The Sassafras River, 1608
"For fishing, hunting, and wars they use much their bow and arrows. They bring their bows to the form of ours by the scraping of a shell. Their arrows are made some of straight young sprigs, which they head with bone, some 2 or 3 inches long. These they use to shoot at squirrels on trees. Another sort of arrows they use made of reeds. These are pieced with wood, headed with splinters of crystal, or some sharp stone, the spurs of a turkey, or the bill of some bird."
- Captain John Smith, 1612
These two Tockwogh men, one carrying a bow and arrows and the other carrying a war club watch the approach of Smith’s shallop. One of the reasons the Tockwoghs located their town on the river front was that an enemy’s approach could be easily spotted.
The native bow and arrows were deadly weapons, able to reach 40 yards levelly and 120 yards at random. The arrows could penetrate an English wooden shield a foot or better. The Europeans were amazed at how quickly the natives could shoot off a round of arrows and disappear.