ABSTINENCE FROM MILK. 267 



more than any of the others, this tribe was oppressed. 

 I am induced to entertain this opinion, from having 

 observed several of the men deny themselves its use, 

 and from the abundance of the herds in their district of 

 country. In those places where the tribes have had, 

 for a long time, no scruple regarding the use of its 

 flesh, the animal is never plentiful, on account of 

 their ingenuity in catching or destroying it. 



Their not using the milk or butter of the cow, in 

 which the Hindus delight, has been accounted for on 

 the supposition that, at the first introduction of the 

 animal into Java, from whence it came to Borneo, this 

 was a precautionary measure to encourage the breed, by 

 not depriving the calves of their natural sustenance. 

 None of these animals are now to be found in Sarawak, 

 with the exception of the few belonging to the Euro- 

 peans, and introduced by them from the northern parts 

 of the island, where large herds of the descendants of 

 some brought thither by the Spaniards about two 

 hundred years ago are found. They are reported to 

 have been kept in considerable numbers by the natives 

 of Sarawak, until the disturbances, when they were all 

 destroyed. The Malays make no use of the milk of 

 the animal, nor do the inhabitants of Java. 



From the prevalence of the indications of the in- 

 fluence of the Hindu religion, observed in their customs 

 above detailed, we might suppose that the traces of 

 its monuments in the arts of building and sculpture, so 

 common in some parts of Java, might be also found 

 here ; but, as has been previously observed, it is 



