[Contents]CHAPTER IV.A STRANGE DAYAK—PAINTING A COMPLEXION—SHEIK MOHAMMED AL MANSOER—TOO HANDSOME FOR A DAYAK—IN THE FOREST MARSHES—DASSO AND DOETA—TWO BOTTLES OF DOCTORED GIN—THE BIRDS WINGED.At day-break the Europeans roused the sleeping Dayaks from their slumber. Johannes took Dalim aside and engaged with him in earnest conversation, while the others prepared to cook some rice and fish for breakfast. After Dalim had finished his conversation he went into the thick forest and in a few moments disappeared from view. Johannes produced the clothes which Baba Poetjieng had provided, selected what he required for his own use and then jumped into the river for his morning bath. Having sufficiently refreshed himself he came out, seized his bundle and retired behind some shrubs. He soonreappeareddressed as a Dayak, mandauw in hand, and throwing himself among the other bathers, frightened them out of their wits. They were speedily re-assured, however, by hearing a well-known voice exclaiming, “Don’t be afraid, Palefaces!” The strange Dayak was Johannes, who, dressed in an ewah or coarse cloth wound around his middle and with a dirty rag around his head, stood before them effectually disguised. Ere they[50]had sufficiently looked at and admired the extemporized native, Dalim returned from the woods. He proceeded to take a pan in which he threw some leaves which he had brought from the forest, adding a little water and a few drops of a black pigment from a bottle hanging to his waist. He then placed the pan on the fire and joined the others at breakfast. By the time they had concluded the meal his mixture boiled. He then removed it from the fire and requested Schlickeisen, who sat nearest to him, to hold out his hands. He rubbed them for a little while with a rag steeped in the solution and almost instantaneously imparted to them a deep-brown color. When the hands had been tinted to his satisfaction he seized the Swiss by the neck and proceeded in the same manner to stain his face, arms and shoulders. The operation finished, Schlickeisen was unrecognizable. Johannes thought that the whole of the white men’s bodies should be subjected to the treatment to ensure perfect safety. All concurring in this opinion, Dalim returned to the woods to collect such a supply of leaves as would enable him to dye wholesale. These leaves were taken from the kalampoeit, a tree of the rhododendron tribe, which also supplies the Dayaks with poison for their arrows. In the decoction they were employed only as a mordant to fix the dye, the pigment being supplied from Dalim’s bottle, which contained the juice of the katiting, a tree belonging to the Rhizophora.An hour afterward all the Europeans were beautifully bronzed and strutting about in their ewahs were fair imitators of natives. Only La Cueille failed to produce the true Dayak type. His sharply-cut features, glittering eyes, handsome whiskers and curly[51]hair gave him rather the appearance of an Arab. In consequence, he was unanimously elected Sheik and dignified with the title of Mohammed al Mansoer. This promotion gave him the advantage of wearing a chlamyde, a kind of shirt. Around his head he wore a turban, his feet were sandaled and he was required to carry a rosary, the beads of which went gliding through his fingers in a most familiar manner.He had great trouble with his sandals and could scarcely manage to shuffle along on the flat soles, secured to his feet by a pin between two toes. However, after diligent practice, the difficulty was overcome and he marched along stately and sanctified, muttering in bad Arabic, “There is no God but Allah,” just as if he had been born in Arabia Petrea.It was now arranged that in their meetings with natives, only Johannes and the real Dayaks were to speak. The two Swiss were to personate hirelings and to preserve a becoming silence. The Sheik would only have to mutter some Malay lingo, intermixed with an Arabic word or two and an occasional verse from the Koran, which Johannes engaged to teach him. A final operation necessary to be undergone by the other three was the coloring of their teeth. This too was effected by means of Dalim’s bottle, which soon converted their ivory into polished ebony.“You really are too handsome for Dayaks,” said Dalim; nor was he wrong to think so, for though the Europeans exposed the broad chests and finely-developed arms and shoulders proper to their assumed caste, they lacked the crooked legs to which the inhabitants of Borneo owe their name. Dayak is really an[52]abbreviation of dadajak—to totter. With very few exceptions all the natives have bandy legs, which circumstance causes their peculiar tottering gait. This physical deformity is the result of the position they are compelled to assume while sitting in their canoes. But though their natural fondness for the sea thus attenuates and deforms their lower extremities, the upper parts of their bodies become so developed as to make them fit models for the sculptor.The disguise of the deserters being effected, they tied their military clothes in a bundle, to which they attached a heavy stone and sank it in the deepest part of the river. They then resumed their route and tried to get further up the soengei; but it proved a difficult task to accomplish. The Dahasan is nothing but one of the many side canals of an enormous marsh thickly studded with forests. Large creepers abound everywhere, bridging over the numerous rivulets, climbing the great trees and covering their tops with a dense growth of parasitical plants which forms, as it were, an elevated vegetable plateau.The creeper most generally found among the trees of these primeval forests is the rattan, called oeai by the natives. It runs along the ground, covering everything it meets with anetworkof branches which only the powerful hatchet can clear away. It is covered with sharp thorns which make it a most formidable obstruction to all who travel through these wilds.The seven men soon waded through the water on the bed of the soengei. Five of them, hatchet in hand, tried to remove the creepers at the cost of much laborious exertion and many painful scratches. The other two walked along the margin of the channel,[53]pushing the boat through the tortuous passage which was in reality only a pathway made in the soft mud by some passing canoe. It was an almost superhuman labor and the united strength of the whole party was often in requisition to free the roof of their vessel from its entanglement among the overhanging branches.At mid-day they had proceeded a few miles only, but they felt so exhausted that they were compelled to rest. The water too had been left so low by the receding tide that the boat seemed fixed in the mud. Nothing would move her, so they were compelled to wait for the next flood.Making use of the compulsory rest, they prepared their dinner. To this meal the Dayaks brought a welcome contribution by catching some bapoejoes among the holes of the half-drained river-bed. The bapoejoe is like the perch in shape and size, only differing from it by the absence of dorsal fins. These fish are of social habits and travel in large numbers along the inundated tracks. If overtaken by the ebb-tide and left aground, they still, as if by instinct, make their way through the mud to the nearest pool. Thus they frequently remain