Note 2 — Chapter X · FROM TOBOLSK TO TOMSK.

Their bows are 6 feet long, with a diameter of an inch and a quarter in the middle, and are made of a slip of birch joined by fish-glue to a piece of hard pine-wood. The arrows are 4 feet long, the head consisting of either a ball for shooting small fur animals, or an iron spear-like head for killing larger game. The bows are exceedingly powerful, and the archers wear on the left forearm a strong bent plate of horn to deaden the blow of the string. We heard of feats of archery accomplished by them which far outdo the traditional deed of William Tell. Our captain told a lady on board that on one occasion he saw an Ostjak mark an arrow in the middle with a piece of charcoal and discharge it in the air, whilst a second man, before it reached the ground, shot at the descending shaft and struck it on the mark.