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There are two books by Howard Hill and one on Hill by Craig Ekin. There is another titled "Early Adventures with Howard Hill" by Don Carson published by Ted Fry of Raptor Archery.
Don Carson is the "only person" to have actually worked building bows with and for Hill in Florida. His book contains first hand accounts on stopperwood/snakewood/Florida snakewood. Added together with what I have acquired independent of Carson, I am able to make a persuasive case that stopper wood is in fact the mythical "Florida snakewood" associated with Howard Hill.
As it turns out this wood was used for bows at least 15 years prior to Hill landing in Miami. There were likely more bows of this wood made by others than Hill because there was a thriving [for that period] archer club in the area and this wood was a favorite. Glenn Curtis made and used bows of this wood prior to Hill moving to Florida.
I would suspect there is still a chance to locate a bow of this wood, particularly in the Miami area, based on the fact quite a few were made over a period of years. There may be others in collections that have not been identified. Determining the maker of these bows might present a problem as well as identifying the species of wood.
It is a most difficult task to provide a "documented" chain of custody for bows "owned or made" by early archers such as Maurice and Will Thompson, Howard Hill and others. Just because Joe's third cousin's Aunt Mae says Howard made this bow in Miami don't cut it.
Identifying the species of exotic hardwoods is a most difficult task as well, particularly in a bow. There are simply too few folks with sufficient experience with these wood to do so.
Carson's book is a must for Hill enthusiasts and with the exception of what Hill writes on those days in his books, its the only first hand account published. All the information collected in Ekin's book on Hill's early years was taken second/third hand from folks on the west coast, none from Carson. Not a judgement of Ekin, simply noting that the further away from the actual, the less accurate the information.
Topic: Traditional Bowhunter article on "Florida Snakewood" by Cliff Huntington (Read 144 times)
