56 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.40. 



with them. On the upper Kendawangan among the Dyaks there are about 200 Malays, 

 mostly about Maro. Nearly every man, both Dyak and Malay, has a gun; so game is 

 remarkably scarce. Luckily, powder is difficult to obtain. The Dutch have not 

 interfered with the natives much as yet, and have not taken away their firearms, as 

 they are gradually doing all over their colonies, much to the advantage of the animal 

 life, for Dyaks devour everything they can kill. I myself saw very much less life 

 than on the Sempang, and far less than in southeast Borneo, where the natives were all 

 disarmed several years ago. The Dyaks kill far more with their "betantik, " or spear 

 traps, than by shooting, except in the case of orang-utan. The Dyaks are extremely 

 fond of the meat of these, and it is useless to look for orangs anywhere in the neighbor- 

 hood of a Dyak settlement. I could hear nothing of Sus gargantua, and probably it 

 does not occur in that part of Borneo, nor could I hear anything of the "rimau, " or 

 tiger, which was said to inhabit the Sempang district. A few rhinoceroses are said to 

 inhabit the neighborhood of Mount Kedio and a few sapi utan (Bos sondaicus) on its 

 west slopes on the headwaters of the little river Tingar. This is the only place on or 

 near the west coast of Borneo where wild cattle occur. The Malays told me they also 

 existed in some places on the upper Pasaguan River — that is the next large river north 

 of the Kendawangan. The country about Mount Kedio is uninhabited, and there is 

 said to be much animal life there. Fifty or sixty years ago the district was inhabited 

 by Dyaks, but these, becoming involved in war with the Malay rajah, left their homes 

 and fled into the interior. All over this corner of Borneo occur slightly elevated 

 sandy tracts covered with small trees (or smaller trees than the surrounding forest); 

 these are locally called ' ' padang, ' ' which is Malay for meadow. Much of this land and 

 a good deal of the drier forest was burned over six or seven years ago, during a period of 

 excessive drought. No rain fell for four or five months, a most unusual occurrence in 

 any part of Borneo, where ordinarily rain falls every 'month in the year, and there is 

 no proper dry season. The following animals, in addition to some already mentioned, 

 were well known to the natives, but none was obtained during this trip: Mydaus, 

 called bobot by Malay and kalinsida by Dyaks; Reithrosclurus; Fells nebulosa, 

 rimau dahan; Fells marmorata? , a wild cat with a large tail, was caught by a Malay 

 in a snare, but for some reason was not brought to me; Paradoxurus philippinensis; 

 Gymnura, local name angkis. 



Batu Jurong.— Batu Jurong is the southerly point of a range of hills which stretch 

 north-northeast to Mankol on the Kendawangan River. I anchored in a small strait 

 between Pulo Iras and the mainland. Two or three Malay families lived here and had 

 their clearings. Pigs were plentiful; kijang (muntjacs) and rusa were also common, 

 but the Malays were continually after them with their dogs. South of this there are no 

 inhabitants in the southwest corner of Borneo, and until recently none on the south 

 coast west of the Sungei Jelai. Lately, however, about a dozen families of Malays 

 have made clearings on the lower course of the Sungei Ayer Hitam Besar. Animals 

 were said to be plentiful, especially rusa, about Tanjong Kepala, where there is said 

 to be large tracts of short grass. I saw two orangs and the sarongs (nests) of many more 

 about 2 miles east of Batu Jurong, where I shot one female. 



Mankol. — Mankol lies along the Kendawangan River for about 2 miles. There 

 are about 25 or more houses altogether. At this point the north end of the range of 

 hills (400 to 800 feet high) approaches the river. Animals were scarce, as most of the 

 people had guns, and the jungle in the hills and along the base was full of old jerats and 

 pagars (traps and snares). A few orangs were said to occur, but I saw no traces. 



Lanchut. — Lanchut is now without inhabitants. It was formerly the most impor- 

 tant village on the river and the residence of the rajah. The ground along the river 

 is quite high and dry and covered with secondary jungle and long grass for some dis- 

 tance back from the river. Four or five miles due east rises Mount Kedio, in an 

 uninhabited district covered with heavy forest. 



