“Not at all,” answered the Datu, “not more curious than seeing you Englishmen abandon your own country to come so far and live among us Malays.”
As a general rule, the sharks and alligators do not meddle with human beings up here, but confine their attention to the fish, the dogs, and the numerous droves of wild pigs constantly passing from one bank to the other. During the fruit season the movement among these last is very remarkable; Mr. Brereton told me he once saw at least three hundred in one drove crossing the river Batang Lupar, where it was above seven hundred yards broad. I have often seen them myself in lesser numbers; on one occasion I was present when seventeen were killed, which formed a regular feast for some aborigines who secured the bodies. Generally a fine old boar leads the way, and is followed very closely by the rest. They grow to a great size; I have seen one carefully measured, his height at the shoulder was forty-two inches, and the length of head was twenty-two.
The Senahs have built many of their farm-houses in the trees overhanging the stream; in one was a whole family engaged in the important operation of preparing dinner; and it was amusing to observe the little children coming fearlessly to the very edge of the platform above the rushing stream to look at us, standing in positions so dangerous that they would drive an English mother distracted.
As we approach the interior of the Sarawak river, the mountains become more lofty, and the stream takes the character of a torrent; after heavy rains it rises suddenly and to a great height. I have seen grass left by the receding waters at least forty feet above our present level. Even after one heavy shower, all the fords are impassable, so that to avoid this inconvenience the Senah Dayaks have thrown lofty bridges across, to facilitate their communication between their several villages.
How light and elegant do these suspension-bridges look—one in particular I will attempt to describe. It was a broad part of the stream, and two fine old trees hung over the water opposite each other; long bamboos well lashed together formed the main portion, and were fastened by smaller ones to the branches above; railings on either side were added to give greater strength and security, yet the whole affair appeared so flimsy, and was so far above the stream, that when we saw a woman and child pass over it, we drew our breath till they were safe on the other side. And yet we knew they were secure.
I have often passed over them myself; they are of the width of one bamboo, but the side railings give one confidence. Accidents do happen from carelessly allowing the rattan lashings to rot. Once when pressed for time I was passing rapidly across with many men following close behind me, when it began to sway most unpleasantly, and crack, crack was heard as several of the supports gave way. Most of my men fortunately were not near the centre, and relieved the bridge of their weight by clinging to the branches, otherwise those who were with me in the middle would have been precipitated on the rocks far below. After that we always passed singly over such neglected bridges.
Towards the afternoon we reached the first house, inhabited by the Orang Kaya’s younger brother. This tribe is more scattered than is usually the case here, four, six, eight families live together; and we nowhere noticed those immense long village houses so common in other tribes.
We found some Chinese trading for pigs and rice, one of whom had been established in this place for about six years. The house where we stopped for the night was tolerably comfortable, with the walls roughly planked. It is evident that these Dayaks are very pleased to see us, and upon their pressing invitations we have agreed to stay some days to give time for the whole tribe to be collected.
In the evening we took a long walk over the steep hills at the back of the village, and had a fair view of Penrisen, one of the highest mountains in Sarawak. It is estimated at above 5,000 feet. It is scarcely in Sarawak, as a portion of its southern face belongs to those countries beyond the border claimed by the Dutch. We had a good view of the interior of the Sadong country, a fine succession of hill and dale, with blue mountains in the distance.
We stayed in the house nearly the whole day, as the Dayaks wished to dance and feast in our presence. The gongs were kept going, the drums beaten, and all within five yards of us, until our heads were dizzy. Occasionally, from sheer weariness, or from anxiety to partake of the good things produced for the feast, this din would cease, and then we could enter into conversation with the elders.