# Southeastern US, traditional Amer. Indian?



## bowfisher 51 (Jan 20, 2006)

Either I read about or was told that the Southeastern American Indian tribes
made their longbows from the limbs of the Osage orange tree, indigenous to
to that area. Does anyone know anything about that?


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## longbowguy (Nov 14, 2004)

Well, I know that the plains indians often preferred osage for their bows. It did not grow in the northern plains but the tribes there traded for it from the southern ones. Southeastern tribes would have had a wider choice of good bow woods to choose from. Osage works better than most in short bows, handy for horseback archers.


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## azhoyt (Feb 4, 2006)

*Osage in the West*

FYI in AZ we have osage that grows here, alot of the local bowyers here use osage that is found down around Tucson, and the Mexico border...They, the indians could have had regular access to such a good bow wood

azhoyt


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## bowfisher 51 (Jan 20, 2006)

I've got Osage right here on my on property.........Wondering could it be the
same stuff?.........We call it hedge apple...........Fox squirrel will cut the big
fruits.....wanting to build a longbow in tradition, but wish to use materials
indigenous to my space, kind-of-a spiritual nut-case type of thing that might
bring me back to "ONE'ness" with The Gods' and, mother earth..W.Tennessee.


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## Engelsmung (Jan 12, 2005)

bowfisher 51 said:


> I've got Osage right here on my on property.........Wondering could it be the
> same stuff?.........We call it hedge apple............


Same thing. We have them here in La, and the French called them "Bois D'Arc"(wood of the bow). That's been shortened by the ******* to "Bodoc". It makes a big green fruit the size of a softball, which i assume is the "hedge apple".


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## bowfisher 51 (Jan 20, 2006)

Yea.........It's gotta be the same stuff.....I've heard the name "bo'doc" used
within the local woodsmen around here and the fruits are big as a softball...
Didn't know it grew as far west as Arizona though.....Planning on building a
longbow........got some good (How To) imfo off some guys in the traditional
archery forum........Thanks guys for the imfo......


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