out of the water for days together and it is really a curious sight to see hundreds of fishes struggling through the mud in a certain direction, steadily prosecuting their journey despite the difficulties interposed.Having finished their meal the Dayaks went out to gather rattan, as provision for their possible requirements during their travels. They cut some pieces thirty or forty yards long from one species, rolled them up carefully and put them away among their stores to be employed as ropes. From other species, used[54]in Europe for seating chairs and similar canework, they cut the usual lengths, removed the thorny bark and tied them in bundles of one hundred each. These should have been soaked in the river to prevent their speedy decay; but as time was of value they contented themselves with the crude withe and took their chance of replenishing their supply when required. While the Dayaks were thus occupied the others were resting from their fatigue and gathering strength to recommence their labors. But although their limbs rested, their tongues kept going, talking over and deliberating on their plans, Johannes continuing to remind his co-adventurers of the necessity for vigilance.“Remember,” said he, “if the Colonel gets informed of our presence in this neighborhood he would hunt us down. Aye, let him discover our track and he is the very man to follow it up. No power on earth would prevent his doing so. Shall I tell you some of his artifices? Did you ever hear of his capture of Dasso and Doeta? It is part of the history of Kwala Kapoeas.”“I have heard it spoken of,” said Schlickeisen, “but I don’t know the story. Who were they?”“Listen,” resumed Johannes, “and I will tell you.”“Dasso and Doeta were Dayaks of Poeloe Petak and were well connected there as well as at Kwala Kapoeas. I believe our Dalim is a half-brother of Dasso. Well both these men and the Dayaks that are now accompanying us were engaged in the coal mines of Kalangan, at the outbreak of the insurrection, and all five of them did their share in the massacre of the Europeans.”[55]“You have introduced us to quite a select company,” remarked Schlickeisen. “Can we trust these people?”“I believe you can trust them more than you could any other natives. They are anxious to reach Singapore and need our assistance to do so. They will be very useful to us and render us good service in more ways than one. Their very presence among us will secure us from being betrayed to the palefaces by any Dayak.”“So far, so good; but suppose they betray us themselves?”“That is not likely, with their past record and their present plan.”“Yet it will be well to be wary and prepared for everything. Now continue your narrative.”“Dasso and Doeta were reported to have committed the most horrible atrocities during the massacre of Europeans. After a time the two wretches returned to the neighborhood of the fort, where they established themselves. The Colonel became informed of this fact and was most eager to entrap them. Besides the horrible crimes of which they had been guilty it was observed that after their arrival in the district a general spirit of insubordination became manifest, which excited grave apprehensions of future trouble. You cannot imagine what marches we had to make in the effort to secure these fellows. Twice and sometimes three times a day detachments were sent off and night expeditions were organized in order to entrap them; but all without success. Dead-tired, exhausted by hunger and thirst, wet to the skin and covered with mud from wading for hours through streams and marshes we returned from our wild goose[56]chase. All our efforts had been unavailing. When we arrived at the place where they were reported to be concealed, we found the birds had flown, though their rice was boiling over their recently kindled fires and their beds were still warm.”“But I should have thought,” remarked Schlickeisen, “that with the assistance of the natives the capture of these blackguards would have been an easy matter.”“Well, so we thought; but the people actually assisted them to elude us. Nearly all the inhabitants of this district are related to them. As soon as a detachment went out in pursuit their friends signalled to them and then we might march and countermarch until further orders. One afternoon, however, I found the Commander lounging in his rocking-chair under the verandah of his house. He was in deep thought. He stared fixedly at the ground, but his nails were clenched and he pulled his moustaches as if bent upon extracting them by the roots. I thought something was brewing. Suddenly he called for an orderly and despatched him for a sailor who was on board a steamer stationed in the river. The sailor came and went. I was then summoned and ordered to bring two bottles of gin, to remove the capsules and draw the corks without disturbing the wax. I thought the Colonel wanted a dram; but instead of indulging he went to his medicine-chest and took out some morphia powders. These he put into the bottles, which he shook up well and ordered me to re-cork. He then replaced the capsules and I assure you no druggist could have done it better.“In the evening the sailor came again and this time carried[57]off with him the two bottles. He stepped into a djoekoeng and rowed up the river Kapoeas. A few hours after, Sergeant Greefkes and eight soldiers took the same direction. About two o’clock in the morning, being on duty at the western bastion, I saw a boat approaching. I sang out my challenge, ‘Who goes there?’ and was answered by the rejoinder, ‘Good friends.’ At the same time a red light was displayed from the boat as a signal. When it was moored three men were lifted out who were so fast asleep that nothing seemed to disturb them. Two were immediately placed in the stocks; they were Dasso and Doeta. You should have seen their faces next morning when they woke up to find themselves in limbo.“Now you must know that the sailor, a Bandjares by birth, had formerly been a miner at Kalangan and therefore knew them well. For a few paltry dollars he sought them out and betrayed them by the agency of the bottle. The Dayaks, like a certain friend of ours, are passionately fond of spirits and the doctored gin brought by the sailor was disposed of with so much freedom that when the sergeant arrived he had only to bind the murderers hand and foot and carry them to the boats.”“How were they punished?”“They were tried by court-martial; but before the conclusion of the trial that famous amnesty was proclaimed which granted a free pardon to all concerned in the rebellion with few exceptions. Those exceptions were good and worthy men who had only been defending themselves against oppression, and they were denied the grace extended to robbers and murderers! Our desperadoes were liberated on the sole condition that they[58]should report themselves once a week at the nearest military station. I never heard our Colonel curse and swear as he did when the two came the first time to report themselves to him. ‘Oh!’ he cried, after their backs were turned, ‘if I could have foreseen this wretched farce those wretches would never have entered the fort alive.’ And every well-disposed person will coincide with him.”[59]
