed by the neck, and in the other a bull by the horn.
The whole rope seems to be 12 to 15 feet in length, and possibly
the noose was thrown from ambush. We do not know if any
representations exist of the lasso being actually thrown. A noose
was also used in conjunction with the harpoon in killing the
hippopotamus (i). A bas relief from Nimrud, Fig. 302, gives us
what may be an Assyrian lasso (2), but here we see two men
dragging a plunging onager between them. Each man seems to
hold a double rope, and it is not easy to say if two nooses have
been thrown, or they simply hold the animal in " breaking-in-
gear."
The most interesting allusion to the lasso occurs however,
in Herodotus, in the enumeration of the army of Xerxes at
Doriscus. " There is a certain nomadic race, called Sagartians,
of Persian extraction and language ; they wear a dress fashioned
between the Persian and the Pactyan fashion; they furnished
eight thousand horse, but they are not accustomed to carry arms
either of brass or iron, except daggers. They use ropes made of
twisted thongs ; trusting to these, they go to war. The mode of
fighting of these men is as follows : — When they engage with the
enemy they throw the ropes, which have nooses at the end, and
whatever anyone catches, whether horse or man, he drags to-
wards himself, and they that are entangled in the coils are put to
death. This is their mode of fighting, and they were marshalled
with the Persians (3).
Thus we see that there existed at this date a race dwelling
in Persia who used the true lasso for war, and on horseback ;
exactly the same weapon, in fact, as that of South America.
One of the wonderful gold cups from a beehive tomb at
Vaphio, shews a bull noosed by the hind leg. (See Fig. 301).
The scene is an oUve grove, and the whole panel shews the methods
I. — Wilkiason i., 220, 240.
2. — Maspero "Dawn of Civilisation," 769.
3. — Herod. Polymnia 85. (Gary's translation).
THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
r
215
of capturing wild bulls. On the left is a man forcing along a
bull, round the hind leg of which is firmly fixed a noose with a
short rope, apparently not over 7 feet long. Behind are two
bulls being led in by a decoy cow. the first bull walking amorously
beside her, the second following with head lowered as if scenting.
Of the spirit and artistic value of this wonderful reUc of "^gean"
art we need not here speak. The evidence of the use of the noose
is certain, but if it is not conventionally represented (and there is
nothing conventional elsewhere is the art of these cups), it appears
to have been quite a short rope, and not like the equestrian weapon
of the Sagartians (i).
The Romans of course used no lasso, but in late times the
rettarius of the gladiatorial arena was supplanted by a la-
queator or laquearius ; the fisherman with his net by the
noose thrower : but whether this laqueator was imitated from
some Barbarian race (perhaps again the Sagartians), with whom
the Romans had come into contact, or whether he simply sym-
bolized the executioner with his strangling rope (laqueus) is
not quite certain. Seeing, however, that he was armed with
sword and noose, the former is far the most likely (2).
The word lasso or lazo is the same as Italian " laccio", and
therefore is simply laqueus, a noose or snare. The Mexicans,
however, use "lariat" for this weapon (3), so that there does
not seem an aboriginal Indian name, partly because of which, it
has been concluded that the lasso was an importation into
America by the Spanish settlers of the i6th century.
I. — It has been suggested that the metope of Herakles and the bull at
Olympia originally shewed the bull noosed. But the work is so broken that
this is mere guesswork.
2. — The Etruscan tomb known as the "grotta dei Rilievi" has numerous
carvings of weapons upon the walls, among which is a coiled up rope, which
might represent a lasso.
3. — La reata — the rope ? — Chambers Cyclopedeia. " Lariat " in N.
America is sometimes a halter, whence it has been derived from French
■"I'axet."
2i6 THE BOLAS AND LASSO.
This opinion (i.e. that the lasso was a Spanish introduction-
into America) (i) has been held by competent authorities such as
E. B. Tylor and O. T. Mason (2), and seems to be the belief
among the lasso users of South America themselves. It is an
attractive theory to the student, since if we accept it, we can
trace a remarkable instance of the handing on a weapon of a
particularly marked type, from Asia in very ancient times,
through Europe, until it arrives in America in the i6th century-
Thus Assyria might have borrowed it from Persia, and handed
it on to Egypt. From Egypt it passed to iEgean civilization,
and eventually to Rome, who simpl}'' had lassoing exhibitions in
the Arena. Thence it descended direct to the Spanish bull
fights, which are degenerate representatives of the Roman
games, and we find it thus used both in Portugal and Mexico,
The lasso therefore might well be used for the wild cattle of the
Pampas by the Spaniards since it was known to them for a
similar purpose in the arena.
It does not appear, however, that this theory will bear much
examination, since the Peruvians were using the lasso against the
Spaniards at the siege of Cuzco in 1535, and in 1523 the Mexicans
used both nets and lassos against the officers of Cortes at Chiapa.
" Of these troops a number were prepared with long thongs to
twist round the horses, and throw them down, and they had also
stretched out the nets, which they used in hunting, for the same
purpose " (3).
The wording of this accpunt, which is from the pen of one
of the officers of Cortes, indicates that the weapon was a novelty
to him at any rate in warfare. Moreover, it is impossible to
believe that the lasso had by that time been adopted by the
Indians from the Spaniards who were not armed with lassos,
even if they knew their use. The conclusion is irresistible that
this weapon was independently invented in some part or parts of
the American continent, and was especially developed in South
and Central America probably for the same reasons for which the
bolas were so widely adopted. The lasso of the Sagartian Nomads
of Xerxes was apparently the same weapon, but there is no reason
to suppose that any community of origin exists.
I. — "Anthropology" 217.
2. — " Oi'igins of Invention," 287.
3. — The true History of the Conquest of Mexico " by Captain Bernal*
Diaz del Castillo, 1568, translated 1800, p. 361.
PART IV.
MISSILE THROWERS.
chapter xi.
Missile Throwers.
The Sling and Stone Bow.
Hitherto we have treated of missiles requiring no special
contrivance for throwing them, but propelled simply by the force,
of hand and arm. An early stage, however in the progress of
invention, was the discovery that stones, or pointed sticks can
be projected with greater force by the aid of extremely
simple artifices. Most of these missile throwers are so ^
widely distributed that there seems every probability
that they were invented in several or many distinct
areas ; and it forms an interesting problem for the
student to attempt to ascertain if the possibilities of
invention are exhausted, or if totally different stone
and arrow throwers could be invented, which hitherto
have never been thought of by man (i).
It is curious in the first place to observe, that while
for arrow and dart throwing there is quite a series of
throwers differing greatly in principle, there are but
two throwers for stones, the sling and the stone bow,
the latter being merely adapted from the arrow bow.
Stone throwing engines of large type of course existed
in numbers, but the principle was in many cases simply
an elaboration of the sling or bow.
Since missile stones preceded the arrow it may be
concluded that the sling preceded the bow, and was
therefore the earliest auxiliary contrivance in attack.
In history we cannot turn to any great nation of,
antiquity which was not acquainted with the sling,
though the value they put on it varied greatly. This
is not the case with modern savages, since we find whole
continents nearly, if not quite, without it.
Though we associate the name of "sling" with the
most typical form consisting of two thongs or cords
with a pouch, there were several types, which we may
enumerate as follows : —
I. — Cord, thong, or ribbon sling. Formed of two
cords or thongs of equal length, one terminating in a
loop. To the other ends are attached a pouch in which 303.
the stone is to be placed. (Fig. 303).
I. — The principle of the golf ball and " driver " might of course have
been applied (and possibly successfully) for attack, but it never was.
220 MISSILE THROWERS.
Variations from this type : — First, the whole sHng of one
long piece of hide simply widening in the centre. Secondly, a
pouchless sling of the same principle, only that the stones were
secm-ed in their place by a groove on the " glans " or slingstone
itself.
2. — ^The split stick sling, which we imagine every English-
man has made, and used as a schoolboy. It simply consists of a
stick of a somewhat whippy or elastic nature, divided at the end
so as to hold a stone, which can be launched roughly in a required
direction by a single circular stroke in the air. This stick sling is
considered by Lane Fox as a separate class, but the only reference
he gives is to an illustration from one of Lepsius's works on
Egypt, to which we have not been able to refer. That such a sling
was often made need not be doubted, but it was never regularly
adopted as a weapon either in ancient or modern times, for the
simple reason that it was impossible to control the direction of
the stone, which was extremely apt to fiy off at any tangent
during the swing of the stick. It was more frequently made
as a toy than for practical purposes.
3. — This class is a combination of the ribbon and stick
slings, and there are two patterns. The simplest of the two was
simply a stick or staff to the end of which was attached a strap,
about equal in length to the staff. The flat shaped stone was
placed under the strap at the staff end, and the strap being
pulled tight was grasped together with the end of the staff.
The staff was whirled, and the strap released in a similar way to
the ribbon sling.
In the other variation of this type, the thong attached to
the type was double the length of the staff instead of only equalling
it as in the last, and the position of the pouch for the stone was
half-way between the end of the staff and the end of the thong,
so that when the end of the staff
and the end of the thong were both
in the users hand, the stone was at
the end, and the whole thing was
used exactly like the ribbon sling..
A fifteenth century example of this
type is given by Demmin, from which
our sketch is taken. (Fig. 304).
4. — The true staff sling, which
consisted of a staff of some weight,,
apparently at least four feet in length, having at the end a
leather pouch to hold the sling stone. The principle appears
to have been this. One end of the pouch was made fast to the
shaft at a distance of 10 inches from the end. The other end of
the pouch was not made fast, but was fitted with a ring, which
could be slipped over the staff end. A drawing from Matthew
Paris' thirteenth century " Historia " (i) shews it in use in
I. — Strutt "Sports and Peistimes," p. "Ji.
THE SLING
221
sieges (Fig. 305), The ball or
stone was placed in the pouch,
and the staff was whirled straight
over the head in the manner of a
man driving a stake with a mal-
let. When the staff came to a
certain point, the weight of the
stone shot forward, the ring was
released from the staff end, and
the missile was shot with great
force into the air. This staff sling was used at a later date to
throw hand grenades, and as it is very doubtful if any degree of
accuracy could be obtained with such a weapon, its use was
perhaps chiefly for sieges, (Fig. 306).
It is an open question which of
these forms was the Roman Fustibalus,
or staff sling, some considering it to
have been the simple stick and strap
sling, others the type we have last
described (i).
" Fustibale " was adopted into
Mediaeval nomenclature, and applied also to engines of war.
The word is apparently also preserved in Chancers " fel staf "
sling, who must have derived it, like the word " palstave " is
now explained, a manifest mistake, since whatever is the origin
•of the latter part of the word, it is certain that " fustis" is a staff.
The action required for using
classes 2 and 3 is really identical with
that for the ribbon sling. In using
the latter, the slinger passes the loop
at the end of one thong (2) over one
or more of the fingers of the right
hand, leaving the index finger and
thumb to hold securely the end of the
other thong. The stone or bullet is
then taken in the left hand and
placed in the pouch, which is thrust
well out to the front in the direction
to be slung at, while the right hand is
drawn back behind the right ear, so
as to keep the cords, or thongs of the
sling, taut. Both hands are then raised
about a foot so as to be clear of the
top of the head, and the slinger then
releasing the pouch and ball, whirls it
by the motion of the wrist from right to left. (Fig. 309). The
I . — Described by Vegetius ( A.D. 3. ) See Seyflerts ' ' Classical Dictionary"
under Fustibalus, and Lane Fox "Catalogue," p. 160.
2. — Or cord, as the case may be.
222
MISSILE THROWERS.
skill lies in letting go the loose thong at the right moment, when
the ball or stone flies with great violence and even accuracy, in the
direction aimed at, while the loose end cracks like a whip. This
cracking and the whirring of the stones in the air among a body
of sUngers has never been heard by any existing man, but must
have been quite a feature in classic warfare. The sling has been
described as a contrivance which converts " circular motion into-
rectilinear motion" (i).
The ribbon sling, though a simple contrivance to our eyes,
indicates a considerable mental activity on the part of the first
inventor, if we assume he lived among races whose only weapons
were the hand stone and club. It is, however probable that the
discovery took place independently in widely separated areas,
and under widely different circumstances. For instance, the
user of the single bola might be whirling it preparatory to throw-
ing, when the knot retaining the ball breaking, the latter would
fly by itself, leaving the thong in his hand. This would lead to
the invention of the cord and pouch on one side, and perhaps
experiments with the split stick on the other. There is really
very little difference between the single ball and thong, and the
sling, except in the fact that in the latter the cord is retained in
the hand, leaving the stone to fly clear.
Slingers in Ancient Times.
The sling was so widely used in ancient times that we cannot
say much in detail. It was known to the ancient Egyptians,,
who do not seem to have employed it
for warfare or even for fowling — though
it was used to scare away birds from
the crops, as it is
regularly at the pre-
sent day. (Figs. 307,
308). The sling of
Upper Egypt thus
used by the fellahs
is of palm fibre, and
one in the writer's
possession bought
near Abydos, is
shewn in Fig. 303.
We have referred to
the suggested use of
the split stick, which
was very likely for
the same purpose (2).
I. — O. T. Mason, "Origins of Invention," 377.
2. — Boys were stationed with slings as " Flaycraas" in Tudor England,
Garnier " Landed Interest," i. 319.
THE SLING. 22J
In Assyria the sling was well known as a war weapon.
" In the bas-reUefs of Kouyunjik slingers are frequently
represented among the Assyrian troops. The sling appears to
have consisted of a double rope with a thong, probably of leather,
to receive the stone ; it was swung round the head. The sUnger
held a second stone in his left hand, and at his feet is generally
seen a heap of pebbles ready for use " (i).
No doubt the shng was an Asiatic weapon, since we learn
that it was used by the Carduchi (Kurds), Persians, and Indians,
while according to Phny, it originated among the Phoenicians.
The Hebrews were great slingers, and it would seem that as an
arm, the Benjamites were even trained to be ambidextrous,
though it is rather difficult to see what the practical use of such a
training could be (2).
" Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen
men left handed ; everyone could sling stones at an hair breadth
and not miss." Judges xx. 16.
" They were armed with bows, and could use both the right
hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a
bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin," I. Chron. xii., 2.
While other passages, as that in II. Kings iii., 25, seem to
point to the use of trained corps of sHngers (3).
In the Iliad both Greeks and others use slings. The Loc-
rians were armed with twisted woollen slings, and in attack were
stationed in rear of the heavy armed troops, presumably there-
fore, sUnging over their heads. The sling is certainly indicated
on the fragment of the silver " Mykenaean " vase, which we have
before alluded to as possibly also representing the boomerang.
Though the later Greeks used the sling themselves it was
considered rather the attribute of a subject race. Even in the
time of Cynis (B.C. 540) it was held to be a servile weapon, and
was allowed to disarmed races. Yet the ^tolians were said to
have gained their land by the sling, the "Achaean hit" was a
I. — Layard's " Nineveh and its Remains," ii. 343. Lane Fox remarks
that the Assyrian slingers of Sennacherib appear from the first in full armour
— not a light armed body as slingers should be ; a sign perhaps that the
weapon was a sudden introduction.
2. — The Rev. H. D. Astley has tried to shew in a paper before the
Brit. Arch. Assoc. (June, 1904), that man was originally ambidextrous.
He believes that the stone implements of the EoUthic, Palaeolithic, and
Neolithic periods bear evidence of being as frequently formed for left hand
as right hand use. That the Palaeolithic sketches were drawn with equal
facihty by the right or left hand, and that certain of the early alphabets
were apparently first written by preference with the left hand.
3. — It has been conjectured that David's shng was the stafi sling,
because Goliath said " Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves ? "
But it is explicitly stated just before, that David went out with his staff
in his hand, chose five smooth stones, and with his sling in his hand drew
near. It is quite evident that they were separate, and it may further be
remarked that an ordinary staff would be much more likely to correct a dog.
with, than a sling of any kind. I. Sam. xvii., 40-43.
224 MISSILE THROWERS.
proverb, and the Rhodians and Acamanians had a great reputa-
tion. The Achaeans indeed (who used three thonged slings),
were said to be able to hit any part of the human face. Every
coin collector knows the spirited figure of a slinger (see Fig. 309)
on the coins of Aspendus in Pamphyllia, which is evidently
punning allusion to the Ukeness of the name of the town and
sphindon^ a sling.
The inhabitants of the Balearic Islands, however, had a
greater reputation with the sling than any other Mediterranean
race, in so much that the name was generally derived from
Ballein to throw, and the origin of the weapon was sometimes
attributed to them. They used rush slings, and the force of
their slinging was such that Q. MeteUus, afterwards called Ba-
learicus, had to protect his ships with hides. Diodorus Siculus
tells us that the stones they used for slinging were larger than
any others, and were hurled with a force like that of a catapult.
The children were exercised by having to sling their bread off
poles to which it was hung, and they carried three sUngs of
different sizes, one in the hand, and the other two wrapped round
the head and loins. Livy, however, says that Achaean boys were
both more accurate slingers and could shoot to a greater range.
The Roman used the ribbon
sling {"funda") protecting him-
self with a shield, and carrying
spare stones in the skirt of his
tunic, as is shewn on Trajan's
column. (See Fig. 310). In
Etruria it was a sporting wea-
pon, and some of the painted
tombs shew it in use. The
Grotta de Cacciatori gives us a
representation of a man slinging
at water fowl (i).
Although Gauls Numidians,
and Spaniards are enumerated
ojA as slingers, we believe that there
■ is no classical authority for the
use of the weapon amongst the ancient Britons (2). It was,
however, almost certainly used in the Neolithic age, since flints
■chipped to a suitable size and shape are found in Britain, and
many other parts of the world. In the Swiss lake dwelling of
"Cortaillod the knitted pouch of a shng and part of the cord has
actually been discovered, and is possibly the oldest sling in
existence, dating as it probably does from the European bronze
^g6 (3). We need hardly give any credit to Pliny, Vegetius, or
I. — Dennis " Etruria" i., 312.
2. — " On the use of the Sling," W. Hawkins, F.S.A. Archaeologia xxxii.,
p. 106.
3. — Evans "Stone Implements" 372. Joly "Man before Metals," 232.
THE SLING.
225
Strabo, who variously assign its invention to the Phoenicians,
Baleares, or iEtohans.
The Vikings and Anglo Saxons were expert slingers, and the
sling was used in England at a much later date, even to the 15th
a century (i). If
the 8th century
Saxon slinger
who is shewn in
Fig. 311 is de-
{)icted accurate-
y, it looks as
if the Saxons whirled and released the
sling by an underhand action, differing
from the more usual way described
and shewn in the figure of the sbnger
of Aspendus.
Turning to modern use, it is
probable that the sling has entirely
disappeared except as a toy on the
European continent. In the East it
is still used, though in those regions in
close touch with modern ideas, it has become little more than a
plaything. Thus it is still common in Egypt for bird scaring ;
and in Syria we are told that the boys of Mount Hermon used
it in mimic warfare (2). Till quite recent times it was a war
weapon in Afghanistan. India, and Java (3), though I am not
aware if the Chinese, who were great bowmen, used it.
It seems to be unknown in Australia, where the bow was
also unknown, their places being taken by the wummerah and
boomerang. Yet it is extremely common in the Pacific, being in
use in New Zealand, and throughout Polynesia generally. There
is, of course, some, but no great variation in these weapons.
The sUngs of the Marquesas Islands were very large, often five
feet long, and made of plaited grass. Among the Sandwich
Islanders the pouchless sling was used, the stone being grooved
instead. In the Hervey Islands, the formation for attack, as
noted by the Missionary WiUiams, is of much interest. The first
line was composed of spearmen, the second clubmen, the third
sUngers, and behind them women with spare weapons and sling
stones (4). In Fiji and the Sandwich Islands it is sometimes
made of human hair (5).
In New Caledonia the loopless cord ended in a sort of tassel.
It was called " wendat," and steatite stones were used. In
I. — Strutt " Sports and pastimes," 72-74.
2. — Thomson " The Land and the book," 572.
3. — ^The Primitive Khonds and the Juangs of Cuttack also nse it.
4. — ^Wood ii,, 374.
5. — Lane Fox " Catalogue " 163,
21b MISSILE THROWERS.
throwing, the New Caledonians are said to have whirled the sling
once only before discharging the stone (i).
In spite of its use in Egypt, Lane Fox knows no negro races
using the sling, except the Edeeyehs of the Island of Fernando
Po (2). If correct, this is very remarkable, but possibly modern
exploration ma}^ prove the conclusion erroneous.
It is, or was, in use in aU parts of the American continents
from the Arctic regions to Tierra del Fuego, among the Eskimo,
in Mexico, Peru, etc. It is commonly used by herdsmen, as among
the great herds of Mexico and the Spanish herdsmen of South
America, of whom there is a saying that they are so dexterous
that they can hit a bullock on either horn and so guide him (3).
It was, of course, not an introduction of the Spaniards, whose
historians mention that it was used against them when they
invaded the country.
The missiles projected by the sling were of course very often
natural stones, suitable examples of which abound in gravelly
districts. David picked five smooth stones out of the brook,
evidently waterwom pebbles, and no doubt of considerable size,
since one "sank into" GoUath's forehead. Nevertheless there
were many districts in which no suitably shaped stones were
found in numbers, so that artificially shaped stones were made,
very often of chipped flint.
The shape most adapted for projecting from a sling is not
round, but rather bean-shaped, or ovate with an edge, or acorn
shaped. The stone used by the Sandwich Islanders for their
pouchless sling was grooved, and Captain Cook found some in
use of hsematite or bloodstone, a pound in weight (4). In
Mediterranean warfare the use of stones began to be superseded
in the 5th century B.C. by cast leaden bullets, somewhat acorn
shaped, or oval, and pointed at both ends. These were called
" glans" (acorn) by the Romans, and " Molubdis" by the Greeks,
and for the most part weigh between two and three ounces,
though Livy tells us that some of the stones and lead bullets of
the Achaeans weighed up to an Attic pound. These bullets,
both Roman and Greek, have been found in considerable quanti-
ties, and were often inscribed with such mottoes as " Take
this " or " Desist." The writer has purchased Greek examples
among the Greek Islands, and has had others dug up at the
Roman camps in Westmorland (5). Red hot bullets were some-
times used by the Romans. As for the range of the sling, it
varied widely, according to the weapon. A sling with several
thongs was used for sending a heavy missile at short distance.
I. — See Labillardiere "Voyage of La Perouse," Plate xxxviii.
2. — Lane Fox " Catalogue " 162. :
3. — E. B. Tylor " Primitive Culture," 3rd Ed., 1891.
4. — The sling no longer exists in these islands. . .
5. — For details about the classic sling and sling bullets, see W. Hawkins
" Observations on the use of the Sling," Archaeologia, xxxii.
