THEIR SUPERSTITION. 245 



going, I generally found that my baggage was there 

 nearly as soon as myself. It is difficult, however, to 

 engage them to assist the adventurous traveller in the 

 ascent of mountains, from the superstitious dread they 

 have of the spirits with which the summits of the 

 higher hills are supposed to be peopled : everything upon 

 them is sacred to the spirit of the place, and having got 

 them to the top, it was difficult to teach them to be of 

 any service. They would by no means be instru- 

 mental in destroying a stick, or shrub, to make us a 

 tent or fire, until they had seen that no harm occurred 

 to the Malays, who had no scruples of the kind ; and 

 had any one of my attendants unfortunately died, or had 

 an accident of any serious nature happened to them 

 after any of these excursions, I should probably have 

 never been able to obtain another to accompany me. 



Their whole lives being spent in the jungle, these 

 Dyaks are of the greatest possible assistance to Euro- 

 peans, whose pursuits lead them into its gloom. When 

 overtaken by night, in the forests, or on the mountains, 

 their burdens being placed on the ground, they dis- 

 tribute themselves around, and soon return with sticks 

 and palm leaves, of which excellent tents are speedily 

 formed, in which to pass the night ; the floors of 

 these are always raised above the ground, to preserve 

 the inmates from the attacks of the leeches which 

 abound amongst the dead leaves on the ground, 

 and which are a great annoyance to the traveller in 

 these wilds. The roof of such a tent is impervious to 

 the weather, and the whole time employed in the con- 

 struction does not exceed half-an-hour : fires are lighted 



