MEN OF THE SHOM PEN 145 



"Women and girls in waistcloths, busy preparing food from 

 pandanus fruit, dropped their work when they caught sight of us, 

 and rushed away for more clothes ! 



" Pigs, chickens, and dogs wandered about beneath the houses, 

 and the only representative of the stronger sex was a young man, 

 whose activity was much handicapped by a leg swollen with 

 elephantiasis. 



" The houses were small structures built on piles, 4 to 6 feet 

 high, with open sides, and roofs of attaps. 



" After taking photographs of the village, we returned to the 

 shore, where consolation awaited us in the persons of three Shom 

 Pen men, who had come in and were detained in Awang's house. 

 Thither we proceeded, and took photographs and measurements 

 of each. They were very docile, and stood like statues before the 

 camera ; neither did they object to being measured. We obtained 

 from them a roll of coarse cloth — made from the inner bark of 

 a tree,* which is stripped from the trunk and pounded — and a 

 rattan basket, giving in return an extra quantity of red cotton, in 

 token of goodwill, for they had been inclined to bolt when they 

 first heard we were coming. 



" In general appearance these men resembled the Nicobarese, 

 but were of slightly darker complexion — muddy-coloured — and 

 physically of more slender build, and leaner : they wore cotton 

 kissdts, and large wooden ear-distenders. 



"Through Awang, who enacted the part of interpreter, we 

 arranged with them to come down the next morning, and bring 

 their whole party, baskets, spears, and more cloth." 



'^ March 19. — We did not shoot for long this morning, for fear 

 of frightening the Shom Peii ; but though we waited about till 

 10 o'clock, they had not appeared, and we then returned to 

 the Terrapin. 



" But for flies, which were rather numerous about the village, 



it was very pleasant lying in the shade of the palms, lazily 



watching the many butterflies which floated about, listening 



to the cries of oriole, calornis, and sunbird, and often catching 



* Fie lis brevicuspis (?) 



K 



