158 GREAT MCOBxVR— W. AND S. COASTS 



more communicative than with us) said, only four women ! 

 Although, by going to Naukauri Harbour, said Puchree, they 

 could obtain wives, — who, however, refused to leave their own 

 homes, — he lamented the almost total impotence of himself and 

 neighbours in the way of offspring. Asked if they ever married 

 Shom Pen women, he said, " No, they didn't like them ; they were 

 dirty and didn't wash " ; and when we suggested that he should 

 catch {tangkap) a young one, and first train her for a year or 

 two, and teach her manners — " Too much trouble." 



'■'■March 25. — We met Nyam and a companion at his house 

 about six o'clock, and after a walk of half a mile reached the 

 bank of a little river some 30 feet wide. Here lay a canoe, and 

 paddles being produced we travelled up-stream, wading now 

 and again over the shallows, until, having progressed a mile or 

 so, we landed on the same bank at a spot where a second path 

 commenced. This we followed for 2 miles in a northerly 

 direction, crossing by the way the stream itself and a little 

 tributary by bridges of sapling, and so arrived at the Shom 

 Pen village. 



" We had already seen two kinds of buildings amongst these 

 people ; here we met with a third. 



" The houses — five in number, and recently constructed — stood 

 on piles about 12 feet high; in several cases a live tree being 

 built in. These supports were strengthened by diagonal struts — 

 a most uncommon form of scaffolding among savages. The 

 floors were made of saplings placed side by side, and the side 

 walls, about 3 feet high, of split nibong palm ; while the 

 roofs, which just afforded head-room at the apex, were roughly 

 thatched with whole palm leaves, piled on butt downwards. 



" Each house was about 8 feet square, and at one end of 

 each a small platform was attached, on which was the fireplace, 

 with cooking apparatus of bark sheets covered with large green 

 leaves, to prevent charring. In a corner of each hut was a 

 shelf of split sticks, and a long trough of split and hollowed 

 palm trunk sloped from ground to floor for the dogs and other 

 animals to mount by. The ladders for human use were 



