Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1910-01-08
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
midabIe as Foes.

On the wild frontier between China
and British Burma is .barbarous
tribe which has no civilized supervit
sion. George Forrest, an English
traveller, thus describes the chief
weapon of these people:
IF l had to suggest title for
book on the upper Salwin should
call 1t 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 go to
sleep the 'nukung' is hung over their
heads, and when they die it is hung
over. n, ir graves.
de-. The largest crossbows have a span
OF fully, five feet, and require a pull OF
1ully 30 pounds to string them. The
DOW Is made Of species or wild mul.
perry OF great touShness and fiexi.
Dll1ty; TIE 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 bore.
"Ihe arrow, of 16 to 18 inches, Is of
spit 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
OF an ir oh. then for fully ar inch the
ig Sfrfn 70 ho1
ana on mat portion poison is placed
This nniGon is invariably decoc
ton eX" @s~"h f~cm the tulers of a
species %" tnn. which crows on
those ;":<rs Y: n altitude of 5000 to
lo.0OO =! fhe "uison Is mixed with
resin, tr SON" "'"':.able gun. to the
consist me- C. .,ut y, and is then
smearel ON tie ?otched point.
The feathe"' is supplied by a strip
OF bam1co leaf folded into irangular
1orm and tied in. notch al 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 or In the
body OF any one whom It striIes. and
10 S>" N"i ii1S PHOHEn poison 10 XIII
q norge wound is Invariably fatal.
Free and immediate incision Is the
usual remedy when wounded on a
limb or feshy. part OF the b~dy: but
at Chcng ka the uncle OF the Lao-wo
chief showed lis a preparation which
resemhled opium dross, and which he
said was an effective antidote.
"Wi'b few exceptions the Lfssoo
seemed TO 80 TO be arrant towards.
but the crossbow and poisoned arrow
Is certainly q. most diabolical weapon.
An arrow from a war bow will pierce
a deal board an. inch thick ut 20 or
30 yards. Some Of the Tsekon natives
were so expert that they could hit
mark four inches in diameter repeat.
edly Mt go to 80 Yards.
"As no one goes anywhere without
his crossbow and bearskin quirer full
of poisoned arrows. and as every VII
Iage is at feud with every O. her vii.
lage, mutual suspicion is inevitable.
I'm open fight the Lissoo arr usual
ly careful to keep at respe frul 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