Bagging a Giant. 59 



the path ; but he was always more or less concealed by fo- 

 liage, and protected by the large branch on which he was 

 walking. Once while loading I had a splendid view of him, 

 moving along a large limb of a tree in a semi-erect posture, 

 and showing him to be an animal of the largest size. At the 

 path he got on to one of the loftiest trees in the forest, and 

 we could see one leg hanging down useless, having been 

 broken by a ball. He now fixed himself in a fork, where he 

 was hidden by thick foliage, and seemed disinclined to move. 

 I was afraid he would remain and die in this position, and, 

 as it was nearly evening, I could not have got the tree cut 

 down that day. I therefore fired again, and he then moved 

 off, and going up the hill, was obliged to get on to some 

 lower trees, on the branches of one of which he fixed himself 

 in such a position that he could not fall, and lay all in a heap 

 as if dead or dying. 



I now wanted the Dyaks to go up and cut off the branch 

 he was resting on, but they were afraid, saying he was not 

 dead, and would come and attack them. We then shook 

 the adjoining ti-ee, pulled the hanging creepers, and did all 

 Ave could to disturb him, but without effect, so I thought it 

 best to send for two Chinamen with axes to cut down the 

 tree. While the messenger was gone, however, one of the 

 Dyaks took courage and climbed toward him, but the mias 

 did not wait for him to get near, moving off to another tree, 

 where he got on to a dense mass of branches and creejjers 

 which almost completely hid him from our view. The tree 

 was luckily a small one, so, when the axes came, we soon had 

 it cut through ; but it was so held up by jungle ropes and 

 climbers to adjoining trees that it only fell into a sloping 

 position. The mias did not move, and I began to fear that 

 after all we should not get him, as it was near evening, and 

 half a dozen more trees would have to be cut down before 

 the one he was on would fall. As a last resource, we all be- 

 gan pulling at the creepers, which shook the tree very much, 

 and, after a few minutes, when we had almost given up all 

 hopes, down he came with a crash and a thud like the fall of 

 a giant. And he was a giant, his head and body being full 

 as large as a man's. He was of the kind called by the Dyaks 

 " mias chappan," or " mias pappan," which has the skin of 