THE STONE BOW. 227
The long sling had a very great range, longer, it is said, than the
bow and arrow, and according to Demmin up to 500 paces (i).
The leaden molubdis went further than the stone, for Xenophon
says the Rhodians could sling twice as far as the Eersians, who
used large stones.
The Stone or Pellet Bow.
Until the invention of explosives, there was, besides the
sling, one other contrivance for projecting bullets or stones.
This was the stone or pellet bow, which though used in all the
continents except Australia, was never of any real importance.
It certainly was a weapon, but was seldom or never for war
purposes, since it was probably in all cases only a modification
from the arrow bow, which was a most efficient weapon.
The pellet bow of India, as used in Udaipur and elsewhere,
was similar to an arrow bow, but furnished with two cords divided
by a small piece of wood near one end, so that when the bow is
strung these strings are kept apart. A strip of leather or a web
pad is attached to these strings, and the bowman places the
bullet, stone, or pellet in this pad. The bow is flexed just as an
arrow bow, and when the pad is released it opens, and the pellet
is projected exactly as the arrow is. This bow is called in India
" Gulel " (2), and it is said that great accuracy is obtainable
from it. The Siamese use the same weapon for clay balls, the
pad being replaced by a net. Though it is not known that the
Japanese used it, there was in the Emperor's Treasure house at
Nara a bow nearly 1,000 years old, with a pouch for pellets, not
in the centre, but a third of the way down (3), the object of which
arrangement is not very evident.
The pellet bow is also used in Assam, Afghanistan, the
Amazon, and various parts of South and Central America ;
and, it is said, also in Africa, though we are ignorant in what part
(4). With a clay pellet it is said a bird can be knocked down at
30 to 40 paces (5).
The cross bow was also made to shoot stones or bullets in
mediaeval England, where the " stone-bow " was used for sport-
ing purposes, and the same weapon was used by the Karens of
Burmah and the Siamese.
It is of course possible that the bow might be discovered and
used for pellets or bullets by a race who did not make arrows.
The probability, however, is that it was a modification of the
I. — Demmin, p. 466.
2. — Egerton's " Indian Arms," 108.
3. — " Ancient and Modem methods of arrow release " by Ed. S. Morse,
Bulletin Essex Institute (U.S.A.), xvii., p. 45. The Japanese also release
their arrows from this point on the bow string.
4. — Knight's paper, p. 295.
5. — Lane Fox "Catalogue" 52.
228 MISSILE THROWERS.
arrow bow made as a fowling weapon or a boys toy, by a race
to whom arrows and arrow points were too valuable to be
wasted indiscriminately. How the bow itself originated we shall
discuss later.
chapter xii.
Missile Throwers
(Continued).
The Amentum, Thro wing-Stick, and Blow Pipe.
Although even when cast by the hand alone, the spear was a
formidable weapon, various contrivances were adopted to in-
crease speed, range, and accuracy. Among these, the simplest
was nothing but a loop of thong attached to the shaft, into which
the first finger or the first two fingers were hooked, so that the
propelling force did
313^ not terminate at the
moment the spear
left the hand, but was prolonged until the tension was off the
loop itself. This contrivance was known to the Greeks, who
.?^
^
3J4.
■^
called it the ankidS or mesankuU, and seem to have thrown
hooking the two first fingers (Figs. 312 and 313). The Romans
called it amentum (i), and the
same contrivance is shewn in
Fig. 314, 315, a spear in the Pitt
Rivers collection from Central
Africa. It will be noticed that
the loop in the Greek example
(Fig. 312) is near the butt, but in the African example about the
middle. Its position would probably be determined by the
weight of the head, on which would depend the position of the
centre of gravity. There is apparently some difference between
I. — " Inserit amento digitos, nee plura locutus.
In juvenem torsit jaculum " ; Ovid Metamorphoses xii., 321
230
MISSILE THROWERS.
the ankuU or amentum, and the
cestrosphendoni (Hterally the
fire-hardened dart sHng), which
is described as two unequal
thongs to project a dart half an
ell in length, which was used
by the Macedonians B.C. 171
(i). A double thong is some-
times shewn on vase paintings.
(Fig. 316), but the spear is a
long one : possibly cestrosphen-
done may sometimes refer to
some sort of engine.
It is interesting to find that
a similar contrivance was in use
in New Caledonia, New Guinea,
and the New Hebrides. In
this appliance, however, the
loop is not attached to the
spear shaft, but is separate,
being a cord (in New Caledonia
of fibre and fish skin, or bats
hair) about a foot long, with a
loop at one end, and a knot at the other. (Fig. 317). The spear
thrower finds the centre of gravity by balancing his weapon in
I. — Archaeologia, xxxii., 106.
THE AMENTUM. 23^
his hand, and then slipping the cord round the shaft, and fastening
it by a half hitch, he grasps the spear, keeping the cord tight by
tension of his forefinger. The spear is thrown exactly as with
the amentum, only the instant it is released, the half hitch of the
ounep (as it is called in Melanesia), is loosened, and the ounep
itself remains in the throwers hand. With this contrivance, a
spear, which is too heavy for effective use in the ordinary way,
can be projected a considerable distance, and Captain Cook
saw spears thrown 60 yards thus in New Guinea. Experiments
have shewn that the Roman amentum doubled the range of a
missile spear (i).
The advantage of the amentum over the ounep is that it
does not need adjusting every time, while on the other hand in
using the ounep, the loop is retained, and the spear in the hands
of an enemy is less efficient for returning fire, unless the thrower
has an ounep of his own.
Probably similar loops were used elsewhere, since it seems
impossible that a contrivance so simple and effective as the Roman
amentum would not be widely adopted. The African examples
may have originated thus, and the Snaeris-spjot (string spear),
and skepti-fletta (cord shaft) of the Vikings were no doubt amenta
(2). It would be interesting to find if the fashion reached
Scandinavia by the coUisions between the settlers of Lake Ladoga
and the Byzantine empire. It can hardly be doubted that the
Melanesian group is of separate origin.
As a school-boy the writer used the weapon " ounep " to
throw arrows, but we hitched the button just below the feathers,
and had a long string, holding the arrow close to the point.
Probably the trick was taught by some Yorkshire boy, as the pit-
men of the West Riding throw arrows as a sport to a great extent.
The arrow they use has neither head, feathers, nor notch : it is 31
inches long and tapers shghtly from the " point" to the ball end.
The string used is 28 inches long, with a double knot at the end.
The arrow thrower half hitches it 16 inches from the head round
the shaft, and the other end of the string is wound round the
forefinger. The cord is kept tight by the forefinger, while the
arrow is held by the thumb and second finger near the blunt
point. The throwing is as described for the ounep, and a skilful
thrower will project an arrow from 280 to 300 yards. The
record throw is said to be about 370 yards.
The Throwing Stick.
The throwing stick, a distinct advance on the loop or thong
in spear throwing, exists in three areas, each of wide extent.
The first is Austria, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the Caroline
I. — Fig. 317 (after la Perouse) probably shews the Ounep rather nearer
the butt end than is usual. Labillardiere " Voyage of La Perouse" xiii, 256.
2. — Du Chaillu "Viking age" ii., 84,
232 MISSILE THROWERS.
and Pelew Islands ; the second Tropical and Central America;
and the third a very widely extended portion of the Arctic and
sub-Arctic regions, extending from Greenland across Arctic
America, including the Aleutian Islands, and reaching even
Siberia.
It will be seen, therefore, that the throwing stick is not
known to have ever been used in Europe, Asia, or Africa, the
three continents which included all the great civilizations. All
3ie
these had the bow at an early date, and the bow answered the
same purpose as the throwing stick, but was much more effective.
It is impossible now to say if the prehistoric races in these conti-
nents ever used the throwing stick. Of the three areas where the
throwing stick is used, it is worth noting that Australia itself as a
continent was bowless, the place of that arm being taken by the
throwing stick (generally called " wummerah ") and boomerang.
All Arctic races are short of wood, and especially springy whippy
wood suitable for bows. Nevertheless the Eskimo do make
bows of portions of bone lashed together, but they use a throwing
stick, generally for harpoons and fish spears, since with cold
greasy hands it is easier to use it effectively than to draw the
bow or cast the hand spear (i).
The throwing stick in Australia is commonly known by the
name of wummerah (womara, wommera, wumerah, etc.,) which,
however, is properly only the name given to the weapon by the
tribes of the East coast, while totally different words denote it
elsewhere in Australia (2). It will be convenient here to retain
the name wummerah to denote all Australian types.
The Australian wummerah is in length from i^ to z^ieet,
and a few of its many shapes shewn in Figs. 318-322. The
I. — O. T. Mason, " Throwing Sticks in the National Museum, (United
States) Smithsonian Institution" 1883-4.. Part ii., p. 279-281.
2. — Wamniya by the Warramunga tribe : Nulliga by the Wambia.
and Amera, Midlah, Meera, Kurwuk, Wandoke, etc. elsewhere, see Spencer
and Gillen, " Native tribes of Central Australia," 19CO.
THE THROWING STICK.
2.33
principle, whether the instrument is a plain straight stick, or a
flat or flattish board, with a formed " grip " at one end for the
hand, is always the same. The essential feature is the projecting
tooth or pin, (sometimes a kangaroo's tooth, sometimes of bone
or wood), against which is placed the butt end of the spear,
when it is about to be thrown.
The method of using the wummeiah is as follows : — The
thrower grasps it in the right hand, holding it horizontally at
about the level of his ear with the pin end, projecting straight
back over his shoulder. The spear is then fitted in its place, so
that the hollow on its butt end rests on the pin or tooth. The
spear is then pointing directly forward, but instead of being
grasped by all the fingers tight to the wummerah, it is generally
made to lie on the knuckles of three of the fingers, while it is
steadied in position by means of the index finger and thumb.
(See Fig. 323).
In discharging the spear from the wummerah a vigorous
forward jerk of the wrist is used. What exactly happens^^is
234 MISSILE THROWERS.
as follows. The pin end of the wummerah is moved by a com-
bined effort of shoulder, elbow, and wrist, with extreme rapidity
forward, so that the whole force of propulsion is exerted at the
butt end of the spear shaft, exactly as is the case when an arrow
is discharged from a bow.
It should be noted that this is not the case in throwing the
spear by hand or with the amentum, in doing which the force is
exerted generally about the centre of gravity of the missile (i).
The wummerah really adds an extra joint to the arm, and permits
the thrower to apply force of propulsion to the weapon for a
longer time than when it is cast by the hand.
The Australian in throwing with the wummerah brandishes
or vibrates the spear, bounding and jumping in a similar way to
that of some African tribes. There being no bow in Australia
(except in one or two places where it has been introduced), the
wummerah takes its place. It is, however, an inferior weapon
to the bow, and may be classed as an earlier form. This can
be seen from the fact that while it is made to project the spear,
the size and shape of which remains unaltered, the bow requires a
special arrow modified from the true spear.
The Australian wummerah varies nearly as much in shape
as the boomerang itself. Some are mere sticks with the pin
attached to the end. Fig. 319. The majority, however, are
flattened although the width and outline differ greatly, some
being widest at the end where the pin is, others widest near the
handle, while others again are rather lozenge shaped in outline,
broadening from the handle and the pin end to the centre.
Occasionally the handle is a heavy knob, so that on occasion it
can be reversed in the hand and used as a club. A rare example
was recently figured in "Man" constructed out of a boomerang
(2). The wummerah is never specially curved for the right or
left hand as the Arctic examples are. In spite of difference in
size and shape the principle of the wummerah is always the
same, and it is, as we shall see, identical with the throwing sticks
of America and the Arctic regions. This makes it more remark-
able that in the Caroline and Pelew Islands in the Pacific we
should find a throwing stick in which there is an actual difference
in principle. This spear thrower is about two feet long with a
notch at one end, into which the end of the spear is placed.
With his left hand the bamboo spear shaft is then bent almost
double, and with the same hand he releases it simultaneously
with a sweep of the right hand, which holds the stick. Although
this sounds a peculiarly crude adoption of the force of elasticity,
1. — In some Greenland throwing sticks it is said that the peg (which is
on the spear) is about the centre of gravity, but in all other cases it is behind
that centre.
.2 — The wummerah has often a piece of sharp stone let into it for
sharpening the point of the spear. The Australian also sometimes uses it
for fire making; bv friction.
THE THROWING STICK. 235
Wood assures us that a Pelew Islander can make excellent
practice with it (i).
The throwing stick of Central America seems to have been
much the same as the wummerah. It was an Aztec weapon, and
in the time of Cortes it was used by the Mexicans with a double
headed dart (2). The " Atlatl" as it was called, seems to have
been sometimes used ceremonially, and it is shewn in mythologi-
cal pictures and on the monuments in the hands of the gods (3).
Mexican spear throwers exist in the Pitt Rivers collection at
Oxford, and in the Christy collection, but they are far from
common. The same weapon occurs in the northern parts of
South America. It has been noticed in Ecuador among the
bowless Puru Puru Indians of the Amazon (4), and among the
Conibo Indians. There can be no doubt that these examples
belong to the same group as the Mexican and Central American
throwing sticks.
The third group of throwing sticks, comprising a large area in
the extreme North, is of great interest for comparative purposes,
presenting as it does a series of types, the principle and purpose of
which are practically identical with those of the Pacific. Yet
we have but to place side by side a set of these, and another of
the Australian types, to feel convinced of a radical superiority
in the inventive powers of the Northern races. We do not
know that the Australian wummerah fulfils its purpose with less
efficiency than the Eskimo or Kotzebue throwing stick. But all
the Northern series bear evidence of a continued desire on the
part of the races who used them to improve, perfect, and even
beautify the weapon, while the Australian always contented
himself with a clumsy and unfinished form. It can hardly be
imagined that there can be any community of origin between these
two groups, though it may be that the existence of throwing stick
users in Central and the extreme North of America preserves now
isolated, two survivals from a period when the throwing stick
was continuously used from North to South America.
The group is not confined to America nor to the Eskimo,
since we find the throwing stick above Latitude 60 N., from
Greenland across America to Alaska, and even in the Aleutian
Islands and Siberia. On the coasts of the Arctic and sub-Arctic
seas within these Umits, the seal, walrus, and fish are followed and
caught by the Eskimo from their light Kyaks. It has been
suggested that it was the necessity of having in these frail vessels
a very hght harpoon, which could be propelled with great force,
that led to the invention of the Northern throwing stick. South
I. — Wood "Nat. Hist." ii., p. 449. Knight 276.
2. — Del Castillo: " True History of the Conquest of Mexico," 1568.
Translated 1800.
3. — Knight, 277. Tylor, "Anthropology" 195. " Primitive Culture " 67.
4. — Wallace, "Amazon" 154. Markham, " Tribes of the Valley of the
Amazon."
236
MISSILE THROWERS.
of Latitude 60, America is no longer an area broken up by channels
sounds, gulfs, and straits, and in place of the canoe man armed
with throwing thick and Ught harpoon, we have the continental
Indian armed with a heavy spear flung by hand.
Of these Northern forms of the throwing stick a classification
of the types has been attempted by Mr. O. T. Mason in the
publications of the Smithonian Institution. He classifies them
into 13 types, which he names geographically (i), and although
the variations are well marked it is easy to see that the throwing
stick of all these regions is the same weapon, probably distribu-
ted from one centre, and that the variations are local.
In examining these Northern forms we are struck first by the
greater symmetry in general form than is displayed in the
Pacific types, and second by the regular appearance of one or
more features which are almost entirely absent in the latter.
They are nearly all in a greater or less degree carved to fit the
right hand, though here and there a left handed example occurs.
Some are only cut away for the fingers, but others have special
divisions for three fingers, or even one, two, or three pegs to
separate them, a special groove or lock for the thumb, hollows
for the finger tips, and either a through perforation or a mere
pocket for the point of the index finger, which is a very im-
portant thing in using these contrivances. Of course every
specimen does not contain all these "marks" (as Mr. Mason
calls them), those, for instance, with three pegs having no index
finger pocket.
In most examples there is a groove for the spear shaft, at
the end of which is the ivory or bone peg, on to which the butt end
of the spear shaft fits. A radical variation occurs in the Greenland
325.
type, which instead of the peg has two ivory lined eyelets (one
near each end) to receive two pegs, which are fitted for the
purpose to the spear shaft. Some of the throw sticks of the
North Western Eskimo and the Aleutian Islanders have also a
hole instead of a peg for the spear end (2). Figures 324 and 325
I. — These are : —
(i) Greenland. (2) Ungava. (3) Cumberland Gulf. (4) Fury and
Hecla Straits. (5) Anderson River. (6) Point Barrow. (7) Kotzebue
sound. (8 ) East Siberian. (9) Port Clarence and Cape Nome. (10) Nor-
ton Sound. (11) Nunivak Island and Cape Vancouver. (12) Bristol Bay.
(13) Kadiak or Unalashka. It will be seen that many of these are Alaska.
2. — Knight's paper 277 and Lane Fox "Ca* " 39.
THE THROWING STICK.
237
shew the lower and upper sides of throwing sticks from North
America.
The outline of these spear throwers varies ver}' considerably,
but as most have a formed grip or handle and taper to the peg
end, they are a httle like a
dagger in outline. Occasionally
there is a graceful and ornate
curve, as in the Ungava type,
which terminates as in a pretty
curved " fiddle head " shape.
The Anderson River and Una-
lashkan types are, however, very
plain and straight sided.
The actual position of the
hand in holding the throwing
stick and spear shaft among the
Northern races is similar to that
of the Australians. It will be
noticed in examining a series
that the groove for the shaft
shallows and dies out towards
the grip. The way the handle
is cut away, and frequently has
hollows for the fingers, allows
the spear shaft to he in the
groove, and yet pass over the
back of the two fingers which
grasp the handle. The fore-
finger is in its own hole, and the
middle finger and thumb remain
to steady the shaft itself. Msison
says that experiments shew that
if the spear is clamped flat to
the stick by all the fingers it can
get no start, but by laying it
over two fingers as above
described, it has just that small
rise which gives the necessary
start (see Fig. 326).
As to the value of the
wummerah as a missile thrower
it is very inferior to the bow
both in range and accuracy.
With regard to the latter, writers
differ very much, but there is
no doubt that the accounts
of the earlier writers are
much exaggerated. Although
238 . MISSILE THROWERS.
Captain Cook said that at 55 yards savages were more sure with
wummerah and spear than Europeans with musket and ball,
it seems agreed by the best modem authorities that this is quite
excessive. Darwin, whose observation cannot be doubted,
quotes indeed accurate practice at a cap set up as a mark at 30
yards in New Zealand, which is the same range at which Captain
Grey saw Australians constantly knock down pigeons. Yet
Oldfield says that a melon put up at this distance was missed for
an hour by natives, while an European who had accustomed
himself to the use of the wummerah struck it five times out of six.
Professor Baldwin Spencer, the latest and probably the most
authoritative writer on Australian aborigines, says that it re-
quires an exceptionally good man to kill or disable at more than
20 yards (i). This, however, probably applies to big game, or
human enemies.
The range of the spear, however, is considerably augmented
by the use of the throwing stick. Lane Fox noted that some
Australian aborigines brought to England, throw spears with the
wummerah on Kennington Common to an extreme range of
close on 100 yards, and as experiments which were made by order
of Napoleon, are said to have proved that the wummerah gives
an additional projectile force of over 50 yards (2), it may be
concluded that the range of the missile spear is about doubled by
its use. It is evident, therefore, that force and range are im-
proved much more than accuracy, so that although now con-
tinually used for sport, it may have been originally intended
rather for tribal warfare.
The Kotaha or Whip Sling of New Zealand.
The Kotaha or whip sling formerly in use in New Zealand,
may be described as combining in some degree the principles of
the amentum and wummerah. Examples are now so rare, that
it is believed that not a single example remains in New Zealand,
although there are four in the British Museum. The Kotaha
consisted of a pliant rod, a little under 5 feet in length, to the
end of which was attached a cord of twisted fibre, which was
lashed firmly on, the rod terminating in a knob, which kept the
lashing from slipping off.
The dart or spear CcJled "Kopere " which was to be cast, was
four or five feet long with a fire-hardened tip, which was semi-
severed near the point to break off in a wound. These darts
were stuck lightly in the ground pointing roughly in the direction
to be thrown, the end of the cord was half hitched round its
shaft, and the New Zealander then "lofted" it, to use a golfing
term, with both hands. Its use was to throw into beseiged
camps, and since early writers speak of darts and lighted leaves
■ i.-^" Native Tribes of Central Australia," 1899, p. 20.
• 2. — i.e. from 20 to 80 metres. Lane Fox " Prim. Warfare," p. 433.
. THE BLOW PIPE. 239
being thus thrown the presumption is the Kotaha was used for
these purposes.
Two of the British Museum kotahas are shewn in Figs. 327,
328, from which it will be seen that the handle end is finished by
elaborately carved ape-like figures in the style so characteristic
of Maori art, Mr. J. E. Partington, who is well known as an
authority on Australasian weapons published these in the Journal
of the Anthropological Institute, and from his paper it appears
that this weapon must have been obsolete for a very long
period (i).
■iza,,
The Blow Pipe or Tube.
In the missile thrower we have described, the additional
impulse to the spear or arrow is obtained by increased leverage
only. Elasticity, which in the shape of the bow and bow string
has played such a great part in history, was either ignored
altogether by races using the amentum or throw stick, or else the
two methods were used side by side as among the ^geans, who
used both the loop and the bow.
In the blow tube we have, however, a very simple adoption
of the power of elasticity. Into a long straight tube is inserted
a small light dart, one end of which is made into a cone of pith
or a ball of cotton, so that it fills up the hollow of the tube.
The tube is raised to the mouth, and a sharp " puff " from
trained lungs will propel the light dart with considerable accuracy
for a not insignificant distance. The principle is known to every
child and boy in the shape of the pop gun and peashooter. " Elas-
ticity of compressed air is converted into rectihnear motion,"
(2), and if the dart is sufficiently sharp, and is coated with a
deadly poison, the blow tube in the hands of a savage is an
effectual if a barbarous weapon.
As far as we know there is no classical authority for the use
of the blow tube among ancient races, barbarous or civilized, and
as f£ir as prehistoric races go, we are, and must expect to
remain quite in the dark, although some of the minute flint
points, "pigmy flints" as they have been termed, might well
have been used to tip darts for blow tubes. What we have to
deal with, is the existence of two considerable areas, in which the
blow tube is in use, and the remarkable fact that although these
tracts are separated by the entire width of the Pacific ocean, there
I. — See Journal of the Anthropological Institute (N.S. ) Vol. ii., p. 304,
and plate xxxiv. Also Hamilton, "Maori Art," Plate xxx.
