Character. 99 



them with something new, and showed them how to make 

 " cat's cradle " with a piece of sti'ing. Greatly to my sur- 

 prise, they knew all about it, and more than I did ;' for, after 

 I and Charles had gone through all the changes we could 

 make, one of the boys took it off my hand, and made several 

 new figures which quite puzzled me. They then showed me 

 a number of other tricks with pieces of string, which seemed 

 a favorite amusement with them. 



Even these apparently trifling matters may assist us to 

 form a truer estimate of the Dyaks' character and social con- 

 dition. We learn thereby that these people have passed be- 

 yond that first stage of savage life in which the struggle for 

 existence absorbs the whole faculties, and in which every 

 thought and idea is connected with war or hunting, or the 

 provision for their immediate necessities. These amusements 

 indicate a capability of civilization, an aptitude to enjoy oth- 

 er than mere sensual pleasures, which might be taken advan- 

 tage of to elevate their whole intellectual and social life. 



The moral character of the Dyaks is undoubtedly high — 

 a statement which will seem strange to those who have heard 

 of them only as head-hunters and pirates. The Hill Dyaks 

 of whom I am speaking, however, have never been pirates, 

 since they never go near the sea ; and head-hunting is a cus- 

 tom originating in the petty wars of village with village, and 

 tribe with tribe, which no more implies a bad moral charac- 

 ter than did the custom of the slave-ti'ade a hundred years 

 ago imply want of general morality in all who participated 

 in it. Against this one stain on their character (which in the 

 case of the Sarawak Dyaks no longer exists) we have to set 

 many good points. They are truthful and honest to a re- 

 markable degree. From this cause it is very often imj)ossi- 

 ble to get from them any definite information, or even an 

 opinion. They say, " If I were to tell you what I don't know, 

 I might tell a lie ;" and whenever they voluntai-ily relate 

 any matter of fact, you may be sure they are speaking the 

 truth. In a Dyak village the fruit-trees have each their 

 owner, and it has often happened to me, on asking an inhab- 

 itant to gather me some fruit, to be answered, " I can't do 

 that, for the owner of the tree is not here ;" never seeming to 

 contemplate the possibility of acting otherwise. Neither 