[Contents]CHAPTER IV.A STRANGE DAYAK—PAINTING A COMPLEXION—SHEIK MOHAMMED AL MANSOER—TOO HANDSOME FOR A DAYAK—IN THE FOREST MARSHES—DASSO AND DOETA—TWO BOTTLES OF DOCTORED GIN—THE BIRDS WINGED.At day-break the Europeans roused the sleeping Dayaks from their slumber. Johannes took Dalim aside and engaged with him in earnest conversation, while the others prepared to cook some rice and fish for breakfast. After Dalim had finished his conversation he went into the thick forest and in a few moments disappeared from view. Johannes produced the clothes which Baba Poetjieng had provided, selected what he required for his own use and then jumped into the river for his morning bath. Having sufficiently refreshed himself he came out, seized his bundle and retired behind some shrubs. He soonreappeareddressed as a Dayak, mandauw in hand, and throwing himself among the other bathers, frightened them out of their wits. They were speedily re-assured, however, by hearing a well-known voice exclaiming, “Don’t be afraid, Palefaces!” The strange Dayak was Johannes, who, dressed in an ewah or coarse cloth wound around his middle and with a dirty rag around his head, stood before them effectually disguised. Ere they[50]had sufficiently looked at and admired the extemporized native, Dalim returned from the woods. He proceeded to take a pan in which he threw some leaves which he had brought from the forest, adding a little water and a few drops of a black pigment from a bottle hanging to his waist. He then placed the pan on the fire and joined the others at breakfast. By the time they had concluded the meal his mixture boiled. He then removed it from the fire and requested Schlickeisen, who sat nearest to him, to hold out his hands. He rubbed them for a little while with a rag steeped in the solution and almost instantaneously imparted to them a deep-brown color. When the hands had been tinted to his satisfaction he seized the Swiss by the neck and proceeded in the same manner to stain his face, arms and shoulders. The operation finished, Schlickeisen was unrecognizable. Johannes thought that the whole of the white men’s bodies should be subjected to the treatment to ensure perfect safety. All concurring in this opinion, Dalim returned to the woods to collect such a supply of leaves as would enable him to dye wholesale. These leaves were taken from the kalampoeit, a tree of the rhododendron tribe, which also supplies the Dayaks with poison for their arrows. In the decoction they were employed only as a mordant to fix the dye, the pigment being supplied from Dalim’s bottle, which contained the juice of the katiting, a tree belonging to the Rhizophora.An hour afterward all the Europeans were beautifully bronzed and strutting about in their ewahs were fair imitators of natives. Only La Cueille failed to produce the true Dayak type. His sharply-cut features, glittering eyes, handsome whiskers and curly[51]hair gave him rather the appearance of an Arab. In consequence, he was unanimously elected Sheik and dignified with the title of Mohammed al Mansoer. This promotion gave him the advantage of wearing a chlamyde, a kind of shirt. Around his head he wore a turban, his feet were sandaled and he was required to carry a rosary, the beads of which went gliding through his fingers in a most familiar manner.He had great trouble with his sandals and could scarcely manage to shuffle along on the flat soles, secured to his feet by a pin between two toes. However, after diligent practice, the difficulty was overcome and he marched along stately and sanctified, muttering in bad Arabic, “There is no God but Allah,” just as if he had been born in Arabia Petrea.It was now arranged that in their meetings with natives, only Johannes and the real Dayaks were to speak. The two Swiss were to personate hirelings and to preserve a becoming silence. The Sheik would only have to mutter some Malay lingo, intermixed with an Arabic word or two and an occasional verse from the Koran, which Johannes engaged to teach him. A final operation necessary to be undergone by the other three was the coloring of their teeth. This too was effected by means of Dalim’s bottle, which soon converted their ivory into polished ebony.“You really are too handsome for Dayaks,” said Dalim; nor was he wrong to think so, for though the Europeans exposed the broad chests and finely-developed arms and shoulders proper to their assumed caste, they lacked the crooked legs to which the inhabitants of Borneo owe their name. Dayak is really an[52]abbreviation of dadajak—to totter. With very few exceptions all the natives have bandy legs, which circumstance causes their peculiar tottering gait. This physical deformity is the result of the position they are compelled to assume while sitting in their canoes. But though their natural fondness for the sea thus attenuates and deforms their lower extremities, the upper parts of their bodies become so developed as to make them fit models for the sculptor.The disguise of the deserters being effected, they tied their military clothes in a bundle, to which they attached a heavy stone and sank it in the deepest part of the river. They then resumed their route and tried to get further up the soengei; but it proved a difficult task to accomplish. The Dahasan is nothing but one of the many side canals of an enormous marsh thickly studded with forests. Large creepers abound everywhere, bridging over the numerous rivulets, climbing the great trees and covering their tops with a dense growth of parasitical plants which forms, as it were, an elevated vegetable plateau.The creeper most generally found among the trees of these primeval forests is the rattan, called oeai by the natives. It runs along the ground, covering everything it meets with anetworkof branches which only the powerful hatchet can clear away. It is covered with sharp thorns which make it a most formidable obstruction to all who travel through these wilds.The seven men soon waded through the water on the bed of the soengei. Five of them, hatchet in hand, tried to remove the creepers at the cost of much laborious exertion and many painful scratches. The other two walked along the margin of the channel,[53]pushing the boat through the tortuous passage which was in reality only a pathway made in the soft mud by some passing canoe. It was an almost superhuman labor and the united strength of the whole party was often in requisition to free the roof of their vessel from its entanglement among the overhanging branches.At mid-day they had proceeded a few miles only, but they felt so exhausted that they were compelled to rest. The water too had been left so low by the receding tide that the boat seemed fixed in the mud. Nothing would move her, so they were compelled to wait for the next flood.Making use of the compulsory rest, they prepared their dinner. To this meal the Dayaks brought a welcome contribution by catching some bapoejoes among the holes of the half-drained river-bed. The bapoejoe is like the perch in shape and size, only differing from it by the absence of dorsal fins. These fish are of social habits and travel in large numbers along the inundated tracks. If overtaken by the ebb-tide and left aground, they still, as if by instinct, make their way through the mud to the nearest pool. Thus they frequently remain out of the water for days together and it is really a curious sight to see hundreds of