As the Blanchita approached her destination many Dyaks appeared on the shores. They were Sea Dyaks in this region; and the name seems to have come down from a former era in the history of the island, for at the present time they have little or no connection with a sea-faring life, and their sampans are mainly if not entirely used on the rivers. But formerly they built large war-boats, orbankongs, some of which were seventy feet long.
These craft did not go to sea. The naval battles were fought on rivers and lakes; for the boats were not adapted to heavy weather, and could not have lived even in a moderate gale. They were propelled entirely by oars, single banked, and twenty-four rowers were all that could work. The largest of them had a platform or elevated deck, under which the oarsmen sat, and on which the warriors engaged the enemy.
Some sort of strategy was used; for the small boats were sent ahead sometimes to skirmish with the foe, and lure their canoes to a point where the larger craft were concealed, which then came out and fell upon the enemy. If the craft were used for purposesof piracy, as they were in the northern part of the island, in attacking foreign vessels, it could only be when the strangers were caught within a short distance of the shores.
Mr. Eng came on board of the yacht when his sampans were taken in tow, and was seated with the cabin party on the forward seats. He spoke English perfectly, and explained everything that needed it as the boat proceeded. The explorers had seen Dyaks enough, but had not before taken the trouble to study them; for they seemed not to be in touch with the civilization of Sarawak, and were "hewers of wood and drawers of water," and not proper specimens of the race.
"The men here, Mr. Eng, do not appear to be very powerful physically," said Louis, as they passed several laborers at work in a paddy.
"They are not as strong as Englishmen and Americans," replied the agent, glancing at the seamen in the waist. "The tallest man I have seen among the Sea Dyaks was not more than five and a half feet in height. Five feet three inches is a more common figure, though the average is less than that. They are not men of great strength; but they are active, of great endurance, and in running they exhibit great speed."
"These people are not ruined by their tailors' bills," said Scott.
"They do not need much clothing in this climate; and a piece of bark-cloth a yard wide is full dresshere. Thechawat, as they call this garment, is about five feet long, and is wound around the waist tightly, and drawn between the legs, one end hanging down in front, and the other behind. They wear a sort of turban on the head; and some of them have as many as four rings, large and small, hanging from their ears, through which they pass. Some of them use white cotton instead of bark-cloth, like the Hindoos in India."
The yacht was now approaching the landing-place pointed out by the agent. A crowd of women and children were hurrying to the riverside. They appeared to be lighter in complexion than the men. As a rule they were not handsome, though a few of them were rather pretty. The American visitors were not likely to fall in love with any of the young women on the shore. They were all in "full dress," which means simply a petticoat, reaching from the waist to the knees, made of bark-cloth embroidered with various figures.
A few of the females wore a sort of red jacket and the conical Malay hat; but those are used only on "state occasions." The single garment was secured at the waist by being drawn into a belt of rattans, colored black. Above this was worn a coil of many rings of large brass wire; and all of them seemed to be provided with this appendage. There was some variety in the use of this ornament; for some wore it tightly wound around the body, while others had it quite loose.
In addition to this some of the young girls had a dozen rings of various sizes hanging loosely around their necks, and falling upon the chest, which had no other covering. Their eyes were black, as was also their hair, which was very luxuriant, and generally well cared for, being tied up in a cue behind.
The village did not consist of a great number of small buildings, but from the landing-place could be seen the end of an immense structure with a forest of palms behind it. The rear of it was not perpendicular, but slanted outward, like many of the walls of corn-houses in New England, doubtless to keep the rain from the roof from penetrating. All the party, including the sailors, landed; for Mr. Eng declared that the Dyaks were honest, and even in Sarawak were never known to steal anything, though the Malays and Chinamen were given to pilfering.
The crowd of men, women, and children gathered on the shore had looked the Blanchita over with the closest attention while the Americans were looking them over. The party landed under the escort of the agent, and took up the line of march for the big house. The entire crowd of Dyaks followed them, though they did not intrude upon them; on the contrary, they treated all of the visitors with a respect and deference bordering on homage.
"That 'long-house,' as we call it here, is nearly two hundred feet in length," said Mr. Eng. "It is thirty feet wide. Now you can see more of it; and you notice that it is set upon a multitude of posts,like all Malay and Dyak houses. These posts are firmly set in the ground; and being about six inches in diameter, you can readily see that the house rests on a solid foundation. It is not likely to be blown down in any ordinary gale, though a hurricane might sweep it away. Not a nail, not a wooden pin or peg, is used in the construction of such buildings."
"Then, I should think any ordinary gale would level them to the ground," suggested Louis.
"But the Dyaks have a substitute for nails or pins," replied the guide. "All the poles and sticks and boards are tightly bound together with rattans; and I believe they hold together better than if they were nailed."
"I observed in England and France that the stagings used in the erection of buildings were made partly of round poles, tied together with ropes. I talked with a man who told me they were stronger than if put together with nails," said Morris.
"I think he was right. I can't tell you how the Malays and Dyaks manage the rattan to render it so flexible, but it seems to me they make better work than ropes. On the back of this house, there is not a single window or other opening," continued Mr. Eng, as the party stood at the end of the structure, near the rear corner. "The disagreeable feature of the building, or rather of the habits of the occupants, is that the space under it, ten feet between the ground and the floor, is a catch-all for all refuse matter, and you notice that an unpleasant odor comes from it."
"Is this the only entrance to it?" asked Scott, pointing to a door, which was reached by a log notched like a flight of stairs.
"There is a door at the other end also; and there may be ways of mounting the platform, or veranda, which forms the front of the building, as climbing a post, or dropping from a tree. Some of the posts, of which you see a multitude under the house, are cut off at the first floor, while many of them reach up to the roof, and support it. We will go in now, if you like; and, being sailors, I suppose you can climb the log."
"No doubt of that," replied Scott, who was the first to ascend. "Are all that crowd coming up?"
"Certainly; they are the occupants of the long-house, and they must be at home in order to do the honors of the occasion," laughed the guide.
The villagers followed the party, and immediately manifested their politeness in various ways. The prettiest girl in the crowd spoke to Louis; though he did not understand a word she said, but replied to her in English, when she was as much at sea as he had been.
