86 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



but he also failed; whereupon they all stepped ashore, 

 taking the fire-making implements and some of the roots 

 with them, in order to see whether they would have better 

 luck on land. The brother of the chief now came forward 

 and made two attempts, with no more success than the 

 others. Urged to try again, he finally succeeded; the as- 

 semblage silently remained seated for a few minutes, 

 when some men went forth and beat tuba with short 

 sticks, then threw water upon it, and as a final procedure 

 cast the bark into the river and again beat it. From the 

 group of the most important people an old man then 

 waded into the water and cast adrift burning wood 

 shavings which floated down-stream. 



In the meantime the Long Mahan people had gone to 

 throw the bark into the river from their elaborate bridge, 

 and those of Long Pelaban went to their establishments. 

 The finely pounded bark soon began to float down the 

 river from the bridges as it might were there a tannery 

 in the neighbourhood. Presently white foam began to 

 form in large sheets, in places twenty-five centimetres 

 thick and looking much like snow, a peculiar sight 

 between the dark walls of tropical jungle. Above the 

 first little rapid, where the water was congested, a 

 portion of the foam remained like snow-drift, while 

 most of it continued to advance and spread itself over 

 the first long pool. Here both men and women were 

 busily engaged catching fish with hand-nets, some wading 

 up to their necks, others constantly diving underneath 

 and coming up covered with light foam. 



The insignificant number of fish caught — nearly all 



