A BATTA GRAVE. 417 



these mouutain-streams, also bananas, j ambus or rose- 

 apples, and a kind of fruit like that from wkicli the 

 guava jelly is made. 



Rice is the chief article of food of the natives here, 

 with di'ied fish and bananas, and a few eggs and chick- 

 ens. From this village we rode to Kotanopan, our 

 way again descending along a large foaming brook, 

 in which the opziener of that district assured me the 

 natives were accustomed to wash for gold, which they 

 still obtain, though only in small quantities. 



Here we passed the grave of a Batta. It con- 

 sisted of a rectangular mound, with a wooden image 

 of a horse's head on one end, and a j)art of a horse's 

 tail fastened to the other — the mound forming his 

 body. At each of the four comers was an image of a 

 nude man or woman. Over the whole was a rude roof 

 supported on four posts, and around the whole was 

 placed a row of sticks four feet high, and a foot or 

 two apart, bearing on their tops small flags of white 

 cloth. This tendency to ornament graves we have 

 already noticed among the aborigines of the Mina- 

 hassa. It is also seen, but in a more revolting form, 

 in the Papuan temple at Dorey. 



March 2c7. — From Kotanoj^an we have come to 

 Fort Elout, after a journey of more than ordinary 

 danger. For the first five miles our road was very 

 good, but then we found it completely overgrown 

 with tall grass. So long as it was over the level 

 lantls there was little danger, but st)on it changed to 

 the flanks of a spur, thrown out by the chain that 

 formed the northeastern boundary of the valley. 

 There it became very narrow, and the tall grass com- 

 27 



