180 THE KIANGGI PEOPLE. [1844. 



As Mr. Adams accompanied the party on this visit to 

 the Upas tree, I will let him tell his own tale of the ex- 

 cursion. 



" While staying at Brunai, I attended Mr. Brooke and 

 the brothers of Muda Hassim, in a little inland trip, to 

 examine into the natnre of the coal mines, reported to 

 exist among the hills in the vicinity. We landed in the 

 Rajah's boat at the watering place, near the Upas tree, 

 and climbing up the acclivity of a hill, descended among 

 the richly cultivated vallies of the Kianggi, an agricul- 

 tural race, who cultivate the Pepper-vines on the hill- 

 sides, and rear the Plaintain, and the Sago in the sunny 

 dells. These poor tillers of the soil would appear to 

 belong to the aboriginal, or Idaan race of Borneo. They 

 are a timid, and inoffensive people, supplying the indo- 

 lent Malays with Rice and Sago, for which they receive 

 in return but a very inadequate reward. Living in the 

 closest vicinity and friendship with the Brunese, they 

 would seem to have forgotten the use of arms, totally 

 unlike the tribes called Muruts, who likewise inhabit 

 Borneo proper, and who are considered among the 

 bravest of the Dyak tribes. The path we took, called by 

 the Malays "jalan subuk" passing over the hills to the 

 coal measures of Kianggi, was said to lead to the haunts 

 of the fierce and war-like Muruts. 



"The houses of the Kianggis are rude, but romantically 

 shrouded in dense masses of evergreen trees. Both men 

 and women are almost in a state of nudity, the former 

 wearing the simple perineal band and waist-cloth, and 

 the latter short sarongs, which, however, leave the 

 breasts and legs exposed. The ladies are by no means 