2. — O. T. Mcison " Origins of Invention," p. ^yy.
240 MISSILE THROWERS.
exists in the blow tube types such remarkable affinities in con-
struction as to suggest a community of origin. These two areas
are as follows : —
1. Further Asia: from Ceylon, the Bay of Bengal, the Malay
Peninsula and Archipelago, going as far East as New Guinea
and North Japan.
2. South America, chiefly developed in the Northern States,
including Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, and Guiana.
It will be seen that the first group is composed chiefly of
Mongfoloid and Malayan races, with an admixture of Negrito
(New Guinea and Malay Peninsula,) and Dravidian (Ceylon)
elements. The other group embraces the middle region of the
American Mongoloids, and the centre of each group is approxi-
mately equatorial.
By grouping all the types which occur in both areas, accord-
to the principle of construction, we find the more elaborated
models exactly repeated in each area, and the student must be left
to draw his own conclusions as to whether these constructive types
are such as would be likely to be developed or invented separately.
The types of the blow tube are
(a) A simple wooden "barrel" carefully bored. This occurs in
Borneo.
(b) The barrel is made in two halves, each containing a groove,
so that when placed together a tube or barrel is formed.
This type is found both in the Malay Peninsula and in South
America, where it is called " Zarabatana."
(c) The barrel is double, being made by inserting one hollow
reed or cane into another. This type is called "Pucuna"
in South America, and it is found among the Negrito
" aborigines" of the Malay Peninsula.
(d) A type in which there are more than one tube, like the old
multi-barrel guns.
(a) The blow pipe used by the Dyaks of Borneo called the
" Sumpitan " (i) is a plain barrel of wood about 6 to 8 feet long,
beautifully and accurately bored. The butt end is cased with
brass or copper, which forms a mouth-piece, and the weight of
which acts as a poise in raising the barrel for " shooting." The
bore is under half an inch, and at the muzzle end is attached a
broad iron blade fastened to one side to allow clear egress for the
dart, exactly as the modern bayonet. The Dyak after using up his
darts can bring his sumpitan into action as a spear (2). (Fig. 239).
— - -JIIH-IIIITTII
I. — Or "Sampit" by old travellers. Query if from being made at
Sampit in Borneo.
2. — The Sampits of Borneo are described by Beeckman in 1714 as
"hollow trunks with bayonets fixed in the ends of them. Pigafetta whose
travels began 1519, also describes the weapon in the Philippines as armed
with a lance blade. He uses the European name " Sarbacanes."
THE BLOW PIPE.
241
(b) This type is used in the Malay Peninsula among the jungle
tribes dwelling in the borders of Pahang and Kemaman, and also
among the " Benua" of East Johor. The type is, however, rare.
A blow pipe of this sort has been described by Mr. W. W. Skeat
(i), which is 5 feet 2 inches long, made of two halves of a cylinder
of hard wood (probably penaga), split down the centre, and
grooved on the inner side throughout the entire length, so that
when fitted together a perfect tube is formed. This tube is
bound from end to end with a long strip of cane (?) and over the
whole is an incrustation of a gutta percha-like substance to keep
it together. The diameter of the tube at the mouthpiece is a
little wider than at the muzzle, forming a slight " choke," and
imitating, it is suggested, a natural tube of bamboo, which would
330.
be blown from the root end. (Figs. 330, 331). A Johor
example has been described by Vaughan Stevens, about 9
inches longer, and the tube protected by a bamboo casing.
This weapon is practically identical
with the heavy Zarabatana used in South
America, both among the Peruvians and
the Mainas, and Indians South of Guiana.
A Peruvian specimen from the Huallaya
river is described as made of " two halves
of a palm stem carefully grooved and fitted
together and bound round with cipo, which
is covered besides with a layer of black "^•<*siteu»»''*^<^^(
wax . . . fitted with a short bone mouth- •
piece" (2). The American examples are also fitted with a large
trumpetlike mouthpiece. Wood describes an example in his
possession as 7 feet long and weighing 3 lbs. 12 oz. (3).
(c) The blowpipe of the Mantras of the Malay Peninsula who
are negritos, was called " tomerang," and was made of two tubes,
one within the other. The inner one was made either of a single
intemode of Bambusa longinodis or a similar species, or of two
suitable internodes spiced together. The outer tube was orna-
mented with figures. In shooting, the arrow was inserted into
1. — "Man," 1902 No. 108.
2. — "Man" 1902 No. 108. O. Mason "Origins of Invention" 208.
3. — Wood "Nat. Hist." 585. Knight however quotes 12 feet for the
length of the guiana zarabatana, p. 294.
242 MISSILE THROWERS.
the bore of the inner tube at the mouthpiece, a small piece of
wad placed behind it, and with a strong puff of the breath, the
arrow was discharged some 50 or 60 yards. A blow pipe of this
description from Singapore was in the old India Museum.
The Pucuna of the Guiana tribes is thinner and lighter,
but longer than the Zarabatana, since an eleven foot specimen
weighs only i^ lbs. It is formed of two reeds, one placed within
the other. The inner is a section from the first joint of the
Ourah or arundinaria Schomburgkii, which grows in the upper
Orinoco region. This reed is slender and delicate, and is conse-
quently inserted into an outer tube formed of palm called Sam-
ourah, the pulp or pith of which has been removed. Waxy
compound fills up the insterstices between the two reeds, and
the weapon is completed by a sight made of a seed or a fish
tooth, and a backsight of two inscisor teeth of the Acouri (i).
The Uaupes of the Amazon use a weapon of similar con-
struction made from two stems of the palm of the Samourah
or Ireartia setigcra (2).
(d) A multi-barrel type is said to be in use among the Attacapas
and Chetimashas of the Southern States, made of several reeds
lashed together. The object is evidently to save the time lost
in reloading, exactly as the double barrel gun superseded the
single barrel. It was no doubt the increase of weight in an
already clumsy weapon that prevented the pattern from being
generally adopted.
In South America the blow-pipe is used in Brazil, among the
Uaupes, who live on a tributary of the Rio Negro, and by the
Catauixis of the Purus river, and by the Cauxiana Indians.
In Peru by the Cholones of the Huallaya river, and by the Mayor-
unas or Barbados (said to be of Spanish descent) who live between
the Maranon, Ucayali, and Yavari rivers ; while the Zaparos, also
blow-pipe users, live on the borders between Ecuador and Peru.
It is the common weapon of the Yameos of Ecuador, and is
found among the Dariens of Panama (3). When Waterton was
travelling in South America, the Macoushi Indians of Guiana
were the great makers of wourali poison, and experts with the
blow-pipe. It is unnecessary to specify the various places in
the Pacific and further East, where this weapon is known to be
used, or to have been used.
There are many examples now in our National Museum, from
Perak in the Malay Peninsula. Egerton says that the blow-pipe
is still in use in Bali, an island next to Java, but in 1639, in the
war with Bali, the Javanese historian mentions this use as
extrfiordinary, so long had it been discontinued in the more
I. — Wood ii., 583. "Man," 1902, 123. Waterton "Wanderings in
South America."
2. — Wallace "Amazon" 214-215. See also p. 181 of Fountain's
" Mountains and Forests of South America."
3. — Lane Fox. "Catalogue," 49-1^0.
THE BLOW PIPE. 243
civilized islands. Yet in 1812 the Javanese themselves used
stones and slings in an attack on the Sultan's palace (i).
The arrows or darts used in the blow-tube are essentially
similar wherever that weapon is in use. All are poisonous,
most have detachable heads, and the butt end of the arrow is
fitted with a cone or ball to fill the bore of the tube. The arrows
of Guiana are 9 to 10 inches long, made of Coucourite palm leaf
rib, the sharp end poisoned for i inch, while the other end is
covered with a very carefully rolled pear-shaped pad of wild
cotton, made just the size of the tube and tied with silk grass.
Before being placed in the Zarabatana the Indian half severs the
point by means of two teeth of the pirai fish (2). The Yameos
near Quito in Ecuador used arrows fitted with balls of cotton when
de la Condamine travelled in 1743 (3), and he tells us, what we
know to be still true, viz. that the flesh of animals killed by these
poisoned darts is quite wholesome, and that the dart points were
often found in the food they were eating, even sticking in their
teeth, though the venom used was extremely virulent when
absorbed directly into the blood. Instead of cotton, however,
the end of the dart is frequently made to fit by a conical roll of
bark, or a cone, hollow or solid, of pith or soft wood. A South
American tj^e has a cone of bark, and also two feathers set
spirally above it. Pith or soft wood is used in Borneo and the
bay of Bengal, the darts of the former place being of sago pahn
thorn, and 7 to 8 inches in length.
The blowpipe is, we believe, at present always used for killing
birds or small monkeys, and the Macoushi Indian, who has
also the bow and arrow, generally uses the blow pipe for these
purposes. Waterton describes the shooting as of great accuracy ;
and the wourali poison with which the point is covered, first
stupifies and then kills the bird. The accuracy of the weapon
depends, like that of a rifle, on the absolute straightness of the
barrel, which consequently is never allowed to lean, but is always
suspended to the roof, and when carried, it is held upright, Uke a
rifle shouldered.
Where writers differ so widely, it is difficult to say the range
of this weapon. Mr. Fountain, one of the latest observers, says
that South Americans are tolerably certain at small game up to
140 yards, but probably generally shooting takes place at half
that range. It is therefore a formidable weapon, though from
its length it is probably much easier to aim at an object directly
overhead, than at one on the same level as the shooter.
I. — Egertons " Indian Arms " 98.
2. — Waterton's " Wanderings of a Naturalist." Ed. by Rev. J. G.
Wood, 1880.
3. — De la Condamine " Travels in the Interior of South America,"
Pinkerton xiv. 225. Mr. Fountain says the darts are so thin that half
a dozen bound together are only the thickness of the stem of a clay
tobacco pipe.
244
MISSILE THROWERS.
The methods of holding the different sorts of blow-pipes
are interesting. The light south American variety is held by
both hands close to the mouth, the left hand being about 8
inches from the mouthpiece, with the palm upwards, the left
elbow supported against the hip, and the right hand between the
left hand and the mouthpiece palm downwards. The blow-pipe
is raised by bending the body backwards, and the aim is also
regulated by bending or moving the body, and not by shifting
the weapon itself. Wood learned the method of manipulation
from Waterton, and he says that " it is astonishing to see how
steady it can be held for a lengthened time." Mr. Fountain's
account is similar.
Possibly this method may be found satisfactory with the
very light pucuna, but the much greater weight of the " Zara-
batana " makes a different
method of support necessary,
as is shewn in Fig. 332,
sketched from a picture in
Woods " Natural History of Man." Here
we see the Indian with the right arm
extended nearly straight, while the left
hand helps to support at an intermediate
point, just above the mouth piece. The
position is indeed very similar to that of
the modern sportsman with his fowling
piece, only that the position of the hands
are reversed, and the gun is held to the
shoulder, whereas the blowpipe necessarily
rests on the mouth.
Though at the present day aU guns
and rifles are held to the right shoulder
and chiefly supported by the left hand, we
are not sure that this was always the case.
The arblast or military crossbow is so often
represented in contemporary illustrations
against the left shoulder, with the right arm extended, that the
manner of holding was perhaps optional. In the same way, the
hackbuss and hand cannon in pictures dating from the 14th to
the i6th centuries are often represented as held against the left
shoulder, supported by the right hand, and ignited by the match
or fuse in the left. Fig. 333 taken from Demmin shews the
position. In many firearms of early date there was no trigger,
THE BLOW PIPE.
245
(though there was in
the crossbow), and
unless these repre-
sentations are due to
careless draughtsman-
ship, the right arm,
which is naturally the
best support, was so
used. The modem gun
and rifle are compara-
tively light, and can
be brought from the
"ready" position to
the " present," and the
left arm being strong
enough for support, the
right hand and eye are
•'o35. used to press the trigger
and determine the aim. (Fig.
334). It would be interesting
to know if the inventors of
early guns had ever seen the
blow-pipe in use. Omitting
the actual agency of propul-
sion, there is a close connec-
tion between the rifle and
Zarabatana, and a still closer
one between the latter and
the air gun.
The name Zarabatana
must have been a Spanish
introduction, if its derivation
from Carpi-canna (the reed of
Carpi) be accepted. Demmin,
who gives us this derivation,
also asserts the use of the
weapon in mediaeval Europe
for Greek fire and darts (i).
Greek fire was indeed fired or blown out of tubes, but these were
of metal, and the propelling agent was surely something stronger
than the human lungs. If a blow-tube w£is used in Europe in
modem or mediaeval times, it was more probably as a fowling
apphance than anything else (2).
The use of the blow-pipe certainly evinces a considerable
I. — Demmin, 468.
2. — Burton (" Book of the Sword," p. 14), says the blowpipe is found
in three distinct areas, South Asia, Africa, and America. This is, wejselieve,
quite incorrect, and he was deceived by a misprint in the Lane Fox
"Catalogue," p. 151, line 4.
r::J!^}.
33*
246 MISSILE THROWERS.
ingenuity on the part of the races who first invented it. It is not
indeed easy to think of any force in nature, or any accidental
occurrence in primitive savage hfe, which would be very hkely to
suggest such an appHance. Tubes of cane or reed are of course
used by savages in a variety of ways, and the natural habit of
man or babe to place things in the mouth might suggest the
expulsive force of the breath, Australian fowlers will swim
imder water breathing through a reed (3), and the possession of
such a reed might lead to pea or pellet shooting. Primitive reed
or cane whistles might possibly suggest the same thing. The
very fact that it is difficult to find a plausible theory explaining
its origin, seeing that the force of compressed air appears unu-
tihzed in the animal world (4), renders more interesting the
occurrence of the same weapon in two such widely separated
areas as the South America and Malay regions.
3. — Tylor's " Anthropology," 208.
4. — The spouting of cetaceans, and pachyderms can hardly be counted.
chapter xiii.
Missile Throwers
(Continued).
The Bow and Cross Bow.
The place of the bow among weapons of attack is somewhat
peculiar. From a very remote period over an enormous area
of the globe, it took the first position as a missile thrower, some-
what in the same way as the sword did among hand weapons.
But while the latter only belonged to metal culture, the bow and
arrow were equally, or more, important among races without
knowledge of metal. Again while the sword in one form or
another was a noble arm in all the ancient civilizations, the bow
was sometimes regarded as a barbarian weapon. Nevertheless
so simple was it in manufacture, and so efficient in its action, that
it maintained its position as the principal hand missile thrower
until ousted by explosives ; and it still has a wide use in many
areas where the advance of civilization is retarded.
The bow in its primary form is a stick of wood selected for
its elastic properties, which is bent into a curve and the two ends
secured by a cord. The action of pulling a bow need not be
described, but the propulsive force is obtained by the rapid
return of the curved wood to as nearly a straight position as the
cord will allow it. In doing this the cord on which the arrow
notch lies, is twitched with great force and rapidity back into its
rectangular position between the two ends of the bow, and the
arrow is jerked into the air in a direction at right angles to it.
It is evident that the distance the arrow flies depends on many
things — the strength of the bow, the amount it is flexed, the
weight, balance, and feathering of the arrow, and the skill of the
bowman. This conversion of " pent up elasticity into rectilinear
motion " embodies the principles of the bow, crossbow, and
balista which combined have played a great part in warfare.
Where, when, and how was the bow invented or discovered ?
We are not aware that the principle is suggested anywhere in
nature directly, as it may be said those of sword, spear and noose
may have been. Nor does the bow follow as a development from
any other weapon. Of course, the use of the hand spear wherever
it existed, indicates a certain development of intellect, and that
intellect would not be slow to perceive that certain simple
mechanical contrivances would greatly increase the range of the
weapon. The wummerah was probably improved from the
amentum, but the bow was improved from nothing. It was an
248
MISSILE THROWERS.
original invention, and original inventions are very uncommon
things indeed.
The best suggestion that has been made, is that the origin
of the bow may have been in one of the forms of spring trap,
still in use in different parts of the world for killing game. Spring
traps are used
in South Asia
and Africa, both
largely bow
using regions.
Thus the Dyaks
of Borneo are
said to "lay "a
young tree, so
that being re-
leased by an
animal, it pro-
pels an arrow or
spear with great
force and trans-
fixes the animal
itself. Figures
335 and 336
shew how, by
such contriv-
ances the bow
might be in-
vented. In the
first case a strong young tree is bent nearly double and retained
in position by a strong cord passing across the track of the wild
THE BOW. 249
animal. The spear rests on its centre of gravity in the boughs of
another young tree with its butt end against the arc of the flexed
sapling. The animal trips on the cord, releases the bent tree,
which springing straight by its natural elasticity, projects the
spear in the direction in which it is laid. The next figure shews
an improved form in which the butt end of the spear was laid on
to the cord, instead of the arc of the bow. Here the hunter
stood by the trap hidden by foliage or jungle, and he bent the
bow and discharged the spear, exactly as was done with the
true long bow, from which indeed it only differed in being fixed,
instead of being a loose and portable weapon. Such a spring trap
being once invented, the long bow followed as a natural result.
Real bows and arrows are also set as traps in Siberia, Borneo and
other parts of the world. The question if the bow was originated
in many different areas quite independently, or if it can be traced
to 3 or 4 centres from which it has spread, has never been, and
most probably never will be settled. It was certainly used in
widely separated regions in the most remote ages. Nevertheless
if we accept the above mentioned theory of origin, it follows that
its use was originally confined to temperate and perhaps especially
to tropical regions where elastic and springy woods abounded,
which renders more interesting the extensive adoption of the
composite or built-up bow in arid and frigid regions where springy
wood was practically unobtainable.
With regard to the use of the bow and arrow in antiquity,
the vast numbers of flint arrow heads which have been found, are
sufficient to prove that the weapon was known in neolithic times,
although, we believe, arrow heads have not yet been recognised in
the older stone age deposits. In the Bible, the bow is mentioned
from the earliest times, and the monuments of Egypt and Assyria
shew that the weapon was thoroughly established in both empires.
The Scythians and Parthians in Asia both were noted for their
skill in archery, and in Europe the inhabitants of Crete and
Thrace. In the Homeric period, however, the bow is only a
weapon of secondary importance, though we shall have again to
refer to the bows of Ulysses himself and Pandarus the Lycian.
The Hittites were bow users like most Asiatics, but among the
Roman troops the bow was generally left to auxiliary forces,
particularly to those composed of bow-using races such as the
Cretans. The plain bow of Western Europe was not of great
importance, but introduced to England by the Normans in the
nth century, it became the weapon par excellence of this country
until supplanted partly by the arblast, or cross bow, and partly
by the use of firearms in the days of Elizabeth. The long bow
was indeed the national weapon of England long after the
crossbow was the favourite weapon of the continental bowman,
a striking example of British sluggishness in adopting any
improvement. These bows were long self bows of yew, and
strange as it may appear, were by no means always English
250 MISSILE THROWERS.
grown, being imported in large quantities from Venice (i).
Although the bow's place among the Franks and Saxons was
not important, it was one of the most valued weapons of the
Viking, whose early settlements in Russia brought them into
contact with bow-using Asiatics of all grades of civiUzation, up
to the skilled archers and slingers of the Byzantine empire.
The bow is indeed, as we shall see, the oldest arm of Asia, where
its more elaborated forms indeed were invented, and it is interest-
ing to observe how late its use was retained. In the middle
of the i6th century Chancellor found the Emperor of Russia's
troops all of cavalry, and armed with bows " like the Turks,"
which probably means the composite, not the cross-bow (2). In
1814 the Cossacks at Paris were armed with bows and arrows,
while in the Chinese army there were both bowmen and cross-
bowmen in the late war, and probably are still. Our own island
has not indeed emerged very long from the bow and arrow stage
of culture, since the Highlanders carried this arm till the middle
of the 17th century.
The bow may be considered either by type or geographically,
though since it is found to exist, or to have existed nearly every-
where, (with one or two remarkable exceptions), it is very
difficult to trace any channel or order by which the invention
might be communicated. As far, however, as types go, the bow
may be divided into two main groups, the self -bow, and the
composite or built up bow, the last-named of which has been
made the subject of some careful and suggestive research. The'
plain or self bow, however, is itself found in several variations,
which may be enumerated as follows : —
The Plain or Self Bow.
1. The long bow,
2. The short bow,
3. The bow with irregular curve.
4. The bow with a double curve.
5. The double-staved bow.
6. The angular bow.
The plain bow or arcus made in a single bend is found either
in its long or short form in the following regions : — In North
America in the South and East parts, and in South America in
33?:
the North and extreme South (Fig. 337). It is found throughout
Africa with the exception of certain defined areas, and it was the
weapon of Western Europe in mediaeval times.
I. — In 1472 an act was passed that 4 bow staves should be imported
with every ton of Venetian merchandise, and by an act 12, Ed. Ill, 10 bow
staves with every " butte of Malvesey and Tyre."
2. — Pinkerton's Voyages i., 18, n.
THE BOW. 251
In Asia, Australasia, and Polynesia, we find, however, a very
intricate mixture of bow using and bowless races, and of races
using the plain and composite bow. The self bow is found in
India and the Malay Peninsula, the Andaman Islands, and various
parts of further India. New Zealand had no bow, nor except
where it had been imported in the extreme North, had Australia,
its place being supplied by the throwing stick and boomerang.
Lane Fox has pointed out that the use of the bow in these regions
does not correspond with the distribution of races. It is not used
by the New Caledonians who are Papuans, and the same race as
the New Guinea natives, who do use it. Neither do the Tas-
manians, who are Papuan, nor Maories who are mixed Papuan and
Polynesian. The same writer points out that the name " Fana,"
" Pena " or cognate forms occur in the Malay regions and Pacific, a
fact which may point to a single source for the weapon, and that
a well defined line can be drawn from south of Java just below the
Torres Straits, and eastward early along the line of the Tropic of
Capricorn. Further North the self bow was used in Japan, though
in China the composite and crossbow was more general.
The absence of the bow in any form is a very curious fact>
and by no means easy of explanation. It is, of course, known
that certain races in historic times used the throwing spear in
preference, and a conservatism of this sort may account for its
absence in certain parts of Africa and South America. In
Australia, however, the case is different, for it appears that the
bow is only used by the natives round Cape York, and the Prince
of Wales' Islands, who are occasionally in contact with the
Malayan races ; and that even in this area, they only carry these
weapons for shew, and always fall back on the spear for the
piurpose of obtaining meat. The bow was never invented in
Australia, and the knowledge of it in the North may have arrived
too late for it to spread. But the fact that an enormous area
like Australia can have existed bowless, gives some probability
to the idea that the weapon was originated in only a few centres,
from which the knowledge of it was distributed (i).
