II 
JUNGLE STRATAGEMS 
HE entire population of Palembang came to 
marvel at the size of the python, and, before I 
realized it, I had acquired a wonderful and wide- 
spread reputation as a collector. I was soon be- 
sieged by requests to go out and capture all kinds 
of enormous animals—most of them imaginary, of 
course, for a Malay can imagine anything. Once 
he starts with “Sahya fikir (I think),” you may 
expect to hear many wonderful tales if you have 
time to stop and listen to him. 
To Malays nothing seems impossible, and it is 
difficult to hold them down to actual facts. They 
will hedge about with “I think” and “barang-kéli 
(perhaps)” until you give up in disgust; and then 
they will offer to bring their brothers or other rela- 
tives, who will repeat the performance. Sometimes 
T used to Spend hours in wondering how their minds 
worked, and I came to the conclusion that they talk 
merely with a desire to please. They want to tell 
anything you want to hear, regardless of whether 
it is true or not. It is exasperating and occasionally 
funny. For instance, several years after I left 
Sumatra, I was traveling through the jungle, look- 
ing for elephants. At one village I talked with the 
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