The Swiss smilingly looked at his excited companion, and although he little understood mining he could appreciate the rapture of the Walloon and greatly enjoyed it.
“Let us break up a good stock,” the latter exclaimed, “so that I may test the quality by and by.”
They proceeded with their task and soon collected a sufficient stock for the experiment proposed to be made by La Cueille. Most of the lumps were so large as to require their united strength to carry them into the djoekoeng.
As soon as they had landed their treasure at the kotta the [[243]]Walloon kindled a couple of fires with which to make his observations. Schlickeisen however did not remain with him. He went his way, leaving his friend to pursue his experiments. Three hours afterwards when the other Europeans sought the Walloon they found him still busy with his coal.
“Look!” said he, “you could not find better coal than this in any of the mines of Liege or Hainault.”
The Walloon seemed mad with delight and his companions stared at him in utter astonishment.
“But of what practical use is your great discovery?” asks Johannes.
“Do not the Dayaks use coal?” observed Wienersdorf.
“No! the use of batoe kasientoe, as they call coals, is considered unclean. In some places it is forbidden to touch coal or to approach a coal fire. Whence this superstition springs I don’t know; but the Dayaks have a legend which relates how Mahatara in a moment of wrath buried whole forests in the earth and turned them into stone. This may account for their horror of coal.”
Is coal distributed all over Borneo?