"What does she say, Achang?" he asked of the Bornean.
"Tabet, tuan," replied the native.
"I heard her say that; but what does it mean?"
"It means, 'Good-day, sir,'" answered the Bornean; and he proceeded to tell her that Louis was the "head man," very rich, and owned a big ship.
She made a very graceful obeisance to him, and then rushed away through a door on the side of the grand hall, as it may well be called. But she returned immediately, bringing a very elaborately worked mat, which she spread on the floor at the feet of the "head man." Then she spread out her hands, and bowed low, saying something which was Greek to him.
"She invites you to take a seat on the mat," Achang explained.
As a matter of politeness Louis seated himself, and looked at the maiden who treated him with so much consideration. By this time the other women were bringing mats for the rest of the party, making no distinction between the seamen and the cabin party. The latter followed the example of the young millionaire, and seated themselves. The foremast hands declined the proffered courtesy; and Achang explained to the ladies that only the four young men who were seated were the magnates of the company, while the others were inferior personages, for the Bornean was not strictly democratic in his ideas.
"We will look at the house now, if you please," said Mr. Eng, after the "Big Four" had been seated a few minutes; and all of them rose to their feet, bowing low to the young ladies who had treated them with so much distinction.
About forty or fifty of the posts extended from the ground, for the visitors had not time to count them; and most of them had suspended upon them various trophies of the hunt, including the antlersof deer, crocodiles' heads, weapons, paddles, and spears. In the middle of the long hall a fire was burning on a foundation of soil, enclosed by a border of wood. In the roof was a sort of scuttle, which was fastened open to admit the air, and to allow some of the smoke to escape, though there was plenty of it remaining in the apartment.
"What is that overhead, Mr. Eng?" asked Louis, pointing to a black mass suspended near the fire, though he had a suspicion of its nature.
"That is a collection of human skulls, relics of the days of head-hunting; for they are generally kept in a building erected for the purpose, though appropriated at the present time partly to other uses. There are about twenty of them, which is not a large number for a village like this. Not one of them is less than twenty years old; for Rajah Brooke put an end to head-hunting long ago, though some of it has been done in spite of his edicts. A lady beckons to you, Mr. Belgrave."
The pretty girl—by comparison—stood by his side, pointing to one of the numerous doors at the closed side of the house. Louis followed her, and she conducted him into a room. A portion of the floor was covered with mats on which the occupants sleep, with an earth section for a fire. There was no furniture of any kind. The roof of the building was covered with square pieces of palm like those used on the sampans, and these could be raised in each room when necessary for air.
"This apartment is occupied by one family, or by a married couple, and unmarried men and boys sleep in the attic overhead," said Mr. Eng. "It has but one door, the one opening into the main hall. This is a house of sixteen doors; and by this enumeration the size of the village is stated, and this number gauges the taxes to be paid."
"Citizens cannot dodge their taxes here, then, as some of them do in the United States," said Scott.
The party walked the entire length of the hall, and then passed out upon the platform, which was not covered, and was used for various purposes, such as drying rice or other articles. The floors were composed of strips of palm, not more than an inch and a half wide, and placed an inch apart. They were lashed to the floor joists, or poles, with rattan.
"Those doors, which indicate the taxable rate of the village, look as though they were cut out of single planks," said Scott.
"And so they are," replied the agent.
"I have seen no saw-mills here, and I suppose they bring the lumber from England or India."
"Not at all, though some may be obtained in that manner. They are made from the buttress of the tapang-tree, which you must have seen."
"I have not noticed any such thing, though perhaps none of us could identify it," replied the captain.
"It is found growing out in triangular form from just above the roots of the tree. In a large one it istwelve or fifteen feet long. It makes a natural plank two inches thick, which may be trimmed into any shape with the biliong."
The party were ready to depart; and they made all sorts of courteous gestures to their hosts, especially the ladies. The women asked them for tobacco, as Achang interpreted the requests. They had none, but some of the seamen supplied them with all they had about them.
After seeing the sleeping accommodations of the Dyaks, consisting of a mat on a rather uneven floor, the Americans concluded to pass the night on board of the yacht. They invited Mr. Eng to supper on board, and he passed the evening with them in the cabin.
"You have seen the Dyaks at home now, young gentlemen; how do you like the looks of them?" asked the guest, after the meal had been disposed of.
"I think they are the pleasantest savages I have ever met," replied Louis.
"I am afraid you did not appreciate the young women who were so attentive to you, Mr. Belgrave," continued the agent.
"Regarding them as uncivilized maidens, they are about the best specimens. The expression on their faces was pleasant, a few of them were pretty, though as a whole they were not handsome, and they seemed to be kind-hearted. I could not admire them, though their eyes were as brilliant as they were black. Their long hair would be the envy of many an English or American belle."
"The women are very vain of their hair. Theybestow a great deal of attention upon it," added Mr. Eng. "The fever of the island sometimes deprives them of their hair, as it may in your country, and that is the greatest calamity that can overtake the younger women."
"I suppose it all right here; but they disfigure and spoil one of the principal attractions of ladies in enlightened nations, the teeth, which they blacken by chewing betel."
"It also makes their lips look as though they had daubed them with blood or red paint; but they do it here, as in India, to make themselves more beautiful. Tastes differ, and the practice makes them ugly to you. The betel-vine grows here, and the leaves are used for chewing. The nut of a certain palm produces the same effect on the teeth."
"I don't admire the brass rings they wear on their waists and around their necks. If I were old enough to get married, I should not look for a wife among the Dyak girls," said Louis, laughing and shaking his head.
"The Dyak women are generally well treated; but they have to work very hard, and much that you would think the men ought to do is done by them. The lords of creation here are inclined to be lazy, while their wives and daughters are engaged in the rice-fields, though their husbands and brothers are driven to labor.
"But the women are not the abject slaves you sometimes find them in the savage state. They havetheir influence, and exercise a degree of control in household matters. The females are fond of fish, and insist that their husbands shall supply them with this diet. On account of the bores which sweep up the rivers, this is often a dangerous occupation, and the men are unable to procure any fish. Instances are known in which the women bar the door of the house against them if they are unsuccessful."
"I believe the Malays are generally Mohammedans. What is the religion of the Dyaks?" inquired Louis.
