28 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



a house which \\:u\ just been rented by two Japanese who 

 were representatives of a lumber company, and had come 

 to arrange for the export of hardwood from this part 

 of Borneo. 



Accompanied by tlic controleur, Mr. R. Schreuilcr, I 

 went to call on the Sultan. I le was a man of about thirty- 

 five years, rather prepossessing in appearance, and proud 

 of his ancestry, although time has so effaced his Dayak 

 characteristics that he looks like a Malay. Dato Mansur, 

 his executive, met us at the landing and escorted us into 

 the presence of the Sultan and his wife, where we were 

 offered soda-water and whiskey, and we remained an 

 hour. They are both likeable, but the Sultan appears 

 rather nervous and frail, and it is rumoured that his 

 health has suffered as a result of overindulgence in 

 spiritualistic seances. He gave an entertaining account 

 of natives living in the trees on the Malinau River. As it 

 had been impossible for me to obtain cartridges for 

 my Winchester rifle, the Sultan was kind enough to lend 

 me one of his before wc parted, as well as two hundred 

 cartridges. He also obligingly sent Dato Mansur up the 

 river to Kaburau, the princi|)al Kayan kampong (village) 

 to secure men and boats for an intended expedition inland 

 from there. 



The main business of Tandjong Selor, as everywhere 

 in Borneo, is buying rattan, rubber, and damar (a kind 

 of resin) from the Malays and tiic I);iyaks, and shipping 

 it by steamer to Singapore. As usual, trade is almost 

 entirely in the hands of the Chinese. The great event 

 of the place is the arriv.il of the steamer twice a month. 



