ch. xiii.] " Gantang" a friendly Chief. 255 



o'clock p.m. we climbed the hill and were safe at Sineroup. 

 The last ford but one was rather turbulent, and our men 

 being a long way behind we did not wait for them, and 

 they did not get in until night-fall. "We stayed here in 

 the headman's house, and found him a jolly fellow with a 

 striking Chinese physiognomy and vivacious manner. 

 He and his family gave us a hearty welcome, spread mats 

 for us on a little raised platform near the window, and gave 

 us a fowl and some rice, so that we had satisfied our 

 hunger before our men arrived. 



We were now fairly into the country of the "Dusun," 

 or "Piasauld'an," the meaning of this last literally being 

 " Cocoanut Villagers." Generally they are a clean- 

 skinned and handsome race, far superior to their neigh- 

 bours the "Muruts," who live farther south, and whose 

 land-culture is but indifferent. So far as I could 

 learn, polygamy is not practised by these aboriginals,' 

 and they always appear contented and happy. The 

 dwellings which, near the coast, are generalry of " atap," 

 or thatch made from the leaves of the "nipa" palm 

 (Nipa ■fruticans) , are here nearly entirely of bamboo, the 

 roof being thatched with " atap " of cocoanut or the sago 

 palm. Here at Sineroup the headman has a very clean 

 and convenient bamboo-house, and a good deal of wealth 

 in the shape of brass gongs, large ornamental water-jars, 

 cooking pots of brass and earthenware, finely worked 

 mats, &c, while half a dozen sturdy buffaloes are con- 

 tentedly grazing on the green below the house. Of pigs, 

 poultry, and domesticated bees, he has plenty. I had 

 placed my dirty boots outside the house on a little veran- 

 dah, and during the night they were either knocked down 

 by visitors or else fell through below the house. When I 

 asked my boy for them in the morning, we found that the 

 pigs had eaten up all but the soles. Luckily I had 



