FReeper Canteen ~ Part VI of The Mongols ~ December 14, 2004

www.coldsiberia.org ^ | December 14, 2004 | LaDivaLoca

[LaDivaLoca]

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday...
Thank the Veterans who served in
The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom?
Support The United States Armed Forces Today!

ANCIENT WARFARE





Part VI of The Mongols

cont'd Mongolian Bow: Fish Glue and Sinew

As we understand, a composite bow by definition has several layers. We have mentioned the birch frame, and the layer of horn/bone. In addition to this, there is a layer of specially prepared birch bark whose purpose is to protect against penetration of moisture. In addition to this is a layer of sinew, which is taken from deer, moose or other game animals. The tendons of domestic animals may also be used, but Mongols feel that tendons from wild animals like deer, moose and mountain sheep are the strongest and best. Naturally, the bow has to be glued together. The preferred and traditional substance used for the impregnation of both leather as well as their bows is fish glue. As a matter of fact, fish glue has been proven through millennia to be highly capable of resisting moisture. Moreover, it is durable and lasts longer than modern epoxy resins, which are prone to molecular fatigue. Above all, fish glue is available in all the waters of Siberia where fish is living, among them the greatest of them all, Lake Bajkal.

How is fish glue made? The process that yields the highest quality is to take swim bladders from freshwater fish, soak them into hot water to extract the protein substance, and then boil the resultant soup for a prolonged period. If sufficient quantities of swim bladders cannot be obtained, it is also possible to make hide glue by boiling animal skins. This latter method however results in a glue of inferior quality, because it absorbs moisture, whereas glue made from ichthyic air bladders is highly moisture-resistant.

Although all materials needed to build the Mongolian bow are to be found in the immediate natural environment, the whole production process is very complex. It takes a long time to build a bow that is to meet the Old Mongol requirements. We may also assume that the selection of the best wood material for the frame requires knowledge and experience.

The usual procedure in the production of a traditional Mongolian bow is as follows: The wooden frame is cured, and the horns and/or bone to be used are boiled for softness. This makes it possible to fit the different parts together with great precision. As we understand, high-quality Mongolian bowmaking is certainly a most impressive craftsmanship. When the wooden frame, and the horns/bone parts are ready, the sinewing can take place. First the tendons have to be dried. After that, they are crushed until they form a mass of loose fibers. Next, this mass is mixed with fish glue to form a solid but not rigid layer. It is important to apply the correct thickness and amount of sinew, and it is done in a two-stage process with some days in between. Too little makes the bow weaker, too much would make it stiff. When completed the layer of sinew could be as thick as a human finger before drying. Sinew has a peculiar quality: Unlike other materials, its strength increases when subject to stretching or impact. This form of elasticity is a property stemming from the molecular structure of the protein of tendons (collagen), and can be seen as another striking demonstration of the innate superiority of natural solutions and materials. When used in a Mongolian composite bow, the effect is that as the horn plates in the front snap back to their former shape, the sinew layer in front contracts in the same split-second, adding further acceleration to the shot.

At each stage, fish glue has been applied to secure all the parts. In the horns and wooden parts, the sides that are to be glued against each other are first grafted with a toothed special tool in order to give the strongest possible hold.

The last step is usually the applying of the protective birch bark layers, which are also boiled until soft, so ensuring a proper fit before glued to the finished bow. When the layer of birch bark has been added to the composite construction, the whole bow is wrapped tightly in ropes and placed in a form where it is allowed to dry and harden in room temperature for one year or more. This ensures that the bow becomes extremely strong and that it keeps its shape and snappiness even after many years of frequent shooting.

A Mongolian bow is stored in its own leather case, protecting the bow when not in use.

The String

No bow, no matter how powerful, can be shot without a string. Traditional Mongol bowstrings are made from animal hide. First every trace of fat is removed. Thereafter the hide is stretched and twisted. After this treatment it will not stretch, but remain taut. Although the skin of many fur-bearing animals can be used, horse skin is often preferred since it is said that this material maintains suppleness in the exceedingly low winter temperatures of Siberia and Inner Asia. It is also possible to use the intestines of animals as string material, but such strings are not water resistant and thus only suited for use in dry and hot weather.

Silk and cotton, and mixes of these, can also be used. Modern archers generally use dacron and other man-made materials that require high technology to produce and therefore cannot possibly be made by the archer himself. Here we see another example that the use of primitive materials, although demanding in terms of individual skills and work, is the more reliable and sustainable strategy when viewed in a wider perspective.

When the bow is strung, the archer may sit down, using both feet to press against the bow as the limbs were bent while the string was attached. Using another technique, he or she could also stand upright, bow bent under one leg while the other leg holds the outer end. On horseback, the Mongol archer routinely stringed the bow by placing one end of the bow between the foot and the stirrup while the arms pressed against the bow.

Source: http://www.coldsiberia.org/monbow.htm

Next Tuesday Part VII of The Mongols

[Lady Jag]

Hold on, let me find Parry Hotter.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good Tuesday afternoon, Angel Boy! Good Tuesday afternoon, Patriotic Pattie!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Do you have any idea how Dexter's brother is coming along? IT guy huh?

[kemathen7]

Thanks for the ping ...

Due to some recent events in my life, I've been thinking about joining the Air National Guard, or the AF Reserves. Does anyone here at the fabulous canteen have some insight? Anyone join and hate it? Perhaps the best decision they ever made? Any personal experiences that you would like to share?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

[Lady Jag]

Freepmail from Parry Hotter.

[E.G.C.]

I'm about to call them and check on it.

[uncleshag]

So happy y'all enjoy the music!

Canteen folks, like the troops, best in the world!

