92 BORNEO— THE ORANG-UTAN. [chap. iv. 



of the hand, as we should do. He seems always to choose 

 those branches Avhich intermingle with an adjoining tree, 

 on approaching which he stretches out his long arms, and, 

 seizing the opposing boughs, grasps them together with 

 both hands, seems to try their strength, and then de- 

 liberately swings himself across to the next branch, on 

 which he walks along as before. He never jumps or 

 springs, or even appears to hurry himself, and yet manages 

 to get along almost as quickly as a person can run through 

 the forest beneath. The long and powerful arms are of 

 the greatest use to the animal, enabling it to climb easily 

 up the loftiest trees, to seize fruits and young leaves from 

 slender boughs which will not bear its weight, and to 

 gather leaves and branches with which to form its nest. 

 I have already described how it forms a nest when 

 wounded, but it uses a similar one to sleep on almost 

 every night. This is placed low down, however, on a 

 small tree not more than from twenty to fifty feet from 

 the ground, probably because it is warmer and less ex- 

 posed to wind than higher up t Each Mias is said to 

 make a fresh one for himself every night ; but I should 

 think that is hardly probable, or their remains would be 

 much more abundant ; for though I saw several about the 

 coal-mines, there must have been many Orangs about every 

 day, and in a year their deserted nests would become very 

 numerous. The Dyaks say that, when it is very wet, the 



