The savage could not think or speak in this way, because he had no verbs and could not think of nouns in the objective case.

He thought of the arrow as an animate thing having a cutting or piercing quality.

When placed in a suitable position to exercise its powers, it flew, of its own volition, through the air to the target, and communicated to it by contact some of the above quality.

The idea is more easily realised in the case of balls, pieces of bone or other missiles thrown by magicians.

Here the person whom it is intended to injure may be miles away, so that the object could not possibly strike him merely through the force imparted to it by the thrower.