Bow Item Number: Z 2549 from the MAA: University of Cambridge
Long flat bow with a flat back surface on which a slight ridge runs down the centre, and has a curved front side. The nocks are pronounced, and the arms flare outwards slightly but contract again at the grip. The grip is lashed with some sort of twine, and on the backside, under the twine a large tuft of reddish hair is secured. The bow string is attached at one end and has a loose loop at the other, it is made from cherry bark twisted around sinew.; Good
The style of the bow is very similar to that collected by Hepburn, 1885.66.?25, which has the provenance of Neah Bay written on an arm. It is therefore possible that this bow collected by Cook on his third voyage could also have a similar origin among the Makah, close neighbours of the Nootka (G.Crowther). The original European tribal names and, where possible, current tribal names have both been given in separate GLT fields.; Exhibited: Old anthropological displays at CUMAA, dismantled 1986.; Collected by: ?Gordon.Admiral in ?- - 1776; ?- - 1777; ?- - 1778; ?- - 1779.
Literature: See the 'Catalogue of the Northwest Coast Collection: Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology' (1996), Dr Gillian Crowther. (J.Tanner, May 1998).