134 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap. 



as they resume their seats, all paddle with might 

 and main until the boat takes the leap. Occasionally 

 a boat is upset during such an attempt, and rarely 

 one or two of the crew are lost through being hurled 

 against rocks and drowned while stunned. 



In making a long journey the nights are passed 

 if possible in friendly villages. When no such 

 village can be reached, the night is passed either in 

 the boats moored to the bank or on the river-bank. 

 In the former case the leaf mats, of which each man 

 carries at least one in his basket, are used to roof 

 the boat ; in the latter case a rude hut is quickly 

 built, a framework of saplings lashed together, roofed 

 with the mats, and floored at a level of some feet 

 above the ground with bamboos or slender saplings. 

 On camping in the evening and before starting in 

 the morning, rice is cooked and eaten ; and about 

 mid-day the journey is interrupted for about an hour 

 while the party lands on the bank, or, if possible, on 

 a bed of pebbles, to rest and to cook and eat the mid- 

 day meal. 



Fishing 



Fish are caught in the rivers in several ways, 

 and form an important part of the diet of most of 

 the peoples. Perhaps the cast net is most commonly 

 used. This is a net which, when fully extended in 

 the water, covers a circular patch about six yards in 

 diameter, while its central part rises in a steep cone, 

 to the peak of which a strong cord is tied. The 

 main strands run radially from this central point, 

 increasing in number towards the periphery. They 

 are crossed by concentric strands. The periphery 

 is weighted with bits of metal or stone. This net is 

 used both in deep and in shallow water. In the 

 former case one man steers and paddles a boat, 

 while the other stands at the prow with the cord of 

 the net wound about the right hand. The bulk of 



