ch. xin.] " Gantang" a friendly Chief. 255 



o'clock p.m. we climbed the hill and were safe at Sineroup. 

 The last ford but one was rather turbulent, and our men 

 being a long way behind we did not wait for them, and 

 they did not get in until night-fall. We stayed here in 

 the headman's house, and found him a jolly fellow with a 

 striking Chinese physiognomy and vivacious manner. 

 He and his family gave us a hearty welcome, spread mats 

 for us on a little raised platform near the window, and gave 

 us a fowl and some rice, so that we had satisfied our 

 hunger before our men arrived. 



We were now fairly into the country of the "Dusun," 

 or " Piasau Id'an," the meaning of this last literally being 

 " Cocoanut Villagers." Generally they are a clean- 

 skinned and handsome race, far superior to their neigh- 

 bours the " Muruts," who live farther south, and whose 

 land-culture is but indifferent. So far as I could 

 learn, polygamy is not practised by these aboriginals, 

 and they always appear contented and happy. The 

 dwellings which, near the coast, are generally of " atap," 

 or thatch made from the leaves of the "nipa" palm 

 (Nipa fruticans), are here nearly entirely of bamboo, the 

 root' being thatched with " atap " of cocoanut or the sago 

 palm. Here at Sineroup the headman has a very clean 

 and convenient bamboo-house, and a good deal of wealth 

 in the shape of brass gongs, large ornamental water-jars, 

 cooking pots of brass and earthenware, finely worked 

 mats, Ac, while half a dozen sturdy buffaloes are con- 

 tentedly grazing on the green below the house. Of pigs, 

 poultry, and domesticated bees, he lias plenty. 1 bad 

 placed my dirty boots outside the bouse on a little veran- 

 dah, and during the night they were either knocked down 

 by visitors or else fell through below the house. When I 

 asked my boy for them in the morning, we found that the 

 pigs had eaten up all but the soles. Luckily 1 had 



