Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1908-11-07
LAND or THE CROSSBoW.
The Deadly Poisoned Arrows OF the
Lissoo Sharpshooters.

Lissoo Sharpshooters.
On the wild frontier between CHINA /
and British Burma is barbarous tribe
which has no civilized supervision
George Forrest, an English traveller,
thus describes the chief weapon OF
these people: "If l had to Suggest
title for book on the upper Salwln
should call II The Land of the Cross
how which is the characteristic weap-
on of the country and the Lissoo tribe. !
Every Lissoo with any professions TO
chic possesses at least two OF these
weapons-one for everyday Use in hunt
ino tbe other for war. The little chill
dren play with miniature crossDoWs'
The men neve- leave their huts Tor any
nurnose whatever without their cross
bows When they so TO sleep the 'nu-
king is hung over their heads, ana
when they die it is hung over their
graves. The largest crossbows nave Il
span of fully five feet and require
null Of fully tIirty-fve pounds to string
fhem The bow is made of species OF
wild mulberry of great toughness ana
hexihility. The stock, some four feet
long In the war bows, Is usually OIL
wild plum wood. Tie string is Of
plated hemp and the trigger OF bone
The arrow, IF sixteen TO eighteen
inches. is of split bamboo about four
times the thickness Of an ordinary
knitting needle, hardened and pointed.
The actual point is bare for quarter
10 oDe-third o. an inch then for fully
an inch the arrow is stripped to half its
thickness, and on this portion poison Is
placed.
1.-THE poison is invariably decoction
EXPRESSED from the tubers of species
Of aconitum which grows on those
ranges at an altitude of 5000 to 10000
feet. The poison is mixed with resin
or some vegetable gum to the consist
ency Of putty and is then smeared on
the notched point. The feather Is sup
piled by a strip Of bamboo leaf folded
into Il triangular form and tied III Il
notch mt the end of the arrow, with the
point Of the angle outward. The re-
duction in thickness of the arrow
where the poison is placed causes the
point to break off in the body Of any
one whom it strikes, and. as each car
ries enough poison to kill cart horse
4 wound is invariably fatal. Free and
Immediate inc'sion is the usual remedy
when wounded on limb or fleshy part
Of the body. but at Chcngka the uncle
of the Laowo chief showed us a prep
aration which resembled opium droS'
and which he said was an effective
antidote.
"With few exceptions the LiSsoC
seemed to us to be arrant towards
but the crossbow and poisoned arrow
are certainly most diabolical weapons
An arrow from q war bow will pierce
q deal board an inch thick at sevent,
or eighty yarCS. Some of the Tseko'
natives were so expert that they coul'
hit a mark four inches in diameter re
peatedly at sixty to eighty yards. \
no one goes anywhere without III
, crossbow and his bearskin culver ful
Of poisoned arrows and as every vi
: LACE is at feud with every other vi
!, LACE mutual suspicion is inevitable
In Omen fight the Lissoo are usual
careful to keep at a respectful distanc
from each other and behind oXhid
shields which protect the whole of tn
body But if battle is rare, murde
and sudden death by ambush in tn
= Jungle are common"