LIFE IN THE JUNGLE 155 



Vegetable tallow is procured from the seeds 

 of the engkabong tree {Skorea). The seeds are 

 crushed and the tallow melted out and gathered 

 in bamboos. It is used as a food, generally 

 smeared on hot rice. It is sometimes a principal 

 feature of the Punan's diet for considerable periods. 



Wild sago is abundant and is much used by 

 Punans, and occasionally by most of the other 

 peoples when their supply oi padi is short. The 

 sago tree is cut down and its stem is split into 

 several pieces with wedges. The pith is knocked 

 out with a bamboo mallet. The sago is prepared 

 from the pith by the women, who stamp it 

 on coarse mats, pouring water upon it. The 

 fine grains of sago are carried through on to a 

 trough below. It is then washed and boiled in 

 water, when it forms a viscid mass ; this is eaten 

 with a spoon or with a strip of bamboo bent double, 

 the two ends of which are turned round in the 

 sago and withdrawn with a sticky mass adherent ; 

 this is plunged in the gravy of pork and carried to 

 the mouth. It is generally considered a delicacy. 



Many varieties of the forest trees exude resins, 

 which are collected and used for torches and for 

 repairing boats, as well as brought to the bazaars, 

 where the best kinds fetch very good prices. 

 Sometimes the resin is found in large masses on 

 the ground where it has dripped from the trees. 



A curious and valuable natural product is the 

 bezoar stone. These stones are found in the gall- 

 bladder and intestines of the long-tailed monkey 

 Semnopithecus (most frequently of S, Hosei and S, 

 rubicundMs). They are formed of concentric layers 

 of a hard, brittle, olive-green substance, very bitter 

 to the taste. A soft brown variety is found in the 

 porcupine. Both kinds are highly valued by the 

 Chinese as medicine. The monkeys and porcupines 

 are hunted for the sake of these stones. A similar 



