THE WILD TRIBES OF THE MALAY PENINSULA. 467 



placing- the tiat of tljc foot against the trunk and putting their arms a 

 good way around it. . TiTe eyesight of the Sakais, as tested with tlie 

 army tests, though not ahnomial, is distinctly good and seems to com- 

 pare very favorably with our own. The fFakun power of scent is 

 exceptionally keen, and I was frequently astonished at the great dis- 

 tance at w^hich they would notice the smoke of a camp fire in the 

 jungle many minutes befon^ I could detect the least trace of smoke 

 myself. Their walk is very peculiar, the foot being lifted very high, 

 almost as in dancing, and by this, and a certain restless expression 

 about the eyes, even those Jakuns whose features are most like those 

 of the ^Malays, can be inmiediately distinguished when thev are met 

 crossing open country. 



The food of these jungle tribes — their lirst and most vital considera- 

 tion — consists mainly of vegeta})le products, such as the roots and fruits 

 which they dig up in the jungle, as well as (among tribes who have 

 reached the first stage of agriculture) of the product of light crops, 

 such as yams, sweet potatoes, maize, sugar eane, and bananas, and, at 

 a later stage, of rice. Meat food, consisting of game In'ought down by 

 the ])lowgun or the ))ow, is also largely employed for food, but this is 

 mainly among the Semangs, some tiibes of Sakais neglecting to go in 

 pursuit of game until their supply of vegetable food is beginning to 

 run out, though even among a good man}' Sakai tribes ])oth hunting 

 and trapping are energetically carried on. Some of the yams eaten 

 are jwisonous and require careful preparation to render them tit for 

 human consumption; some kinds are buried for days together in a bag- 

 in the swamps of the jungle {or in running water), when they are dug 

 up and have the juice squeezed out of them with a lever before l)eing 

 cooked and eaten; other kinds are grated on an ingenious natui'al grater 

 made of the young growing shoot of a highly i)rickly rattan or calanuis, 

 the grated mass being kneaded with a spatula upon a banana leaf and 

 mixed with. slaked lime in order to destroy its poisonous properties, 

 when it is wrapped u[) in a strip of green ])an;ina leaf, inserted in a 

 split stick, and roasted over the tire. At meals the Semang men, 

 from the oldest to the youngest, all feed together l)efore the females, 

 the latter, who have done the cooking, looking on with hungry eyes 

 until their lords and masters have tinished their repast. 



In the matter of animal food l)oth Sakais und Semangs cat c\ery- 

 thing that comes in their way — monkeys, deer, wild pig. hirds, fish, 

 porcupines, lizards, siiuirrels, rats, and mice; not even snakes are 

 excepted from the menu, which, it will thus b«; seen, is a sutiiciently 

 varied one. 



In hunting and trapping, which are employed solely for food ))ur- 

 poses, these tribes are, as might be ex])ected. exceedinglv expert. 

 They have a marvelous knowledge of the jungle and its inliabitants, 

 and seem to, have an instinctive knowledge of the presence of animals. 



