To return to the bow again, the length of it varies in different localities. In a densely wooded country, a long bow would often be in the way, and this and other reasons would make it shorter. The average length is about forty inches. The string is made of sinew, well twisted and, at the ends, braided. Arrows are of different kinds in the same tribe: some blunt or with wood points sharpened for bird shooting, or for other small animals; arrows adapted for deer; for large fowl; and others still for heavy game like bison or bear. The head of the game arrow was set in the plane of the string—that is, the notch was quite or nearly in line with the head, and, when adjusted to the bowstring, stood at a slight angle, the bow always being held diagonally across the shooter’s body. The head would thus strike between an animal’s ribs. War arrows, on the other hand, had their notches so placed that the head of the arrow went from the bow in a horizontal position, because the ribs of a man lie that way.[225] It will be seen that the head was not at right angles to the notch, for in that case it would not have been projected horizontally. The adjustment of the notch to produce the desired position would always be regulated by the habit of holding the bow. Since the rifle came into use, little attention probably has been given to this point. The arrow-shaft is round, about a quarter inch in diameter, and from twenty to thirty inches long, though some are longer.[226] Long ones are usually made of reed with a hardwood tip, upon which the head is mounted; this, as noted above, now being of hoop iron. Stone heads formerly were the chief method of tipping the shaft. In 1875 I purchased a number of these from an old arrow-maker of the Pai Ute tribe. The other end of the shaft is feathered. This is done by attaching split feathers to it with the web cut narrow, for the purpose of giving it guidance. This feathering is a distinguishing feature, and an expert can place the maker of an arrow by the style of feathering. Feathers of birds of prey are almost invariably employed. The number is sometimes two, but generally three. They are attached by strands of moist sinew wound around the ends and when the sinew is dry it becomes a smooth firm band. Three zigzag grooves are scratched down the shaft, some say not, as popularly believed, for the purpose of aiding the flow of blood, but because this is the lightning symbol, and is intended to endow the arrow with speed and certainty. But Dorsey says the Omahas told him their object was to increase flow of blood from the wound. Poisoned arrows were made by dipping the points into rotting liver or rattlesnake venom, etc. These were used for war. The arrow-shaft when first made is by no means always straight, but the Amerind invented a piece of horn or stone with perforations through which the heated shaft is drawn till it is straight. See illustration at head of this chapter.