Page:Scotish Descriptive Poems - Leyden (1803).djvu/188

 The bow, however, is mentioned as a weapon of war in the curious ancient Scotish poem termed

The islanders, of all the Scotish tribes, were most addicted to the use of the bow in war. The work already cited, termed "Certayne matters," &c. exhibits the following passage: "Their weapons against their enemies are bowes and arrowes; the arrowes for the most part howked, with a barble on either side, which once entered within the body, cannot be drawn forth againe, unlesse the wound be made wider." The clan Macdonald were remarkable for their skill in archery. At the battle of Belrinnes, in 1594, the flower of Argyle's army