fishes struggling through the mud in a certain direction, steadily prosecuting their journey despite the difficulties interposed.Having finished their meal the Dayaks went out to gather rattan, as provision for their possible requirements during their travels. They cut some pieces thirty or forty yards long from one species, rolled them up carefully and put them away among their stores to be employed as ropes. From other species, used[54]in Europe for seating chairs and similar canework, they cut the usual lengths, removed the thorny bark and tied them in bundles of one hundred each. These should have been soaked in the river to prevent their speedy decay; but as time was of value they contented themselves with the crude withe and took their chance of replenishing their supply when required. While the Dayaks were thus occupied the others were resting from their fatigue and gathering strength to recommence their labors. But although their limbs rested, their tongues kept going, talking over and deliberating on their plans, Johannes continuing to remind his co-adventurers of the necessity for vigilance.“Remember,” said he, “if the Colonel gets informed of our presence in this neighborhood he would hunt us down. Aye, let him discover our track and he is the very man to follow it up. No power on earth would prevent his doing so. Shall I tell you some of his artifices? Did you ever hear of his capture of Dasso and Doeta? It is part of the history of Kwala Kapoeas.”“I have heard it spoken of,” said Schlickeisen, “but I don’t know the story. Who were they?”“Listen,” resumed Johannes, “and I will tell you.”“Dasso and Doeta were Dayaks of Poeloe Petak and were well connected there as well as at Kwala Kapoeas. I believe our Dalim is a half-brother of Dasso. Well both these men and the Dayaks that are now accompanying us were engaged in the coal mines of Kalangan, at the outbreak of the insurrection, and all five of them did their share in the massacre of the Europeans.”[55]“You have introduced us to quite a select company,” remarked Schlickeisen. “Can we trust these people?”“I believe you can trust them more than you could any other natives. They are anxious to reach Singapore and need our assistance to do so. They will be very useful to us and render us good service in more ways than one. Their very presence among us will secure us from being betrayed to the palefaces by any Dayak.”“So far, so good; but suppose they betray us themselves?”“That is not likely, with their past record and their present plan.”“Yet it will be well to be wary and prepared for everything. Now continue your narrative.”“Dasso and Doeta were reported to have committed the most horrible atrocities during the massacre of Europeans. After a time the two wretches returned to the neighborhood of the fort, where they established themselves. The Colonel became informed of this fact and was most eager to entrap them. Besides the horrible crimes of which they had been guilty it was observed that after their arrival in the district a general spirit of insubordination became manifest, which excited grave apprehensions of future trouble. You cannot imagine what marches we had to make in the effort to secure these fellows. Twice and sometimes three times a day detachments were sent off and night expeditions were organized in order to entrap them; but all without success. Dead-tired, exhausted by hunger and thirst, wet to the skin and covered with mud from wading for hours through streams and marshes we returned from our wild goose[56]chase. All our efforts had been unavailing. When we arrived at the place where they were reported to be concealed, we found the birds had flown, though their rice was boiling over their recently kindled fires and their beds were still warm.”“But I should have thought,” remarked Schlickeisen, “that with the assistance of the natives the capture of these blackguards would have been an easy matter.”“Well, so we thought; but the people actually assisted them to elude us. Nearly all the inhabitants of this district are related to them. As soon as a detachment went out in pursuit their friends signalled to them and then we might march and countermarch until further orders. One afternoon, however, I found the Commander lounging in his rocking-chair under the verandah of his house. He was in deep thought. He stared fixedly at the ground, but his nails were clenched and he pulled his moustaches as if bent upon extracting them by the roots. I thought something was brewing. Suddenly he called for an orderly and despatched him for a sailor who was on board a steamer stationed in the river. The sailor came and went. I was then summoned and ordered to bring two bottles of gin, to remove the capsules and draw the corks without disturbing the wax. I thought the Colonel wanted a dram; but instead of indulging he went to his medicine-chest and took out some morphia powders. These he put into the bottles, which he shook up well and ordered me to re-cork. He then replaced the capsules and I assure you no druggist could have done it better.“In the evening the sailor came again and this time carried[57]off with him the two bottles. He stepped into a djoekoeng and rowed up the river Kapoeas. A few hours after, Sergeant Greefkes and eight soldiers took the same direction. About two o’clock in the morning, being on duty at the western bastion, I saw a boat approaching. I sang out my challenge, ‘Who goes there?’ and was answered by the rejoinder, ‘Good friends.’ At the same time a red light was displayed from the boat as a signal. When it was moored three men were lifted out who were so fast asleep that nothing seemed to disturb them. Two were immediately placed in the stocks; they were Dasso and Doeta. You should have seen their faces next morning when they woke up to find themselves in limbo.“Now you must know that the sailor, a Bandjares by birth, had formerly been a miner at Kalangan and therefore knew them well. For a few paltry dollars he sought them out and betrayed them by the agency of the bottle. The Dayaks, like a certain friend of ours, are passionately fond of spirits and the doctored gin brought by the sailor was disposed of with so much freedom that when the sergeant arrived he had only to bind the murderers hand and foot and carry them to the boats.”“How were they punished?”“They were tried by court-martial; but before the conclusion of the trial that famous amnesty was proclaimed which granted a free pardon to all concerned in the rebellion with few exceptions. Those exceptions were good and worthy men who had only been defending themselves against oppression, and they were denied the grace extended to robbers and murderers! Our desperadoes were liberated on the sole condition that they[58]should report themselves once a week at the nearest military station. I never heard our Colonel curse and swear as he did when the two came the first time to report themselves to him. ‘Oh!’ he cried, after their backs were turned, ‘if I could have foreseen this wretched farce those wretches would never have entered the fort alive.’ And every well-disposed person will coincide with him.”[59]
CHAPTER IV.A STRANGE DAYAK—PAINTING A COMPLEXION—SHEIK MOHAMMED AL MANSOER—TOO HANDSOME FOR A DAYAK—IN THE FOREST MARSHES—DASSO AND DOETA—TWO BOTTLES OF DOCTORED GIN—THE BIRDS WINGED.
