56 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



fleeced rice to the soldiers. However, I was told that, in 

 some localities at least, the order had to be rescinded, be- 

 cause the soldiers objected so strongly to that kind of 

 rice. Later, on this same river, I personally experienced 

 a swelling of the ankles, with an acceleration of the heart 

 action, which, on my return to Java, was pronounced by a 

 medical authority to be beri-beri. Without taking any 

 medicine, but simply by the changed habits of life, with 

 a variety of good food, the symptoms soon disappeared. 



It is undoubtedly true that the use of polished rice is 

 a cause of beri-beri, because the Dayaks, with their primi- 

 tive methods of husking, never suffer from this disease, 

 although rice is their staple food. Only on occasions 

 when members of these tribes take part in expeditions to 

 New Guinea, or are confined in prisons, and eat the rice 

 offered of civilization, are they afflicted with this malady. 

 In my own case I am inclined to think that my indisposi- 

 tion at the commencement of my travels in Borneo was 

 largely due to the use of oatmeal from which the husks 

 had been removed. Rolled oats is the proper food. 



Modern research has established beyond doubt, that 

 the outer layers of grains contain mineral salts and vita- 

 mines that are indispensable to human life. Facts prove 

 that man, if confined to an exclusive diet of white bread, 

 ultimately dies from malnutrition. Cereals which have 

 been "refined" of their husks present a highly starchy 

 food, and unless they are properly balanced by base- 

 forming substances, trouble is sure to follow. Scurvy, 

 beri-beri, and acidosis have been fatal to many expedi- 

 tions, though these diseases no doubt can be avoided by 