The plain bow was made in different degrees of length, and
the difference between the long bow and the short bow was not in
principle but in power. A short bow was the regular weapon of
the nations of antiquity, and the presumption is that it was, at
any rate often, a bow of plain wood. The Saxons and early Nor-
mans also used the short bow, perhaps because like the Greeks and
Romans, the bow held with them a secondary position, and the
{)ossibilities of improving its effectiveness were unstudied. The
ong bow once discovered, the short bow was only used where
I. — See Fraser: "Aborigines of New S. Wales," 1892 (p. 74), for an
attempt to explain the absence of the bow in Australia, but without much
success. The writer also obtained through a friend private information
from Professor Baldwin Spencer and Mr. F. L. Jardine, but these authorities
did not appear to have ciny explanation which is really adequate.
252
MISSILE THROWERS.
there were special reasons. Thus it remained the weapon of
the mounted archer in early mediaeval times, since it could be
drawn conveniently on horseback, which the long bow could not.
The principle is the same as the substitution of the carbine for
the rifle among our cavalry. Among savage races the small
bow occurs where the use of poison makes the least wound of an
arrow dangerous. Thus the small bow of the Bosjesman of South
Africa, with which poisoned arrows were used, was only 2 feet
long, and its effective range was about 100 yards.
The bow with an unequal curve, or rather with a stave of
which the curve only begins about one third of the whole length
from the end, is used by the Andaman Islanders for shooting fish
338.
and other purposes (Fig. 338), and similar bows are described by
Lane Fox as occurring in Mallikolo (New Hebrides), New Ireland,
Banks Island, and Japan (i), and a similar shaped weapon
sometimes is represented in Assyrian sculptures. This bow is
held at the centre as the ordinary long bow is, with the non-curved
end downwards, and since there appears no actual advantage
gainable from such a shape it looks rather as if this bow may have
retained the shape of the spring trap formed of a bent tree (Fig.
336). The flat bow shewn in Fig. 339 is also used by the Mincopie
aborigines of the Andaman Islands. It is between four and six
feet in length, and as will be seen, widens out on either side of the
grip, instead of being of the same section throughout its length.
Since it seems doubtful if this form of bow is much, if at all,
more powerful than the ordinary sort, it may be that it could be
conveniently used as a parrying stick to ward off enemies missiles,
like the narrow " towerang " or parrying shield of Australia. This
shape of bow is, apparently unknown elsewhere.
The bow with a double curve, that is to say curving in towards
the central part (Fig. 340), instead of with one equal bend, was
used in Egypt, being shewn on the monuments ; and was pre-
sumably a self bow of wood, Hke those which have been discovered.
Nevertheless, the shape probably originated from the bow which
I. — "Catalogue" p. 41.
THE BOW.
253
was composed of one or more animal horns joined or spliced
together the double curve resulting from the individual curve in
each horn. This is the first sort of composite bow, and is the
two-arched bow shewn
in sculptures to have
been used by the
Scythians, Parthians,
Dacians, etc. (Fig.
341). The bow of
Lycian Pandarus was of mountain goats horn, possibly of this
sort: and the Sioux and other Indian tribes used the same double
curved horn bow. Returning, however, to the wooden bow, we
find a curious variation in Siam, where a bow with two staves is
Hz
used (Fig. 342). These staves are united at the ends, but are
kept apart at the centre by two cross pieces, to which is attached
a handle or grip. The arrow consequently passes between the
two staves. Since the planes on which these two staves are
flexed are not parallel
to each other, flexi-
bihty as well as resi-
hence are diminished,
and it is difficult to see
what real advantage
is obtained from such a pattern of weapon.
The angular bow, in which the stave, instead of forming a
regular curve or double curve, forms simply an obtuse angle is
shewn on Assyrian monuments (Fig. 343) Egyptian paintings,
and on the celebrated Karabel bas relief, which though called
Sesostris by Herodotus, is now accepted as a Hittite monument.
It is difficult to imagine that a bow made in this shape could
have anything like the power of the single curved bow, though
no doubt a good deal depends on the particular character of the
wood used.
Another form of bow frequently depicted in Egj^tian
scenes had the stave apparently rather rigid and straight to a
point quite close to either end, where it was thinner and bent
inwards. Probably this sort of bow was easy to string, and when
drawn and released, the result would be that the stiff central
part and the thinner elastic ends would fly straight, simultaneously
and independently, exercising a sort of double force upon the
string (I).
I . — There are several sorts of bows used for other purposes than shoot-
ing axrows, and there remains the bare possibility that in some Ceises the
discovery of these may have preceded the use of the weapon, and suggested
254 MISSILE THROWERS.
The Composite Bow.
The composite bow is the result of an attempt to reproduce in
several materials, the plain arcus, which was made from one stave
of wood. The type has been studied by both general Pitt Rivers
and Mr. H. Balfour, in whose conclusions there is no material
difference (2), and of these conclusions a brief resumd is all that
we require here. The first sort of composite bow, however,
appears to have been the double curved bow, made from two
horns united by a sort of bridge of glue and sinew in the centre.
which so often appears in classic art (3), and although this form
was no doubt invented where wood for bows was scarce, it must
have been a weak form of weapon, and quite inferior to the
composite sinew backed bows in use among modem or recent
races. (Fig. 341).
Probably the earliest references to horn, or wood and horn
bows, are those found in Homer. That of Pandarus was actually
made of two horns of the mountain goat fitted together, while the
bow of Eurytus used by Odysseus was of wood and horn, and of
it. This might be the case with the bow and drill used by many savages
for firemaking. The musical bow on the other hand was probably invented
by bow-using races observing the vibrating twang of the tense bow string
Ixith when released, and on other occasions when tapped or gently touched.
This contrivance is used by various races, and is, we suspect, the prototype
of all string instruments. It is used either with a special resonator made of a
gourd or calabash, or without one. In the latter case one end of the bow
is placed between the teeth, the hollow of the mouth acting as resonator,
and the chord is struck or tapped with a small stick. The ordinary bow
can be converted into a musical bow by adding a bracing string round the
arc, and its chord near the centre. Different notes are got by altering the
position of the mouth. Musical bows are used by the Kafifirs, and in other
parts of South Africa with resonators (see Fig. 344), and although the
Kaffirs do not use the weapon at present, it is said that they did do so in the
i6th century. Without resonators they have been noticed in India, Africa
(South), Mexico, and the Solomon Islands. The musical bow has been
made the subject of a book by Mr. H. Balfour, and there is an instructive
series in the Pitt Rivers Collection at Oxford.
Another bow which is apparently not used for discharging a missile is
the Lezam or chain weapon of the Sepoys, which is made of bamboo with a
chain instead of a string. It appears only to have been used for exercising
the muscles and in competitions of strength.
2. — Lane Fox "Catalogue," 47 et seq : and "On the Structure and
Affinities of the Composite Bow" by Hen. Balfour, Journ. Anthrop. Inst.,
Nov. 3rd., 1899.
3. — The Java bow is made of two arms, each a piece of black buffala
horn joined at the centre by a strong wooden handle. It has, however, a
reflex curve when unstrung.
THE BOW. 255
such power that it may perhaps be inferred that these composite
bows were sinew backed, hke the modem Asiatic and Eskimo
bows. A bow made of horn only would lack both elasticity and
strength.
We may divide the composite bow into these classes : —
I. — The bow with " free " sinew backing.
2. — The bow with close sinew backing.
3. — The strongly reflex Asiatic bow called Tartar, Scythian,
etc.
All these bows unstrung have a reflex curve (i.e., a curve
reversed from that of the bow when strung), owing to the tension
of the sinew backing ; some of the Asiatic bows having the points
actually touching.
It is supposed that the composite bow was invented in the
more northern regions of central Asia, where suitable materials
for " self " bows did not exist, and in consequence a combination
of materials was adopted. Nevertheless the simplest form of the
composite bow does not now exist in Asia itself, and we have to
turn to North America, where we find both among the Indians
and Eskimo, a considerable variety of these bows, the fashion
having, it is believed, been brought from N.E. Asia by way of
the Behring straits and Alaska.
The bow
with free back-
ing in its simp-
lest form is
made of a piece
of drift wood,
bone or horn, or of several pieces spliced together, backed
by a cord of twisted animal sinew wound tightly from nock
to nock along the outer side of the bow. The sinew may
be therefore said to be laced on, and is gathered together
and fastened to the stave by cross binding at intervals, or
sometimes spirsJly bound into a tight rope. This bow is in use
among the Eastern Eskimo of N. America (Fig. 345) and has a
gentle reflex curve when unstrung. An improved form of the
free backed bow has the laced sinew tightly bound throughout
a great proportion of its length to the bow stave itself, and
becomes more completely part of it.
Both sorts of free sinew backed bows are sometimes made
with the points bent backwards at an obtuse angle from the
main part of the stave, giving the bow when unstrung a very
peculiar shape, which is known as the "Tartar" bow (Fig.
346). The bend of these reflex "ears" is much less noticeable
256 MISSILE THROWERS.
when the bow is strung than when it is unstrung. The intention
of them is of course to add to the power, without increasing
the weight of the stave. This form is found in Western North
America, up to the Hudson straits.
A slight variation from the free sinew backed bow is the
Otaheite bow, which, however, is a long " self " bow, along the
back of which is a strong cord stretched in a grove. This cord
strengthens the bow itself in the same way as the sinew backed
bow.
The next stage in the composite bow may be called the
" close " sinew backed bow, in which the sinew of the neck or
back of some animal is laid on the bow in a moist condition, and
moulded into a compact mass, so as to become practically part
of the bow stave. The bow of the Blackfoot Indians is of ash,
finished in this way, and the type is found elsewhere. These
bows have a strong reflex curve when unstrung, and are much
used by horse riding tribes.
Turning now to Asia, which is supposed to be the original
home of the composite bow, we find that it is or has been in use
in Persia, India, China, Siberia, Turkey, and among the Arabs.
The chief characteristic of the Indian and Persian bows is the
extraordinary reflex curve which they assume when unstrung.
This curve is so great that the points sometimes cross each other
or nearly touch, and in Persian examples the whole is covered
with a fine lacquer which is often highly decorated, and which
does not crack in bending. It may be noted that this covering
over the composite bow may be traced through different stages.
In Siberia it is a slightly ornamented bark covering lying over
the sinew backing. These coverings though
in origin protective from the effects of damp
and weather, became in the high art cultures
of India and Persia, a medium on which to
apply artistic finish. (Fig. 347). The
Chinese and Manchu Tartars use a bow
which is more or less composite in structure,
and has the ears or elbows shewn in the Eskimo example (Fig.
346), which have given the name of the "Tartar" or "Tatar"
bow. These bows are sometimes six feet long, with a strength of
from 60 to 90 lbs. The ancient Scythian bow has been thought
to be of this type, and it was from the Scythians that the ancient
Persians learned the use of the bow.
It is said that it is almost impossible for an European to
string either the reflex Indian bow or the Tartar bow. Probably
however, it is done more by knack than by actual strength.
Some of the Indian "and Persian bows on being dissected
shew a remarkably intricate combination of wood, glue, sinew, and
horn, and such "a fabric must have resulted from prolonged
experiment and experience. They are, however, only believed
to be types improved from the simple sinew backed bow.
THE BOW. 257
As we have said, it has been thought that the composite
bow was originated by a bow-using race, who, finding itself in
an area where suitable elastic wood did not exist, adopted this
elaborate makeshift. Further that the area is thought to have
been in the Northern parts of Central Asia, whence the composite
bow was communicated in a variety of directions, reaching in
some cases bowless races, and in others supplanting the older
" self " bow. Thus, it seems to have been adopted by the
Eskimo, who before had perhaps only the throwing stick, while
in China and India it took the place of the earUer type of bow.
Whether the American composite bow really crept round thus
by the Behring straits, or was independently invented, it is not
possible to decide with any certainty.
There is a certain variation in the way the bow was held in
discharging the projectile. The general rule was that it was
held perpendicularly, the left arm holding the bow itself, and
extended straight to the front as a stay, while the right arm was
used as flexor. Occasionally, however, the bow was held hori-
zontally, as among the Bosjesmans of South Africa, the Siamese
when using poisoned arrows, the Temiangs of Sumatra, some of
the Eskimo, and among the Lapps, (who have now discarded its
use). This method is exceedingly clumsy, inasmuch as it is
not easy to bring the arrow on a level with the eye, and where it
is found, it probably indicates that the races so using the bow, do
not depend very greatly on it, or were without the weapon until
comparatively recent times. There were also variations in the
way the string was drawn. The Assyrians are shewn on the
monuments, drawing to the right shoulder ; the Egyptians and
Saxons drew to the ear, and the Greeks only to the breast.
Modem bow-users no doubt use different methods, as they do
also in the way they hold the fingers on the string and arrow
end, to which subject we shall revert.
Sometimes the bow is not held in the left hand at all. The
Scythians according to Plato were ambidextrous with the bow.
The Veddahs or aboriginal inhabitants of Ceylon are said to
grasp the stave with the right hand, and draw with the left.
Much more remarkable than this, however, is the custom of
lying on the back holding the bow stave with one or both feet, and
drawing the string with one or both hands. Xenophon tells us
that the Carduchi (Kurds) drew the bow by the aid of the left
foot, and Arrian tells us the Indian archers did the same.
The Cabaclos of Brazil (i), and the Indians of Gran Chako use
both feet. A friend tells us that in Parana, Brazil, there is
a big bow so used. The archer lies on his back, puts both feet
against the bow and draws with both hands. The Lapps according
to Lane Fox did the same, and it is said that the same custom has
been noted amongst Chinese, ancient Ethiopians and Arabians (2).
I. — Fletcher and Kidder " Brazil," p. 558.
2. — Mosely " Essay on Archery," 1792.
258 MISSILE THROWERS.
There are several ways of holding the bow, apart from the
great difference between the horizontal and perpendicular
position of the bow itself : and the position of the fingers on the
bow string where they hold the notch end of the arrow is pecu-
liarly varied. Of this subject, i.e., the " Ancient and Modern
methods of arrow release," Mr. Edward S. Morse has made an
interesting investigation (i),in which he describes five principal
methods, which he terms " primary," " secondary," " tertian,"
the " Mediterranean " and the " Mongolian " releases. The
position of the fingers, and the ancient and modern races using
the methods may be thus grouped.
I — Primary release. Arrow grasped between straightened
thumb and first and second joints of fore finger.
Ancient — Assyria (early), Egypt, Greece.
Modern — Ainu, Demerara S. America, Navajo N. America,
Chippewa North America, Micmac Indians Canada, Penobscot
Indians, Ute N. America ?
2. — Secondary release. Arrow grasped between straight
thumb and bent forefinger, aided by second, and sometimes
third finger.
Ancient —Assyriai (later) India (?)
Modern — Ottawa N. America, ZOni N. America, Chippewa
N. America.
3.— Tertiary release is similar, but forefinger is nearly
straight.
Ancient — Egypt, Greece, ancient Mexico.
Modern — Omaha and a number of N. America Indian tribes,
Andaman Isles and Siam.
4. — Mediterranean Release. — First three fingers round
the string, and arrow between first and second fingers.
Ancient — Assyria (later), Egypt (early), Arabians, India,
Rome. All European nations mediaeval and modern.
Modern — Eskimo and Andaman Islands.
5. — Mongolian release, which is quite different to all
described. String is drawn by the thumb bent over it, and the
end of the forefinger assists in holding the thumb in position.
The end of the arrow consequently lies at the junction of finger
and thumb, and to protect the latter it is necessary to wear a ring.
This way is almost peculiarly Asiatic, being used by ancient
Chinese, in Scythia, Persia, and modern China, Korea, Japan,
Turkey and Persia. Probably also in ancient Egypt and Greece.
It should, however, be observed that most ancient reliefs
and wall paintings representing bowmen are more or less
indefinite as to the position of the fingers upon the bowstring.
The position of the arrow shaft in relation to the bow stave
depends to some degree on the method of release used. In the
I. — "Bulletin of the Essex Institute," vol. xvii, Oct.-Dec, 1885, 56 pp.
THE BOW. 259
Mediterranean release, it always lies to the left, in the Mongolian
release to the right side of the bow stave. In Sumatra the arrow
passes through a hole in the bow itself.
The old English archer grasped the bow tightly by the
middle. The Japanese grasps it very Hghtly considerably
below the middle, and it is consequently from this point that
the arrow is discharged. It is suggested that this system in
holding the bow arose from the Japanese archers being used in
old times, to shoot in a kneeling position from behind large
wooden shields.
With regard to the range and accuracy of the bow as a
weapon, the most ridiculous statements have been made in
print, both by scientific or unscientific writers, and novelists.
No doubt many of these wild statements have arisen from a
confusion between the extreme range, fighting range, and mark
shooting range. Moreover there is the natural proneness of the
mediaeval writer to be discounted, as well as that of the mediaeval
archer, who drew the long bow in more ways than one. It seems,
however, that the long bow was habitually used in action at a
range of 160 to 220 yards, that its extreme effective range was
about 240 yards, and that 280 to 290 yards was the range of a
flight arrow. Lane Fox quotes Sir John Smythe's opinion that
440 yards is the extreme range, (i) but Sir Ralph Pajme-Gallwey
doubts if even 390 yards was ever attained by an Enghsh long-
bowman, unless with the aid of a strong wind or from an eleva-
tion (2). It may be mentioned here for the sake of comparison
that the field crossbow shot about 380 yards, and the siege cross-
bow up to 450 yards ; but the above ranges are those of the
English longbow, which was a spliced bow of two woods in many
cases, which the conservative English adhered to in the 14th and
15th centuries, when the rest of Europe was using the crossbow.
It has been said that the composite bow was inferior to the
plain bow, (3) but before this can be asserted positively much
more evidence is needed. Sir R. Payne-Gallwey has printed
some remarkable i8th century correspondence on the subject of
range or flight shooting by Turkish bowmen in 1795, and also the
record shots of Turkish experts in the At meidan at Stamboul,
which are inscribed on some marble columns there, and the
translation of which was obtained in 1797 for Sir Joseph Banks
(4). By these it appears that a range of 625 yards at least was
achieved, and of course a very light flight arrow, which would be
quite valueless for fighting, was used. The bow was presumably
the Turkish composite bow.
I. — "Catalogue" p. 46.
2. — "The Cross-bow." p. 23,
3. — General Pitt Rivers " Joum. Anthrop. Inst.," in discussion on Mr.
Balfour's paper cited above.
4. — " The Cross bow," p. 27-29.
26o MISSILE THROWERS.
On the range of the bow among modem savages Uttle seems
to be known, except that it is never very great. The extreme
range of the Eskimo sinew Uned bow is beUeved to be well under
200 yards, but he probably never makes any effective shooting
with it over 20 or 30 yards. It is perhaps doubtful if any savage
could shoot an arrow more than 300 yards (i).
The Crossbow.
The crossbow is simply the ordinary bow fixed horizontally
to a stock or handle. In using it, the bow is flexed, and the cord
drawn back over a catch, where it is held, until mechanically
released. The arrow is laid on the stock or handle, and conse-
quently the bow is always used in a horizontal position. It does
not appear that a handled perpendicular bow was ever intro-
duced, although it is difficult to see why not. No doubt the bow
itself would interfere somewhat with aiming, and if it has ever
been tried, it may have been discarded for this or other mechanical
reasons. The crossbow is, or has been used in China, Japan, and
further India, among one or two African races, all through Europe
in the middle ages, and possibly by the Romans. Although the
mediaeval weapon was in the detail of construction, scarcely less
elaborate than a modern rifle, some of the cross-bows of the East
are so simple, that it is not easy to say if the mediaeval arbahst
is an elaborated representative from such simple types, or if the
latter are rude imitations of the Mediaeval weapons. Races for
example which draw the ordinary bow lying prone on their back,
with their feet against the bow, are already acquainted with the
principle of the shafted bow, since in shooting, the human body
forms the shaft or stock.
• Who therefore first used the crossbow it is now impossible
to say. The Greek Gastrafites was a crossbow, and it is said that
it is clearly represented on Roman bas reUefs in the museum
of Puy in France. There is also the passage in Vegetius (2).
" Erant tragularii, qui ad manuballistas, vel arcuhallistas
dirigebunt sagittas . ' '
But looking at the very loose way in which, from time
immemorial, the different names of the siege engines have been
applied, we cannot feel quite convinced that the hand baUista
was always a cross bow. Irrespective, however, of all other
I. — Sir. R. Payne Gallwey suggests that, although it is difficult to
ascertain by actual experiment, it is probable that the arrow leaves the
bow string and commences its flight before the latter returns to its rectilinear
position of rest. He draws this conclusion from having observed that
the stone thrown by a catapult leaves the " hand " before the arm or limb
becomes upright against the check beam. The reason is that the arm de-
creases in rapidity in its upward sweep, and there is an intermediate point
when the arm fails to keep pace with the projected stone. Theoretically
this would apply to the bow string, but in fact the whole action must be
nearly instantaneous.
2. — Book ii., 15 ; see also Smith's Diet. Antiq., Vol. ii.. p. 856.
THE CROSSBOW. 261
evidence, the fact that the Roman siege engine called ballista
or balista, was practically a big crossbow on wheels, leaves no
doubt that they knew the hand cross bow, even if they did not
use it very much.
There is here a peculiar gap in the history of the civilized
crossbow, which is difficult to bridge. Tylor however, says it
was known in Roman Europe about the 6th century (i), and
Demmin figures a crossbow from an nth centurj' Anglo-Saxon
MS. (2), and although not shewn on the Bayeux tapestry, it is
mentioned by Guy of Amiens, and contemporary writers, as
used at Senlac. Anna Comnema (1083-1148) mentions the
" 'tzagra' a bow we are not acquainted with," as used by the
Crusaders, but since it is now commonly held that the cross bow
was imported to Europe from the East, it seems difficult to
believe that the Byzantines were unacquainted with it, while the
Crusaders used it (3). Possibly it was the knowledge of the com-
posite bow which was learned from Arabs or Persians, and then
adopted to the crossbow.
The history of the crossbow in England has been worked out
by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey in a monumental work (4). It
appears that from the Conquest, the weapons were the short
bow and the primitive cross bow, that is to say, the cross bow
drawn by hand, or, at any rate without lever or windlass. Both
of these (the short bow and primitive cross-bow) , gave wa}' to the
powerful long bow about 1270-1280, and about 100 years later
the long bow in its turn began to give way to the powerful cross-
bow drawn by the aid of a windlass. We are talking now of
course of its use as a fighting arm ; as a sporting weapon it
sur\'ived to 1630 or so, in England. From 1200 to 1460 it was
the favourite weapon in the continent, during a considerable part
of which period the long bow was the weapon of England.
