132 AUSTKALASIA. 



and resins. On the flanks of Kina-Balu, noted for its numerous varieties of the 

 pitcher-plant, botanists have observed a remarkable intermingling of Indian, 

 Malayan, and Australian species. On the muddy coastlands flourishes the valu- 

 able sago tree {Metroxtilon sagus Rumphii), which yields its nutritive sap in such 

 abundance that the province of Sarawak alone supplies more than half of the 

 sago exported from tropical lands. A single plant of average size furnishes a 

 thousand cakes, with a total weight of about seven hundred pounds, a quantity 

 sufiîcient to support one man for a twelvemonth, yet not needing more than some 

 ten days' easy labour for its production. 



Fauna. 



Like its flora, the fauna of Borneo possesses several species giving it a peculiar 

 physiognomy. Almost every island has some characteristic animal, and the con- 

 trasts presented by these insular faunas has enabled naturalists to conjecture the 

 relative ages when the islands became detached from each other. Thus Sumatra 

 and Borneo must have still formed continuous land when Java was already a 

 separate region. Hence the narrow Sunda Strait would appear to be older than 

 the broad but shallow Sea of Borneo. This inference is confirmed by the con- 

 formity of the faunas between Borneo and Sumatra, and their relative difference 

 between the latter island and Java. 



Amongst the animals which appear to have originated in Borneo, the most 

 remarkable is the mias, or orang-utan, that is, "man of the woods" {Sùnia sati/rus), 

 also met in North Sumatra. He is found in every part of Borneo, but all attempts 

 to tame him have hitherto resulted in failure. Nearl}^ all the captured specimens 

 die of consumption, even when retained in the vicinity of their native forests- 

 The Dayaks assert that the mias fears neither rhinoceros, tiger, nor wild boar, and 

 that he will even face the crocodile and python. It was long doubted whether the 

 elephant and rhinoceros formed part of the Bornean fauna, but although they 

 have disappeared from the Dutch provinces, they are still met in herds near 

 Sandakan, in British territory. The Bornean tiger is a distinct species, and here 

 also occur two varieties of the crocodile found nowhere else. 



Inhabitants of Borneo. 



Mention is often made of a peculiar race of aborigines dwelling in the midst 

 of the forests, and the natives themselves are fond of talking about the Orang- 

 Buntut, or " Tailed Men," said to dwell in the central regions. Many Arab, 

 Malay, and native travellers claim to have seen them, squatting on little stools 

 with holes made for the convenience of inserting their caudal appendix. Even 

 recently the explorer, Carl Bock, searched, though in vain, for these tailed people 

 amongst the inhabitants of the highlands, between the Barito and Pasir basins. 



But apart from these Buntuts, Borneo still harbours many absolutely savage 

 peoples. Such are the Puans of the central regions, and the Njavongs of the 

 Kahajan basin, who live in the forests unsheltered even by a screen of foliage 

 from sun or rain. Their only garment is a loin-cloth, their weapon the blow-pipe, 