"It has been said by some travellers that they have no religion of any kind; but I don't think this is quite true, though it is not far from it," replied Mr. Eng. "Religion is a very indefinite idea among the Dyaks, and they are chary in speaking of what there is of it. Some who have been among them maintain that they believe in a Supreme Being, who has a great many different names among the various tribes. They have almost as many inferior deities as the Hindus.
"They are very superstitious; and there are all sorts of omens, among which there is a particular bird which has obtained the name of the omen bird. His cry on the right of, or behind, a person engaged in any enterprise is an unlucky sign, and he abandons his object; while the cry heard on the left is a favorable omen, and the individual is duly encouraged to go forward.
"I had a story from a Kyan head man which had come down to him as a tradition. A great head-huntingexpedition, consisting of a thousand warriors, had set out many years ago. It had not gone far when a little muntjac, which you know is a kind of deer, ran across the path of the warriors. This was a bad omen; and they gave up the enterprise, and returned to their villages.
"I know of a couple just married who separated because they heard a deer-cry within three days after their union, which was a sign that one of them would die within a year. Even little insects intimidate doughty warriors, or assure them that they are far from danger, by their appearance or their cry."
"There is not a little of similar superstition in enlightened nations, though there is vastly less of it than formerly," added Louis.
"I have heard my grandfather say that the ticking of a death-watch used to scare him so that he could not sleep when he was a boy," said Morris.
"What is a death-watch?" asked Scott.
"It is a kind of beetle that conceals itself in the walls of old houses," replied Louis. "The noise it makes is really the call of the bug for his mate, and is the cry of love instead of death, as many ignorant people believe. The breaking of a looking-glass is also a sign of death in the family."
"Mrs. Blossom wouldn't break a looking-glass for a fortune," added Felix. "She says she broke one nine years before her husband died, and therefore it was a sure sign."
"But the death must come within a year to makethe sign hold good," replied Louis. "But if enlightened people have faith in such stuff, it is no wonder that Dyaks believe in omens. I want to ask, Mr. Eng, if these Dyaks are regularly married?"
"They are, though with very little ceremony, and no vows, oaths, nor promises. In fact, the marriage consists of such rites as the parties please, and often with no rites at all. Sometimes the betrothed are married by exchanging bracelets in public, or by eating a meal of rice together. In some communities the affianced are seated on a couple of bars of iron, and the head man shakes a couple of live chickens over their heads, invoking many blessings upon them, and the birds are afterwards killed and eaten."
"Do these people drink liquor, or have they anything in the shape of intoxicating fluids?" asked Scott.
"The national drink of Borneo istuak, about the vilest tipple that ever was invented. I went to a Dyak feast when I first came to the island, which proved to be nothing but a series of drunken orgies. The principal actors at the feast were a number of pretty girls, such as you saw this afternoon. Their office was to induce the men present to drink this vile liquid till they dropped on the floor of the open platform; and they even poured it down the throats of their victims when no longer able to drink for themselves."
"What sort of rum is it?" inquired Scott.
"It looks like the milk of the cocoanut, and I suppose that it is made from that; but I did not taste it," replied the agent. "It is about my bedtime, and I think I will go to my sampan and retire."
But Captain Scott invited him to sleep on board of the Blanchita; and he accepted after a little pressing, evidently believing that the soft cushions of the yacht made a better bed than the mats of the sampan. Felipe was instructed to have steam on at daylight, and the anchor watch was to call him in season to do so. Fully protected by their nettings from the mosquitoes, which had troubled them to some extent in the evening, all hands slept like tired boys.
When the steam from the gauge-cocks hissed as the engineer examined into the condition of the water in the boiler, the sound waked the captain, and he jumped from his bed. This movement roused all the others; and they went out into the waist, following the example of Scott, who wore nothing but his nightdress.
"I am going to have a swim this fine morning," said he.
"Look out for crocodiles," Morris interposed. "You know they are man-eaters in these rivers."
"I haven't seen any of them around here," replied the captain. "But call all hands, Lane; and tell the men to bring out their rifles."
"I think you are very imprudent to go into the water here," interposed Mr. Eng. "The reptiles are on the watch; and if you must go in, I warn you to keep near the boat."
But the boys all dived from the gunwale into the river, and swam out a few rods. The men placed themselves on the rail, and kept a sharp look out for saurians, though it was still too dark to enable them to see very distinctly. Scott had reasoned that he could not take his bath after it was fully light, for a crowd of Dyak men and women would be on the bank at that time.
The swimmers had not been in the water more than five minutes when the cry of "Crocodiles!" came from Achang, who had stationed himself just forward of the engine. Probably he had a keener vision for the reptiles than the Americans; for the seamen had not yet seen anything that looked like one. He could tell by the appearance of the water that the enemy was approaching, though the disturbance of its surface was near the other side of the stream.
The party in the water turned about, and headed for the boat, swimming with all the vigor they could command. Achang had his rifle in his hand; but even he could not make out the crocodile clearly enough to be sure of his aim. Five minutes more elapsed; for it required that time for the swimmers to reach the yacht. The seamen assisted the party into the boat, and they rushed with all speed into the cabin; for a quartet of Dyak maidens had already reached the bank of the river, and were begging the men for more tobacco.
Achang fired his rifle; but three crocodiles couldnow be seen moving towards the yacht. Their approach was not impeded by the shot, for it was impossible to see the eyes of the reptiles in the semi-darkness. But the cabin party were safe, and it was as useless to fire at them as it would have been at a stone wall.
"I advise you not to try that experiment again, young gentlemen," said Mr. Eng as the bathing party came out into the waist.
"I don't think we shall, though we were protected by half a dozen rifles," replied the captain, who had been the leader in the venturesome exploit.
"If you do try it again, do so in the daylight, when your riflemen can see the eyes of the enemy," added the agent. "I must bid you good-by now, for I have business on shore here. I don't think the crocodiles will come any nearer to you, but be prudent. I shall hope to see you at Simujan on your return."
Mr. Eng shook hands with all the cabin party, and went ashore. The captain gave the order to cast off the fasts, and Lane was ordered to take the wheel. The two sampans had before made fast to the shore; and as the Blanchita got under way, one of them put off, and paddled towards the crocodiles. The last that was seen of the craft, it had a saurian hooked after the Malay mode of fishing for them.