A STRANGE DAYAK—PAINTING A COMPLEXION—SHEIK MOHAMMED AL MANSOER—TOO HANDSOME FOR A DAYAK—IN THE FOREST MARSHES—DASSO AND DOETA—TWO BOTTLES OF DOCTORED GIN—THE BIRDS WINGED.
A STRANGE DAYAK—PAINTING A COMPLEXION—SHEIK MOHAMMED AL MANSOER—TOO HANDSOME FOR A DAYAK—IN THE FOREST MARSHES—DASSO AND DOETA—TWO BOTTLES OF DOCTORED GIN—THE BIRDS WINGED.
At day-break the Europeans roused the sleeping Dayaks from their slumber. Johannes took Dalim aside and engaged with him in earnest conversation, while the others prepared to cook some rice and fish for breakfast. After Dalim had finished his conversation he went into the thick forest and in a few moments disappeared from view. Johannes produced the clothes which Baba Poetjieng had provided, selected what he required for his own use and then jumped into the river for his morning bath. Having sufficiently refreshed himself he came out, seized his bundle and retired behind some shrubs. He soonreappeareddressed as a Dayak, mandauw in hand, and throwing himself among the other bathers, frightened them out of their wits. They were speedily re-assured, however, by hearing a well-known voice exclaiming, “Don’t be afraid, Palefaces!” The strange Dayak was Johannes, who, dressed in an ewah or coarse cloth wound around his middle and with a dirty rag around his head, stood before them effectually disguised. Ere they[50]had sufficiently looked at and admired the extemporized native, Dalim returned from the woods. He proceeded to take a pan in which he threw some leaves which he had brought from the forest, adding a little water and a few drops of a black pigment from a bottle hanging to his waist. He then placed the pan on the fire and joined the others at breakfast. By the time they had concluded the meal his mixture boiled. He then removed it from the fire and requested Schlickeisen, who sat nearest to him, to hold out his hands. He rubbed them for a little while with a rag steeped in the solution and almost instantaneously imparted to them a deep-brown color. When the hands had been tinted to his satisfaction he seized the Swiss by the neck and proceeded in the same manner to stain his face, arms and shoulders. The operation finished, Schlickeisen was unrecognizable. Johannes thought that the whole of the white men’s bodies should be subjected to the treatment to ensure perfect safety. All concurring in this opinion, Dalim returned to the woods to collect such a supply of leaves as would enable him to dye wholesale. These leaves were taken from the kalampoeit, a tree of the rhododendron tribe, which also supplies the Dayaks with poison for their arrows. In the decoction they were employed only as a mordant to fix the dye, the pigment being supplied from Dalim’s bottle, which contained the juice of the katiting, a tree belonging to the Rhizophora.An hour afterward all the Europeans were beautifully bronzed and strutting about in their ewahs were fair imitators of natives. Only La Cueille failed to produce the true Dayak type. His sharply-cut features, glittering eyes, handsome whiskers and curly[51]hair gave him rather the appearance of an Arab. In consequence, he was unanimously elected Sheik and dignified with the title of Mohammed al Mansoer. This promotion gave him the advantage of wearing a chlamyde, a kind of shirt. Around his head he wore a turban, his feet were sandaled and he was required to carry a rosary, the beads of which went gliding through his fingers in a most familiar manner.He had great trouble with his sandals and could scarcely manage to shuffle along on the flat soles, secured to his feet by a pin between two toes. However, after diligent practice, the difficulty was overcome and he marched along stately and sanctified, muttering in bad Arabic, “There is no God but Allah,” just as if he had been born in Arabia Petrea.It was now arranged that in their meetings with natives, only Johannes and the real Dayaks were to speak. The two Swiss were to personate hirelings and to preserve a becoming silence. The Sheik would only have to mutter some Malay lingo, intermixed with an Arabic word or two and an occasional verse from the Koran, which Johannes engaged to teach him. A final operation necessary to be undergone by the other three was the coloring of their teeth. This too was effected by means of Dalim’s bottle, which soon converted their ivory into polished ebony.“You really are too handsome for Dayaks,” said Dalim; nor was he wrong to think so, for though the Europeans exposed the broad chests and finely-developed arms and shoulders proper to their assumed caste, they lacked the crooked legs to which the inhabitants of Borneo owe their name. Dayak is really an[52]abbreviation of dadajak—to totter. With very few exceptions all the natives have bandy legs, which circumstance causes their peculiar tottering gait. This physical deformity is the result of the position they are compelled to assume while sitting in their canoes. But though their natural fondness for the sea thus attenuates and deforms their lower extremities, the upper parts of their bodies become so developed as to make them fit models for the sculptor.The disguise of the deserters being effected, they tied their military clothes in a bundle, to which they attached a heavy stone and sank it in the deepest part of the river. They then resumed their route and tried to get further up the soengei; but it proved a difficult task to accomplish. The Dahasan is nothing but one of the many side canals of an enormous marsh thickly studded with forests. Large creepers abound everywhere, bridging over the numerous rivulets, climbing the great trees and covering their tops with a dense growth of parasitical plants which forms, as it were, an elevated vegetable plateau.The creeper most generally found among the trees of these primeval forests is the rattan, called oeai by the natives. It runs along the ground, covering everything it meets with anetworkof branches which only the powerful hatchet can clear away. It is covered with sharp thorns which make it a most formidable obstruction to all who travel through these wilds.The seven men soon waded through the water on the bed of the soengei. Five of them, hatchet in hand, tried to remove the creepers at the cost of much laborious exertion and many painful scratches. The other two walked along the margin of the channel,[53]pushing the boat through the tortuous passage which was in reality only a pathway made in the soft mud by some passing canoe. It was an almost superhuman labor and the united strength of the whole party was often in requisition to free the roof of their vessel from its entanglement among the overhanging branches.At mid-day they had proceeded a few miles only, but they felt so exhausted that they were compelled to rest. The water too had been left so low by the receding tide that the boat seemed fixed in the mud. Nothing would move her, so they were compelled to wait for the next flood.Making use of the compulsory rest, they prepared their dinner. To this meal the Dayaks brought a welcome contribution by catching some bapoejoes among the holes of