BORNEO 137 



A straight piece of wood forming the pipe is 

 ingeniously hollowed out, and the pipe, with a 

 piece of sharpened iron attached to the end, does 

 duty as a spear, while the darts are carried in a 

 small quiver on the shoulder. To ascertain at 

 what distance the blow-pipe is effective, I 

 organised, when I was at Rundum, a blow-pipe 

 competition for a prize in money. The Muruts 

 made very good shooting at a target, with a four- 

 inch bull's-eye, at a distance of 25 yards, but at 

 50 yards only one shot hit the target. 



The Muruts, who are little men, are able to 

 hide themselves and move very noiselessly in 

 the forest, and by stealthy stalking they can 

 get within range of the man or animal they are 

 attacking. A monkey is, I understand, a favourite 

 article of diet. 



I had only two days' shooting in Borneo, but 

 had the luck to shoot a timbadau bull. The 

 animals are largely nocturnal and keep in thick 

 jungle during the day, and by ordinary still- 

 hunting a shot at one is not easily obtained. 

 My son, who was then in the 2ist Indian Cavalry 

 in India, took leave and joined me in Borneo, 

 and was with me when I made the march through 

 the interior of the country from Tenom to Kudat. 

 On the way from Tempassuk to Kudat we passed 

 through country where timbadau were fairly 

 numerous, and at one place a local Bajao (Malay) 

 hunter reported that three bulls had been seen on 

 more than one occasion outside the forest. A 

 hunt was accordingly organised. It was arranged 

 that my son and I should start early to try and 

 get a shot at the bulls while they were still in the 



