BORNEO 233 



Eeptiles abound, as in all the Malayan islands, but 

 there are in Borneo many peculiar species, including 

 two kinds of crocodiles not found elsewhere. These are 

 much feared by the natives, and not without reason, for 

 in the southern division of Borneo forty-one persons are 

 officially recorded as having been killed by them during 

 1889, and this probably does not represent anything 

 like the true total. Insects are excessively abundant, 

 and many are of the largest size and of extreme beauty, 

 but they show no great divergence- from those of the 

 Malay Peninsula. 



6. Native Races. 



Occupying a central position in the archipelago, Borneo 

 exhibits considerable diversification among its inhabitants. 

 Briefly, the island is populated as follows : — In the 

 centre — or more accurately, in almost every part with the 

 exception of a belt extending round the coast — are an 

 aboriginal race of Indonesians, collectively known as 

 Dyaks. No ISTegritos are known to exist. All round 

 the seaboard, except in the northern portion of the east 

 coast, and settled for the most part at the mouths of the 

 rivers, are a thriving population of IMohammedan IMalays. 

 On the eastern and part of the southern coast the Bugis 

 of Celebes — from time immemorial a race of traders — have 

 settled themselves. The north-eastern part of the island 

 is peopled by a large proportion of Sulus, that region 

 having, until the advent of the British Xortli Borneo 

 Company, formed part of the territory of the Sultan of 

 Sulu. The Chinese are extremely numerous in Borneo, 

 carrying on a flourishing trade in the sea- ports, and 

 occupying large areas in Western Borneo, to the exclusion 