[blackie]

Not messy at all ~ I'm a pretty neat guy, except for pots, pans, etc. :)

[Fawnn]

From my mom:

SPECIAL POEM FOR SENIOR CITIZENS!!
A row of bottles on my shelf
Caused me to analyze myself.
One yellow pill I have to pop
Goes to my heart so it won't stop.
A little white one that I take
Goes to my hands so they won't shake.
The blue ones that I use a lot
Tell me I'm happy when I'm not.
The purple pill goes to my brain
And tells me that I have no pain.
The capsules tell me not to wheeze
Or cough or choke or even sneeze.
The red ones, smallest of them all
Go to my blood so I won't fall.
The orange ones, very big and bright
Prevent my leg cramps in the night.
Such an array of brilliant pills
Helping to cure all kinds of ills.
But what I'd really like to know...........
Is what tells each one where to go!

There's always a lot to be thankful for
if you take time to look for it.

For example, I am sitting here thinking
how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt.

[reaganaut]

I'm off to run errands for awhile. I'll check in later, you guys and girls behave. :)

[Soaring Feather]

Hi Diva!!


Cool font (or face), what is the name??

Doing okay thanks. It's cold here today. I was out for a little while and very glad to be home by 2:00pm. We have a dusting of snow on the ground now. I am told it was icy early this morning.

Visiting family still with you??

[Soaring Feather]

Hi Fawnn and Fawnn's Mom! Thanks!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Can any of you help?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1300823/posts?page=484#484

kemathen7 : You've come to the right place!

[MoJo2001]

It's a font! It's Night and Sky font!
Anyhoo, the relatives will be leaving this evening after the boys go to bed. They're all playing video games at the moment.

*HUGS*

[Radix]

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers talks to a US soldier at a military base near Baghdad's international airport.

Son, Baghdad International Airport is officially out of the Burka selling business.

Commandant of the Marine Corps Michael Hagee, center, stands next to robots used to defuse improvised explosive devices at the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Headquarters at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, on Tuesday. Hagee paid a visit to the base to greet Marines stationed there and to witness the progress being made in the battle against insurgents in the city. 

The Corps recently had an award ceremony, and R2D2 received the highest Droid award for exceptional bravery under combat conditions.

 

A Marine uses a map to help his fellow leathernecks get oriented inside a neighborhood in Ramadi, Iraq, on Monday as they conduct a nighttime patrol there. 

Wow, a Marine with a map. Double wow a Marine who can read a map? J/K! I don't mean it.

 

Iraqi National Guardsmen and U.S. soldiers survey the scene of a car bombing in Baghdad on Tuesday. A suicide bomber killed seven people when he struck a checkpoint at the city’s Green Zone early on Tuesday, the second attack in as many days on the area housing Iraq's interim government and foreign embassies. 

For some reason the wait for a Taxi in the area seems to have become  significantly longer in recent weeks.

 

U.S. soldiers inspect a car that was destroyed when a suicide car bomber attacked a checkpoint at Baghdad’s Green Zone early on Tuesday. 

The Marines who were looking for MoJo had no trouble following her trail.

 

Laura Rich greets her husband, Cdr. Todd Rich, on the carrier dock at Mayport Naval Station, Fla., on Monday after the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy returned from a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf.

 

A Marine sits behind a double-wall of steel plates filled with sand bags for protection against explosions as he rides in the back of a truck that is part of a Humvee convoy traveling through Ramadi, Iraq, on Monday. 

Hey Sarge, I think that cloud up there looks a lot like John Kerry's plan for Iraq.

 

The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy returns to Mayport, Fla., on Monday after a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Before leaving the region, Kennedy and CVW-17 provided critical air support for coalition ground troops as part of Al Fajr operations in Fallujah, Iraq. 

Getting that carrier out of the desert city of Fallujah was one tricky maneuver.

 

Sailors assigned to the Air Department conduct a Scrub Exercise (SCRUBEX) on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) on Sunday. SCRUBEXs are performed periodically to reduce hydraulic fluid, grease and dirt buildup on flight decks and catwalks. The Roosevelt currently is at sea in the Atlantic Ocean conducting sea trials. 

Join the Navy learn to swab, and see the world pass you by reflected in the sudsy greasy surfaces of big boats. 

 

Tech. Sgt. Keith Kleinert, an aerial gunner from the 33rd Rescue Squadron, waves as an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter takes off from Kadena Air Base, Japan, for a mission to the storm-devastated Philippines.

Just at the lift off. the Sarge finally spotted his contact lens on the tarmac.

 

Gen. Richard Myers, left, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talks with Gen. Pete Chiarelli, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, at a U.S. military base outside Baghdad on Tuesday. 

Hey General, any idea where a Troop can get a good buy on a Burka around here?

 

A Marine scans an alleyway during a nighttime foot patrol in Ramadi, Iraq, on Monday.

The Night Club scene in Ramadi is a bit slow, but things are changing.

 

Thomas Finigan assembles armor-plated doors for Humvees, called Armor Survivability Kits, at the Red River Army Depot in Hooks, Texas, on Monday. The kits will be retro-fitted to Humvees overseas after being put together at the facility. Workers at the facility assembled approximately 472 kits this year. 

Get your own Armor Survivability Kit with a self addressed envelope and 60,000 Wheaties box tops. 

"We cannot afford to make the mistake George McClellan did in the Civil War, endlessly preparing for war but not doggedly going after the  enemy"                                                                           

                                                                                          BRENDAN MINITER  <--link to article here.

Maybe we should  send them Brinks or Wells Fargo armored  trucks?

Just another day at the office for our Troops.

 

[Soaring Feather]

*HUGS*

[Soaring Feather]

Hi how are you? Just curious.

[Soaring Feather]

Hi how are you? Just curious.

[Soaring Feather]

Hi how are you? Just curious.

[Soaring Feather]

Hi how are you? Just curious.