In 1346 the English at Crecy had the long bow, while the
Genoese who used cross-bows, found them put out of use by the
rain. This shews that they used the composite cross bow, of
which the string was always carried rather slack. In consequence
the moisture could get into the strands and soften them. The
powerful steel cross bow always had the string quite tight, and
it would be impossible for the weather to affect them (5). The
crossbow with a composite bow is said to have been introduced
from the East in the 12 th century, at the time of the Crusaders,
although, as we have said, it was possibly the manufacture of the
composite bow that was introduced. The bow was made up of
1. — " Anthropology," 196.
2.— P. 473-477-
3. — Burton suggested that Tzagra might have been clerically blun-
dered from Onager a name for the catapult.
4. — " The Cross-bow," 1903.
5. — " Idem," p. 567.
262
MISSILE THROWERS.
horn or whalebone, yew, tendon and glue, the horn or whalebone
being made of about twenty thin slips glued together with a back
and front of yew, and set so that flexion had
to be edgewise, not flatwise. This bow was
short and thick, and comparatively without
bend, although mediaeval crossbows do exist
with a strong reflex curve. (See Fig. 348).
Hand guns began to supersede the crossbow
about 1460-70 on the continent. About 1520-
1535 it was universally discarded among
Europeans as a weapon of war.
The primitive " self " cross bow, was bent by manual power
only, the foot or feet being placed either on the bow itself or in a
stirrup provided at the end of the stock to resist the pull.
When the composite bow and light steel bow were introduced, a
variety of systems was adopted, the object being to enable the
arbalester to carry and use a much stronger bow than one which
could be bent by hand only. These contrivances may be
enumerated as follows : —
I. — The cord and pulley.
— ^The claw and belt.
— The screw and handle.
—The goatsfoot lever.
— The windlass.
— ^The cranequin.
— The Cord and Pulley. — This contrivance was simply a
cord from the waistbelt, passing through a pulley which was
hooked to the bow string, and the other end hitched to a hook on
the crossbow stock. The bow was bent by holding the pulley
hook in place, and simply straightening the legs and body.
2. — The Claw and Belt. — A strong double or single claw
or hook was suspended to the belt. The bow string was slipped
over this, the right foot was raised, placed in the stirrip, and by
simply straightening the leg the bow was bent.
THE CROSSBOW.
263
3. — The Screw and Handle. — This was a cumbrous and
awkward appliance, and though very slow to work, was of un-
limited power. A portion of the stock was bored, and a rod
passed through the
hole, one end being a
screw into which a cross
handle was fitted, the
other end being a hook
or claw to hold the cord.
The bow was bent by
screwing back the rod,
and before shooting it
was necessary to screw
off the handle and re-
move the rod.
4. — Goats Foot
Lever. " A Pied a
Biche A Pied de
Chevre. ' ' This was an
ingenious instrument
with hooks passed over
the bow string, by
which the latter could
bedrawn to its position,
and the bow bent by
the power of leverage.
It was used in the 14th
and 15th centuries by
cavalry, or with a
heavier bow by in-
fantry. It was not
strong enough to bend
a thick steel bow, which
was only intended to
be used either with a
windlass or cranequin.
5. — The Windlass
was carried hanging
to the waist ready for use. It was fastened on to the end of the
stock and had two claws, which were hooked into the bow string.
The bow was then placed muzzle downwards, and the string
wound back by means of the two handles of the windlass.
These full powered steel bows were of such strength that although
the distance the bow string had to be drawn back was only 5 to
6 inches, manual labour alone would only draw it about halfway.
(See Fig. 351).
6. — The Cranequin was an ingenious little machine on the
ratchet winding principle, which was fitted onto the stock of the
cross-bow. It partly susperseded the windlass, as it could be used
264 MISSILE THROWERS.
on horseback, but it was never generally used in military work,
partly because it was an expensive piece of mechanism, and
partly because compared to the windlass it was very slow to
work. It took 35 seconds to wind back the bow string 5^
inches ; and is frequently depicted in the 15th and i6th centuries.
The slur bow was a late form of cross-bow, fitted with a
barrel like a hand gun.
The Stone and Bullet Crossbow. We have in a former
chapter mentioned the stone bow, and pouch for a stone or pellet.
Exactly the same contrivance was used both in the far east and
in Europe with the cross-bow, and in all probability was simply
a modification from the arrow cross-bow. A bullet cross-bow
was used in Siam, and by the Karens of Burmah. In Europe, or
at any rate in England, it appeared in the i6th century, being
made of steel with a double string and pocket for the bullet or
stone. It was always a sporting, not a fighting arm, though it was
sometimes fitted with a lever and a powerful bow. It was
employed as a fowling piece by nobles, and often by ladies, and
was frequently in use even in the i8th century.
The crossbow for target practice, and for sporting purposes,
is still in use to some extent in Belgium, Northern France, and
other parts of the continent. One of the Belgian crossbows
described by Sir R. Payne-Gallwey is no toy, being made of
steel with a lever, and making very accurate shooting up to 50
, yards, with a range of 250 yards. There is also a very powerful
bullet crossbow in use with onlv one string and a barrel. One
of the Dresden Crossbow Societies preserves its records back to
1416.
Although there is no doubt that the crossbow was the most
deadly missile weapon ever put into the hands of European
soldiers before the use of gunpowder, its use was repeatedly
either prohibited or restricted for one cause or another. In
1 139 at the second council of the Lateran, it was forbidden, under
penalty of anathema, as a weapon hateful to God and unfit
for Christians. That is to say, at that date the church consid-
ered the wounds made by the crossbow bolt too cruel and bar-
barous to inflict on a christian adversary, though suitable for
infidels and Saracens. This reminds us of the modem " Dum
Dum " bullet controversy. Other similar prohibitory statutes
were made in Germany. In England at a much later date — (the
sixteenth century), — numerous acts were passed forbidding the
use of crossbows. At this date, this weapon had become of very
common use as a sporting weapon, and it was thought (no doubt
with truth) that its popularity would contribute to the neglect
of practice with the long bow. This is a true example of the
extraordinary antipathy of the Briton to accept innovations, even
when of acknowledged value. In like manner in the 19th century
our war office was discouraging the development of submarine
war vessels, while other naval powers were building them.
THE CROSSBOW. 265
The range and accuracy of the mediaeval crossbow no doubt
depended on the class of weapon. The extreme range of the
steel military cross bow of the 15th century, was 370-380 yards ;
point blank range 65-70 yards, and effective shooting with
elevation could probably be made at 140 to 160 yards. The
longest flight of the sporting cross bow was about 350 yards, and
its point blank range 50 to 60 yards. These are mostly the figures
given by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey, who ascertained them chiefly
by actual experiment with the weapons; and he himself succeeded
in shooting across the Menai straits (450 yards) with an old
Nuremberg siege bow.
The short heavy arrows shot from the cross-bow were called
bolts. The war bolts had two feathers, sporting bolts three
feathers. A bolt from the military steel crossbow would pene-
trate any armour worn at the time that weapon was introduced.
In some parts of the continent the bolts of sporting cross bows
were frequently poisoned. The chief advantage of the long
bowman over the cross bowman lay in the greater rapidity with
which (if necessary) he could discharge his arrows. A soldier
with a military steel bow worked by a windlass could only dis-
charge a bolt once in a minute, while in the same time the long
bowman could shoot five or six arrows. Yet the accuracy of
the cross-bow, and the weight of the bolt, made it so formidable,
that these qualities, coupled with its noiselessness, made it
hold its own long after hand guns and hand cannons were
introduced.
The use of the cross-bow out of Europe need not detain us
long. It is very considerably used in further India among cer-
tain tribes of Assam, Cambodia, Siam and Burmah. Amongst
these are the Singphos of Assam, who till 1793 Uved on the East
branches of the Irawaddi, their neighbours the Mishmis and
Abors, the Garos of Brama Putra in Bengal, the Karens of Bur-
mah, and the Khyens of Arracan (i). Many, if not all, of these
races are Indo-Chinese. The Siamese have a crossbow (Thami)
which is said to be an adopted arm. It is about 5 feet long, and
is drawn by the hands and feet. It is also used in the Nicobar
Islands in the Bay of Bengal.
In Assam and probably most of these Indo-Chinese instances,
the cross-bow is only an ordinary bow attached to a shaft with
a very simple trigger. But the weapon is also found in Japan
and China, and in the latter country is found a remarkable
repeating cross bow, which is constructed with a magazine over
the cirrow groove, which will contain ten or twelve arrows. By
simply working a lever handle, the bow string is drawn, and an
arrow placed in position. This remarkable weapon never reached
Europe, and one would like to know what date it was invented
I. — Egerton's " Indian Arms," pp. 85, 94. A larger fixed crossbow
is said to be used as a tiger trap.
266 MISSILE THROWERS.
by the Chinese (i). It was considerably used by the Chinese
in the China- Japan war of 1894-5. So rapid is the action that
it will fire 10 arrows in 15 seconds, which would mean 1000
arrows in a quarter of a minute from 100 men. The arrows are,
however, quite light, and the effective range onlj^ about 80
yards.
The cross-bow is also found in West Africa. That of the
Fans of Gabun is drawn by placing one foot on the bow, but it is a
useless sort of weapon, since the method of releasing the cord
makes a steady aim impossible,- and about 15 yards is the longest
effective range. The arrows are poisoned. The Yoruba cross
bow is similar.
It has been suggested that the
cross-bow of West Africa is not in-
digenous, which is quite possible. Cross-
bow traps are however, used in Africa
and elsewhere for vermin. The one
figured (Fig. 350) is from Jamaica, but
of African origin. It is difficult to decide
whether such a contrivance would be
more likely to be suggested by the
weapon, or not. It might just as
easily be contrived by a race using the ordinary bow.
The word arblast and many other similar forms, which were
in general use in mediaeval times for cross bow, is contracted or
corrupted from Arcubalista, i.e., arcus and balista.
[Note. — Excavations have recently shewn that a composite
bow made of two horns of the wild goat was actually used in
Minoan Crete. See " Journ. British School at Athens," x. 59].
I. — Demmin says the cross bow does not appear to have been kno\vn
in China till about 1736.
PART V.
WAR ENGINES.
chapter xiv.
War Engines (i).
Siege engines, and especially projectile siege engines, were
the precursors of explosive artillery, and they actually performed
their functions, in a manner which, though very feeble in our
€yes, was sufficiently alarming in the days before gunpowder.
As a matter of fact they form an intermediate class between
missile throwers worked by the hand, and those whose projectile
force is caused by chemical explosives. Although the records
of them, and of their mechanical construction, are not a little
confusing, there is every reason to beUeve that all projectile
engines may be grouped into about four classes, most of which
remained unaltered as far as mechanical principles go, from
the earliest times. In this chapter we shall not do much more
than explain these types.
To begin with, projectile engines were not only used through-
out the Greek and Roman periods, but the well-known passage in
2 Chronicles xxvi. 15, shews that Uzziah, King of Judah in the
ninth century B.C., knew their use.
" And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning
men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows
and great stones withal."
Probably there is no earlier literary reference, and it is very
Ukely that the Assjoians were the inventors, as indeed ancient
writers state. Some of the sculptures from Nimrud shew stone
throwing engines, though the system of propulsion does not seem
clear. A tall and somewhat obeHsk like contrivance divided
perpendicularly, is represented before a fortress, with great
stones in mid-air between it and the fortress. The Egyptians
had moveable towers like the Jews (Deut. xx. 19), but we do not
find any reference to projectile throwing engines.
The ancient writers called missile siege engines generally by
the name of " Tormenta," because the power or force was ob-
tained in most of their types bj^ twisted skeins of hair. The
best known and most often used names were catapult {Katapelies)
and balista, but there were many other classical names to which,
in mediaeval times, such a number of others was added, that the
1. — After collecting material from various sources for this chapter, the
writer obtained a copy of Sir. R. Payne-Gallwey's " The crossbow, with a
treatise on the Balista and Catapult," 1903. The " Treatise " being the
result of careful experimental work with large models of different sorts of
•engines, is of great value, and in this chapter I am largely indebted to it.
270
WAR ENGINES.
greatest confusion has ensued (i). In order to avoid this con-
fusion here, these terms will be avoided ; especially as it is very
probable that not more than four types of engines were ever
used before gunpowder. The types are as follows : —
Type.
1 Beam Arm
Engine.
2 Cross-bow type
3 Sling type
4 Spring Arm
5 Blow tube type
power.
Torsion
Missiles.
Stones
Name.
Catapult
Torsion
Weight
Spring
Explosives
Javelins
Stones
Javelins
Shot
Balista
Trebuchet.
Espringal ?
Cannon
The Catapult and Bcdista were used in Roman and Greek
times, and presumably the catapult was the engine used by
Uzziah. The Trebuchet is believed to be only mediaeval. The
Spring arm probably always existed, but could never have been
a very efficient machine.
35;L
Fig. 352 will give a fair idea of the appearance of a catapult
and the way it was worked. One end of the beam arm, which
is represented upright against the check beam, is secured in a
huge skein of horse hair or possibly sometimes animal sinew.
By means of a spanner and cogs, this skein has been twisted
into a cord of extraordinary tightness, acting as a spring of
immense power, which causes the arm if pulled backwards as
on a hinge, to fly up to its position against the check beam with
extreme violence. To use the catapult, this arm is wound back
I. — Sir. R. Payne-Gallwey gives a list of 20 of these names, and this is
far from exhaustive.
WAR ENGINES.
271
by windlasses or spanners to a position shewn by the dotted
outline, where it is retained, while the stone is placed in the hand,
or hollow in the end of the arm.
The arm is released by pulling the cord attached to the slip
hook, when it flies up against the check beam, which is padded
to resist the shock. Looking at the engine, one is apt to think
that the stone remains in the hand until it strikes the check beam,
to be jerked horizontally in the direction of the enemy. This,
of course, is not really the case. The spring power of the horse
hair skein is greatest when the arm is fully wound down, and
least when the arm is upright. Consequently the arm in its
upward flight decreases sUghtly in speed, and the stone leaves it
the minute that decrease is perceptible, which is at an inter-
mediate point, and it flies up at a fairly high trajectory, and
making a curved flight, falls on the building or spot required.
Many old writers and artists represent the catapult as discharging
javelins, which are placed on a grooved rest on the check
beam. The catapult, however, threw a stone like the human
arm, and did not strike them like a golfers driving club, in which
the speed and power exerted are greatest at the moment of im-
pact. The ancients probably experimented in this direction,
but finding the blow insufficient to discharge a javelin any dis-
tance, they were driven to the invention of the balista, (which we
shall now describe), and perhaps also the spring engine.
The balista or ballista requires little description since it
was only a huge cross bow with wheels, the stock of the crossbow
practically answering to the trail of a siege gun (Fig. 353). The
272
WAR ENGINES.
only difference between the arcubalista and the balista in mechan-
ism is that in the engine, instead of a continuous bow of metal,
wood or composite material, there were two separate arms fixed in
two wound up skeins of hair or sinew, exactly as in the catapult.
It is possible that in later times a steel bow was sometimes used.
The balista was lighter and much more transportable than
the catapult. Its trajectory was easily altered by raising and
lowering the trail, which was probably done simply by placing
trestles beneath it. The bow string was wound back by a
windlass exactly as was done for the steel crossbow, and as a rule
the projectile used was a large javelin. Balistas, however, are
so often alluded to as used for throwing stones, that they some-
times may have been made with a double string and pouch, hke
the stone bow. At the end of the 4th century
A.D. each " centuria" had a carroballista, or field
gun drawn by mules, and eleven men in charge
of it, and each cohort an onager (or catapult)
carried on an ox lurry.
It is worth remembering that certain modern
semi-civilized races construct spring traps to pro-
ject spears, which are primitive balista.
The siege engine called the Trebuchet is
supposed to have been a medi-
aeval invention, possibly of the
I2th century, and introduced by
Simon de Montfort in the time
of Henry III. Nevertheless,
in the 13th century it was not
only partly super-
seding the cata-
pult in Europe,
but also was in
use among
the Arabs (i)
which hardly
looks as if
it was very
newly intro-
duced.
I. — Mangonel or Manganiim one of the many mediaeval names for
catapult comes we suppose from Arabic manjanik, which may be connected
with janak war.
WAR ENGINES.
273
The appearance and action of the trebuchet are shewn in
Fig. 354, which represents a two armed engine at work. The
mechanism was simple. It was a huge pole sling working on
an axis with a heavy counterpoise. There were no twisted
skeins of hair and no check beam. The long arm was simply
wound down by a windlass, and the sling, perhaps. made of net,
had one end attached to the pole end, the other being slipped on to
a slightly hooked point of iron. While the arm was wound down
the heavy counterpoise (being a crate of stones or iron), was raised.
When the arm was released by pulling the slip hook, it swung
up with great violence, the sling flying loose and discharging the
ball. The weight of the projectile and distance projected de-
pended of course on the weight of the counterpoise, and length of
the arm itself (i).
A word or two about the size of the projectiles, the range of
the engines, and the way they were used.
The primary use of these engines was for siege purposes,
the stone throwing engines being intended to breach the walls.
But in the sieges of important towns there would be batteries
within the town as well as outside ; nevertheless the besieged were
in the worse position, as the besiegers had no walls to destroy and
were able to move their own engines out of range.
As the engines were therefore designed primarily for besieg-
ing, the probability is that the larger siege engines were built to
carry further than ordinary bow and crossbow range ; and as
from the battlements of a town the archers could shoot their
arrows effectively nearly 300 yards, the engines had to be posted
at least that distance away, or in cases when stones were to be
dropped into the town or castle a range of 400 yards was neces-
sary. Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey
whose experiments with models
have been especially directed
towards finding the ranges, gives
the following as the probable
range and size of projectiles : —
A Roman catapult would
probably be able to shoot a 40
to 60 lb. stone nearly 450 yards.
The balista would shoot a 4 to 6
foot javelin 400 to 450 yards.
The trebuchet on the other
hand was much more powerful,
and it is estimated that one with
a 50 foot arm, and a counterpoise
of 20,000 lbs. could sling a 300 lb.
stone 300 yards. An engine of
I. — Fig. 355 shews a 14th century representation of the trebuchet
throwing big stones into a castle.
274
WAR ENGINES.
this character would be chiefly used for destroying fortifications.
The 15th century writer, Stella, states that in 1373 an engine was
used in Cyprus by the Genoese, which cast stones weighing 12 cwt.
These siege engines throw other missiles besides stones and
javelins. They threw millstones, flaming projectiles, putrid
corpses and live men. A dead horse in the last stage of decom-
position bundled up and shot by a trebuchet into a town of
which the defenders were half dead with starvation, started a
pestilence. Froissart tells us that John Duke of Normandy
infected a town in the low countries thus, and made it capitu-
late. Manure and offal, and even the bodies of dead soldiers
were used in the same way. William of Malmesbury describes
the Turks at Antioch throwing from their petraries (catapults) the
heads of townsmen into the Prankish Camp. Worse than all,
an envoy or messenger, was sometimes tied up alive and cast
back into the town, perishing miserably by the violence of his
fall. Froissart actually describes such an act at the siege of
Auberoche. The messengers head alone could be cut off and
threwn back by a catapult ; but for most of these pretty jobs the
trebuchet was the engine.
The spring engine, which is frequently depicted in mediaeval
works, was of less importance than the three types described.
It was composed of a spring arm or beam, probably formed of
many thin laths of very elastic wood glued together. This arm
when undrawn, stood upright in a very strong frame side by
side with a rigid upright, the top of which formed the rest for the
356.
bolt or javelin. The spring arm was drawn back by means of a
windlass, and then being relea,sed by a slip hook, sprang back
and struck the bolt end with great violence. The bolt rest was
adjustable so that the elevation could be altered. Fig. 356 from
WAR ENGINES. 275
a 15th century Walterius (i), shews although conventionally, the
principle. Little, however, is known as to the power of the spring
engine, which could hardly compete with the cross-bow type.
I. — Verona 1472. Demmin, p. 458.
PART VI.
MISSILE AUXILIARIES.
chapter xv.
Missile Auxiliaries.
I. — Inflammables and Explosives.
Hitherto we have discussed only the simple missiles, those
which penetrate, strike, cut, bruise, or entangle, but which do
not owe their wounding or destnictive power to any secondary
or subtler agency. Yet arrows or darts painted with venom, or
wrapped in blcizing tow are or were used by modem savages and
the races of ancient culture. The use of inflammables led to the
invention of explosives and propellants, which in their time have
entirely revolutionized warfare. These again will eventually
be superseded by some mightier force, possibly electricity.
Inflammable missiles and explosives are, however, character-
istic generally of ancient and modem civilizations, while the use of
poison, or venom applied to arrow points has always been held
to be barbarous and uncivilized. Nevertheless, it would be
rash to assert that the latter is a more primitive class. The
extracting, preparing or mixing of a deadly poison which will
kill when it penetrates the blood, yet leaves flesh so killed, harmless
as food, almost suggests what may be termed chemical research,
and certainly points to a subtler working of the human intellect
than the mere throwing of fire, which is a natural element like
earth. There are no really well authenticated instances of
races ancient or modern who were ignorant of fire (i), and to
pluck a " brand from the burning " and hurl it, would be a direct
and natural way of concluding a heated discussion at a prehistoric
supper party.
Though we are not aware that the Egyptian monuments
represent the use of fire either missile or otherwise, there is little
doubt that it is shewn in some of the Assyrian siege subjects.
Soldiers are seen carrying lances with flaming material attached,
or advancing with torches to fire the gate, or they are on the
battlements armed with torches to ignite the tackle of the military
engines, and render them useless. On the other hand the enemies
of Assyria used fire in their defence. A particularly interesting
siege scene shews two Assyrian warriors on the top of a moveable
tower which contains a battering ram. This is moved up close
to the city walls, and the defenders are trying to ignite the tower
by casting onto it great masses of what may be presumed to be
I. — See a summary on the subject of " fireless " races, and the evidences,
in Lubbock " Prehistoric Times," 1865, 453-5.
28o MISSILE AUXILIARIES.
blazing bitumen or tow ; whiJe from the side of the tower pro-
ject two spouts, from which streams of water are pouring to
prevent ignition (i).
Fiery missiles were apparently also known to the Hebrews,
since we have at any rate one passage, which can hardly mean
anything else than arrows to which were attached smouldering
or flaming twigs or branches.
" Sharp arrows of the mighty (man), with coals of juniper,"
(Psalms cxx., 4) ; the juniper being, it is believed, a species of
broom. Another and particularly barbarous use was made of
firebrands by Samson, and to this we shall have occasion again
to refer.