After breakfast had been served in the cabin, and the party had gone to their seats forward, the character of the river began to change, becoming much narrower. They came to another Dyak village, where the jungle was cleared off and paddies were near the stream. It looked as though all the inhabitants had gathered on the bank, male and female. A long-house was to be seen on a knoll, and the wheelman was ordered to take the boat within a couple of rods of the shore.
"Are you going to make a landing at this village, Captain Scott?" asked Louis.
"No; we have seen enough of these people, but we will see what we can as we pass along. They are all beckoning us to go ashore; but we won't do so, for any more Dyak maidens would be rather monotonous."
"I quite agree with you, Captain, though there is one with a big stick of bamboo in her hand, who looks more graceful and pretty than any we saw in the village we visited," replied Louis.
"I wonder what that cane is for," added Scott.
"That's to contain some kind of liquid; and she may have four feet of tuak in it," answered the millionaire, laughing at the idea of measuring a fluid by Long Measure. "I think the girl comes nearer to being a beauty than any girl I have seen before."
"She is hooped with brass like all the rest of them," added Scott, as the boat proceeded beyond the group on the shore.
In another half-hour great trees, with an abundant undergrowth of bushes, extended down to the river, and in places some distance into the water.
Although there was a wall of green on each side of the boat, and the river was not more than sixty feet wide, the explorers found that everything close to the earth was under water. If the dense jungle had not prevented, they might have sailed inland, they knew not how many miles. As the stream became narrower the current increased in force. The trees were full of monkeys, and hundreds of them appeared to be in sight all the time. They were of the most common kind to be found in Borneo, and the yacht created no excitement among them. They were so tame that any number of them could have been brought down by the hunters.
"The water is not so dirty as it has been everywhere below," said Captain Scott, as the Blanchita stemmed the current without any difficulty, where paddling a sampan must have been a laborious occupation. "It is tolerably clear along here, and we might take our morning bath very comfortably."
"We might if a big crocodile did not break his way through the bushes to pay us a visit," replied Louis.
"After the experience of this morning, I am not disposed to try it again, and I shall take my bath in awash-bowl with a sponge, though I am very fond of swimming. But, Louis, don't you think we have had about enough of hunting in Borneo?"
"Enough! Why, we have not yet been a week on the island," replied Louis, not a little astonished at the captain's question. "I have enjoyed myself very well so far, and I certainly do not wish to leave till we have killed at least one good-sized orang."
"It is rather stupid hunting here, for about all the country is under water," added Scott. "There seems to be nothing but monkeys here; and they are very small game, even if we were disposed to shoot them."
"But there are some lakes up the river, Mr. Eng told me; and I think we shall get out of this tangle very soon; and when we come to higher ground we will go on shore, and try our luck on foot."
The captain talked as though he had some scheme in his head which he was not yet prepared to unfold to his companions. But what could he do? Nothing had been said on board of the ship about coming back to Sarawak for the hunters, and to give up hunting and exploring would be simply to return to Kuching, and idle away the time for the next two weeks. Louis did not like this idea at all; and yet it seemed to be the alternative which Scott must have in his mind.
"Mias!" shouted Achang, when the conversation had proceeded so far.
"Where is your mias?" demanded Louis; formost of the party had come to calling the orang by his Malay name.
The Bornean pointed into the forest, the trees of which were growing in the water, though there was an undergrowth of screw-pines, which had been abundant all along the river. They were not pines as the explorers understood the word at home. The plant is a bush or small tree with half a dozen or more branches angling upward from the trunk, and twisting a little towards it, from which feature it takes its name. It has long, lanceolated leaves, and therefore is not at all like the American pine.
"Stop her, Lane!" called the captain in a tone that "meant business." "Back her!"
The last order was given because there was an opening through the screw-pines which afforded a full view of the taller trees about twenty rods farther from the stream. The captain then took the wheel from Lane, rang the gong to go ahead; and, putting the helm hard-a-starboard, the boat came about, headed into the opening. Looking forward, there seemed but very few trees or bushes compared with the number along the flowing stream.
"Do you see the mias, Louis?" asked Scott.
"I do; and he is in a very favorable position. He is a big one, and must be a male," replied Louis, who stood at the stem with a repeating-rifle in his hand.
"Do you see him, Flix?"
"I do; and he has a green nest in the same tree with him."
"You are near enough, Captain.""You are near enough, Captain."Page 99.
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By this time all the party had taken their rifles. The boat moved very slowly. A seaman sounded the depth with a boathook, and reported eight feet. As she approached the orang, the brute showed his teeth, and uttered several successive growls, as though he understood that danger was near; but he did not attempt to escape.
"I wonder can the blackguard swim," said Felix, who had his rifle ready to fire.
"I have read that he is a poor swimmer," replied Louis.
"How does he get about here where the water is eight feet deep?"
"He is not as agile as the gibbon; but he can make his way from one tree to another in the same manner, and his road is through the trees, and not on the ground."
"Here I am, and I can't go any farther," said the captain, as he rang to stop her. "I can't get the boat through this clump of bushes."
"You are near enough, Captain; let her rest where she is," replied Louis, as he aimed his rifle at the orang, which was sitting on a branch holding on with both hands.
Louis fired, and the creature fell with a loud splash into the water at the foot of the tree. But he was not dead, and was struggling to escape. He was evidently wounded very badly, and when the hunter saw his opportunity he fired again. The orang had grasped a screw-pine, and he held on, buthe struggled no more. The captain had ordered the sampan to be brought alongside, and two men were at the paddles. Louis and Felix joined them, and they paddled towards thegame.
"I think he is dead though he still holds on at the bush," said Louis.
"We shall soon find out," added Clingman, as he threw a slip-noose over his head. "Heave ahead now!" he continued, as Clinch grasped the line with him, and they pulled together.
The orang did not make any movement, and it was certain that he was dead. When they had drawn him within a few feet of the sampan, the line was made fast, and the men paddled to the steamer. A purchase was rigged to the top of one of the stanchions, and the dead animal was hoisted into the sampan.
"Now, Lane, measure him," said the captain.
