138 BORNEO— THE DYAKS. [chap. vi. 



considerably under that of most Europeans. Their forms 

 are well proportioned, their feet and hands small, and 

 they rarely or never attain the bulk of body so often 

 seen in Malays and Chinese. 



I am inclined to rank the Dyaks above the Malays in 

 mental capacity, while in moral character they are un- 

 doubtedly superior to them. They are simple and honest, 

 and become the prey of the Malay and Chinese traders, 

 who cheat and plunder them continually. They are more 

 lively, more talkative, less secretive, and less suspicious 

 than the Malay, and are therefore pleasanter companions. 

 The Malay boys have little inclination for active sports 

 and games, which form quite a feature in the life of the 

 Dyak youths, who, besides outdoor games of skill and 

 strength, possess a variety of indoor amusements. One 

 wet day, in a Dyak house, when a number of boys and 

 young men were about me, I thought to amuse them with 

 something new, and showed them how to make " cat's 

 cradle" with a piece of string. Greatly to my surprise, 

 they knew all about it, and more than I did; for, after 

 I and Charles had gone through all the changes we could 

 make, one of the boys took it off my hand, and made 

 several new figures which quite puzzled me. They then 

 showed me a number of other tricks with pieces of string, 

 which seemed a favourite amusement with them. 



Even these apparently trifling matters may assist us to 