The ancient Greeks and Romans both used imflammables.
The -pyrohola (our word "fireballs"), were thrown from slings
and engines, and were sometimes probably the same as the
Roman "Malleolus," which seems to have been a sort of javelin
provided with a cage or receptacle filled with ignited tow and
pitch, and fitted with a point so that it stuck fast if projected
against a wooden structure. The malleolus was thrown from
an engine, and must have been named from being in shape
somewhat like a hammer. The falarica or Saguntine spear was
something of the same sort, and thrown by a tormenium from
the fala or siege tower.
Red hot javelins and clay balls were used by the Nervii
who, by these means fired Cicero's camp ; (2), and among the
relics of the Swiss Lake dwelUngs, there have been found balls of
charcoal kneaded with clay which have been thought to have been
made for the same purpose (3). Of all the early inflammables
or explosives, however, none has received in history so much
notice as the " Greek fire " used by the Byzantines and Saracens
in the Crusades. The method by which this was propelled, and
its actual composition, are yet to some extent matters of contro-
versy, and the difficulties relating to these points may be explained
by supposing that more than one sort of " fire " was in use, as we
know that there was more than one way of actually putting it into
action. Although its invention is generally placed in the seventh
century, there is every reason to believe that it was used con-
siderably earlier. Procopius in his history of the wars of the
Goths in Africa tells us of the Median oil (or Median fire), which
being compounded of naptha, sulphur, and bitumen, seems to
point to the first use of it being attributed by the Greeks to the
Medes. Genseric is said to have used fire ships against the Greeks,,
so that we must consider that a free use of inflammables (includ-
ing the Median fire) was made in the 5th century a.d.
The general story however, is that Greek fire was invented
I . — The wavy lines and remains of red pigment used in depicting these;
missiles leave little room for doubt on the subject.
2. — " De Bello Gallico " v. 42.
3. — Joly " Man before Metals," 232, etc.
GREEK FIRE. 281
by one Callinicus a Syrian in the time of Constantine IV (668-685),
and that it was preserved as a miUtary secret at Constantinople,
where it was pretended to have been a divine revelation made
direct to Constantine the Great. Anna Comnema at a much
later date says it was made of pitch, resinous gums, sulphur
(and, some add, oil). It blazed, smoked prodigiously, and even
exploded, and its force was, like dynamite, in all directions.
Sand, mine or vinegar might quench it, but water only made it
worse. There were several ways of using it. It was poured
onto the heads of besiegers from ramparts, thrown in cases or
phials from engines, attached flaming to bolts or arrows, blown
through copper tubes (shaped hke monster's heads) which were
mounted on the prows of ships, and apparently also on land : or
fire ships, blazing with it were sent among the enemies fleets, to
guard against destruction from which, the only chance was to
cover the ship's sides with vinegar' d cloth. It was also laid
in trains in siege operations, so that it fulfilled in many ways the
uses to which real gunpowder was put at a later date. This
" Greek fire " as it was called at first, may have inspired the
various races who came into collision with the sinking empire
of the East \\ith panic, until they acquainted themselves with
and adopted the secret. In 670 A.D., in the time of Constantine
IV., it was used against Moawia at Constantinople, and this is said
to be the first recorded instance of the copper tubes. It was again
used in 716 A.D. against the Saracens (i), and the latter seem to
have profited by their experiences. Geoffrey de Vinsauf in his
" Itineraray of Richard I." describes a sea battle in which Greek
fire was used, saying that the ships then used were shorter and
more manageable than those of the ancients, and better suited
for throwing Greek fire ; possibly because the copper tubes were
fixed in the prow, and the whole boat had to be manoeuvered
into position before they were fired. He says also that that kind
of fire has a detestable stench and livid flames which consume
both flint and steel.
By far the most vivid description of Greek fire, however, is
that of de Joinville in his Memoirs of Louis the ninth (Saint
Louis). The scene is near Damietta, and the year 1249. The
Turks brought up the engine called perriere, and placing it oppo-
site the cats or pentices, which were guarded by the author and
Walter de Curel, commenced bombarding with Greek fire. Where-
upon the good Sir Walter we are told, cried out that they were
lost without remedy, and that the sole chance for all, whenever
the fire was thrown, was to cast themselves on their hands and
knees and cry to the Lord for mercy.
" As soon, therefore, as the Turks threw their fires, we flung
ourselves on our hands and knees, as the wise man had advised ;
and this time they fell between our two cats into a hole in the
I. — See Oilman "The Saracens," 292, 336, and Oman "Byzantine
Empire." 170. Story of Nations Series.
282 MISSILE AUXILIARIES.
front, which our people had made to extinguish them ; and they
were instantly put out by a man appointed for that purpose.
This Greek fire, in appearance, was like a large tun, and its tail
was of the length of a long spear ; the noise which it made was
like to thunder ; and it seemed a great dragon of fire flying through
the air, giving so great a light with its flame, that we saw in our
camp as clearly as in broad day. Thrice this night did they
throw the fire from la perriere, and four times from crossbows.
Each time that our good King St. Louis heard them make these
discharges of fire, he cast himself on the ground, and with ex-
tended arms, and eyes turned to the heavens, cried with a loud
voice to our Lord, and shedding heavy tears, said " Good Lord
God Jesus Christ, preserve Thou me, and all my people," and
beUeve me his prayers were of great service to us. . . One
of the discharges from the Turks fell beside a chas-chateil,
guarded by the men of the Lord Courtenay, struck the bank of
the river in front, and ran on the ground toward them burning
with flame. One of the knights of this guard instantly came to
me crying out " Help us, my lord, or we are burnt ; for there is a
long train of Greek fire, which the Saracens have discharged
that is running straight for our castle" (i).
Although there is nothing very mysterious in the casting of
masses of flaming materials from engines, or in the firing of
arrows to which a blazing mass is attached, there certainly
seems to have been something sufficiently remarkable in Greek
fire to cause the panic it did. The problem is whether any sort
of Greek fire was of the nature of an explosive rather than
simply an inflammable agent. We think the answer probably
may be in the affirmative. There were explosions and the force
spread laterally and up and down (2), which is not the case with
simple inflammables. And again by what agent was the Greek
fire blown from the copper tubes ? Certainly not by the power
of the human lungs Hke the sarba-cane or blow-pipe. Hardly
by springs or compressed air. It is difficult indeed not to
believe that in these copper tubes the blazing projectile was pro-
pelled by its own explosive power, which became focussed and
intensified by being confined within a metal tube. If this is the true
explanation of these copper tubes, it may be properly considered
that cannon were in the hands of the Greeks in the 7th century.
Another record of propelling inflammables by tubes is found
in early India. Rockets and weapons of fire "Agney Astra"
were certainly known at a very early period. They were a kind
of fire tipped dart, discharged horizontally from a bamboo, and
used against cavalry." These are believed to have been pro-
pelled by an explosive of sulphur and salt-petre, the use of which
died out before historic times (3).
I. — " Chronicles of the Crusades " Bohns Library, 1845 P- 405-7.
2. — Gibbons " Roman Empire," Chapter lii.
3. — Egerton's "Indian Arms," p. 10, quoting Sir H. Eliot, "History
of India," Vol. vi., p. 481.
EXPLOSIVES. 283
The Institutes of Menu, however, prohibited poisoned and
mischievously barbed arrows and fire arrows. Fireballs called
" Phlo " and "Tok Fai" (child of fire), rockets and even fire rafts,
were used by the Siamese, while hand grenades, fireworks and fire
rockets were used by Mahmud V. against Timur Beg near Delhi
(i). Metal balls and firepots were thrown from catapults, as
well as balls of naphtha, and in 1290 Ala-ed-din, who was be-
seiging the fort of Rantambhor, was checked by a Maghrebi
{i.e. "Western" perhaps here used for "European") engine, which
cast both stones and fire (2).
Asia probably is the original home of the art of making
inflammables for war. Assyria bequeathed it as the Median
fire to Byzantium — the Arabs stole it from the Greeks — and
Europe learned it in the crusades. The blazing barrels, pots of
Ume, and flaming arrows were all used in the sieges of mediaeval
Europe.
Modem savages, however, do not seem to use inflammable
missiles to any great extent — no doubt because skirmishes are
far commoner than sieges. The New Zealanders used, however,
flaming missiles, and we have already described the Kotaha,
by which they were probably thrown. Some of the American
Indians used arrows with tufts of grass and ignited moss for
burning villages (3) ; and in South America the Gran Chako
Indians in attacking villages inhabited by Europeans, used to
wrap cotton wool round the arrow behind the point, and then
igniting it, fire them from a strong bow held by the feet (4).
Gunpowder and Explosives.
Though it is outside the scope of this volume to trace the
development of explosives in warfare, a word may be permitted
about the infancy of gimpowder, a subject on which there has
been as much contention as on the birth place of Homer. The
possibilities of an explosive powder are so great that it is a little
difficult to believe that anything of the sort could remain unde-
veloped for a long time.
The evidence, however, seems to be in favour of this being
1. — Egerton's "Indian Arms," 17. The Temiang tribe of Malacca, who
are Malays shoot fireballs from bows at the spirit of sickness. The bow is
perforated so that the arrow passes through it, and the ball is placed loosely
on the end of the arrow, which has a shoulder on it, so that it is checked
and remains in the bow while the ball flies away.
2.— Egerton "Indian Arms," 151.
3. — "Narratives of the Career of Hernando de Soto," Translated by
B. Smith, New York, 1846.
4. — Wood "Natural History," ii. 570. Captain Cook on visiting New
Guinea was much perplexed at the natives carrying sticks which emitted
smoke Uke guns. These consisted of bamboo tubes filled with sand and
wood ashes, which could be flung out like wreaths of smoke. It has been
suggested (i) that they were imitation fire-arms ; (2) that they were used
for signalling ; {3) for bUnding an adversary with dust. It is just as likely
that they were simply magical.
284 MISSILE AUXILIARIES.
so. Although it has been repeatedly asserted that true gunpowder
was known in the 8th and 9th centuries, the most recent researches
seem to shew that saltpetre was unknown before about the
middle of the 13th century, and that no authentic recipes before
that date contain any allusion to that ingredient. The twelfth
and thirteenth century recipes of the ''Liber Ignium" are thought
to be Spanish translations from the Arabic, and only in those
which belong to the end of the 13th century does saltpetre
occur as an ingredient (i).
The undeveloped form of gunpowder existed long before
this date, and if the propelling force used in the copper tubes in
the 7 th century by the Byzantines was as we have suggested
the explosive itself, it might fairly be called gunpowder, even
though it differed chemically from the compound to which the
term is now applied.
Perhaps the development of inflammables and explosives
may have followed this order : —
I. — Inflammables thrown by engines.
2. — Explosive masses thrown by engines.
3. — Explosive masses propelled by their own explosion.
4. — Explosives used to propel a separate projectile.
The first class we have shewn to be almost universal. In
the second we may perhaps place the explosives or fireworks of
the Chinese, who indeed laid claim to have used them six or seven
centuries prior to our era, but who more probably really received
the invention from Western Asia. It is indeed very doubtful
if the Greek fire was brought from the far East by the Arabs as
has been suggested, since we have seen it in use in ancient
Assyria. Explosives were probably thrown in very early times in
India, even in the time of Alexander the Great, and Demmin refers
us to Dion Cassius, Julius Africanus, and others who mention
thunder and lightning machines. Case explosives are said to
have been invented by the Arabs ; and " firearms " to have been
used at the siege of Mecca, 690 A.D. (2).
The use of explosives as a true propellant dates from the
13th century at the earliest and from the 14th century in Europe.
The Chinese had a bamboo cannon in 1259, but we cannot say
what it fired. It is just possible that the Chinese developed this
from the blow tube, which as we have seen was widely used in the
far East. Nevertheless, the shot propeller in the West may
well have been discovered from an accidental explosion taking
place in mixing explosive ingredients in a mortar, which is the
traditional origin. It may be doubted if we shall ever finally
I, — See " Gunpowder and Ammunition : their origin and progress,"
by Lt. Col. H. W. L. Hine (Longmans).
2. — Boutell indeed says that jingals or small cannon were used in
China at least three centuries B.C., and that there is an authentic record of
such use A.D., 747, but he gives no authority. Boutell's ed. of Lacombe's
"Arms and Armour," p. 290.
POISON. 285
know what country had the honour of constructing the first
engine to project a stone or shot by means of explosives, and we
must be satisfied with the knowledge that the method of throwing
fire or explosives from an engine was superseded in the fourteenth
century by artillery which projected first stones and then metal
shot.
II. — Poisoned Arms. (i).
The apphcation of poison to the point or edge of a weapon,
so that a wound of insignificant character is rapidly fatal, was
known to the ancient cultured races, though it does not appear
to have been widely practised, even among the barbarian races
in touch with them. We read in Job. (vi. 4) " For the arrows
of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up
my spirit."
The land of Uz where Job dwelt was in Idumaean Arabia, and
the book is one of great antiquity. The use of poisoned darts and
their effect was evidently familiar to the writer. The curious
stupor which, as experiments have shewn, ensues when any
animal is struck with one of the poisoned darts of South America,
could hardly be better described than in the words "drinking
up" the spirit.
It is however difficult to say what races at that date used
toxics as an aid to warfare. The brutal Assyrian who had no
"bowels of compassion" may possibly have done so, and the
fearlessness of the royal hunters who faced hons only armed with
bow arrow and spear, may possibly have been the result of such
a use. The Parthians, who partly inherited the traditions of
Assyria, and the Scythians, certainly used poison, and according
to Nadaillac, the Greeks, but for this he gives no authority (2).
All classical writers treat the use of poison as barbarous, and look
upon it as treacherous, just as is too often done at the present day.
Although poison may perhaps be properly regarded as
peculiar to uncivilized races, it is however wrong to consider it
entirely as evidence of a treacherous or cruel nature on the part
of the users. We shall see that poison is generally used either by
weak or puny races hving in the vicinity of other tribes of more
powerful physique, with whom in the ordinary way the\' could
not fairly cope ; or else by races whose existence largely depends
on the " bagging " of game in jungles and forests, in which a
bird or animal wounded in the ordinary way has every facility
to escape. Moreover, it has been pointed out that although the
areas where poison is thus used are very large, they are tropical
( I ) — Intermediate between the inflammable and poisoned missiles is
the oriental "stinkpot" or suffocater, which poisoned by its asphyxiating
fumes. This is yet used apparently in the present war. The Russian
Consul at Chi-fu reported that the Japanese throw into the trenches in the
operations near Port Arthur a thing "like a long sausage," which, unless
immediately thrown out, made the defenders faint.
2. — Nadaillac, " Manners and Monuments of Prehistoric peoples," p. 92.
286 MISSILE AUXILIARIES.
or subtropical, and abound in poisonous reptiles, insects and
herbs. Further, some of these regions do or did until recently
number among their fauna, the largest and savagest wild animals,
against which man, armed only with bow, arrow, spear or sling,
would have been almost powerless. It may indeed be said that
if the human intellect had failed to note and apply the power of
toxics in these areas, they would probably in some cases have
remained simply reserves for wild animals, until the civilized
man appeared on the scene with explosives. To condemn, there-
fore, the "bushman" or Macoushie as a treacherous savage solely
on account of his use of poison, is at the least quite unjust, (i).
The distribution of the use of poisoned weapons among
modern races may be enumerated as follows : — In Asia proper, it
seems to be confined to the Eastern section of the continent, being
found in some parts of China (2), Cambodia, Bhutan, Sikkim,
Burmah, Assam, and the Malay Peninsula and parts of the
Archipelago, including Borneo and some minor groups. It is
believed to be unknown in Australia, and (according to Lane Fox)
in New Guinea, but the Papuans certainly use " bewitched "
if not poisoned arrows, and vegetable poison is used in the
Torres Straits.
In Polynesia the use of poison seems uncommon, though
not unknown. Captain Cook thought he detected it on arrows
from Mallikolo, but experiments by his sailors on a dog were
harmless. In some of the Melanesian Islands arrow heads are
certainly poisoned, but it is said that while the poison is only
held to aggravate the wound, the fatal results are looked for from
incantations, or the employment of an arrow head made of super-
natural human bone. The Papuans are said to use human bones
for arrow points, and to poison them by pushing them into a
putrid corpse, but there is some reason to doubt the correctness
of this. The Rev, R. H. Codrington, writing on the poisoned
arrows of Melanesia (3) gives the recipe followed in the New
Hebrides, for making an arrow of the bone of a "dug-up" dead
man, the arrow point being painted with the juice of excaevaria
agallocha. He does not believe in the system of poisoning with
putrid human flesh, but suggests that the "dug-up" man may give
rise to the idea.
Many tribes in Africa use Poison. Most, but not all, are
races living more or less in the central area. The Bosjesmans and
Hottentots ; the Fans in Benin, with their.'.cross bows ; Arabs
of Mogadore, (according to Barbosa), and various equatorial
tribes. In South America it is very widely used, chiefly among
I. — We may compare with it the use of the gentle " dumi dum " against
barbarian hordes, by physically feebler and numerically weaker civilized
armies.
2. — The bolts of the Chinese repeating cross-bow were sometimes
poisoned.
3. — "Journ. Anthrop. Inst.," 1889, p. 215.
POISON. 287
tnbes of Guiana, Brazil, Mexico and the Argentine district (i),
while in North America it seems very rare. Lane Fox only men-
tioning the Shoshones (Schoolcraft) as the users of poison in that
part of the continent.
The weapons that can be envenomed are either darts and
arrows or daggers, poignards and knives. Burton mentions
a poisoned waghnakh, the terrible Indian tiger claw that we have
described in an early chapter. The Japanese Kris was some-
times also envenomed (2). Poisoned swords are actucdly men-
tioned or suggested in early mediaeval Europe. The sword with
which Moraunt fought Sir Tristram was a poisoned one, and since
in the Norse Sagas a wound from some swords is invariably
fatal, it has been inferred that they were poisoned weapons.
The actual method in which the poison was applied to the
weapon varied. It was either simply painted or daubed on, or
the point was formed with a hollow side like a sliced bamboo or
quill. This type in bamboo was actually used in North America
(3), and in South America (4), while Demmin figures two iron ?
poisoned heads of the same type from the Museum of Sigmaringen
(5). Sometimes arrow heads are provided with a hole through
the fiat to receive the poison, but holes and grooves are the usual
provision for the poisoned daggers or stilettos of mediaeval
Christian and cultured Europe, though in refinement this simple
holing and grooving was far surpassed by some Indian poisoned
daggers, which had a poison reservoir in the blade connected
with small holes along the edge.
The poisons used by savage races are both vegetable and
animal, though the use of the former class predominates very
considerably over the latter. This is an interesting point, be-
cause if we suppose that the use of poisoned weapons was in the
first place suggested by the sufferings that men themselves
experienced from the bites of reptiles and the stings of insects, we
should expect that the poisons would primarily be collected
from the animal world. We must, however, remember that
tropical countries contain large numbers of poisonous vegetables
and plants, of which even the prickles or smell is toxic, and it is
fairly clear that the use of poison as an effective " auxiliary "
can in no way be accounted a primitive contrivance, but is the
result of long and carefiil experimenting on the part of the users.
The use of poison indeed presupposes an amount of chemical
I. — Otomacs of Guiana, Darian Indians, Maopityans, Yameos, Catau-
ixis, Cataquinas, Yucanas, Mayorunas, Xebaroes, Botocudas, etc.
2. — Pinkerton's Voyages, xi., 171.
3. — Burton "Book of Sword," p. 26.
4. — -'Primitive Warfare." p. 645, and Plate liii. No. 85.
5- — P- 154* Sporting crossbow bolts in the middle ages were frequently
poisoned. The white hellebore in some parts of Spain is the crossbow-
mans plant. See a description of how the poison was made in " The
Crossbow," by Sir H. Payne- Gall wey, p. 153.
288 MISSILE AUXILIARIES.
research which should warn civihzed doctors not to flout all
savage medicines and remedies as unworthy even of notice. A
people who can invent and apply the South American Wourali
poison, might well have discovered a remedy of the greatest
value.
The most interesting accounts of Wourali will be found in the
works of two naturalists, the eccentric Waterton, and Mr. Paul
Fountain, both of whom travelled and lived among the Wourali
using natives, and made attempts to discover, by enquiring and
experimenting, its actual nature. In Waterton's time this
poison was in use over a large area in the north of South America,
among many of the tribes indeed between the rivers Amazon
and Orinoco, but it seems to be rather dying out now, since
firearms are sometimes procurable. Mr. C. Fountain indeed says
it is quite unknown south of the Equator.
Certain tribes such as the Macoushie Indians, were particu-
larly expert in the making of it, and it was in fact a commercial
article, since they retailed it to other tribes. The ingredients
of which it is composed according to the formula supplied to
the investigators, are six or seven, one being the Wourali vine
{Strychnos toxifera), which is allied to the Upas, and the plant
that gives us strychnine. The other ingredients are several
herbs, some of which are very poisonous if swallowed, and others
harmless ; two sorts of poisonous insects, venom from snake
fangs, and red pepper complete the mixture, and all is boiled for
a prolonged time, and when ready for use has the appearance of
soap. The later experiments of Mr. Fountain (i), appear to
point to the snake poison in this compound as being the active
principle of it. The juice of the vine alone injected into the
blood of small animals does not kill, and when Mr. Fountain made
the poison according to the formula given him by the natives,
without snake poison, it was found useless. When, however,
he mixed with it the venom of certain snakes it produced com-
pletely the deadly effect which has been noticed when it is used
by the natives themselves.
The manufacture of this poison is as a matter of fact made and
kept a mystery by the medicine men (" pee-a-men "), who are
not willing to give it up either to natives or Europeans. It was
at one time thought .that the introduction of snake poison was
a blind, and that the herbs were the active principle. But since
the vegetable ingredients are either non-poisonous or not fatally so
when injected, while the snake venom is deadly, it would rather
appear that the herbs are as a matter of fact the blind.
The weapons poisoned are the tiny blow-pipe darts, and
according to the older authorities, ordinary arrows, though Mr.
Fountain does not corroborate this. Moreover the poison does
not seem to be used in warfare. The darts are always carried
in tiny bundles with their points protected, and the heads are
I. — " Mountains and Forests of America," 1902, p. 190.
POISON. 289
detachable or semi-severed, so that they may remain in the wound.
Most remarkable, however, is the effect of the Wourali.
Often stupefaction ensues so quickly that a bird or animal does
not attempt to escape. A monkey struck with a dart will never
run more than three or four trees, and often will remain where he
is, then doze and drop dead. Actual experiments shew that a
bird struck has convulsions in three minutes, and is dead in five.
