EXPEDITION TO THE KATINGAN RIVER 315 



the bicycles are sold and the erstwhile owners return to 

 the scene of their labours to start afresh. 



The controleur, Mr. H. P. Schouten, had just returned 

 on the Selatan from a trip up the Katingan, and 

 turned it over to my use. When the coaling had been 

 done and our goods taken on board, the strong little boat 

 lay deep, but the captain said it was all right. He was 

 the same able djuragan of two years before. Having 

 received from the controleur letters to the five native 

 officials located on the Katingan, we departed, and the 

 following morning arrived at the mouth of the river. At 

 first the country was very thinly inhabited, because the 

 banks are too low to encourage settlement. As hitherto 

 noted the country bordering on the lower portions of the 

 great rivers is populated by Malays exclusively, and here 

 their territory stretches almost to Kasungan. The re- 

 mainder of the riparian lands is occupied by Katingans. 

 There is some slight difference in the language spoken by 

 those who live on the middle part, from Kasungan to Bali 

 (south of Kuala Samba), and those who from Bali north- 

 ward occupy the rest of the watercourse. They are 

 termed by the Malays Lower and Upper Katingans. 

 Those of the first category appeared to be of medium size 

 and inclined to stoutness; on the upper stretches of the 

 river they are taller. These and other differences may 

 be due in a measure to tribal changes brought about by 

 head-hunting raids. It is known that there was an in- 

 flux of Ot-Danums from the Samba on account of such 

 raids. While all Katingans eat snakes and large lizards, 

 the upper ones do not eat rusa but the lower ones do. 



