IN BORNEAN FORESTS [chap. 



well with arsenical soap, which prevented putrefaction, and 

 kept them from the ravages of animals, and, tying them up 

 together in a bundle, I hung them under the roof of a hut 

 which was occasionally used as a blacksmith's shed, where they 

 could dry without giving me further trouble. But the task of pre- 

 serving the skin was another affair altogether, for the season was 

 rainy and the dampness excessive. I therefore covered it on both 

 sides with arsenical soap, wherever the hair did not prevent it, and, 

 placing it on a bamboo grating, where it lay flat, I hoisted it up 

 under the roof in the middle of the hut, so that it might 

 dry well with plenty of air all round. If necessary, I might 

 have lighted a fire in the hut to dry the air — not to attempt 

 to dry the skin by such means, which would have been 

 a great mistake. Skins of animals collected in tropical 

 climates where the air is damp should never be dried over a fire or 

 exposed to the sun's rays, for by so doing they undergo a sort of 

 cooking, and either get excessively brittle, or else remain liable to 

 absorb damp, so that it is difficult to mount them afterwards as 

 museum specimens, for if they do not fall to pieces they lose both 

 cuticle and hair. 



The consequence of this hard work on big mammal skins and 

 skeletons with inefficient tools was that my hands and fingers were 

 more or less cut, and the arsenic getting into the wounds and under 

 the nails caused painful sores, which suppurated. 



On the first of April fine weather returned, and we had a bright 

 sun and a pleasant breeze. This was good for my skins, whose pre- 

 servation was causing me no little anxiety. I had not only to fight 

 against the pernicious effects of the climate, but against ants, rats, 

 and, above all, dogs. Of the latter no less than seven were kept in 

 the Kunsi's house, and fattened to be eaten on grand occasions. 

 Notwithstanding my constant attention, and although I placed 

 the skins in positions which I fancied to be quite secure, I discovered 

 that the heel of one of them, which was nearly dry, had been 

 gnawed. A dog had done the damage, and had got at the skin by 

 climbing up a pole, just like a cat. Certainly, up to that date I had 

 no idea that Chinese dogs were capable of climbing. 



For several days I had been aware that the Kunsi was not 

 pleased at my being in his house, and would have been glad to see 

 me go elsewhere. He said that the orang-utans stank and spoilt 

 his meals. This may have been true, although' a horror of bad 

 smells is scarcely what one would expect in a Chinaman, but I 

 believe the real fact was that he attributed a malevolent influence 

 to my work, fearing, perhaps, that the irate spirits of the big apes 

 might wander near their mortal remains and clamour for vengeance. 

 I was very nearly obliged to employ violence whilst skinning the 

 big Mayas Tj aping, for the Kunsi wanted it carried out of the 



150 



