THE DYAKS. 205 



of the last son of the chief of the Pedungan village, 

 the old man lamented that, having with each of his 

 children, who had all died successively, buried a 

 considerable portion of his property, he was now 

 not only childless but penniless. Of this he did 

 not complain, but that having deprived himself of his 

 wealth, in accordance with a sacred custom of the 

 Dyaks, the repose of his children had been violated, 

 and the sacrilegious Malays had opened the graves, for 

 the purpose of abstracting the treasures which had 

 been placed there. Mr. Brooke, to whom the com- 

 plaint was made, very properly consoled the old man 

 by telling him that, if by any means the perpetrators 

 of this act could be brought to justice, they should be 

 severely punished ; and, turning to the Malayan chiefs 

 in attendance on him, requested them to assist in dis- 

 covering the offenders. This was comfort to the Dyak 

 chief, as during the government of the Malayan rajahs 

 he durst not have complained of such an offence, it 

 being no transgression to defile the grave of the 

 infidel. 



