236 A NATURALIST'S WANDERINaS 



lizards, grubs, fruits, an occasional deer, pig, or tapir, which 

 a happy effort has rewarded them with — and what they pur- 

 chase by barter from Malays. They know nothing of art ; they 

 manufacture absolutely nothing. Their knives and the univer- 

 sal spear with which they are armed are purchased from the 

 Malays with whom they trade. Neither men nor women wear 

 clothes, except the small T-bandage of bark-cloth ; some even 

 go entirely in a state of nature. Where European influence is 

 beginning to have its modifying effect — and where is it not 

 now felt in some measure ? — calico coverings such as modesty 

 demands are worn. They keep in continement a few birds 

 occasionally, and a species of dog of moderate size generally 

 accompanies them. They will scarcely touch water for ablu- 

 tionary purposes, and have consequently a strong, unpleasant 

 odour ; and a small stream which the}'' cannot cross by prau 

 or by stepping-stones is often a barrier to their journey. 



On approaching the steps of the hut in which I was living, 

 my first acquaintances made a bashful salutation with the hand 

 in the awkward way of children, advancing with open eyes full 

 of wonder and curiosity more marked in the woman's face than 

 in her companion's, she being evidently less accustomed to see 

 other than her own people. They rarely come into the villages, 

 the villagers always seeking them out in order to buy from 

 them their forest-gathered produce. The chief who went to 

 induce them to visit me had to assure them that I did not 

 wish to make them take up their residence in a village, or to 

 compel them to cultivate rice fields. 



The colour of their skin was a rich olive brown ; while their 

 hair always in a dishevelled state, was jet black, inclined to 

 curl. It was certainly less straight than that of the village 

 Malays, but it may be that this curling is the result of want 

 of attention, and of its becoming matted and twisted. The 

 woman's hair was straighter than the men's. Her features were 

 what I might call Mongolian, in contrast to her companion's, 

 which I might designate as more conforming to the Malayan 

 type about them. The child might have been a very dark- 

 complexioned Italian or a dark Arabian. Her features are re- 

 presented very truthfully on page 234. Both men had a slight 

 moustache, and a few hairs on the chin. What struck me most 

 in them was their extreme submissiveness, their want of inde- 



