252 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



its consequence, that the coins could not be accepted 

 in payment of the poll-tax except at a 10 per cent, 

 reduction of value, were carefully explained to the 

 chief. But he, poor man, was soon hopelessly be- 

 fogged, and referred us to his daughter for her 

 opinions on the matter ; she, after asking a few intel- 

 ligent questions, grasped the situation at once, and 

 pacified her parent with a few soothing words. Our 

 boatmen subsequently told us that this woman was a 

 spinster, truly a rara avis in a Bornean village, who 

 scorned matrimony, that she did none of the women's 

 work in the village or on the farm, that she insisted on 

 making her voice heard at village councils, and that 

 at the harvest-feasts she not only donned male attire, 

 but also took part in the men's dances. In fact she 

 was a Dayak " new woman." 



Shortly after midday we reached Pankalan Ampat, 

 and, as henceforth our way lay by land and not by 

 water, we paid off our boatmen and sent messengers 

 to the neighbouring village of Sennah, requesting the 

 presence of the headmen. There is a Government 

 bungalow at Pankalan Ampat, built of wood and Nipa- 

 palm leaves ; it had not been occupied for many 

 months, and solitary wasps of the family Eumenidce, 

 which build little clay nests, storing the cells with 

 spiders as food for their young, had taken advantage 

 of the vacant house to construct scores of their nests, 

 which adhered to the palm-leaf walls of every room. 

 Wasps are good collectors, and many a curious spider 

 did I find in their stores. Some were dried up, others 

 had lost their legs, but occasionally I disinterred admir- 

 able specimens, which were hailed with joy as the 

 first-fruits of our collecting expedition. 