the half-drained river-bed. The bapoejoe is like the perch in shape and size, only differing from it by the absence of dorsal fins. These fish are of social habits and travel in large numbers along the inundated tracks. If overtaken by the ebb-tide and left aground, they still, as if by instinct, make their way through the mud to the nearest pool. Thus they frequently remain out of the water for days together and it is really a curious sight to see hundreds of fishes struggling through the mud in a certain direction, steadily prosecuting their journey despite the difficulties interposed.Having finished their meal the Dayaks went out to gather rattan, as provision for their possible requirements during their travels. They cut some pieces thirty or forty yards long from one species, rolled them up carefully and put them away among their stores to be employed as ropes. From other species, used[54]in Europe for seating chairs and similar canework, they cut the usual lengths, removed the thorny bark and tied them in bundles of one hundred each. These should have been soaked in the river to prevent their speedy decay; but as time was of value they contented themselves with the crude withe and took their chance of replenishing their supply when required. While the Dayaks were thus occupied the others were resting from their fatigue and gathering strength to recommence their labors. But although their limbs rested, their tongues kept going, talking over and deliberating on their plans, Johannes continuing to remind his co-adventurers of the necessity for vigilance.“Remember,” said he, “if the Colonel gets informed of our presence in this neighborhood he would hunt us down. Aye, let him discover our track and he is the very man to follow it up. No power on earth would prevent his doing so. Shall I tell you some of his artifices? Did you ever hear of his capture of Dasso and Doeta? It is part of the history of Kwala Kapoeas.”“I have heard it spoken of,” said Schlickeisen, “but I don’t know the story. Who were they?”“Listen,” resumed Johannes, “and I will tell you.”“Dasso and Doeta were Dayaks of Poeloe Petak and were well connected there as well as at Kwala Kapoeas. I believe our Dalim is a half-brother of Dasso. Well both these men and the Dayaks that are now accompanying us were engaged in the coal mines of Kalangan, at the outbreak of the insurrection, and all five of them did their share in the massacre of the Europeans.”[55]“You have introduced us to quite a select company,” remarked Schlickeisen. “Can we trust these people?”“I believe you can trust them more than you could any other natives. They are anxious to reach Singapore and need our assistance to do so. They will be very useful to us and render us good service in more ways than one. Their very presence among us will secure us from being betrayed to the palefaces by any Dayak.”“So far, so good; but suppose they betray us themselves?”“That is not likely, with their past record and their present plan.”“Yet it will be well to be wary and prepared for everything. Now continue your narrative.”“Dasso and Doeta were reported to have committed the most horrible atrocities during the massacre of Europeans. After a time the two wretches returned to the neighborhood of the fort, where they established themselves. The Colonel became informed of this fact and was most eager to entrap them. Besides the horrible crimes of which they had been guilty it was observed that after their arrival in the district a general spirit of insubordination became manifest, which excited grave apprehensions of future trouble. You cannot imagine what marches we had to make in the effort to secure these fellows. Twice and sometimes three times a day detachments were sent off and night expeditions were organized in order to entrap them; but all without success. Dead-tired, exhausted by hunger and thirst, wet to the skin and covered with mud from wading for hours through streams and marshes we returned from our wild goose[56]chase. All our efforts had been unavailing. When we arrived at the place where they were reported to be concealed, we found the birds had flown, though their rice was boiling over their recently kindled fires and their beds were still warm.”“But I should have thought,” remarked Schlickeisen, “that with the assistance of the natives the capture of these blackguards would have been an easy matter.”“Well, so we thought; but the people actually assisted them to elude us. Nearly all the inhabitants of this district are related to them. As soon as a detachment went out in pursuit their friends signalled to them and then we might march and countermarch until further orders. One afternoon, however, I found the Commander lounging in his rocking-chair under the verandah of his house. He was in deep thought. He stared fixedly at the ground, but his nails were clenched and he pulled his moustaches as if bent upon extracting them by the roots. I thought something was brewing. Suddenly he called for an orderly and despatched him for a sailor who was on board a steamer stationed in the river. The sailor came and went. I was then summoned and ordered to bring two bottles of gin, to remove the capsules and draw the corks without disturbing the wax. I thought the Colonel wanted a dram; but instead of indulging he went to his medicine-chest and took out some morphia powders. These he put into the bottles, which he shook up well and ordered me to re-cork. He then replaced the capsules and I assure you no druggist could have done it better.“In the evening the sailor came again and this time carried[57]off with him the two bottles. He stepped into a djoekoeng and rowed up the river Kapoeas. A few hours after, Sergeant Greefkes and eight soldiers took the same direction. About two o’clock in the morning, being on duty at the western bastion, I saw a boat approaching. I sang out my challenge, ‘Who goes there?’ and was answered by the rejoinder, ‘Good friends.’ At the same time a red light was displayed from the boat as a signal. When it was moored three men were lifted out who were so fast asleep that nothing seemed to disturb them. Two were immediately placed in the stocks; they were Dasso and Doeta. You should have seen their faces next morning when they woke up to find themselves in limbo.“Now you must know that the sailor, a Bandjares by birth, had formerly been a miner at Kalangan and therefore knew them well. For a few paltry dollars he sought them out and betrayed them by the agency of the bottle. The Dayaks, like a certain friend of ours, are passionately fond of spirits and the doctored gin brought by the sailor was disposed of with so much freedom that when the sergeant arrived he had only to bind the murderers hand and foot and carry them to the boats.”“How were they punished?”“They were tried by court-martial; but before the conclusion of the trial that famous amnesty was proclaimed which granted a free pardon to all concerned in the rebellion with few exceptions. Those exceptions were good and worthy men who had only been defending themselves against oppression, and they were denied the grace extended to robbers and murderers! Our desperadoes were liberated on the sole condition that they[58]should report themselves once a week at the nearest military station. I never heard our Colonel curse and swear as he did when the two came the first time to report themselves to him. ‘Oh!’ he cried, after their backs were turned, ‘if I could have foreseen this wretched farce those wretches would never have entered the fort alive.’ And every well-disposed person will coincide with him.”[59]
