206 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



changing scene of endless, bloody strife. The same 

 custom prevails over the greater part of the interior 

 of Borneo among many tribes known as Dyaks, the 

 Malay word for " savage." There only the heads of 

 men are valued, and new ones must be obtained to 

 celebrate every birth and funeral, as well as mar- 

 riage. I have seen a necklace of human teeth made 

 in that island by those people. Small holes had 

 been drilled in several scores of them, which were 

 then strung on a wire long enough to pass two or 

 three times round the neck of the hero who wore it. 

 When a head is secured, the brains are taken out, 

 and it is placed over a fire to be smoked and dried. 

 During this process, the muscles of the face contract 

 and change the features until they assume a most 

 ghastly grimace. 



The dance being finished, we conversed with 

 them as well as we could about their customs, for 

 none of them could speak but a few words in Malay. 

 On the piece of paper-like bark which hangs down 

 in front, each warrior makes a circle when he cuts 

 off a head. Some had one or two of these circles ; 

 but one man had four, and I gave him to understand 

 that I knew what they meant by drawing my hand 

 four times across my throat, and then holding up 

 the fingers of one hand, and instantly he hopped 

 about as delighted as a child, thinking that of course 

 I was regarding him as the bravest of the brave, 

 while I looked at him in mute astonishment, and 

 tried to realize what a hardened villain he was. 

 Our North American savages are civilized men com- 

 pared to these fiends in human form. 



