370 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



teeth. No haste was apparent about making the coffin 

 for the woman who had been dead four days; although 

 not yet commenced they said it would be completed 

 that day. 



The left bank of the river is much higher than the 

 right, which is flooded, therefore the utan on that side 

 presents a very different appearance, with large, fine- 

 looking trees and no dense underbrush. All was fresh 

 and calm after the rain which prevails at this season 

 (February). There were showers during the afternoon, 

 at times heavy, and the Malays were much opposed to 

 getting wet, wanting to stop paddling, notwithstanding 

 the fact that the entire prahu was covered with an atap. 

 As we approached the mouth of the river, where I in- 

 tended to camp for the night, I noticed a prahu halting at 

 the rough landing place of a ladang, and as we passed it 

 the rain poured down. When the single person who was 

 paddling arose to adjust the scanty wet clothing I per- 

 ceived that it was a woman, and looking back I dis- 

 covered her husband snugly at ease under a palm-leaf 

 mat raised as a cover. He was then just rising to walk 

 home. That is the way the men of Islam treat their 

 women. Even one of the Malay paddlers saw the hu- 

 mour of the situation and laughed. 



At Rongkang I was told the legend of the dog that in 

 ancient times had come from the inland of Borneo to 

 Sembulo, where it became progenitor of the tailed people. 

 In various parts of Borneo I heard about natives with 

 short tails, and there are to-day otherwise reliable Da- 

 yaks, Malays, and even Chinese, who insist that they 



