Head-hunters, black, white, and brown

by Alfred C. Haddon

On the spur of the hills behind and above the fort is the Residency, a commodious house, with a very large deep verandah, from which an extensive view is obtained of all the lower valley of the Limbang as far as the Brunei Hills.

Mr. O. F. Ricketts takes a great interest in his garden, and has laid it out very tastefully in well-mown grassy terraces with flower-beds, flowering shrubs, areca palms, and other tropical foliage. Mr. Ricketts has a large selection of cannas and hibiscus, so that there are always some bright flowers open. He has a delicate violet hibiscus brought from Celebes, which I believe is a very rare variety; he has also raised a colias with deep brown leaves that do not show a trace of green. He procures all his canna seeds from England!

One evening we went up to the top of Kaban Hill, known popularly as Mount Pisgah, and had a magnificent panoramic view from Mount Mulu in one direction to Labuan in the other. The great swampy plains were intersected by the sinuous courses of several rivers. By the aid of a glass we could see part of the town of Brunei fringing Brunei Lake, and at the horizon were the Brunei Hills. ([Plate XXIII., B, p. 280.])

A very considerable portion of Sarawak appears to be low-lying land; in some places the hills come down to the coast, but for about a hundred miles inland the country is flat and more or less swampy. Here and there solitary mountains rise above the level, and these are sculptured into peaks and precipices. It seems as if relatively recently the country as a whole has been slightly raised from the sea. Before this upheaval the isolated mountains had been islands which have since been embraced by the advancing land. Thus Sarawak would still be a land in the making, to which the rivers contribute their quota of alluvial soil.

The river banks in the interior, with their layers of pebbles, alluvium, and leaf beds, tell an unmistakable tale, and the spit at the mouth of Baram River demonstrates the gradual extension of the land into the sea. The innumerable gigantic tree trunks floated down by the river are deposited by the action of prevailing winds and currents mainly on the eastern or right side of the estuary, and river sediment and leaf deposits are entangled in the natural breakwater, and so by the conjoint efforts of the river and the sea the spit gradually grows. The swampy soil is soon rendered more coherent by the growth of casuarinas and other trees, and as the spit advances, so marches the appropriate vegetation behind it in marshalled order.

The river scenery in the low lands is somewhat monotonous. As far as the influence of salt water extends, palisades of nipa palms usually line the banks. These trunkless palms, whose long leaves spring from the water’s edge, are of varied use to man, for their leaves are utilised as thatch, their sap produces sugar, and, when burnt, their ashes provide salt.

Behind the serried array of nipa palms are swamp trees, and beyond these again, on firmer soil, are tall jungle trees. When one paddles up the creeks a greater variety of vegetation manifests itself, and many beautiful vistas open out which the wealth and luxuriance of the tropical jungle tempt one to explore. We had our first experience of this at Sibu.

Immediately on our arrival Mr. Ricketts had sent messengers by jungle tracks to Mr. Hose, to acquaint him of our arrival, so that he might send boats to meet us on his side of the spur of Mount Mulu. As all this would take time we were obliged to remain at Limbang for some days, and a very enjoyable time we had there in the beautiful Residency, thanks to the kindness and hospitality of our host. I cannot refrain from once more remarking on the wonderful generosity and friendliness that was exhibited to us throughout our travels. Any verbal acknowledgment can but feebly express the gratitude we feel to those numerous friends who assisted and cheered us on our way.

We devoted one morning to visiting a small Malay sago factory by the side of the river. At the edge of the river bank were several lengths of the stems of sago palms, and beside them was a heap of bark that had been stripped off the trunks.

Under a shed, roofed with nipa palm leaves and supported on two horizontal poles, was a peeled log of sago, part of which had been scraped away by means of a long spiked rasp. A Malay showed us how their grating was done, and on the floor were two heaps of the triturated pith of the sago palm.