I have seen quite as much of the country as I expected, penetrating as far, though not quite in the direction I had calculated. I thought we should have made a general S.E. by S. direction from the Madalam, but I think we must have advanced S.E. by E. instead.
Many of the men have broad belts of bark, which are worn partly over the chawat, something after the fashion of the Belcher’s Sagais of the eastern coast, if I remember right; their chawats here are often absurdly small, not even answering the purpose for which they are intended: one or two have head-dresses of bark, ornamented with little cowrie-shells, the breadth being sometimes five inches, differing from the padded helmets we saw on the wax seekers; heavy necklaces of beads are worn by the men as well as by the women; a few of the young girls have petticoats composed entirely of beads, on a groundwork of cloth or perhaps bark.
As I have advanced into the country I have noticed many clearings on the ridges of the highest hills—perhaps fifty yards in length. It is in these places that the bones of their chief men rest. As far as I understand their ways, they place the corpse in a sort of box, fashioned sometimes like the body of a deer, or what a Murut fancies is a resemblance, until all the flesh is dissolved from the bones; these are then placed in a jar, and left on the lofty spots I have mentioned. I noticed many of these jars in my forced march from Molu, above the sites of the old Tabun villages, and to the intense disgust of my guide they were found broken, and the skulls extracted by the marauding Kayans.
I lately, also, discovered one near my house with the bones nearly dissolved. It was most probably buried there before the Borneans turned Mahomedans, as no Muruts have lived on the hills near the capital since, at least so says tradition. It was found a couple of hundred yards from the site of the old East India Company’s factory, which was abandoned about eighty or ninety years ago. The poor men are said to have their bones buried, while the chiefs have theirs added to those of their ancestors. I hear the Millanaus follow a custom somewhat similar. When a chief dies, they place the body in a shed with a raised floor, and cover it over with sand: they leave it there, till all the dissolvable parts have run through the open flooring, and when the remains are perfectly dry, they collect and place them in a jar. All the relations and friends are then summoned, and they feast and rejoice for seven days.
I have procured some honey to-day, as I strongly suspect I shall have little but plain boiled rice to live on during the journey back.
CHAPTER VI.
MY LIMBANG JOURNAL—Continued.
Commence the return Journey—Kayan Embassy—Indian Corn—Confidence of the People—Ophthalmia—Old Jar—Gratitude rarely shown—Anecdote—Warning to Amateur Doctors—Bezoar Stones—Arrangements at Si Lopong’s—A Nightcap—Desertion of our Guides—Murut Music—Start for the Adang—Warned of Difficulties—Abundance of Rice—Cross the Adang Mountains—Active Girls—The Anœctochilus—Attack of Fever—Arrangements in case of its continuance—Loss of Chamber to Revolver—Reach the Adang—Legend—Construct four Rafts—Pleasant Movement—Trying Position of one of the Men—The first Rapid passed—Difficulties at the second—Bold Swimmer—A Whirlpool—Danger of Drowning—Our Raft tested—Abandoned—The rest wrecked—Pass the Umur—Reach the Limbang—Construct fresh Rafts—Uneasy Anticipations—Heavy Fresh—Fine Specimen of a Raft—Push off—Dangers and Troubles—The Rafts ungovernable—The Roaring of Waters—Overhanging Cliffs—The Cataract—Awe of the Men—Shoot the Cataract—Narrow Escape—Its Height—The Men recover their Voice—Ineffectual Attempts to stop the Raft—Caught in a Whirlpool—Safety—Arrival of the other Rafts—Dangers ahead—Walk—Abandon the Rafts—State of Provisions—Nearly all consumed—Ahtan’s Secret Store—Rocks—Advance over the Kalio Hills—Sparing the Food—Exhausting climbing—“Jog on”—Feed on the Cabbages of the Bengkala Palm—Almost a Mutiny—Facing the Difficulty—Reach the Summit of the Paya Paya, or “very difficult” Hills—Night on the Summit—Our Tent—The last Fowl—Molu—The greatest Difficulties passed—Country more open—Follow the Banks of the River—Distress of the Men—Improvidence—Curious Sounds in the old Forest—Cry of the Argus Pheasant—of the Jelatuk—Rending of a Mighty Tree—Danger from Decaying Trees—Cock-fights among the Argus Pheasants.
27th.—Returned by a new path, and a shorter one, to Tabari’s house. Again Lawi was so covered with clouds that nothing but his base could be seen: it appeared about fifteen miles off in a S.W. direction. I hear that the Limbang rises in that mountain. There are houses at its base, two of which were lately attacked by the Kayans and destroyed. Just before my arrival the Kayans sent over six men to inquire whether the Muruts of the upper Trusan would submit to them and pay tribute; if they would do so all attacks should cease. It is very probable that these men came over as spies, to find out the easiest way of reaching the upper country. I missed them by a couple of days.
We stopped to breakfast about half a mile before we reached Tabari’s village, at a house that was literally overflowing with Indian corn. We should have laid in a stock but that they asked absurd prices. Everywhere the people of the country were busy planting, and we continually came upon parties working in the fields. They showed no fear whatever, the news having spread very rapidly through the country that our objects were friendly. From Tabari’s we followed the old path to Ballang Palo’s, where we rested the night. In passing through this village, I had given a man afflicted with sore eyes a little sulphate of zinc: he already had found, or fancied he found, some benefit from the medicine, and in remembrance brought me a jar of arrack, containing about three quarts, which he insisted I must drink. The old jar was a curious specimen of former Chinese work, which had most probably been with the Muruts for many generations. It was blue, with numerous figures of dragons upon it.
As the sulphate of zinc had once acted well, I found numerous customers for it, a great many being troubled with sore eyes, perhaps from crowding over their smoky fires during the cold nights. I mention the circumstance of the poor fellow bringing the arrack, as, how grateful soever they may be in their hearts for a kindness, they seldom show it. I have not known half a dozen instances during my whole residence in the East. It is not always quite safe to administer medicine, particularly when the amateur doctor promises that a cure will result from his exertions, as the following story will show. A Bukar Dayak had a son, who fell ill of the small-pox, and a native doctor offered his services, assuring the father he could cure his child; unfortunately for him, however, notwithstanding all the medicine he administered, the child died, when the father, accusing him of having wilfully caused the death of his son, drew his sword and killed him on the spot. As this event took place while the Bukar tribe was still under the authority of the Sultan of Brunei, a fine only was inflicted for this summary act of vengeance. We sat up rather late, but as we had no man with us, who could freely converse in their language, the Orang Kaya Upit having stayed behind on a trading speculation, we could only drink together, and look very solemn. I have noticed the very few marketable articles these people have for sale, but one of them brought me to-day a very large bezoar stone, an inch and a half in length, and two and a half in circumference. They say they procure them from the monkeys, whom they kill to seek for this stone, and while some affirm they find them in the head, others declare they take them from the bladder. The ones I have seen are of a clear brown, highly polished, and not heavier than a similar piece of very light wood.