In fact, the quantity of poison necessary to kill seems in propor-
tion to the size of the animal. A sloth was found to take ten
minutes, a large ox wounded with three darts 25 minutes, and
an old horse over half an hour from the injection of the poison.
Nevertheless, if the dart is at once withdrawn from the wound, the
animal will not die, and it can be cured if treated as for a snake
bite. The flesh of an animal or bird killed by Wourali is perfectly
wholesome, and remains fresh as long as flesh killed in any
other way.
The Indians of Guiana also make arrow heads of a wood
which is poisonous in itself (i). The poison used by the Dyaks
of Borneo for the purpose of their sumpitan or blow-pipe darts is
the juice of the Upas tree, which is obtained by tapping the trunk
(2). This poison is deadly if quite fresh, noH otherwise. This
tree, the scientific name of which is Aniiaris toxicaria, is
the source also of the "Umei" poison of the inhabitants of the
Mentawei Islands near Sumatra, and perhaps the Hippobatang
which Pere Bourien mentions as the tree the Malays use for
poison was the same. The Portuguese in Cambodia no doubt
adopted the poison from the natives, for they poisoned slugs
(bullets) by burying them in the bark of the tree, and with them
successfully killed elephants and other big game (3). Poisoned
bullets are also said to have been used by American Indians, and
the Wourali or a compound of it has been experimentally used in
whaling (4).
It will be seen that with the exception of the snake fangs in
the Wourali, animal poisons have not been noted as used in South
America. Nieuhoff, however, in the first half of the 17th cen-
tury, tells us that the blood of the lizard called Gecko was used
by the Indians of Brazil. Unfortunately but little reliance
can be placed in the accounts of old writers in matters of this
sort; and we should remember that the mistrust of savage races
is so great that they are loth to give direct information even on
subjects where secrecy appears in no way advantageous.
The poison used for their arrows by the Bushmen (Bosjes-
hien) of South Africa is also a mixture from animal and vegetable
sources. The usual poison is composed of the juice of certain
euphorbias, boiled with snake venom, or amaryllis with the
I. — Wood ii., 597.
2. — Idem, 465.
3. — Hamilton's "Account of the East Indies," 1688- 1723.
4. — See the " Times," Dec. 24th, 1866.
290 MISSILE AUXILIARIES.
poison of snakes and caterpillars. Their most virulent poison,
however, is made from the entrails of the grub called N'gwa or
Kda. This is applied to the detachable point of the arrow in
dots. The effects of this poison are of the most terrible character,
the person or animal struck, first going raving mad, and then
expiring in great agony. The Bosjesmans are also expert well
poisoners, using the same vegetables they employ for their ar-
rows (i).
In obtaining the poison from the snake, the Bosjesman is
said to irritate the snake before killing it, which causes it to
secrete the venom in large quantities. Little is accurately
known about antidotes, it being even stated that the Hotten-
tots purposely get bitten by snakes to get their blood tolerant of
the poison. Other African tribes such as the Fan and Felatah
use poison, which is said to be very deadly, but the whole sub-
ject of savage toxics is one which never has, and probably never
will receive the notice it merits (2).
It will have been noticed that wherever the blow-pipe is
used the projectile is poisoned, but as a rule other poisoned
weapons are in use by the savage races. In the Malay Peninsula
it is used not only for the sumpitan darts, but also in certain
areas for arrows, and among the Mintras and Jakuns for the
laterally projecting point of a simple form of bow trap (3).
In reviewing the use of poison as a missile auxiliary, it is
interesting to note that the two principal areas in which it is
used, the Malay states, and a certain part of South America,
correspond fairly closely with those in which the blow-pipe is
found. These areas are both largely populated by Mongoloid races.
Again though the use of poison is known in Polynesia it appears
far from common. It does not, therefore seem that the Malay
races learned it from the Negritos or Polynesians. It is hardly
known in India proper, and was indeed especially forbidden in
the laws of Menu (4).
Poison was known in early times in Asia, but there seems no
reason to derive the modern use of it from the ancient. It seems
rather an especial development of the Indo-Chinese races living
within the tropics. The use of it among the Bosjesmans is of
peculiar interest, seeing how very different that race is from the
surrounding African types.
I.— Wood "Nat. Hist.", i., 285.
2. — Mungo Park says the Mandingo tribe boiled juice out of the shrub
called " Koona" (a species of echites), and a thread steeped in this was tied
round the arrow point.
3. — Btitrag sur Kenntris der Ipoh Pfeilgiftc, by Paul Geiger, Basel,
1901.
4. — Egerton's "Indian Arms," 9-10. This work mentions the use of
poison among the following races, all of them in further India : —
Mishmis, who are Mongolians of Assam, armed with the cross bow.
The Burmese Khyens, Miris of Assam, and Indo-Chinese Karens of Butmah,
all with the cross-bow: and the Kukisof North Cachar, between Bengal and
Burmah.
PART VII.
THE HORSE, CHARIOTS, ARMED ANIMALS.
chapter xvi.
The Horse, Chariots, Armed Animals.
Besides actual weapons, mankind has at one time or another
hit upon numerous devices to help him to destroy or hurt his
fellow beings, or to defend himself from their attacks. Perhaps
the most interesting Df these " Tricks in attack " is the way he
has engaged the services of the animal world for this purpose.
The taming of the horse, wherever that first took place, may
not have been originally for the use of war, since its place as a
beast of burden or draught is, and has been, as important. Yet
the possession and mastery of such a swift and strong animal,
at once placed a tribe in a dominant position towards neighbour-
ing races who had not acquired the art of breaking in and riding.
It is perhaps a little strange that more species of the animal
world should not have been found amenable to mankind's tuition.
Nevertheless we have war horses, war elephants, camels, and the
dogs of war. We do not know if there ever were war asses or
llamas, and in spite of his original tastes, even Waterton would
hardly have advocated a corps of alligator cavalry. But though
the value . of mounted men is so self evident, the wide use of
war chariots in early times is a little inexplicable. For it is
evident that not only among the ancient cultured races, but
among the barbarians in early times, these were extremely com-
mon. The old testament teems with allusions to chariots.
The Egyptians never rode on horseback if they could help it, and
yet it is known that a long training was considered necessary
for chariot riding, because of the difficulty when at full speed to
maintain the balance (i). Throughout Asia their use was
deeply rooted, and the chariot used at the siege of Troy has
been recognised as identical in type with the Hittite chariot as
depicted in Egyptian monuments. Pentaour the court poet tells
us that 2,500 chariots were left in the hands of the Egyptians in
the fighting near Kadesh, and some writers are inclined to place
the invention of the war chariot in the mysterious Hittite empire
of Asia minor (2).
On the whole the evidence is strongly in favour of the horse
having been first domesticated in Asia, whence its use was
communicated to the great civilizations of Egypt and Assyria.
I. — Maspero " Struggle of Nations," p. 218.
2. — Helbig Das Homertsche Epos, 1884, p. 88-95. Perrot and Chipiez
" Art in Sardinia and Judea, ii., 275.
294 CHARIOTS AND HORSES.
Yet since cavalry was not used or hardly used till a comparatively
late date in both empires, it seems possible that for long, horse-
manship was regarded rather as a sensational acrobatic perfor-
mance than as a practical art. Horsemen are hardly ever re-
presented on Egyptian monuments, and in Assyria only in the
latest period of the empire, and to such an extent did they put
their trust in chariots that they even preferred to hunt on wheel
than mounted. If we try to imagine the pleasures of following
the hounds in a rough country with no macadamized roads
in a strong governess car, we can realise the difficulty of
explaining the early preference for chariots.
A study of the comparative numbers of chariots and cavalry
in old days suggests many questions. Did roads as we know
them now exist in any numbers, and in any case how could
chariots manoeuvre in Egypt where the land was intersected by
canals, irrigation water courses, and covered either with growing
crops or lying beneath the stagnant waters of the innundation ?
The, chariot seems indeed most unlikely either for military work,
transport or conveyance, yet there are the monuments shewing
them, and not shewing cavalry. It is true that in the time of
Moses horses were ridden to some extent, for in his song the
" horse and his rider " are mentioned (i), but in the " chariots
and horsemen" who attended Jacob's funeral (2), and who
followed the Israelites in their flight (3), it is quite possible that
" horsemen " may indicate running grooms and drivers rather
than mounted troops.
One is rather inclined to imagine that when the chariot was
introduced into Egypt in the middle empire, it was at first a
royal toy (like the Sultan of Morocco's motor car), and hence
was taken by the artists as a symbol of the imperial power.
This, however, does not adequately explain the absence of
representations of mounted men.
Again Solomon had 1400 chariots and 12000 horsemen,
which " he bestowed in the cities of chariots." This is about one
chariot to nine horsemen, and since they were bestowed in the
cities of chariots, may we not believe that the nine included
grooms, driver, shield bearer and warrior, and perhaps outriders or
saises ? If so the chariot was the unit of the horse branch of the
service (4). It is by no means improbable indeed that each
chariot was accompanied by one or two heavy armed cavalrymen,
so that the horsemen and chariots fought together in a mixed
body. The royal chariot on the Khorsabad sculptures is always
thus represented.
The difficulty of understanding the preference of the war car
to the mounted warrior is enhanced by the fact that the Asiatic
I. — Exodus xvi.
2. — Gen. 1. 9.
3. — Exodus xiv., 28.
4. — I. Kings, X., 26.
CHARIOTS AND HORSES. 295
races who were the first masters of horses, were themselves
strongl}' in favour of the use of the chariot. When we know that
many of these races, the Armenians, Scythians, and even Indians
rode at an early date without bridles, why do we find the Khita
and Canaanites putting such large numbers of chariots in the
field. Even more surprising is it to find the Celts and Gauls far
away in the West combating the legions of Rome in chariots.
It is evident that one idea was that in a chariot the warrior had
his hands free to fight. The horses were guided by a driver,
and among the Asiatics a shield bearer protected the warrior.
He was rather like a crack shot of the present day with his loaders.
But if there was any real advantage in the war chariot, why did
the use of it become so absolutely extinct ^ There were no
mediaeval knights in chariots, nor do we find them in. use
among the semi-cultures of the East or West.
The Asiatics, too, were apparently the inventors of arming
the chariots with spikes and scythes to mow through the ranks of
the enemy. These chariots were especially the fashion in -the
Persian army, and although according to Diodorus (ii. 51) they
were used in great numbers against the Bactrians by Ninus,
no such contrivances are represented on the Assyrian sculptures.
Xenophon, however, has something to say of these scythed
chariots {Artnata drepanephora) both in his " Cyropeedia "
and his " Anabasis." In the first he ascribes their invention to
the first Cyrus. In the Anabasis he describes them as being
included both among the troops of Cyrus and Artaxerxes at
Cunaxa. They had scythes fixed to the axle trees aslant, and
others under the body of the chariot pointing downwards, the
latter apparently meant to cut up any of the enemy who, being
knocked down by the charge of the horses, might otherwise be
able to rise again and join the fight.
Quintus Curtins also describes the quadrigcs falcake of
Darius at the battle of Arbela, and it would seem both here
and at Cunaxa, the Greeks simply extended their ranks, and
the scythed chariots passed through them doing little harm.
In like manner the Roman troops treated with contempt the
scythed chariots of Mithridates, derisively demanding an encore
as if they were at the public games (i). Scythed chariots were,
however, not confined to the Persians. The Antiochi armed their
troops thus, no doubt copying the Persians ; but it is not easy
to say if the occurrence of the same fashion in Gaul and Britain
(Boadicea) was communicated from the East, or if it originated
separately.
Commentators differ as to the exact method of affixing the
blades ijalx) and spikes (ciispis) on the Persian chariots. They
seem, however, to have been on the rim or felloe, the axle, at the
I. — Spelman's translation of Xenophon's " Anabasis" 1742, i. jj.
296 ARMED ANIMALS.
end of the pole {temo) and on the yoke {jugum) (i). Lastly, it
has been thought that " the chariots with flaming torches "
of Nahum, (ii 3, 4) refers to scythed chariots, but such an
explanation seems unnecessary.
Armed chariots brings us to armed elephants, which were
used both for war, and execution at various dates. The tusk,
trunk, and feet were the parts armed, the former method being
adopted at quite an early date, in the time in fact of Antigonus,
Pyrrhus, and the Seleucidae. Ibn Batuta in the 14th century
tells how persons sentenced to death were threwn to the elephants,
whose feet were cased with iron knives. The elephant would
toss the victim up, then cut him to pieces by trampling him, and
lastly throw the pieces to the assembled throng. The kings of
Ceylon also used elephants as executioners, fastening a three-
bladed knife to the tusk by a socket. Ludovico di Varthema
mentions elephants with swords two fathoms long attached to
the trunk, while in the time of da Gama live blades were worn
on each tusk.
In the 15th century the war elephant was certainly thus
armed. The traveller Nikitin wrote " Large scythes are attached
to the trunks and tusks of the elephants. They carry a citadel,
and in the citadel 12 men in armour with bows and arrows."
If we remember the wonderful teachableness of the elephant,
we can realise how terrible a weapon the elephant sword might be.
Many other animals have been enlisted to serve man in
most varied ways. Pliny tells us of troops of dogs trained to
serve in war, and Demmin figures a dog, cat, and bird, carrying
incendiary torches into a beseiged camp (2). The most interest-
ing example of this barbarous method of attack is found in the
Bible.
" And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes and
took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the
midst between two tails. And when he had set the brands on
fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and
burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the
vineyard and olives." Judges xv., 4-5.
Another device which has already been alluded to in our
first chapter, although hardly a weapon of attack, is the Calthrop
or heel trap, a large number of which, properly arranged, would •
entirely disable advancing cavalry, or even infantry. The
Roman tribuliis or murex seems to have been practically
identical with the mediaeval form, which consisted of 4 sharp
points, meeting at a common centre, and so arranged that
however threwn on to the ground one point stood upwards.
These were sometimes buried in the earth with one point
projecting.
I. — See Q. Curtius Rufus. De Rehus Gestis Alex Mag. iv. 9. Livy
xxxvii. 41. Diodorus xvii. 5S. Vegetius iii, 24.
2. — Demmin, 463.
FINIS. 297
The Roman stilus was only a stake buried in the ground for
the same purpose, and is of course such a simple contrivance for
defence that it must have been widely used at all ages. Small
spalls of bamboo worked quite sharp are indeed used by various
races at the present day for some such purpose. The Dyaks of
Borneo plant them round their villages, or in the fords of streams.
Other examples have been noted in Bunmh, Malacca, among the
Gabun Fans, and the Mangos. Sometimes as in the Malay
Peninsula and among the Mangos these calthrops are made deadly
by being poisoned. Similar spikes, perhaps used the same way
have been found 3J feet deep in peat at Dingle, Ireland.
These calthrops are closely akin to the Cheval de frise or
pronged stakes, which being purely defensive need not detain us.
THE END.
A Short
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Index of Subjects and Places.
Abuse of Arms, 29.
AcHico, (three ball bolas), 202.
AciNACES (sword), 134.
AcLis (a Greek missile), 193.
Adargue (A Moorish dagger), 89.
Adzes, 69.
iEoEAN, see Metliterranean.
Afghanistan, 132. 225, 227.
Africa, Modern Races of, with Madagascar, 7, 9, 12, 13, 26, 2S, 29, 45, 47,
S3. 55> 57-59. 63, 66-69, 73-7^> 84. 100, 102, 105, 112, 115, 125, 130, 132,
133. 137. 139-143. 147. 154. 156-159. 164, 165, 169-173, 178-182, 184-
191, 194. 196, 207, 212,222. 226, 229, 231, 234, 248, 252, 254, 257, 260,
266. 286, 289, 290, 297.
Africa, Ancient Races of, ^Ethiopians, 13, 178, 190, 257 ; Ausenses, 49,
155 ; Garamantes, 4 ; Libyans, 155, 167, 178, 213 ; Numidians, 224;
Puanit. 167 ; Prehistoric, 31.
' Ages " (the) of Stone, Bronze and Iron, 4.
Agney Astra (Indian fire weapon), 282.
Aleutian Islands, 204, 205, 232, 235, 236.
Amazons, 133.
Ambidexterity, 22^.
Amentum, (Roman throwing loop), 186, 193, 229 ; see also Ankule.
America, Races of 184, 188.
America (North) Races of, 8, 21, 24, 31, 43, 53, 59, 75, 76,81-83, 89,96,
106, 112, 159, 165, 170, 178, 182, 183, 192, 196, 203, 204, 206, 209,
211, 235, 236, 250, 253, 255, 256, 257, 258, 287.
America (South), Races of, 4, 8, 12, 21, 25. 31, 43, 56, 59, 81, 85, 90,91,114,
120, 154, 156-159, 178, 183, '186, 189, 191, 192, 194, 199, 200, 201, 202,
203, 205, 206, 207, 209-211, 235, 240-244, 250, 257, 258, 283, 285-290.
America (Central) with Mexico and California, 69, 90, 92, loi, 121,157,
170, 172, 178, 191, 210, 211, 215, 216, 226, 232, 235.
Andaman Islands. I9<5, 251, 252, 258,
Anelace (Mediaeval dagger), 96.
Angon (Prankish Spear), 182.
Animals, Armed, 29 ; attack of, Sy ; Animals used in war, 293, 296.
Animal Weapons, 6, 7 ; use of by mankind, 8, 88.
ANKULfe or ^lESANKULfe (Greek throwing loop), 173, 186, 229 ; see also
Amentum.
Ankus (Elephant Goad), 91.
Arabia, Arabs, and Arabic Speaking Races, ii, 21, 22, 90, 100, 148, 156,
158, 169, 177, 178, 182, 193, 196, 222, 225, 256-258, 261, 2^2, 283-286 ;
see also Moors, Saracens.
Arrows, 188 et scq.\ unfeathered 188; feathered, 188; untipped, 189;
blunt ended, 190 ; whistling, 192 ; with fore-shafts, 191 ; barbed and
poisoned, 191 ; multi-point, 192.
Arrows (for fish catching), 106 ; for crossbow, 265.
Arrow Heads, unusual shaped, 190, 191 ; poisoned 287, 289.
Arrow Release, cl.\ssification of, 258
Asia and Asiatics, 47, 102, 126, 127, 167, 170, 178, 182, 188, 191, 206, 213,
215, 216, 223, 249-251. 253, 255, 257. 258, 285, 293, 294, 295.
304 INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES.
Assegai (Kaffir Spear), i86, 187.
Assyria, 25, 29, 54, 66, 70, 73, 78, 79, 81, 102, 106, 139, 146, 155, 184, 185,
193, 203, 214, 216, 223, 249, 253, 257, 258, 269, 279, 283-285, 293, 294.
Atlatl (Mexican throwing stick), 235.
Australasian, see Pacific.
Australia (Races of), 8, 19, 42, 52-54, 57-60, ']6, 77, 89, 100, 106, 114, 116,
120, 121, 155, 156, 157, 160-166, 167, 170, 172, 174, 178, 181, 182. 183,
225, 231, 232, 234, 238, 246, 251, 286.
Australia, Waddy Club of, 52.
Axes, Stone, 64 ; shell, 64 ; metal, 65 ; of iron (African), 67, 68 ; per-
forated and socketed, 69 ; development of metal types, 71, 72.
Axe-hammers (Stone in Britain), 70.
Baghnak, see Waghnakh.
Bague de Mort (a poisoned gauntlet), 48.
Balista or Ballista, (the Siege Engine), 261, 269, 270, 271.
Ball and Thong Type Weapons, 80-83, 203, see also Bola, Bolas.
Bara Jamdadu, (Indian Dagger), 98.
Barbs and Barbing, 27, 181, 182.
Barre Stone and Plummet, casting the, 159.
Bayonet, 103, 104.
Bellem (African throwing spear), 186.
Belos (Greek, a missile dart), 193.
BiDENT, trident and multipoint spears, 101-103.
BiPENNis (two bladed axe), 70.
Blowpipe or Tube (Sumpitan, Zarabatana Pucuna, etc), 36, 239 et seq. ;
types of, 240 ; geographical distribution, 240 ; range of, 243.
Blowpipe Darts Poisoned, 287, 288, 290.
BoLA, (or ball weapon), 36, 82,
BoLA OR Bolas (the "ball" or " balls"), a missile; in South America,
199-203 ; the bola perdita or single ball missile, 203 ;, bolas for birds
204, 205 ; see also Somai, Achico.
Bolts for Crossbow, 265.
Boomerang the (a missile), 35, 160-175 ; the " come back " boomerang of
Australia, 160 et seq. ; flight of, 162, 163 ; in Africa, 164 ; in ancient
Egypt, 165, 168-170, 174; in India 164, 170; Mykenean, 165 ; types,
166 ; of iron, 172 ; geographical distribution, 174.
Bow, 247, et seq. ; origin of, 16, 247-249; among the ancients, 249 ; classifi-
cation of, 250; the plain or self bow, 250; absence of the bow in certain
countries, 251 ; variations of self-bow, 252, 253 ; horn bow, 253, 254,
266 ; composite bow, 254-257 ; Tartar bow, 255 ; reflex bows, 256 ;
methods of holding, 257 ; release of cord, 258 ; range of, 259 ; use of
inflammables with, 283.
Bow, Musical, 17, 253.
Bowstring, The Turkish, 209.
Boxing, 45, 46,
Bracelets (War) Africa, 47.
Bull-roarer, possible origin of, 84.
Bullets, poisoned, 289. ^ ^
Burton (Richard), Book of the sword, 122.
Byzantine, see Mediterranean.
Caber, tossing the, 159.
Calthrops, (heel traps in sieges), 29, 296, 297.
Canary Islands, 8, 42, 50, 156.
Cannon, the First (?) 282, 284,
Capture, 37 ; Weapons 105-108.
Catapult,"270 ; dynamics of 260, 271.
Catchpoles, 106, 107. ' "^•
Cateia (an ancient missile), 173, 174.
Cavalry in Ancient Times, 294, 295.
INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES. 305
Celts. 42 ; Bronze, 65, 66 ; lead, 65 ; iron, 67.
Ceremonial Weapons, 24.
Ceremo'nl'vl use of Flint Knives, 115,
Cestrosphendone (Greek missile thrower), 230, 231.
Cestus; (boxing mitten), 45.
Ceylon, i8q, 212, 240, 296.
Chained Shot, and Sword Blade Shot, 205.
Chakra (Indian Steel war quoit), 171, 172.
Chanith (Goliath's weapon), 185.
Chariots of War, 293 ; scythed, 295.
China, see Mongolian.
Chivalry, what it was, 29.
Classification of Arms, 5-8.
Cloudesle (William of), the Archer, 22.
Clubs, 34, 49-58 ; Stone Clubs, 42 ; types'ofClubs, 51 ; axe]|shaped, 57.