At day-break the Europeans roused the sleeping Dayaks from their slumber. Johannes took Dalim aside and engaged with him in earnest conversation, while the others prepared to cook some rice and fish for breakfast. After Dalim had finished his conversation he went into the thick forest and in a few moments disappeared from view. Johannes produced the clothes which Baba Poetjieng had provided, selected what he required for his own use and then jumped into the river for his morning bath. Having sufficiently refreshed himself he came out, seized his bundle and retired behind some shrubs. He soonreappeareddressed as a Dayak, mandauw in hand, and throwing himself among the other bathers, frightened them out of their wits. They were speedily re-assured, however, by hearing a well-known voice exclaiming, “Don’t be afraid, Palefaces!” The strange Dayak was Johannes, who, dressed in an ewah or coarse cloth wound around his middle and with a dirty rag around his head, stood before them effectually disguised. Ere they[50]had sufficiently looked at and admired the extemporized native, Dalim returned from the woods. He proceeded to take a pan in which he threw some leaves which he had brought from the forest, adding a little water and a few drops of a black pigment from a bottle hanging to his waist. He then placed the pan on the fire and joined the others at breakfast. By the time they had concluded the meal his mixture boiled. He then removed it from the fire and requested Schlickeisen, who sat nearest to him, to hold out his hands. He rubbed them for a little while with a rag steeped in the solution and almost instantaneously imparted to them a deep-brown color. When the hands had been tinted to his satisfaction he seized the Swiss by the neck and proceeded in the same manner to stain his face, arms and shoulders. The operation finished, Schlickeisen was unrecognizable. Johannes thought that the whole of the white men’s bodies should be subjected to the treatment to ensure perfect safety. All concurring in this opinion, Dalim returned to the woods to collect such a supply of leaves as would enable him to dye wholesale. These leaves were taken from the kalampoeit, a tree of the rhododendron tribe, which also supplies the Dayaks with poison for their arrows. In the decoction they were employed only as a mordant to fix the dye, the pigment being supplied from Dalim’s bottle, which contained the juice of the katiting, a tree belonging to the Rhizophora.
An hour afterward all the Europeans were beautifully bronzed and strutting about in their ewahs were fair imitators of natives. Only La Cueille failed to produce the true Dayak type. His sharply-cut features, glittering eyes, handsome whiskers and curly[51]hair gave him rather the appearance of an Arab. In consequence, he was unanimously elected Sheik and dignified with the title of Mohammed al Mansoer. This promotion gave him the advantage of wearing a chlamyde, a kind of shirt. Around his head he wore a turban, his feet were sandaled and he was required to carry a rosary, the beads of which went gliding through his fingers in a most familiar manner.
He had great trouble with his sandals and could scarcely manage to shuffle along on the flat soles, secured to his feet by a pin between two toes. However, after diligent practice, the difficulty was overcome and he marched along stately and sanctified, muttering in bad Arabic, “There is no God but Allah,” just as if he had been born in Arabia Petrea.
It was now arranged that in their meetings with natives, only Johannes and the real Dayaks were to speak. The two Swiss were to personate hirelings and to preserve a becoming silence. The Sheik would only have to mutter some Malay lingo, intermixed with an Arabic word or two and an occasional verse from the Koran, which Johannes engaged to teach him. A final operation necessary to be undergone by the other three was the coloring of their teeth. This too was effected by means of Dalim’s bottle, which soon converted their ivory into polished ebony.
“You really are too handsome for Dayaks,” said Dalim; nor was he wrong to think so, for though the Europeans exposed the broad chests and finely-developed arms and shoulders proper to their assumed caste, they lacked the crooked legs to which the inhabitants of Borneo owe their name. Dayak is really an[52]abbreviation of dadajak—to totter. With very few exceptions all the natives have bandy legs, which circumstance causes their peculiar tottering gait. This physical deformity is the result of the position they are compelled to assume while sitting in their canoes. But though their natural fondness for the sea thus attenuates and deforms their lower extremities, the upper parts of their bodies become so developed as to make them fit models for the sculptor.
The disguise of the deserters being effected, they tied their military clothes in a bundle, to which they attached a heavy stone and sank it in the deepest part of the river. They then resumed their route and tried to get further up the soengei; but it proved a difficult task to accomplish. The Dahasan is nothing but one of the many side canals of an enormous marsh thickly studded with forests. Large creepers abound everywhere, bridging over the numerous rivulets, climbing the great trees and covering their tops with a dense growth of parasitical plants which forms, as it were, an elevated vegetable plateau.
The creeper most generally found among the trees of these primeval forests is the rattan, called oeai by the natives. It runs along the ground, covering everything it meets with anetworkof branches which only the powerful hatchet can clear away. It is covered with sharp thorns which make it a most formidable obstruction to all who travel through these wilds.
The seven men soon waded through the water on the bed of the soengei. Five of them, hatchet in hand, tried to remove the creepers at the cost of much laborious exertion and many painful scratches. The other two walked along the margin of the channel,[53]pushing the boat through the tortuous passage which was in reality only a pathway made in the soft mud by some passing canoe. It was an almost superhuman labor and the united strength of the whole party was often in requisition to free the roof of their vessel from its entanglement among the overhanging branches.
At mid-day they had proceeded a few miles only, but they felt so exhausted that they were compelled to rest. The water too had been left so low by the receding tide that the boat seemed fixed in the mud. Nothing would move her, so they were compelled to wait for the next flood.
