Bamboo...as a treacherous weapon

[dickshaw5]

While Serving as an Advisor to the 4th Vietnamese Infantry Regiment in Viet Nam...............we encountered the following daily.
The Regiment fought in the jungle west of Danang...........near the Laos border.....
I flew in and out by Huey.
The four photos show first an animal trail.

The next.........the mantraps uncovered.
The sharpened bamboo stakes at the bottom..........were covered with Feces.
The third and forth are of spear traps................triggered by a vine or little twig across the trail.
Everyone carried a bamboo walking stick...to probe the trails.and to touch suspicious looking vines,twigs and so forth.
Dick Shaw

[Knife Knut]

Interesting pictures! Thank you for sharing.

It is hard to tell from the pictures, but are the latices for covering the holes made from split pieces of bamboo?

I have read about the stake pits before but have never heard of the spear contraption.

[dickshaw5]

Knife Knut.......
Sometimes the covering was of woven split young bamboo covered by large leaves............or branches .heavy vines....anything that would support the leaves or paper and a small covering of earth.
You kept your eyes open......to watch for a variation in the color of the animal path................which was a good sign of a man trap.
The spears too.....were coated with defection.........always set waist high............
Sometimes...one set on each side of the trail............or two or three of them...set just inches apart.
A simple vine trigger..............set them off.
Dick 5