140 BORNEO— THE DYAKS. [chap. vi. 



and whenever they voluntarily relate any matter of fact, 

 you may be sure they are speaking the truth. In a Dyak 

 village the fruit trees have each their owner, and it has 

 often happened to me, on asking an inhabitant to gather 

 me some fruit, to be answered, " I can't do that, for the 

 owner of the tree is not here ;" never seeming to con- 

 template the possibility of acting otherwise. Neither will 

 they take the smallest thing belonging to an European. 

 When living at Simiinjon, they continually came to my 

 house, and would pick up scraps of torn newspaper or 

 crooked pins that I had thrown away, and ask as a great 

 favour whether they might have them. Crimes of violence 

 (other than head-hunting) are almost unknown ; for in 

 twelve years, under Sir James Brooke's rule, there had 

 been only one case of murder in a Dyak tribe, and that 

 one was committed by a stranger who had been adopted 

 into the tribe. In several other matters of morality 

 they rank above most uncivilized, and even above many 

 civilized nations. They are temperate in food and drink, 

 and the gross sensuality of the Chinese and Malays is 

 unknown among them. They have the usual fault of all 

 people in a half-savage state — apathy and dilatoriness ; 

 but, however annoying this may be to Europeans who 

 come in contact with them, it cannot be considered a very 

 grave offence, or be held to outweigh their many excellent 

 qualities. 



