Saxton Temple Pope was an American doctor, teacher, author and outdoorsman. He is most famous as the father of modern bow hunting, and for his close relationship with Ishi

Ishi

Ishi was the last member of the Yahi, the last surviving group of the Yana people of the U.S. state of California. Ishi is believed to have been the last Native American in Northern California to have lived most of his life completely outside the European American culture...

, the last member of the Yahi tribe and the last known American Indian

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 to be raised largely isolated from Western culture.

Early life

Born in Texas as the son of an Army surgeon, Pope grew up in military camps and frontier towns, where he learned outdoor skills and became an athlete. This is where he first learned archery, as well as horsemanship, riflery, knifemaking, and other skills. He even built and attempted to fly a glider.

He later went to medical school at the University of California, graduating in 1899. He set up a practice near San Francisco, married, and had four children. In 1912, he became a surgical instructor at the medical school.

Relationship with Ishi

The medical school where Pope taught was located near the museum where Ishi worked as a janitor, having been brought there for study by Professor T. T. Watterman of the University of California

University of California

The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

 Department of Anthropology. Because Ishi had grown up in the isolated Yahi tribe, he had little immunity to diseases, and Pope met Ishi during his stays at the University hospital. Pope learned some of the Yahi language, and spent much time with Ishi, learning of his life and listening to the Yahi tribal folklore. Ishi taught Pope how to make bows and arrows as the Yahi did, and how to hunt with them. Pope and Ishi remained close until Ishi's death from tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

 in 1916. In spite of this close relationship and against the fervently stated wishes of his Yahi friend, Pope insisted that Ishi be autopsied after death and his brain removed.

Later life

Pope became an avid bowhunter during his time with Ishi, and he continued that after Ishi's death. In 1920, with special permission, Pope and a companion, Arthur Young, went hunting grizzly bear

Grizzly Bear

The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...

s in Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

 with hand made bows and steel tipped arrows, taking several. The stuffed and mounted bears are still on display at the California Academy of Sciences. Pope later wrote a book, Hunting with the Bow and Arrow, which remains in print. He continued bowhunting until his death in 1926 from pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

.

Legacy

Saxton Pope and Arthur Young have been honored as the namesakes of the Pope and Young Club, an organization dedicated to bowhunting which continues today and includes its own world record book for North American game. In order to be entered into the Pope and Young records, the game animal must be taken with a bow and arrow.

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