142 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap, vm 



made fast to a log. This arrangement is allowed 

 to float down river ; if it does not float freely, the 

 crocodile will not take the bait. When a crocodile 

 rises to the bait and swallows it, the bar gets fixed 

 cross-wise in his gullet as he pulls on the rattans. 

 The hunters, having kept the log in sight, then 

 attach the ends of the rattans to the boat, tow the 

 reptile to the bank, and haul him up on dry land. 

 They secure his tail and feet with nooses, which 

 they lash to a pole laid along his back, and lash his 

 jaws together. Throughout these operations the 

 crocodile is addressed deferentially as Laki (grand- 

 father). He is then left exposed to the sun, when 

 he soon dies ; in this way the people avoid the 

 risks attaching to slaying the crocodile with their 

 own hands. 



