BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS. 623 



distance until we came to a small Bajow or sea-gipsy village where 

 we were provided with buffaloes to ride. It rained in heavy 

 showers daily, and the country was quite inundated, with knee- 

 deep water in places, and abounding with venomous snakes of 

 small size, apparently of the genus Bung ar us. The reptiles 

 appeared to be too much absorbed in the capture of very pretty 

 blue and green frogs, to do more than get out of the way of our 

 buffaloes. We went across some fine rich plains, planted with 

 paddy, all fenced and carefully tilled, as well as anything I have 

 seen in the best parts of China. The beautiful green fields, with 

 patches of jungle backed by the mountains towards which we 

 were journeying, looked wonderfully picturesque. In a few miles 

 we came to another village where we were welcomed by the 

 inhabitants who offered us green cocoa-nuts. Beyond the village 

 the Dusun country commenced. It was neatly tilled and had 

 splendid crops all fenced in in the most orthodox fashion. It 

 would be difiicult to describe the extreme picturesqueness of the 

 scenery which was almost European, from the evidences of careful 

 husbandry on every side. The distant villages looked like farm- 

 houses in some rural district. After passing a fine bungalow with 

 an old orange and lemon orchard around it we came in a few 

 miles to another village, which consisted of a house about 150 feet 

 long, and a few other small houses. The style of this building- 

 was entirely of that Dyak pattern with which books of travel 

 have rendered us all familiar. We entered it by climbing up a 

 notched log, as it was raised on high piles. On either side was a 

 long enclosed verandah which ran the whole length of 'the building. 

 Inside the space was divided into dark apartments for each family. 

 In the centre was a long beautifully matted room with a roof some 

 3.5 feet high. There we were welcomed by the chief of the 

 village, who in this case was a female. She gave our party a 

 warm welcome, and sent her people to cook rice for us. The 

 central chamber was divided into two, and there were about 60 

 men, women, and children in each end. The cooking was per- 

 formed on a small stone fireplace in the middle of the floor, and 

 the smoke went up through the roof. The water and refuse went 

 between the bamboos of the fioor. 



