The bows are known to be made by the Mountain Shoshone also called the Sheepeater or Tukadika.Tukadika,actually means meat eater in the Numic language.They were called sheepeater,because their primary source of animal protein was from the mountain bighorn sheep,in which they drove and herded the animals into traps with the aid of their dogs.They made their bows out of the sheephorns and backed heavily with sinew.The Tukadika were a mountain people who did not acquire the horse and other trappings of the plains culture,as their other relatives,but relied mostly on the mountains for their survival.They were also known for their quailty brain tan buckskin and the hides and bows were a highly sought after trade item by others.the tukadika were thought of as a very spiritual and sacred people,by other shoshone people down in the plains and valleys.Early pioneers to the region described them as small almost pygmy type people who were generally friendly to those that did not show aggression toward them and described them as a poor people because of their lack of possessions,but i wonder if that was a misjudgment on the part of the observer.It is often said,that other bands traded the tukadika for the sheep horn bow and while that may have been true in the beginning,i cant believe that other people didnt develop and make the bows for themselves.
