Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1910-03-16
EXPERT WITH BOWS
WEAPONS OF LIsSoo NATIVES
ON cHINA-BURMESE BORDER.
Are Splendid Marksmen and Although
cowardiy Their Use Of Poisoned
Arrows Makes Them For
midable as Foes.


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 | had to suggest a title for a
book on the upper Salwin should
call it 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 Of these
Weapons-one for everyday use in
hunting and the other for war. The
little children play with miniature
crossbows. The men never leave their
nuts 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
ovef heir graves.
The largest crossboTs have a span
OF fully five feet, and require a pull of
tully 35 pounds to string them The
DOW Is made OF a species OF wild mul.
perry of great toughness and fiexi-
plllty; the stock, some four feet long
IN the war bows, is usually of wild
plum wood; the string is Of plated
hemp and the trigger Of bone.
The arrow, of 16 to 18 inches, is of
split bamboo, about four times the
thickness of an ordinary knitting nee-
ole' hardened and pointed; the actual
point is bare for quarter to one-third
! or 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 invarabl" a decoc-
tion expressed from the tuLers of a
sNec'eS Of aconitum. which grows on
tEose ranges at An altitude IF 5000 to
lo.eOO feet. The noison is mixed with
resin. or some vegetable gum. to the
consistency oi putty, and is then
smeared on the notched point.
the feather is supplied by a strip
OF bamboo leaf folded into a triangular
form and tied in notch NJ 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 I'm the
body of any one whom 1t strikes. and
as each carries enough poison to kill
morse wound is invariably fatal.
Free and immediate incisicn is the
usual remedy when wounded on
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 antidc'c.
with few exceptions the Lfssoo
seemed to ''& TO be arrant towards.
but the crossbow and poisoned arrow
is certainly most diabolicaI weapon.
An arrow from a war bow will pierce
a deal board an inch thick at 20 or
80 yards. Some of the Tsekou natives
were so expert that they could hit a
mark four inches in diameter repeat
edly at so to 80 yards.
AS no one goes anywhere without
MS crossbow and bearskin culver full
or poisoned arrows, and as every viii
lage Is at feud with every o.her vii
lage, mutual suspicion is inevitable.
In open fight the Lissoo are usual
ly careful to keep at d respe rtful dis.
tance from each other and behind OK
hide shields which protect the whole
body. But If battle Is rare. murder
and sudden death by ambush in the
jungle are common"