2 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



the woods," and the third means "debtor." Malays 

 never think of applying any of these names to the 

 ape ; they have their own name for it Maias, and by 

 this name the animal will be styled in this chapter. 



The Maias is fortunately still abundant in Sarawak, 

 but it is very local in its distribution, being found 

 only up the Simunjan, Batang Lupar, and Rejang Rivers. 

 A specimen was once recorded from the upper waters 

 of the Sarawak River, but it had evidently strayed from 

 its usual "beat," and soon disappeared. Some years 

 ago an American naturalist visited the Simunjan River 

 and slaughtered so many Maias that the Rajah of 

 Sarawak wisely issued an order in which the number 

 of specimens that could be killed by one collector was 

 strictly limited. The species at present is confined to 

 Borneo and Sumatra, but there are traditions in the 

 Malay Peninsula, where it is known as Mawas, of its 

 occurrence there in times past. 



When I left England for Sarawak a distinguished 

 anthropologist of my acquaintance asked me to investi- 

 gate the habits of the Maias. " I want to know how 

 many wives he keeps," said my friend, "and how he 

 treats them." With the best will in the world I was 

 unable to settle these knotty points. The Maias is 

 essentially an arboreal creature, rarely coming down 

 to the ground except to drink, and its haunts are 

 situated, for the most part, in swampy and marshy 

 land, through which the eager investigator can only 

 laboriously make his way, whilst the object of his 

 search progresses at a fair pace in the tree-tops : 

 moreover, considering its size, the Maias is remarkably 

 inconspicuous in its natural surroundings. Until men 

 can acquire arboreal habits it seems likely that the 



