THE FIRE PISTON—BALFOUR. 579 
Dyaks), and in the British Museum there are two specimens from 
the Saribas district, also Sea Dyak. One was presented by Mr. 
G. D. Haviland in 1894, the other by Mr. Charles Hose. Both in- 
struments have cylinders of lead-lined brass, 9 em. and 9.8 em. long, 
and pistons of hard wood. Mr. Hose’s specimen has attached to it a 
bamboo box for tinder, the other has a tinder holder of canarium nut- 
shell and also a small cleaning rod of cane and a metal spatula (? for 
grease). Best apt and gochoh api are given as the native names. 
These two examples closely resemble a specimen (fig. 35) presented 
by Mr. D. I. S. Bailey to the Pitt-Rivers Museum in 1904. It came 
from the Sea Dayaks of Simanggang, near Saribas. In structure it 
is identical with the others, and it has a tinder box of canarium nut 
and a brass pricker attached to it. Dr. A. C. Haddon brought back 
a very similar Saribas Dayak specimen, guchu api. Another ex- 
ample of the same form in the Kuching Museum, said to be from 
the Aayans but doubtless of Sea Dayak origin, is figured by both 
Lady Brassey ¢ and R. T. Pritchett.? 
Another type of fire piston in Sarawak differs from the above only 
in the fact of the cylinder being made of lead alone, instead of the 
lead being merely a lining to a brass tube. Mr. D. I. S. Bailey pre- 
sented a specimen of this kind to the Pitt-Rivers Museum in 1904 
(fig. 36). The cylinder has been cast evidently in a two-piece mold 
of bamboo, and is composed of a mixture of Jead and tin. It is 
decorated with simple relief designs. The piston is of wood. At- 
tached to the cylinder are a tinder box of entada bean full of palm- 
scurf tinder, and also a brass-wire pricker. It is a Sea Dayak speci- 
men from Simanggang. 
A nearly identical specimen was given to the Pitt-Rivers Museum 
in 1889 by Mr. S. B. J. Skertchley. It was made by a Kalaka (? Kal- 
ukah) native from the western part of Sarawak, not very far from 
the Saribas and Simanggang districts. Mr. Skertchley gives a de- 
tailed account of the instrument, to which I will refer readers for full 
details, and also an excellent figure.© The instrument itself, bes? api. 
resembles the last in all essential details; a bamboo tinder box with 
palm-scurf tinder, a cleaning rod of cane, and one half of a bamboo 
casting mold accompany the specimen. Mr. Skertchley says that the 
metal of the cylinder is composed of two parts lead to one of tin. 
“ Tt is cast in a bamboo mould. ‘ The mould is a thin piece 
of bamboo, split lengthwise, on the interior of which the ornamental 
bands, ete., are incised. <A piece of flat wood, plank by preference, 
has a hole made in it the size of the bore. Through this hole a rotan 
is pushed, which also passes through a lump of clay tempered with 
«The Last Voyage, 1887, p. 148. 
» Smokiana, 1890, p. 97. 
cJourn, Anthrop. Inst., XTX, 1890, pp. 445-448, and WE san sie ale 