The body was laid out at full length in the bottom of the boat; and the carpenter took his length on a boathook, which he notched to indicate the height of the animal. He was directed to take several other measurements; in fact, Louis kept him at work for over an hour, with another hand to assist him in spreading out the limbs. The captain became quite impatient; for he was less a scientist than the young millionaire, though he had a taste for natural history.
"Have you finished, Louis?" asked Scott as the former returned to the yacht.
"All done; but Lane must sum up the results," replied Louis.
"What good will all those measurements do you?" demanded the captain rather contemptuously.
"They will not put any money in my pocket, but I want to know the size of the game I have killed," answered Louis, somewhat nettled by the manner of Scott. "When a man has caught a fish he wants to know what his prize weighs."
"All right; but I want to get a little farther into the woods here, and I can get around the bushes ahead of her," replied the captain, who had been studying up a course by which he could go a considerable distance farther inland.
He backed the boat, and then went ahead very slowly, with Clingman feeling of the bottom with the boathook. It was novel sailing through the forest in a steam-launch, and all hands enjoyed it. The screw-pines were rather scattered, and the forest of large trees was quite open. After the boat had gone about half a mile, as the captain judged, Clingman made a report.
"By the mark, one," said he, as the depth is given with the lead, in fathoms.
"Six feet; we are shoaling," added Captain Scott. "Try it again."
"Five feet," returned the seaman.
The steamer continued on her course, with Scott at the wheel, for some time longer. The dry land could be seen through the trees at no great distance ahead.The boat continued on her course for a quarter of an hour, when Clingman call out a depth which caused the captain to ring the gong to stop her. The last report was three feet, and the keel was evidently grinding through the soft mud. Then he rang to back her; and when she had increased her depth to four feet, he struck the gong to stop her.
"Dinner is ready, gentlemen," said Pitts.
"We must attend to that before we do anything more," added the captain. "Keep a sharp lookout ahead, Clingman."
The party went into the after cabin, and the novelty of dining on board of a steamer in the woods was sufficiently inspiring to add a big interest to the occasion.
"What have you got for dinner, Pitts?" asked Felix, as he entered the cabin. "Have you got any stewed crocodiles?"
"Not a croc, Mr. McGavonty," replied the cook.
"Any boiled orang-outang?"
"Not an orang. The captain bought six dozens of eggs at the village where we stopped yesterday, and I have ham and eggs for dinner, which I hope will suit you," replied Pitts.
"The best thing in the world for me. Whisper! Are they crocodiles' eggs?"
"Not a bit of it, sir."
The principal dish proved to be very satisfactory to the boys, whose appetites had been sharpened by the exercise of the forenoon. The cuisine had beenvery good along the rivers, for Pitts had generally been the caterer as well as the cook and steward. Chickens and eggs had been plentiful enough, and at the town he had obtained some fish. There was no fresh beef or mutton. They had a barrel of excellent salt beef from the stores of the ship; and Pitts made a splendid hash, which suited all hands better than almost anything else.
While they were at dinner the steward brought in Lane's report of the measurements of the orang Louis had shot. It was given to the Captain at the head of the table; and he read it off: "Height, 4 feet, 5¼ inches; arms spread out full length, from end to end of longest fingers, 7 feet, 10 inches; length of arm, 3 feet, 3 inches; length of hand, 10½ inches; length of foot, 12¼ inches; round the waist, 4 feet, 2 inches. Four men estimated on the weight, and the average is 185 pounds.'"
"Big mias," said Achang.
"Do you think you can skin and stuff him, Achang?" asked Louis.
"Know I can; have done it with naturalist."
"Then you may go to work on it as soon as you please, and I will give you five dollars for the job," added Louis. "Take your time, and do it well."
"Where I work? Sampan no good."
"I can make a place in the waist," said the captain; "besides, I want the small boat, for we can see higher land farther in, and I wish to go ashore there; we may find some shooting."
The boxes and barrels were moved farther forward and aft, and a workshop made for the Bornean. The sampan was cleaned out when the hands had finished their dinner, and the "Big Four," embarked in it. They did their own paddling, for there was not room enough for any more in the boat without crowding. Each of them carried a rifle. It was but a short distance, and the party were soon on the dry land.
Louis had hardly put his feet on the shore when he levelled his gun and fired. A moment later Felix followed his example; and each of them had brought down a deer. They rushed forward to secure their game; and then the other two hunters discharged their rifles, and a couple of wild pigs rolled over on the ground. It was plain that they had struck a spot where hunters seldom came. If there was any more game near, the report of the guns had driven it off.
"That was pretty well for a five minutes' hunt," said Louis when he and Felix had dragged the two deer to the water. "I think we had better stay here over night, and hunt on high ground to-morrow."
"That wouldn't do, Louis, and I should not dare to keep the Blanchita here over night," replied Captain Scott.
"Why not?"
"The water is high and low up here by turns, and I am afraid I should find the yacht on the bottom in the morning," replied Scott. "Then we couldnot get her out of the woods, and might have to stay here a week or two, waiting for water to float her. No, no; I won't take the risk."
The game was dragged to the shore, and loaded into the sampan; for the appalling picture the captain had made of low water induced them all to hurry on board of the yacht.
The deer shot by Felix was a little fellow, though he was full grown, Achang said, when it was taken on board the yacht. The one killed by Louis was much larger. The pigs were in better condition than the one shot before. The men were set at work to skin the deer, and the cook cut out the best parts of the two swine. There was plenty of salt pork in the stores, so that the sides were not needed.
Achang kept himself very busy in his workshop. He had a difficult job on his hands; for he had to skin the fingers and toes of the animal, and to keep every part in its original shape. Captain Scott went to the wheel as soon as he came on board, and started the engine. Clingman reported the depth of water the same as when the party went on shore. By backing and going ahead a short distance at a time, he got the boat about, and headed her for the river.
The water was deep enough, and there was no particular difficulty in the navigation, though he was to follow the course he had taken at first. He had carefully observed the shape and location of the trees, and the stream was reached in a short time. Louis declared that it was a great pity they could not remain near the high ground, for he had no doubt that plenty of game would have been found.
"It seems to me that we have got all the game we want," said Scott. "What could we do with a couple more deer and a brace of wild hogs?"
