JUNGLE STRATAGEMS 37 
Malay headman, who represented the government 
in that locality, and the conversation turned to 
large elephants. Jumbo, who was eleven feet two 
inches, had died, and I had it in my mind that I 
should like to find an animal big enough to take his 
place. “Have you ever seen a twelve-foot ele- 
phant?” I asked the headman. And as quick as a 
flash, he answered, “How many do you want?” He 
could not understand why I rolled back on the floor 
and laughed until my jaws ached. The headman 
was a true Malay. 
I found it best, in trying to get information from 
a Malay, to ask my question and then, before he had 
a chance to speak, say: “Jangan fikir—jawab ya 
tidak. Sahya bilth fikir. (Don’t think—answer 
yes or no. I'll do the thinking).” Then he would 
generally admit immediately that he didn’t know, 
but he would always offer to bring his brother or 
some other person that he thought might know. It 
is a trait that makes business relations between the 
whites and the natives difficult, and is to a large 
degree responsible for the fact that much of the 
business in the Archipelago is done through the 
Chinese. The Chinese have sufficient patience and 
understanding to deal with the Malays, and they 
know how to make them work. 
There are two distinct classes of Malay: the 
Orang Ulu, living in the jungle, and the Orang 
Laut, living on the coast. Through their associa- 
tion with the Chinese merchants, some of the latter. 
