IX.] ANCIEXT BURIAL-PIT. 213 



AVe found a nimiber of quartz pebbles in the bed of the stream, 

 and on our return rejoined the Kontroleur, who had with him 

 a small nut half full of gold dust, which had been obtained by 

 panning out the river sand. The natives here and at l*agowat — a 

 \illage thirty miles farther up the gulf — pay their tax to the Dutch 

 Govermnent in gold, and are allowed twelve guilders for as much 

 as will balance a one guilder piece. All this gold is alhuial, the 

 natives being unacquainted with the art of quartz-crushing, but, if 

 their statements were to be believed, they knew of gold-bearing 

 rock at a place some miles distant inland ; " a face of rock," to use 

 the words of my informant, " where the gold could be seen like the 

 veins on a man's hand." The Government appears to take little 

 or no interest in the subject, and some time before our ^^sit had 

 readily granted a concession to a Dutchman to work the district. 

 He died shortly afterwards in the island of Batchian, and no steps 

 have been taken, either before or since, to explore the locality. 



We heard a curious story of a deep pit which exists at the west 

 point of the bay, about four miles from the mouth of the river. This 

 pit is said to contain a great number of huuian bones, and the legend 

 ran that, in ancient times, some great chief suspected the presence of 

 gold at the bottom of it, and sent a number of men down to obtain 

 it for him. The Spirit protecting the treasure, indignant at its 

 possession being thus rudely attempted without some propitiatory 

 offering, revenged herself by slaughtering the intruders, and their 

 bones remain as a warning to the present day. As our time was 

 limited to a single day, and we wished to explore the river, we 

 had to be content with despatching some men to the place with 

 instructions to bring us perfect crania, or, failing these, the best 

 specimens that they could obtain. They returned in the evening 

 with several femora and other bones, but only fragments of skulls. 

 All were of adults, and some of women. The men told us that 

 there was no pit, and that they had found them near the shore, but 

 a native at once said that they had not discovered the right place, 

 and that the pit, which was a very deep one, was in the forest, 