"Perhaps you are right; but the fellows want to hunt, though I think I have had enough of it. I enjoy the sailing up this river, and it will be pleasant to explore the lakes farther up the stream," added Louis.
"I hope we shall get to some place where we can do some fishing for a change; besides, I am fish hungry," replied Scott.
"Most of the fishing here is done with the tuba plant; and I think it is mean to stupefy the fish, and then pick them up on the top of the water. But the river is clearer up this way, and we will drop our lines when we come to a good place."
"If you want to do any more shooting just now, there is a flock of long-noses" (by which he meant proboscis monkeys), said the captain, as he pointed to them.
"We have one good specimen of that creature, and I don't want any more at present; but I would give something to know why they prefer to be in trees which grow out of the water," added Louis.
"I give it up, for I don't see any reason for it; but I suppose the long-nose understands the matter himself, and he won't tell us. Here we are at the river."
The captain rang the speed-bell as the steamer entered the stream where it was only thirty feet wide. There was a considerable current, and the screw-pines were densely packed together on both sides. The boat continued on her course for half an hour longer, when she seemed to have come to the end of all things, and the gong rang to stop her.
"Here we are!" exclaimed Scott. "And here we are likely to remain, unless we back down stream till we find a place wide enough to turn in."
The obstruction which closed the passage of the river against the Blanchita was a bridge of dead pines which the current had brought down, and they had caught at the sides till they formed the barrier. It was not more than six feet wide, though it might as well have been a hundred so far as blocking up the river was concerned.
"I don't like the idea of stopping here, for I want to see the lakes above; and I hoped we might get some fishing there," said Louis.
"What the matter is?" called Achang from his workshop.
He moved to one side so that he could see the obstruction.
"You can go through that, Captain," he continued, after Morris had corrected his English. "I have come up here before, and we have cut a way through."
"All right; we will see what the bridge is made of," said the captain, as he rang to back the boat.
She backed down the stream about twenty rods,and then he stopped her. He then ordered Clingman to draw a piece of sailcloth over the stem, to prevent the dead pines from scratching the paint on the bow. As soon as this was done, she went ahead again at full speed, and the captain called to the engineer to give her all the steam he could. She went ahead at a furious rate, and Scott pointed her to what seemed to be the weakest place in the barrier.
"Now hold on, fellows, or she will tip you over!" shouted the captain as the boat approached the obstruction.
She struck the mass of pines, and drove her bow far into it, but stopped without going through it. The barrier was not solid, and was held together by the entanglement of the bushes as they were driven into the nucleus of the mass by the current.
"We can't cut through in that way," said Scott, as he looked at the half-sundered bridge.
"We don't want to take the back track," added Louis.
"There are more ways than one to skin a mosquito, and we haven't half tried yet," replied the captain. "The thing is softer than I supposed, and yielded when the boat hit it. I could go through, but it would take all the paint off the sides. Get out the anchor, Clingman, and we will see what can be done."
"I think we shall stick fast enough without anchoring," said Morris with a laugh.
"Wait a few minutes, my hearty; for I was not thinking of coming to anchor just now," answeredScott, as he went forward to the stem, and mounted the rail.
The anchor was stowed under the forward seat; and Clingman, after overhauling the cable, passed it up to the captain. It was not very heavy, and with a skilful toss he threw it just over the edge of the barrier on the up-stream side. All wondered what he was going to do, for they saw no way to get through by means of the anchor; but they were willing to believe that the captain knew what he was about, and they said nothing.
"Now pay out about fifty feet of cable," continued Scott, as he rang the gong to back her. "Haul steady on it till you are sure it is fast in the stuff, Clingman."
The seaman humored the cable till he was unable to haul the rope home, and then reported the situation. The boat continued to back till the cable was hauled taut, when he stopped her. Then he spoke through the tube to the engineer, and rang the gong. The craft moved again, but very gently, for Scott was afraid the anchor would not hold; but it did, and speaking through the tube, he gradually increased the speed. The cable swayed and groaned, and it was evident that a heavy strain was upon it. The barrier was shaking and quivering under the pressure, and it was plain that something would yield very soon.
"Hurrah!" shouted Felix, who was looking over the bow at the bridge of pines; and the cry wasrepeated by the rest of the cabin party, and taken up by the sailors. "Bully for you, Captain Scott! Upon me wurrud, ye's have skinned the muskitty!"
This demonstration was called forth by the rupture of the barrier in two places, so that about one-half of it gave way, and was towed down stream by the steamer. Scott kept the craft moving till he found a place in the green banks of the river to leave the tow, for it was wide enough to obstruct the channel.
"Clingman and Wales, jump on the raft with the boathooks, and crowd the stuff over to the starboard side," said the captain when he had found the place he wanted.
He stopped the boat, and then went ahead, to enable the men to get upon the mass, after they had thrown a couple of boards upon it to stand on. Backing her again, he hugged the starboard side of the stream, and drew the raft abreast of the place, and close to it, where it was to be left. The men on it hooked into the screw-pines, and hauled it into the opening. Pulling vines from the trees, they moored it where it was. As soon as the two men came aboard the boat, the captain went ahead again.
"You did that job handsomely, Captain Scott," said Louis. "I thought the only way we could get through was by cutting a passage for the boat."
"That would have taken too long," replied Scott, as he called Clinch to the wheel. "Mind your eye! for the river is very crooked up here. Look out for the swing as she goes around the bends."
The boat had not gone a great distance when she came to a considerable expanse of territory which had been swept over by fire. The party did not think that the green bushes would burn; but they had burned so that nothing was left of them but the blackened stems, and there was no room for an argument.
"When the fire gets started, it scorches and dries the bushes till they will burn," Louis explained. "But what are we coming to now?" he asked, looking ahead where the country seemed to be level, and covered with a sheet of water, in which the screw-pines were abundant.
"That must be one of your lakes, Louis," added the captain.
"If it is mine, I will sell it to you," replied he.
"I don't want to buy; but I am not so sure that we can get through as shoal a place as that seems to be, for it is only the spreading out of the river. The greater the expanse, the less the depth. How is that, Achang?"
"Plenty water; float the boat," answered the Bornean. "Little Padang Lake. Plenty pandanus."