Club Throwing, 158.
Cockshy and Cockshot, origin of. 155.
Comnema (Anna), on Greek Fire, 281.
Condamine (de la), quoted, 243.
Corseque (trident), 102, 103.
Cranequin (crossbow ratchet), 263.
Crete, see Mediterranean.
Crete, vase from, loi.
Crossbow, 260 ; in ancient times, 261 ; in mediaeval times, 261 ; mechan-
ism, 262 ; cla.ssification, 262, 263 ; Stone and bullet crossbow, 264 ;
a forbidden weapon, 264 ; range — in Europe and the East, 265 ; in
Africa, 266.
Crossbow Trap, 266.
Crutches (Fakir's and Durwish's), 79, 88.
Culture, Progress of in early time, 3.
Cutting, .\rt of, hi.
Cyprus, see Mediterranean.
Daggers, 90 ; of horn, 89 ; of flint, 91, 92 ; of metal, 93 ; bronze, 94, 95 ;
copper, 96, 122 ; double daggers, 88, 89 ,
Danisco (an African missile), 173 ; see Hunga Munga.
Darts, for blowpipes, 243.
Darwin on the Lasso, 209.
Dastar Bungga. (Sikh quoit turban), 171, 172.
De Joinville (Memoirs of St. Louis), on Greek Fire, 281.
De Ulloa, on the Lasso, 210.
De Vinsauf, Geoffrey, on Greek Fire, 281.
Decoration of Arms, 22.
Dha or Dao, the Malay Knife Sword, 135, 136.
Discs (hurling), 156, 172.
Dogs of War, 296.
Dogs and Cats, with fire brands, 296.
DowAK, an Australian Wooden Missile, 157,
Duel, Primitive, 49, 50.
DusACK, Bohemian Sword. 138.
Egypt, see Mediterranean.
Elephant, .\rmed, 296.
Elephant Spear of Africa, 187, 188,
Enkhos (A Greek Missile), 193.
Eskimo, 4, 26, 81, 106, 113, 114, 156, 183, 184, 186, 189, 190, 192, 196, 203,
204,212,226,232,235,236,255-258,260.
Espringal (Spring Engine ?), 274.
Etruscans, see Mediterranean.
Europe, .\ncient and Prehistoric Types of, 12, 31, 62, 63, 65, 66, 69,
70, 7i, 81, 114, 124, 125, 128, 162, 178, 184, 195, 204, 224. 295. '
3o6 INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES.
Europe, Types of MEDiiEVAL Weapons ; Axes, Halberds, etc., 72-74 ;
Maces, 79, 80 ; Flails, hammers, etc., 82-84 ; double dagger, 89 ;
Daggers, 96 ; Spears and Pikes, 100, 102 ; Bayonet, 104 ; Capture
Weapons, 107-109 ; swords, 129-131, 136, 138, 148, Missiles 155, 159 ;
throwing spears, 180, 182 ; Bows, 249, 250 ; Crossbows, 260, 264 ;
Siege Engines, 273-275.
Execution Swords, 148.
.Explosives, 282, 283, classification, 284.
Falarica, a missile spear, 280.
Falchions and Scymitars (Missile), 142.
Fan (War) of Japan, 58.
Feathers, on Arrows, 188, 189 ; on Spears, 184.
Fel-staf, 221.
Ferrules on Spears, 66.
Fighting, instinct of, 3.
Firearms, see Cannon.
Fire Arrows, 283.
Fireless Races, 279.
Firepots, 283.
Flagellants, 83.
Flagrum (Scourge), 29, 83-85.
Flamberge (a Sword), 142.
Flegel (Teutonic Weapon of ball and thong type), 82.
Fleshhook, 109.
Fork (Military), 103.
Foxes, used in War, 296.
Francisca, or Frankish Axe, jk., 194.
Funda (Sling), 224.
FusTiBALUS (a Roman Sling), 221.
Garrot, 209.
Gastrafitf.s (Greek Crossbow), 260.
Gauntlet Samoan of Sharks' teeth, 47.
Gauntlet Sword, see Pata.
Genesis of Arms, Sketch of 31-37.
Ghatrif (an Arabian Missile), 158.
Gladius (Roman Sword), 124, 128.
Glaive, 72, 78.
Goads, 91.
Goleyo (a Missile), 173 ; see Hunga Munga.
Great Britain and Ireland ; Prehistoric Types of, 42, 59, 82, 92-94,
115, 117, 125, 22^ ; Celts and Celtic, 128, 203, 204, 295 ; Picts, kv ;
Roman period, 128, 226 ; Saxon, 130 ; Mediaeval, 52, 82, 225, 249-251,
257, 259. 261 ; modern, 264.
Greek Fire, 280-282.
Greek, see Mediterranean.
Greenland, 7, 8, 88, 113, 120, 232, 234-236.
Grcsphos (a missile, Greek), 193.
Guisarme, 78, 103.
Gulel (a stone bow), 227.
Guks (Spear throwing game in Abyssinia), 178.
Gun, method of holding compared with that of blowpipe, 244, 245.
Gunpowder, introduction of 30, origin of, 284.
Haddon, Professor, cited, 77, 84.
Hafting, 61-63.
Hak Sat, (a Siamese Spear), 187.
H.^LBARD, 78.
Hallstatt, Type of Axe, 7^ ; Sword, 129.
Hand Guns, 262.
INDEX OF SUBJFXTS AND PLACES. 307
Harpago, Roman flesh hook, 109,
Harpoon, 187, 194 ; types of, 195-197.
Hebrew, see Mediterranean.
HiTTiTE, see Mediterranean.
Homeric Culture, see Mediterranean.
Honda (a Paragiiay Weapon), 205.
Horn, Weapons of, 8.
Horn Types imitated in Metal, 88, 89.
Horse, where domesticated, 293 ; see Cavalry.
HungaMunga (Changer Manger, etc.), a spiked African Missile, 29,73, 75.173-
Hurling Discs, 156, 172.
India, 7. 20, 22, 45-48, 72, 75, 79, 83, SS, 89, 91, 96, 97, 98, 100, 102, 125,
126, 133-138, 140, 143, 148, 149, 164, 165, 170-172, 174, 180, 184, 185,
189, 190, 194, 205, 208, 209, 211, 212, 223, 225, 227, 240, 254, 256, 257,
258, 282, 283, 286, 290.
India, Further (Burmah, Annam, Siam, and Malay Peninsula), 7, 8, 67,
88, 90, 99, 102, 106, 126, 135-137, 148, 187, 192, 207, 208, 227, 240-242,
251, 253, 257, 258, 260, 264, 265, 28;^, 286, 289, 290, 297.
Inflammables, 28 ; among the ancients, 279 ; in the Bible, 280 ; fcistened
to animals, 296.
Inventions, 2. .
Italy, see Mediterranean.
Jamdhar Doulicaneh, and Sehlicaneh (Indian daggers), 98.
Japan, see Mongolian.
Javelin, 35, 192-194 ; definition of 177 ; flight of, 192 ; double pointed,
194 ; red hot, 280.
Jawbone, used by Sampson, 8.
Jerid (an Arab game), 177, 178.
Kaffirs, 53.
Kangaroo Rat (an Australian Missile), 174.
Karcal (an Appliance for Boxing), 46.
Katar (Indian Dagger), 49, 97.
Kattaree or Katari (an Indian Missile), 170, 171, 174.
Katureea (Indian Boomerang), 170
Kawas (a Missile of New Hebrides), 155.
Khanjar (curved Eastern Dagger), 89.
Khermadia (Homeric Missiles), 154.
Khopsh (Egyptian Falchion). 126, 131, 139, 142, 143-147.
Khyber Knife (an Afghan Sword), 132, 133.
Kiri (A Kaffir Club). 53. 58.
Knarrarm (Australian Noose), 208.
Knives, 112-118; of reed, 112; of bone, 113; of shell, 114; of stone, 114,
115 : ceremonial, 115 ; sacrificial, 115 ; bronze age, 117 ; Spear heads
used as, 118.
Knives, throwing, 159, 194.
Knob Club or Kiri of South Africa, 53, 1 57.
Knout, 85.
Knuckle Dusters, 48,
Kollery (Indian Missile), 170, 171.
Kopere, a dart, 238.
Kopis (a curved sword, Greek), 133, 147.
Kora (a Sword of Nepal), 136.
KoREH (Bechuana assegai), 28, 181, 182.
Kotaha (New Zealand WTiip-sling), 174, 238, 239, 283.
Kris (Malay Dagger), 90, 99 ; poisoned, 287.
Kukri (Ghurka Sword), 133, 147. • I
KuLBEDA (African iron Boomerang), 141, 142, 173.
Kurbaj (Egyptian Whip), Sk. t,-.
3o8 INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES.
Lance (the Future of the), 104.
Lanque de Bceuf (Mediaeval Dagger), 96.
Lansquenet (Mediaeval Dagger), 96.
Lapland, 189, 190, 206.
Laquearius (a Gladiatorial Noose Thrower), 215.
Laqueus (Roman Noose or Lasso), 215.
Lasso or Lazo, 37, 106 ; in America, 209 ; other countries, 212 ; ancient,
213-216.
Leowel, see Malga.
LiSAN (African Club), 55, 164.
LiTHOBOLOi (Catapults), 155.
LiTUUs, origin of, 108 ; in Hittite Sculptures, 139.
Lezam (Sepoy Chain Bow), 254.
Lupus Ferreus (Roman Siege hook), 107.
Lycia, see Mediterranean.
Macana, throwing Club of Brazil, 54, 158, 159.
Mace, 61, 76-79.
Machaira (A Sword, Greek), 133.
Madu or Maru, Indian double horn dagger, 88.
Main Gauche (Sword Breaker), 107, loS.
Malay Archipelago, see Pacific.
Malay Peninsula, see India (Further).
Malga (Australian Club), 58, 157, 166.
Malleolus (Roman fiery gavelin), 280.
Malta, 193.
Mangonel (Catapult), 272.
Manus Ferrea (grappling iron), 109.
Maquahilt (Mexican flint edged club), 121.
Martelde Fer, 76.
Mason, O.T., quoted, 236, 237.
MATfe Tea, what, 201.
Median oil, 280.
Mediterranean, Ancient Civilizations of.
General, 154, 211 ; .Egean, 95, 124, 127; 215; Byzantine, 261, 280-284;
Crete, 12, 25, 70, 95, loi, 124, 127, 131, 266; Cyprus, 25, 95 ; Egypt,
10, II, 17, 25, 45, 51, 52, 54, 59, 70, 71, 72, 78, 85, 92, 93, 95, 108, 115-
117, 120, 124, 126, 131, 132, 134, 139, 142, 143-147, 155, 164, 165, 167-
169, 174, 183, 184, 186, 190, 194, 195, 203, 213, 216, 220, 222, 249, 252,
253, 257, 258, 269, 279, 293, 294 ; Etruscan, 45, 128, 215, 224 ; Greek, 45,
71, 94, 96, 100, 102, 124, 132, 133, 140, 155, 172, 179, 185, 193, 223, 226,
229, 249, 251, 257, 258, 260, 269, 270, 280, 282, 296 ; Hebrew, 11, 155,
184, 185, 193, 223, 269, 280, 294, 296 ; Hittite, 25, 26, 72, 102, 109, 139,
146, 147, 249, 253, 293; Homeric, 154, 185-186, 249, 254, 293. Italy, 124;
Lycia, 182, 188 ; Mykena2 (Mycenae), 10, 25, 26, 70, 95, 127, 131, 214,
223 ; Phoenicia, 71, 147, 223 ; Rome, 26, 45, 52, 70, 85, 96, loi, 108,
109, ii5, 124, 128, 131, 134, 165, 182, 185, 186, 193, 209, 215, 216, 221,
224, 226, 229, 231, 249, 251, 258, 260, 261, 269, 270, 273, 280, 295, 297 ;
Sardinia, 25 ; Troy, 10, 69, 95, 117, 127.
Merai, see Patu Patu.
Metal (coming of), 9.
Misericorde (Mediaeval Dagger), 96.
Missiles. 153-216; Stone, 153; Wooden, 157; thrown from Engines,
273 ; dead bodies and living men as missiles, 274.
Missile Throwers, 219, et seq.
MiZRAK, Arab Javelin, 193.
Mongolian Races (Eastern, China and Japan), 31, 58, 76, 81-83, 85, 102,
132, 133. 136-138, 148, 192, 225, 227, 240, 251, 252, 256-260, 265, 266,
284, 285, 287.
Monkeys using Missiles, 154.
Moors and Moorish, 89.
INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES. 309
MoRGENSTERN, See Moming Star.
Morning Star, a Spfked Mace, 79, 80.
Mycenae, see Mediterranean.
Names, poetical, of swords, 129 ; given to weapons, 27.
Nebut (Arab staff), 51.
New Zealand, 8, 18, 24, 27, 42-45, 57, 59, 60, 69, 75, 113, 115. "Z- 120,
174, 182, 231, 238, 251, 283.
NjiGA, a missile, 173 ; see Hunga Munga.
Noose, 29 ; used in hunting, 206-208 ; for catching snakes, 208 ; for fish,
208 ; for strangling, 208 ; see also Lasso.
Official Weapons, 24.
Onager, see Catapult.
OuNEP, throwing loop of New Caledonia, 231.
Ovalle quoted, 210.
Pacific Ocean, Races of, including the Malay Archipelago, 7, 8, 9, 18, 21,
• 22. 24, 27, 28, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, 52-54, 56-59. 64. 74. 77 < 78, 89, 99, 102,
105, 106, 112, 114, 116, 119-121, 135, 155-158, 178, 179, 182-184, 188,
189, 191, 192, 194, 204, 205, 208, 225, 226, 230, 231, 232, 234, 235, 240,
243, 248, 249, 251, 252, 254, 257, 259, 283, 286, 289, 297 ; see also
Australia, Aleutian Is., Japan, New Zealand.
Paddles, 18 ; Connection between paddle, club, and spear, 18, iQ. Paddle
type clubs, 55-57 ; spears used as paddles, 187.
Pagaya (a Brazilian Club), 56.
Pancration, the, 4.
Parang Ihlang and Latok (Dyak Sword), 15, 135-137.
Parazonium (Greek Dagger), 96.
Partington, J.E. quoted, 239.
Pasha (Indian lasso), 213.
Pata (Indian gauntlet sword), 49, 98.
Patience of Savages, 21.
Pattani Jamdadu (Indian dagger), 98.
Patu (New Zealand club), 57.
Patu Patu (stone club of New Zealand), 18, 42, 43, 44, 60, 159 ; wooden
type, 113.
Peasant Weapons, 75, 83.
Persia, 22, 4.5, 79, 126, 258, 132-134, 138, 177, 185, 190, 193, 194.
Persia (ancient), 214, 216, 223, 227, 261, 295.
Petraries (catapults), 274.
Petroboloi (slingers), 155, 156.
Phalanx (ancient club ?), 55.
Phallic Shaped Clubs, 57.
Phasganon (Greek dagger), 124.
Phlo and Tok Fai (Indian fireballs), 283.
Phcenicia, see Mediterranean.
Pick Type of Weapon, 76.
Pigmy Flints, 239.
PiiKOi (A missile, Hawaii), 205.
Pike, 103.
PiLUM (Roman Spear), 182, 186.
Poggamoggon (Shoshone ball and thong), 82.
Poison, 28 ; as an arm, 285, et seq. ; among the ancients, 285 ; in Asia,
Polynesia, Africa, 286 ; in America, 287 ; composition of, 287, 288, 290 ;
effects of, 289 ; geographical distribution, 290.
Poisoned Arrows. 187.
Poisoned Blowpipe Darts 243.
Polynesians, see Pacific.
Processional Weapons, 24.
Pole Axe, 78.
310 INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES.
PoLYSPASTON (Greek grappling hook), 107.
PucuNA (Guiana Blowpipe), 240, 241, 242.
PuGio (Roman dagger), 96.
Pyrobola (fire balls), 280.
Quarter Staff, 51, 52.
Rajputs, 48.
Ram Dao (Nepal Sacrificial Sword), 148.
Range of Missiles, 22, 23 ; hand thrown spear, 187 ; bolas, 202; lasso,
211 ; sling, 227 ; stone bow, 227 ; ounep, 231 ; wunnerah, 238 ; blow-
pipe, 242 ; bow, 259 ; crossbow, 265 ; siege engines, 273, 274.
Ranseur (a pike), 103.
Rapiers, 94, 99, 122.
Retiarius (the "netsman"), 215.
RoMACH (Hebrew, a spear), 185.
Rome, see Mediterranean.
RooMAL (Assassin's noose), 209.
Ruses of Savage Races, 20.
Russia, 69, 74, 82, 250.
Sainti (an Indian weapon), 89.
Salawar Yataghan, see Khyber Knife.
Saracens, 102, 280 ; see also Arabs.
Sardinia, see Mediterranean.
Saul's Spear, 185, 193.
Sax (a Teutonic Sword Knife), 140.
Scandinavian Races, 27, 70, 72, 76, 92, 115, 117, 125, 129, 131, 149, 156,
180, 211, 212, 225, 231, 250, 287.
Sceptre of Agamemnon, 80.
Scorpion (a chain knout), 83.
Scourges, 84, 85.
ScRAMASAX (Teutonic Sword Knife), 129, 131, 133.
Scymitar, 134, 137, 138.
Scythes on Wheels, 29.
Serrated and Tooth Edged Weapons, 118-121 ; Pacific, 121 ; American
121.
Shelach (Hebrew, a Spear), 185.
Shields (Primitive). 58.
Shield Wrestling, 4.
Shifts of Savages, 20.
Shotel (Abyssinian Sword), 139, 140, 142, 143 ; similar types, 141.
Siberia, 76, 96, 232. 235, 249, 256.
Sickle Swords, 145.
Siege Engines, see War Engines.
Siege Hooks. 107.
Siege Towers, 269.
SiNGA (Indian Steel Boomerang), 171.
Singhouta (Indian double horn dagger). 88.
SivAji (story of), 48.
Skepti-fletta (Norse throwing loop?), 231.
Sling, Ribbon sling, 219, 222 : split stick sling, 220; staff sling, 22;
ancient slings 222-226 ; among modems, 225.
Sling Stones, 226.
Slungshot Weapons, 203.
Slur Bow, 264.
Snaerispjot (Norse stringspear), 231.
SoMAi (two ball bolas), 202.
Spain, 129, 133, 159, 194, 210, 215. 216, 224, 226, 287.
Spatha (a Barbarian Sword). 128.
Spear (non missile). 100 ; bident and trident loi ; see also Lance and Pike;
INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES. 311
Spear (missile), 177-182 ; with foreshafts, 182 ; bident, trident and multi-
point, 183 ; spud ended, 184 ; feathered, 184 ; knob ended, 185.
Spearheads, Types of, 179, 180.
Sphendon6 (Greek, a sUng), 224.
Spontoon (or half-pike), 103.
Spring Traps, 248.
Spuds and Ferrules for Spears, 184.
Spuds or Crowbars, Assyrian, 66.
Squoyle, English FowUng Club, 165.
Stilus (a buried stake), 297
Stinkpots (Japan), 285.
Stone, Ceremonml use of. 11.
Stone Balls (Scotland), 204.
Stone Bow, 227,
Stone Headed Club, see Mace.
Stone Throwing, 153-156 ; in Homer, 154.
SuMPiTAN OF Borneo, 240 ; see Blowpipe.
Superstitions about Stone Implements, 12.
Surgery (prehistoric), 30.
SvERD (Viking), 129.
Sword, hi. 122-149.
Sword, of Bone, 58 ; of wood, 58, 60 ; stone, 117 ; tooth edged, 119, 121.
Sword, classification, 123 ; the two edged straight sword from the bronze
age to the 15th century, 123-130 ; two handed, 130, 148 ; the one edged
straight sword, 130, 131 ; in the East, 132, 133 ; the curved sword,
133 ; the Sword of Japan, 136 ; concave edged swords, 140 ; double
bladed swords, 147; execution and sacrificial swords, 147, 148; poisoned,
287.
Sword, see Scymitar, Parang, etc.
Swords, Norse Names of, 129.
Sword Breakers, 108.
Sword Catcher, 99.
Syria, 91, 225. »
TACApt (a Brazilian Club), 56.
Teneriffe, 12.
Throwing Stick, in Australia, 231, et seg. ; see also VVummerah.
Throwing Stick, in Pacific Area, 234 ; in America, 235 ; Eskimo, and
Northern forms, 235-238.
Thugs (Indian Assassins), 29, 208.
TiMUR Beg., 283.
Toki (Maori Adze), 75.
Tomahawk (American Indian Axe), 75, 159,
ToMBAT (Australian missile), 169.
ToMERANG (Blowpipe of Mantras), 241.
Toothed Weapons, see Serrated Weapons.
ToRciDo (a lasso of Chile), 209.
Tormenta (Engines), 269.
Torture Instruments (Ust of ), 29.
Trebuchet (the War Engine), 272, 273.
Trensado (a lasso, Chile), 209.
Trepanation among Prehistoric Races, and Savages, 31.
Tri (a missile trident), 102.
Tribulus (Roman Calthrop), 296.
Trident, see Spear.
Trojans, see Mediterranean.
Trombash an African Missile, 169 ; see also Kulbeda.
Turks, 21, 85, 132-134, 137, 138, 159, 209, 250, 256, 258, 259, 274, 281, 282
Twirl Spear (Norse), 180.
Tzagra (crossbow?), 261.
312 INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES.
Ula (Fiji Club), 157, 158.
Ulu (Eskimo Knife), 114.
Unarmed Races, 3.
Vajrar Moostee, Indian Boxing Appliance, 46.
Vaphio Cups, 214, 215.
Voulge,72 78.
Votive Weapons, 25.
Waddy (Australian club), 52, 157.
Waghnakh or Baghnak (Indian Tigerclaw), 29, 48 ; poisoned, 287.
War Cry, 13.
War Engines, among ancients, 269 ; classes, 270 ; use and range of, 273;
see also Balista, Catapult, Trebuchet, etc.
Weet Weet (an Australian Missile), 174.
Wendat (New Caledonian sling), 225.
West Indies (Barbados), 64.
Wharepakau (New Zealand Club), 8, 9.
WooDGUAMOOTiE (Rajput gauntlet), 48.
Worship of Weapons, 26.
Wourali Vine, poison compound from, 288 ; effect of, 289.
Wummerah, Australian Throwing Stick, 186, 232-234, 237; names of, 232 ;
range of, 238 ; see also Throwing Stick.
XiPHos (Greek sword), 124.
Zarabatana, South American Blowpipe, 240, 241, 245.
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