1896.] 327 [Hiller. 



gongs, spears, sliields, mats, etc., were strung together in a hopeless 

 tangle, but when the chief, squatting on his mat before the officer, 

 gradually untangled the various pieces, each knot recalled a definite 

 object to him, and he detailed the hundred or more articles without once 

 faltering. 



The Punans are an interesting people and differ in many respects from 

 their neighbors. Many travelers consider them the aborigines of Borneo. 

 They are mostlj^ strong, lithe and active, even distancing the strongest 

 Kayan or Kenniah in traversing the jungle. They are nomads, living 

 but a few days in one place, making a shelter that cannot be called a 

 house and abandoning it as soon as jungle produce or game proves scarce, 

 for they are hunters and not farmers, and in this respect they differ from 

 almost all the other tribes. To them also is attributed the first use of the 

 blow-gun and poisoned arrows, and thej^ still can excel the other races, 

 who have adopted this effective weapon. A piece of tough wood about 

 seven or eight feet long is drilled by means of an iron rod so that a per- 

 fectly straight tube is made having a diameter of about half an inch. If 

 there should be any curve an iron spear head of the proper weight is 

 bound on one end by means of rattans so that the weight springs the 

 shaft into a perfect line, and they now have a spear and blow-gun com- 

 bined. The dart of about one foot in length is made from the tough 

 nibong palm and another palm furnishes the pith with which the head 

 of the dart is finished, it being just a shade smaller than the calibre of 

 the tube. The sharpened end of the dart is then dipped in the inspissated 

 juice of the upas-tree, and one of the most deadly and at the same time 

 silent weapons is prepared for use. A short quick puft" and a man at 

 seventy -five yards distance feels a prick in his side, he plucks the dart 

 away or plays idly and foolishly with the broken shaft, gradually 

 his motions become more and more incoordinate and he falls to the 

 ground unconscious, and a few convulsive movements ends his career. 



They are no less adept in the use of the spear or the parang, as they 

 call their substitute for a sword, than their rivals. Yet sickness, famine 

 and war are rapidly thinning their ranks, and unless they are fostered 

 by the government it will be but a few years until the nomad Punau 

 is forgotten. 



They are the only people in Borneo who practice polyandry. The 

 Ukits are a similar tribe and can be distinguished by the singular shield- 

 shaped breast tattooing. They, too, live in a very primitive dwelling, 

 usually built against the buttress of a big tree, which scarcely keeps 

 them dry during the rains. 



The story of Bululuk Sabon's misfortunes will give you an idea of how 

 uncertain and dangei-ous life can be in a Kayan house near the border. 

 Bululuk was a small man, but gained great credit among the people 

 and eventuallj^ became their chief. When Mr. Lowe suddenly appeared 