"What are pandanuses?" asked Scott.
"The plural of the word is pandanaceæ; and they are the same thing as the screw-pines, and sometimes are found thirty feet high. There is one; and you can see roots starting out of the stem, and heading downward. The leaves are very useful to the natives. We shall get tied in a hard knot if we follow the twists of this stream much farther."
Presently the boat came to the lake. The captain was considerably exercised about the depth of water; and as they entered the lake, which was not very different from the overflowed region they had visited that day, he ordered the wheelman to stop her.
"There must be some sort of a channel through this pond," said he, looking about him. "There is a bigger lake than this one farther up. There are mountains in sight in the distance, and the water from them must find an outlet to the sea."
"I have no doubt you are right; and probably there is a channel through this lake, for its water must get to the sea, unless it dries up on the way," added Louis.
"It will be easier to find this channel near the river than it will when we are half-way across the lake;" and the captain sent two men with Morris in the sampan to search for it.
The water was tolerably clear; and they went to the mouth of the outlet, sounding all the time with the boathooks. They found the channel at this point, and then followed it up beyond the steamer. Morris shouted that the sampan was in the channel, and the Blanchita moved into it. The searching-party returned to the steamer. Morris was the mate; and, with the two men who had gone with him, he was directed to keep the run of the deeper water.
In another half-hour they came to the forest again, though the trees were growing in the shallow lake. Achang was hard at work all the time, taking all the pains with his operation which Louis had required of him; but his occupation did not prevent him from looking about him, and he soon made a discovery.
"Mias! Mias!" he shouted, pointing to a tall tree a few rods from the boat. "Mias fast asleep!"
All the party looked in the direction indicated, and saw the orang. He was lying on his back in the crotch of the tree, holding on with both hands to the branches. He must have been a heavy sleeper or the puffing of the engine would have aroused him. But Louis would not fire at him, as Scott suggested. He had a bigger orang than the one in the tree, and he did not want another. As he would not fire, Felix refused to do so, and the mias was left to finish his nap.
A little later in the day the boat came to Padang Lake; but they were disappointed when they found it was filled with screw-pines, though they could see open water, in one direction quite a large sheet of it. Following the channel, they reached the open space. The boat had hardly passed the limit of the screw-pines before Clingman shouted, "Fish!"
The captain rang the gong, the boat stopped, and fishlineswerein demand. The flesh of the orang was used for bait; and in a few minutes Morris hauled up a fish so large that it taxed all his strength and skill to get him into the boat.
All the cabin party had their lines out, but not another fish was caught. The place where they fished seemed to be a hole, and the water was deep and clear. Perhaps Morris's struggle with the big fish had scared the others away, for not another could be seen. The day was done, and it was growing dark. It was decided to anchor where they were, and spend the night there; and they hoped the fish would be in biting condition the next morning.
Achang called the fish the gourami, or something like that; but beyond this nothing was known about him. Louis, who was generally posted, could tell his companions nothing about it. But Pitts had cut it up, and it was fried for supper. The flesh was hard, and the flavor excellent. There was enough of it for all hands, and the supper amounted to a feast. A heavy thunder-shower made the evening very gloomy; but the canvas roof and curtains of the Blanchita fully protected the party from the rain, which fell in sheets for full two hours.
The next morning when the party turned out, the weather was as pleasant as they could desire, and the air was cleared and freshened by the shower.The first thing they did was to throw over their lines; for they could see the fish through the clear water of the lake. In about as many minutes they had hooked four fish, though not one of them was so large as the one Morris had caught the evening before. But at that point they ceased to bite, and not another nibble was had. Either the fish did not like the looks of the boat, handsome as she was, which would have been very bad taste on their part, or the struggles of those which had been hauled in frightened them away. Very likely the fish could have explained the reason for their sudden disappearance; but they did not, and it remained a mystery.
They had an ice-chest on board, and Mr. Eng had replenished it at Simujan. Pitts dressed the fish, and put them in the refrigerator. For breakfast they had fresh pork, and it was much better than that they had had before. They had learned to drink coffee without milk, for it was not often that it could be procured away from the larger towns.
"I say, fellows, don't you think there can be too much of a good thing?" asked Captain Scott at the head of the table.
"Of course there can be too much of a good thing; for a fellow might eat ice-cream till his throat was frozen," replied Felix.
"Almost anything becomes a bad thing when you have too much of it," added Louis. "But I think we could have stood about four more of those nice fish. What is the moral of all this, Captain?"
"With me the moral is that I have had hunting enough for the present," replied Scott. "I should like a little more variety in our daily life."
"I don't think I should care to go hunting more than one day in a week, or, at most, two," replied Louis. "We have had it right along for a week; and, as you suggest, that's too much of a good thing."
"But it was you, Louis, who went in for three weeks of it," added the captain.
"Simply because I thought it would take the Guardian-Mother and the Blanche about that time to visit Siam and French Cochin-China."
"I suppose if we had made our trip up these rivers in a sampan, we should not have got so far inland in another week," added Morris.
"I don't think we should have come up here at all if the Blanchita had not been available," said Louis. "But we are close to the mountains now, and I am in favor of a tramp on shore."
"All right; and after breakfast we will get under way, for I must attend to the navigation," replied Scott; "and I suppose Felipe has steam enough by this time."
They left the table, and Scott went to the wheel. To save time and trouble, the men took their meals in the after cabin, and the engineer had the head of the table. Both Louis and Felix had run the engine of the Maud a portion of the time on her memorable voyage from Funchal to Gibraltar, and the formerwas sent to the engine-room. The boat went ahead; and after passing through a section of pandanus, they came to an open lake, which they judged to be five miles long.
The water was shallow, though deep enough for the steamer. The captain opened the binnacle, and headed the Blanchita to the north. It was a very quiet time, and the boat went along at her usual speed. In little less than half an hour she reached the head of the lake; but there was no convenient landing-place for a craft of her draught, and she was anchored at a considerable distance from the shore. Achang and two of the seamen were directed to attend the "Big Four," and they were landed in the sampan.
