190 A NATURALIST'S WANDESINGS 



witnessed the combat was very short, but very fierce. Both 

 birds were sorely wounded at the commencement, but in a 

 short space one rolled over mortally wounded, with a gash in 

 its side through which the four fingers could be passed. After 

 both fights there was immediately heard the clinking of 

 money, and a general rush to the Balai was made to settle 

 their bets. Often £30 ito £iO may be laid on a cock ; and 

 in a day's gaming as much as £250 has been known to 

 change hands. 



Cock-fighting is now strictly prohibited by the Govern- 

 ment, which, only on special occasions, gives for a limited 

 number of days permission to the chief of a marga to hold a 

 tournament within his district, and for whose good conduct 

 he is responsible. He is allowed to charge five per cent, on all 

 transactions which take place, and a fee from all stall-holders 

 as a sort of recompense for directing the affair and keeping 

 order. With this percentage the Pangeran is able to provide 

 a buffalo at little cost to himself, which is slain on the last day 

 of this Vanity Fair, and followed by a general gormandising. 

 From the nature of this whole entertainment one may hope 

 that the dead Pangeran advance a full stage in bliss. 



The heavy rains that had delayed me several days here 

 having cleared somewhat, I proceeded on my way northwards ; 

 and, crossing the watershed of the Ogan, descended into 

 the valley of the Inim, a large tributary of the Lamatang, 

 another of the great branches of the Palembang river. The 

 village customs in each of these great valley systems differ 

 but slightly from each other ; yet each has some distinctive 

 characteristic; each has its own style of architecture; and 

 each its own pattern of garments and hat-ornamentation. In 

 religion the Inim people are Mahomedans. They bury their 

 dead, however, in one large mound with the head east- 

 wards ; the women lie alongside their husbands, but the chil- 

 dren are buried anywhere their parents may wish, only never 

 in the village mound. 



It was interesting to note how the navigability of the 

 rivers influence the people even far inland. In these reaches 

 I found Islamism of a purer form, and the people more 

 learned in civilised ways ; while in the upland regions not 

 geographically distant, such as Kisam, Makakau, Semindo 



