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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



TAMA APING BUUENG, THE KAYAN HEAD CHIEF OE THE TINJAR RIVER, ARRIVING 



AT A GOVERNMENT STATION 



have done, that we have no war dance in 

 America, I was so foolish as to attempt, 

 with a parang and shield, to imitate the 

 war dance of our Indians. My deter- 

 mination to make up in energy what I 

 lacked in grace only added to the ab- 

 surdity of my performance, and I finished 

 in that distressing silence which falls on 

 a company when something unpleasant 

 has happened. 



For a moment no one could think of 

 anything to say; but Tama Julan was 

 equal to the occasion, exclaiming pres- 

 ently in Malay, with great apparent ear- 

 nestness : "Well ! if a man were to meet 

 you in the jungle, he would run right 

 away." 



Mark Twain once remarked that the 

 happy phrasing of a compliment is one 

 of the rarest of human gifts and the 

 happy delivery of it another, so I think 

 Tama Julan had good cause for being 

 very much annoyed when a young fellow 



spoiled his tactful compliment by point- 

 ing out that, nevertheless, while I was 

 dancing I was all the time holding the 

 parang with the cutting edge toward my- 

 self. 



Tama Julan's desire to relieve me of 

 the embarrassment of my indiscretion is 

 typical of the Kayan's courtesy and con- 

 sideration. 



A COMPANIONABLE KAYAN BOY 



When we returned from our visit to 

 Long Palei, the Resident induced a 17- 

 year-old Kayan boy, Kebing, who had 

 not been well, to come down the river 

 in the hope that medicine and a change 

 would benefit him. For several weeks 

 he was my constant companion, occupy- 

 ing with his little slave the room next to 

 mine in the Residency, where he spread 

 his mat on the floor to sleep. 



Kebing is the stepson of Ulau, the 

 chieftess of Long Palei, and the son of 



