Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1910-03-14
EXPERT WITH BOWS
WEAPONS OF LIssoo NATIVES
ON cHINA-BURMEsE BORDER.
Are Splendid Marksmen and Although
Cowardly Their Use of Poisoned
Arrows Makes Them For
midable az 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 l had to suggest a title for
book on the upper Salwin 1 should
call it The Land of the Crcssbow,'
which is the characteristic weapon of
the country and the Lissuo 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
huts for any purpose whatever with
out their crossbows; when they go to
sleep the 'nukung' is hung over their
heads. and when they die it is hung
ovec heir graves.
The largest crossbovs have a span
or fully five feet, and require a pull of
tully 80 pounds to string them. The
DOW is made of species OF wild mul.
berry of great toughness and hexi.
bility; the stock, some four feet long
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.
die, hardened and pointed; the actual
point is bare for. quarter to one.third
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 tubcrs of a
snec'es of aconitum. which grows on
those ranges al an altitude Of 5000 to
lo.ooo feet. The poison is mixed with
resin, or some vegetable gun, to the
consistency of rutty, 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 a notch ut the end
or 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 kin
a horse wound is invariably fatal.
Free and immediate incisicn Is the
usual remedy when wound d on
limb or feshy part of the body: but
at Cheng ka the uncle Of the Lao-wo
chief showed us a preparation which
resembied opium dross, and which he
said was an effective anHdotc.
with few exceptions the Lissoo
seemed to ''G TO be arrant towards.
but the crossbow and poison ID arrow
Is certainly most diabolica1 weapon.
An arrow from a war bow win pierce
deal board an inch thick ut 20 or
80 yards. Some of the Tsek0u natives
were so expert that they could hit a
mark four inches in diameter repeat.
edly at go to so yards.
"As no one goes anywhere without
mis- crossbow and bearskin culver full
or poisoned arrows, and as every vii
lage Is at feud with every other vii.
lage, mutual suspicion is inevitable.
I'm open fight the Lissoo are usual.
ly careful to keep at respectful dis.
tance from each other and behind OK.
hide shields which protect the whole
body. But II battle is rare. murder.
and sudden death by ambush in the
jungle are common"