Dyak Bridge. 



89 



ly sujjported by diagonal struts from the banks, so as to 

 avoid placing posts in the stream itself, which would be lia- 

 ble to be carried away by floods. In carrying a path along 

 the face of a precipice, trees and roots are made use of for 

 suspension ; struts arise from suitable notches or crevices in 

 the rocks, and if these are not sufiicient, immense bamboos 

 fifty or sixty feet long are fixed on the banks or on the branch 

 of a tree below. These bridges are traversed daily by men 

 and women carrying heavy loads, so that any insecurity is 

 soon discovered, and, as the materials are close at hand, imme- 

 diately repaired. When a path goes over very steej) ground, 



DTAK CROSSING A BAMBOO BRIDGF. 



and becomes slippery in very wet or very dry weather, the 

 bamboo is used in another way. Pieces are cut about a yard 

 long, and opposite notches being made at each end, holes are 

 formed through which pegs are driven, and firm and conven- 

 ient steps are thus formed with the greatest ease and celerity. 

 It is true that much of this will decay in one or two seasons, 

 but it can be so quickly replaced as to make it more econom- 

 ical than using a harder and more durable wood. 



One of the most striking uses to which bamboo is applied 

 by the Dyaks is to assist them in climbing lofty trees, by 



