138 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



KAYAN NATIVES IN A CANOE WITH A CURIOUS CROCODILE FIGUREHEAD 



Aside from some poisonous snakes, the crocodile is the only dangerous living thing of jungle 

 or stream which the natives of Sarawak have to fear, except enemies of their own kind. 



wanted was an all-powerful surat — it 

 didn't matter what — any scrap of paper 

 with some writing on would do, he said, 

 as the Kalabit could not read (nor could 

 he, for the matter of that). So I gave 

 him an old envelope which bore my name 

 and address, and with this talisman he 

 succeeded in recovering a certain amount 

 of rubber ($10 or $15 worth) there and 

 then ! What wicked untruths he saw fit 

 to tell about the power of the surat I did 

 not inquire about." 



Kebing was greatly interested in my 

 sextant, and my attempts to explain the 

 use of it led to many interesting talks. 

 It is always a matter of interest to ask 

 how far it is to the Tuan's "long house," 

 Tuan being the Malay title of address 

 for the white man, and the native con- 



ceives of the white man living on the 

 banks of rivers in long communal houses 

 just as he does. 



TRYING TO TEACH GEOGRAPHY TO A 

 NATIVE 



In an effort to give Kebing some idea 

 of geography, I told him it was possible 

 to go to America by traveling either in 

 the direction in which the sun rises or 

 the direction in which it sets, and to ex- 

 plain this incredible statement I scratched 

 a map on the surface of a green orange, 

 telling him that the sun stands still and 

 the earth turns around. 



"Once every day?" he asked. 



"Yes," I replied. 



"Well, why does it turn?" A rather 

 difficult question. 



