132 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap. 



impossible to reach the desired point by boat, or 

 if the waterway is very circuitous. On the lower 

 and deeper reaches of the rivers the paddle is the 

 universal instrument of propulsion. It is used 

 without any kind of rowlock — the one hand, grasp- 

 ing the handle a little above the blade, draws the 

 blade backwards through the water ; the other hand, 

 grasping the T-shaped upper end, thrusts it forward. 

 The lower hand thus serves as a fulcrum for the 

 other. 



A small boat may be propelled by a single rower, 

 who, sitting at the stern, uses the paddle on one 

 side only, and keeps the boat straight by turning 

 the paddle as he finishes his stroke. In a boat of 

 medium size one man seated at the stern devotes 

 himself to steering with his paddle, although here 

 and there among the coast-people a fixed rudder is 

 used. In a war boat of the largest size, the two 

 men occupying the bow-bench and the four men on 

 the two sternmost benches are responsible for the 

 steering ; the former pull the bow over, or lever it 

 in the opposite direction. 



During a day's journey the crew of a boat will 

 from time to time lighten their labour with song, 

 one man singing, the others joining in the chorus ; 

 and if several boats are travelling in company the 

 crews will from time to time spurt and strive to 

 pass one another in good-humoured rivalry. At 

 such times each crew may break out into a deep- 

 pitched and musical roar, the triumphal chorus of a 

 victorious war party. 



In the upper reaches of the rivers there are 

 numerous rapids, and here and there actual falls. 

 The boat is usually propelled up a rapid by poling. 

 Each member of the crew has beside him a stout 

 pole some eight or nine feet long ; and when the 

 boat approaches a rapid, the crew at a shout from 

 the captain, usually the steersman, spring to their 



