xi] ORANG NESTS 



man, or Orang-kaya, of. the village — as soon as I approached him, 

 took my right hand in his, and passed twice over my head a fowl which 

 he held in his left hand. After this he presented me with the fowl, 

 inviting me very civilly to sit near him by the hearth-stone. This 

 was the place of honour, over which hung several smoked human 

 heads, precious trophies of his past acts of bravery. He gave 

 me siri and betel, according to the established custom amongst 

 Dyaks as well as Malays, the first act of hospitality towards a 

 welcome guest ; and after some conversation, having asked him 

 to send me fowls which would be well paid for, and to get his people 

 to collect animals for me, I took leave of my worthy Dyak 

 chieftain and returned to my quarters in the Kunsi's house. 



At Ruma Ajjit I saw an albino girl. She had a good figure, and 

 in Europe might easily have been mistaken for a German or Swiss 

 maid, with her fair hair, blue eyes, and full rosy face, but the latter 

 was somewhat disfigured by scurfy spots and freckles. 



On the twenty-third of March, with several Dyaks as guides, 

 I again ascended Batu Lanko hill, where I had been told that 

 orang-utans, or " Mayas," as they are called here, had been seen. 

 I did not meet with any, but found, and was able for the first 

 time to study, their nests or shelters. The term nest is rightly 

 applied to the beds or resting-places which these animals con- 

 struct on trees wherever they remain for a time. They are 

 formed of branches detached from the tree on which they are 

 made, and heaped together, usually at a big bifurcation of 

 the trunk. There is no attempt at anything like an arrangement, 

 nor is there any roofing, and they merely form a platform which 

 serves for the creature to lie down on. 



The orang-utan nests I saw were evidently each for a single 

 animal ; possibly a united couple may build for themselves a more 

 commodious couch, but I was unable to find out more of the domestic 

 habits of these primates. As I have said, what I saw were merely 

 beds or couches for lying down on ; but I think it very possible 

 that on cold nights, or during rain, these creatures may also use 

 branches and fronds as a shelter or to cover themselves with. It 

 is well known that in captivity the orangs like to wrap themselves 

 up in a cloth or blanket. 



The forest in the vicinity of the village being deprived of most 

 of its attractions, I directed my steps next day towards the low ground 

 in search of plants, and was by no means unsuccessful. That 

 evening all the sick and invalids of the village assembled at my 

 house, for my fame as a doctor had spread far and wide. My system 

 of cure was the simplest, and, thanks to my good fortune, gave 

 splendid results. To those affected with fever I gave quinine ; 

 to those who suffered with dysentery, chlorodyne ; to the others, 

 fresh water, coloured with a little Worcestershire sauce. Some- 



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