Making use of the compulsory rest, they prepared their dinner. To this meal the Dayaks brought a welcome contribution by catching some bapoejoes among the holes of the half-drained river-bed. The bapoejoe is like the perch in shape and size, only differing from it by the absence of dorsal fins. These fish are of social habits and travel in large numbers along the inundated tracks. If overtaken by the ebb-tide and left aground, they still, as if by instinct, make their way through the mud to the nearest pool. Thus they frequently remain out of the water for days together and it is really a curious sight to see hundreds of fishes struggling through the mud in a certain direction, steadily prosecuting their journey despite the difficulties interposed.
Having finished their meal the Dayaks went out to gather rattan, as provision for their possible requirements during their travels. They cut some pieces thirty or forty yards long from one species, rolled them up carefully and put them away among their stores to be employed as ropes. From other species, used[54]in Europe for seating chairs and similar canework, they cut the usual lengths, removed the thorny bark and tied them in bundles of one hundred each. These should have been soaked in the river to prevent their speedy decay; but as time was of value they contented themselves with the crude withe and took their chance of replenishing their supply when required. While the Dayaks were thus occupied the others were resting from their fatigue and gathering strength to recommence their labors. But although their limbs rested, their tongues kept going, talking over and deliberating on their plans, Johannes continuing to remind his co-adventurers of the necessity for vigilance.
“Remember,” said he, “if the Colonel gets informed of our presence in this neighborhood he would hunt us down. Aye, let him discover our track and he is the very man to follow it up. No power on earth would prevent his doing so. Shall I tell you some of his artifices? Did you ever hear of his capture of Dasso and Doeta? It is part of the history of Kwala Kapoeas.”
“I have heard it spoken of,” said Schlickeisen, “but I don’t know the story. Who were they?”
“Listen,” resumed Johannes, “and I will tell you.”
“Dasso and Doeta were Dayaks of Poeloe Petak and were well connected there as well as at Kwala Kapoeas. I believe our Dalim is a half-brother of Dasso. Well both these men and the Dayaks that are now accompanying us were engaged in the coal mines of Kalangan, at the outbreak of the insurrection, and all five of them did their share in the massacre of the Europeans.”[55]
“You have introduced us to quite a select company,” remarked Schlickeisen. “Can we trust these people?”
“I believe you can trust them more than you could any other natives. They are anxious to reach Singapore and need our assistance to do so. They will be very useful to us and render us good service in more ways than one. Their very presence among us will secure us from being betrayed to the palefaces by any Dayak.”
“So far, so good; but suppose they betray us themselves?”
“That is not likely, with their past record and their present plan.”
“Yet it will be well to be wary and prepared for everything. Now continue your narrative.”
“Dasso and Doeta were reported to have committed the most horrible atrocities during the massacre of Europeans. After a time the two wretches returned to the neighborhood of the fort, where they established themselves. The Colonel became informed of this fact and was most eager to entrap them. Besides the horrible crimes of which they had been guilty it was observed that after their arrival in the district a general spirit of insubordination became manifest, which excited grave apprehensions of future trouble. You cannot imagine what marches we had to make in the effort to secure these fellows. Twice and sometimes three times a day detachments were sent off and night expeditions were organized in order to entrap them; but all without success. Dead-tired, exhausted by hunger and thirst, wet to the skin and covered with mud from wading for hours through streams and marshes we returned from our wild goose[56]chase. All our efforts had been unavailing. When we arrived at the place where they were reported to be concealed, we found the birds had flown, though their rice was boiling over their recently kindled fires and their beds were still warm.”
“But I should have thought,” remarked Schlickeisen, “that with the assistance of the natives the capture of these blackguards would have been an easy matter.”
“Well, so we thought; but the people actually assisted them to elude us. Nearly all the inhabitants of this district are related to them. As soon as a detachment went out in pursuit their friends signalled to them and then we might march and countermarch until further orders. One afternoon, however, I found the Commander lounging in his rocking-chair under the verandah of his house. He was in deep thought. He stared fixedly at the ground, but his nails were clenched and he pulled his moustaches as if bent upon extracting them by the roots. I thought something was brewing. Suddenly he called for an orderly and despatched him for a sailor who was on board a steamer stationed in the river. The sailor came and went. I was then summoned and ordered to bring two bottles of gin, to remove the capsules and draw the corks without disturbing the wax. I thought the Colonel wanted a dram; but instead of indulging he went to his medicine-chest and took out some morphia powders. These he put into the bottles, which he shook up well and ordered me to re-cork. He then replaced the capsules and I assure you no druggist could have done it better.
“In the evening the sailor came again and this time carried[57]off with him the two bottles. He stepped into a djoekoeng and rowed up the river Kapoeas. A few hours after, Sergeant Greefkes and eight soldiers took the same direction. About two o’clock in the morning, being on duty at the western bastion, I saw a boat approaching. I sang out my challenge, ‘Who goes there?’ and was answered by the rejoinder, ‘Good friends.’ At the same time a red light was displayed from the boat as a signal. When it was moored three men were lifted out who were so fast asleep that nothing seemed to disturb them. Two were immediately placed in the stocks; they were Dasso and Doeta. You should have seen their faces next morning when they woke up to find themselves in limbo.
“Now you must know that the sailor, a Bandjares by birth, had formerly been a miner at Kalangan and therefore knew them well. For a few paltry dollars he sought them out and betrayed them by the agency of the bottle. The Dayaks, like a certain friend of ours, are passionately fond of spirits and the doctored gin brought by the sailor was disposed of with so much freedom that when the sergeant arrived he had only to bind the murderers hand and foot and carry them to the boats.”
“How were they punished?”
“They were tried by court-martial; but before the conclusion of the trial that famous amnesty was proclaimed which granted a free pardon to all concerned in the rebellion with few exceptions. Those exceptions were good and worthy men who had only been defending themselves against oppression, and they were denied the grace extended to robbers and murderers! Our desperadoes were liberated on the sole condition that they[58]should report themselves once a week at the nearest military station. I never heard our Colonel curse and swear as he did when the two came the first time to report themselves to him. ‘Oh!’ he cried, after their backs were turned, ‘if I could have foreseen this wretched farce those wretches would never have entered the fort alive.’ And every well-disposed person will coincide with him.”[59]