Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1909-01-14
EXPERT WITH BOWS
WEAPONS OF Lissoo NATIVES
ON cHlNA-euRMEsE BORDER.
Are Splendid Marksmen and Although
cowardiy Their Use Of Poisoned
Arrows Makes Them For
ridable a. Foes.

On the wild frontier between China
and British Burma is barbarous
tribe which has no civilized supervi.
sion. George Forrest. an English
traveller. thus describes the chief
weapon OF these people:
IF I had to suggest title for a
book on the upper Salwin should
call II The Land OF the Crossbow.
which is the characteristic weapon Of
the country and the Lissoo tribe.
Every Lissoo with any pretensions
TO chic possesses at least two ~. ,hase
weannr-s everyday use In
hunting and the other for war. The
little children play with miniature
crossbows. The men never leave their
huts for any purpose whatever with
out their crossbows; when they 20 to
sleep the 'nukung' is hung over their
heads, and when they die II is hung
| over their graves.
| The largest crossbows have a span
OF fully five feet. and require a pull OF
fuliy 30 pounds TO string them. The
DOW Is made OF species OF wild mul.
berry OF great toughness and fexi-
bility; the stock. some four feet long
In the war bows, Il usually of wild
plum wood; the string Is Of plated
hemp and the trigger OF bone.
The arrow. of l6 TO is inches. is OF
spit bamboo. about four times the
thickness Of an ordinary knitting nee.
ole, hardened and pointed; the actual
point IL bare for quarter to onethird
OF an inch, then for fully an inch the
arrow Is stripped to half its thickness
and on that portion poison Is placed.
This poison is Invariably a decoc.
ton expressed from the tubers OF a
species OF aconitum. which grows on
those ranges at an altitude OF 5000 to
| lV.Oo0 feet. The poison is mixed with
resin, or some vegetable gum. to the
consistency OF putty. and is then
smeared on the notched point.
The feather is supplied by strip
OF bamboo leaf folded INTO triangular
form and tied in notch at the end
OF the arrow. with the point of the
angle outward.
The reduction In thickness OF the
arrow where the poison is placed
causes the point to break OF in the
body OF any one whom II strikes. and
as each carries enough poison TO kill
horse wound is invariably fatal.
Free and immediate incision is the
usual remedy when wounded on a
limb or feshy part OF the body: but
at Cheng-ka the uncle OF the Lao-wo
chief showed US preparation which
resembled opium dross. and which he
said was an effective antidote.
With few exceptions the rsssoo
seemed % US to be arrant towards.
h1f the erussbow and poisoned arrow
Ia certainly 4 most diabolieal weapon.
An arrow frum 4 war bow will niercc
deal board an inch thick az 20 or
- yar4ss Sonns ~ the Tsskou natives
rsEe - ~xp~rs thar they could hit
zasrk ssur iaches "a diameter repeat.
staf - g - ~ yaFd.
A. - uas ro~s anywhere without
sss rHslasso~ ard s@4rxksn aElv~F fuu
= w~a@~f AErswx ard a. ever VI
49, - sf semf wfsh every olz~r III.
49, aafssl xgs-ou - iArvH-eae
"a as~4 axss - i4ssae az usu..E
p esHsfzl - ks~e ss = s~sp@cffAf six-
tsnss s-asa s4<N olAer 4a1 b~hlns CT
eas~ ssaesis shsea Brutecf tae whose
49, Eaf = taffi~ y rare. murder
sast sat1sa 4sash By amsash In the
sa.xte sre eemzsoa-