Each of the cabin party took his fowling-piece, while Achang had a rifle, and each of the sailors carried one, the latter to be used by the young men if they were wanted. They had walked but a short distance before they came to a steep precipice about twenty feet high, at which a notched log had been placed by some former visitors, as they supposed; but as soon as they had mounted it, they came upon a Dyak long-house, which might have been better called a short-house, for it contained but six doors, and therefore the tax upon the village need not have caused any grumbling.
The dwelling was not now a novelty, neither were the Dyak men and maidens; for the latter were not as pretty as several they had seen on the river.They were very hospitable, and invited the party to enter the house, which they did; but there was little to interest them there. Achang talked with them, and the head man said they caught plenty of fish in the lake, and they snared pigs, deer, monkeys, and other game. He engaged a couple of guides for the mountains.
The game was plentiful, and the hunters shot several deer, a pig, and a Malay bear; but they were not enthusiastic hunters, considering that they had come to Borneo for that purpose. After a four hours' tramp they all thought they had had enough of it. Felix declared that he preferred to hunt cobras and tigers, for all the game seemed to be very tame to him. Seating themselves on the ground, they rested for an hour, and then started on their return to the boat. All the game was given to the Dyak guides, who were very glad to get it. They swung it on a pole, and trotted along with their load as though it had been no burden at all.
"They do that all day," said Achang. "Never get tired."
"They have load enough to feed the village for a week," added the captain. "I should not care for the fun of feeding them another week, for I find hunting here very tame business."
"My sintimints also," added Felix.
After a walk of another hour they reached the Dyak house, and the whole population of the place followed them to the shore. They were filled withwonder and admiration at the sight of the Blanchita, and went off to her in their sampans. They were permitted to go on board; but when Felipe fed the fire in the furnace, and the steam began to hiss, some of them were frightened, and fled to their boats.
Dinner was all ready when the party went on board; and Achang was instructed to send off the guests, for the boat was to get under way at once. They got into their sampans; but they remained near the Blanchita, evidently desirous to see her sail. They had not to wait long, for the anchor was weighed, and the captain rang the gong. She went off at her usual speed, and the Dyaks expressed their astonishment in various ways.
"Dinner all ready, gentlemen," said Pitts as soon as the steamer was well under way.
"What have you for dinner, Pitts?" asked the captain.
"Baked fish, Captain, in two pieces; for he was too long to go into my oven," replied the cook.
"All right. Take the wheel, Clingman, and make the course due south."
"Due south, sir," repeated the wheelman.
The party hastened to the after cabin; for they were hungry after their long tramp, though they had taken a light lunch with them. The fish, "in two pieces," was placed before the captain; while Pitts stood by his side, ready to pass the plates, and hear any comments the captain might make on the principal viand.
The odor from the steaming fish was emphatically agreeable to the hungry hunters, and so was the soft divan to their tired legs. Scott helped the members of the party to liberal portions of the dainty dish, and without pausing for manners they began to partake. When the captain had tasted the fish, he stopped short, and looked at Pitts. Then he reached out his right hand to him.
"Your hand, Pitts!" and the cook took it, his face wreathed in smiles. "You have cooked a dish here, Pitts, which is fit for any king on the continent of Europe, to say nothing of Asia."
The rest of the party applauded vigorously, and every one of them, following the example of the captain, took the cook by the hand, and bestowed additional praise upon him; and Louis declared that he could not have done better if he had served his time as acuisinierin the Grand Hotel in Paris. But the most telling tribute to the skill of the cook was in the amount consumed; and the captain expressed a fear that the engineer and five seamen would have to "kiss the cook."
"It is only a woman cook that gets served in that way, and then not unless she is good looking," replied Pitts, laughing. "But you need have no fear, Captain, and the second table will have no occasion to kiss the cook, even it were one of the pretty girls we saw at the long-house below; for I have another fish in the oven, and it will be done by the time they are ready for it."
"That's right, Pitts; look out for the men as well as you do for the rest of us," added the captain. "Now, fellows, I am going to the wheel; and I want to see all of you in the fore cabin, for I have something to say, and we may have occasion to vote."
"Vote on what, Captain?" inquired Felix.
"There is no motion before the house, Flix; and when morning comes the sun will rise, not before," replied Captain Scott.
As soon as a plum-pudding had been disposed of, the party hastened to the fore cabin; for their curiosity had been excited by what had been said. The captain took the wheel; and Louis went to the engine, though he could hear what was said while near enough to the levers to act in case of need. Scott had brought from his berth in the after cabin a blue-colored roll, which all understood was a chart, though of what sea they did not know.
"Now, fellows, I have come to the conclusion that we are all tired of paddling about the muddy rivers of Borneo," the captain began, after he had scrutinized the compass in the binnacle. "I have said so before; though I have not enlarged on the subject, or spoken half as strongly as I might. The rest of you may not take my view of the situation; but I do not ask you to do so, and I hope you will all speak out just what you think, as I have done, and shall do stronger than before. We want something that is not quite so tame as shooting pigs and crocodiles at thirty-six cents a foot."
"I am quite of your opinion, Captain," added Morris. "I don't think there is any more fun in shooting orangs, for we are not naturalists nor scientists of any sort. If we had brought a naturalist with us, we should have done better."
"I have had enough of it for the present; but we have two weeks yet before the ship will come to Kuching for us, and what are we to do during that time?" said Louis, walking a little nearer to the wheel.
"That is precisely the conundrum I intend to guess on the present occasion, and for which I have called this meeting without consulting Mr. Belgrave," replied Captain Scott, giving the wheel to Morris, with the course, and unfolding the blue roll. "The Guardian-Mother will go to Saigon before she comes back to Sarawak. That is about a two days' run for her. From Sarawak, or the mouth of the river, the distance is five hundred sea miles. Now, to flash it on you all at once, I propose to sail in the Blanchita to Point Cambodia, where the ship will pick us up as she comes down the Gulf of Siam. Now I am ready to hear you all groan."
"It looks like a risky voyage in such a craft as this steam-launch," said Louis, when there was a prolonged silence.
"I wish you all to look over the chart of the China Sea; this meeting is adjourned to the after cabin at four o'clock, and you may do your groaning there."
The men soon came out of the after cabin, and Pitts was busy removing the dishes and putting everything in order. At the time stated, the party were seated around the table in the after cabin, ready to consider the captain's astounding proposition.