A MONTH WITH THE DYAKS. 431 



As we were toiling discousolately up a steep lull we heard a sudden 

 rustling and saw the movement of some wild animal in the bushes 

 close to our path. I thought it was a wild pig. An instant later 

 a dark object came shuffling rapidly toward us, growling as it came, 

 and we saw it was a bear. The absurd little beast was actually 

 charging us. When it was within ten paces I gave it a ball exactly 

 between the eyes, which settled it forever. The instant my shot 

 rang out, another and even smaller bear appeared, also above us, 

 and came shuffling down the path, evidently intending to flank us. 



" Le Tiac ci'ied out excitedly, ' Bruong, tuan ! Bruong ! ' Avhere- 

 upon the second bear wheeled about and started back up the hill as 

 fast as he could go. Remembering my bear exi^erience in the Ani- 

 mallais, I determined to stay by my fii'st victim and make sure of that 

 one at least. I fired two snapshots, however, at No. 2 ; but he was 

 so much concealed by low bushes that I missed both times and he 

 got away. The one we had was a full-grown female Halarctos Malay- 

 anus, but it weighed only 60 pounds, — too small to make our 

 grizzly a square meal ! Its total length was 36 inches exclusive of 

 tail (1 inch), and its height at the shoulders was 18 inches. This 

 bear is, I believe, the smallest species known. Its hair is short, 

 very even, smooth, and glossy black everywhere except on the 

 breast, where there is a cream-colored patch shaped like a V. Le 

 Tiac joyfully tied the Uttle beast into a bundle, took it on his back, 

 supported by a strip of bark over his forehead, and we trudged on 

 to make ovir sketches. 



"On reaching the sjjot where the large argus pheasant was 

 caught in a twitch-up, we all sat down and I began to work. We 

 had sat there very quietly for nearly an hour, when suddenly Dobah 

 exclaimed in a whisper, ' Kejang, tuan ! ' I looked in the direc- 

 tion he pointed, and, sure enough, (\.ovm below us, a hundred yards 

 or so, was a pretty little muntjac {Cer cuius aureus) walking jauntily 

 along the side of the ravine. I fired and it disappeared. My com- 

 panions rushed down the hiU and found the little animal lying 

 dead behind a log, shot through the heart. It was a beautiful 

 little buck, with perfect horns. After I finished my sketch, Le 

 Tiac backed the bear, Dobah shouldered the muntjac, and we 

 marched home. 



" The Dyaks are rather demonstrative. As we approached the 

 house on the open side, the inmates quickly espied us, and we were 

 greeted by a deafening chorus of ' ohs ! ' and ' ah-doe, ah-does ! ' 

 as men, women, and children bawled and squealed out their aston- 



