i THE ORANG. 49 



which he prefers Nibong Palms, Pandani, or one 

 of those parasitic Orchids which give the primaeval 

 forests of Borneo so characteristic and striking an 

 appearance. But wherever he determines to sleep, 

 there he prepares himself a sort of nest: little 

 boughs and leaves are drawn together round the 

 selected spot, and bent crosswise over one another; 

 while to make the bed soft, great leaves of Ferns, 

 of Orchids, of Pandanus fascicularis, Nipa fruti- 

 cans, &c, are laid over them. Those which Miil- 

 ler saw, many of them being very fresh, were situ- 

 ated at a height of ten to twenty-five feet above 

 the ground, and had a circumference, on the 

 average, of two or three feet. Some were packed 

 many inches thick with Pandanus leaves; others 

 were remarkable only for the cracked twigs, which, 

 united in a common centre, formed a regular plat- 

 form. " The rude hut" says Sir James Brooke, 

 " which they are stated to build in the trees, 

 would be more properly called a seat or nest, for 

 it has no roof or cover of any sort. The facility 

 with which they form this nest is curious, and I 

 had an opportunity of seeing a wounded female 

 weave the branches together and seat herself, 

 within a minute." 



According to the Dyaks the Orang rarely leaves 

 his bed before the sun is well above the horizon 

 and has dissipated the mists. He gets up about 

 nine, and goes to bed again about five; but some- 

 times not till late in the twilight. He lies some- 



108 



