Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1910-01-15
EXPERT WITH BOWS
WEAPONS OF LISSoo NATIVES
ON cHINA-BURMESE BORDER.
Are Splendid Marksmen and Although
Cowart.ly Their Use of Poisoned
Arrows Makes Them For
mdabe as 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 o, these people:
IF | Lad ~ suggest a tile for a
book on the upper Salwin should
call it Ine Land of the lrossbow,'
which is the Characteristic weapon of
the country ana the Lissoo tribe.
Every Lissoo with any pretensions
to chic possesses at least tNu 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 wha; YER with
out their crCssbows; when il1y 20 TO
sleep the 'nukung' is hung over their
heads. and when they die il is hung
over !he {. graves.
The !IrGCst croSsbovs haze a span
OF fully five feet. and require. a pull of
fully 80 pounds 10 string ten. The
bow is made Of n species OF wild null
perry OF "r|at touGhness and neXi.
bility; tie stock. scme four 'eet long
In the war bows, is usually of wild
plum wood; the string is Of plated
hemp and the trigger of bon"
The arrow, of l6 to IS inc es, is of
split bamboo, about four tines the
thickness OF an crdinary knit ing nee
die, hardened and pointed; the actual
point is bare for quarter to oae.third
or an inch, then for fully an nch the
arrow is stripped 10 half it's thickness.
and on that portion poison is placed
This no'son Is invariably 4 decoc
tion eXT sod fem the tubes of
sDecies '''"''u'' which 'ows on
those rar"s - ~ altitude Of 5000 to
10000 f. 4 Th" olson is MIXED with
resin, o" En.Gr "'''"'able GU: to the
cohsls'en ne " at v. and is then
smeared On til" r0tched po:..-.
The feather is supplied b, a strip
OF bamboo leaf folded into a angular
form and tied in a notch al he 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 str!'-as and
as each carries enough poison to kill
a horse wound is Invariably fatal.
Free and immediate incision Is the
usual remedy when wounded on
limb o. leShy part of the bcly: but
at Chens ka the uncle of the Lao-wo
ch1ef showed us preparation which
resemEled opium dross. and which he
said was az effective antidote.
with few exceptions the Lissoo
seemed to 80 to be arrant towards.
but the crossbow ard poisoned arrow
Is certainly a most diaboical weapon.
An arrow from war bow will pierce
deal board an inch thick at 70 or
80 yards. Some OF the Tsekou natives
were so expert that they cou'i hit a
mark four inches in diameter repeat.
edly at 60 to 80 Yards.
AS no one goes anywhere ,vthout
his cr0Ssbow and bearskin quiver full
OF poisoned arrows. and as ev,-y vii.
lage IS at feud with every otter vii
lage, mutual suspicion is inevitable.
I'm open fight the Lissoo ar. usual
ly careful to keep at a resDea'"ul dis.
tance from each other and b"tind OK.
hide shields which protect the whole
body. But II battle Is rare. murder
and sudden death by ambush in the
jungle are common"