364 JOURNAL OF A VISIT 



longed to some fair faces I suppose those of his adopted 

 daughters. 



In the evening I got a small boat to take me to see 

 the remainder of the town. The right-hand bank of the 

 river contains the Malayan Kampongs ; the left those 

 of the Rejang Milanowes and the Seboo Dyaks. The 

 houses on the left-hand side are built on posts of 

 very hard wood, about sixteen or twenty feet from the 

 ground. They are constructed on the principle of the 

 Sea Dyak houses, that is to say, each row is an assem- 

 blage of domiciles, all of which open into a large 

 common verandah, where the women were about their 

 ordinary employments. The women here make baskets, 

 called " umpuk," of a square form very neatly ; the 

 rattans they use are all coloured, and these are worked 

 into very beautiful patterns. 



I accidentally stopped at the house of the head man of 

 the tribe : he was a fine-looking man, named " Galong," 

 and when he saw me land, descended to assist me 

 up to his aerial mansion. It was a very large house 

 inside, and instead of the notched pole generally used 

 by the Dyaks for steps, it had a broad and good 

 ladder to ascend by. These houses were much better 

 built than any Dyak habitations I have hitherto seen, 

 and few Malay houses are so strongly put together. 

 Galong told me that they were obliged to build their 

 houses thus high, to prevent the Dyaks of Sarebas 

 thrusting spears through the open flooring at night, 

 and thus killing the people while they sleep. The 

 women and men I saw were all dressed like the 



