172 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



ried to one of the camps, with a piece of the liver, which 

 is considered the best part. I had decHned it, as the 

 meat of the wild pig is very poor and to my taste repul- 

 sive; this old male being also unusually tough, the sol- 

 diers complained. The following morning I saw the head 

 and jaws almost entirely untouched, too tough even for 

 the Penyahbongs. 



Next day the river ran much narrower and between 

 rocky sides. In the forenoon the first prahu came upon 

 an otter eating a huge fish which the strong animal had 

 dragged up on a rock, and of which the men immediately 

 took possession. It was cut up in bits and distributed 

 among all of them, the otter thus saving the expedition 

 thirty-two rations of dried fish that evening and next 

 morning. To each side of the head was attached a 

 powerful long spine which stood straight out. The na- 

 tives called the fish kendokat. 



At one place where the water ran smoothly, one man 

 from each prahu pulled its rattan rope, the rest poling. 

 I saw the Penyahbong who was dragging my prahu sud- 

 denly catch sight of something under the big stones over 

 which he walked, and then he stopped to investigate. 

 From my seat I perceived a yellowish snake about one 

 and a half metres long swimming under and among the 

 stones. A man from the prahu following ours came for- 

 ward quickly and began to chase it in a most determined 

 manner. With his right hand he caught hold of the 

 tail and twisted it; then, as the body was underneath 

 the junction of two stones, with his left hand he tried 

 to seize the head which emerged on the other side. The 

 snake was lively and bit at his hand furiously, which he 



