A Journey into the Interior of Borneo 

 to visit the Kalabit tribes. 



By R. S. Douglas. 



I propose to give a short account of a journey I recently 

 made to visit the Kalabits, a people who had only quite re- 

 cently acknowledged allegiance to the Sarawak Government, 

 and are quite one of the most uncivilized in Borneo. 



The Kalabits, who are scientifically I believe of the 

 Indonesian race, are an agricultural people inhabiting the 

 large tableland in the centre of Borneo from which spring the 

 Baram, Tutau. Limbang, Trusan and Padas Rivers on the 

 West Coast and the Bahau River on the East Coast. They 

 are very industrious and are one of the few tribes who farm by 

 irrigation, and are therefore able to obtain two crops of paddy 

 in the year. They are practically the same raoe of people as 

 are known as Muruts in the Trusan and Padas Districts. 



In build they are above the average height of Bornean 

 natives and are well made. They are tremendous walkers (a 

 fact which is impressed on one by the size of their feet) and it 

 is said by Kayans that they are capable of walking in one day 

 what other people would take two days to accomplish. This 

 I can quite believe, as all getting about having to take place 

 on foot they are naturally very adept and hardy at this 

 method of progress. They have however absolutely no idea of 

 paddling or using a boat, and when they were first brought 

 down to the Government station at Claudetown, and saw the 

 Baram River, they sat down in the bottom of the Kayan canoes 

 and burst out crying, having never seen such an enormous 

 volume of water before. 



As a lot of these people had just moved into the head of 

 the Tutau River I determined to proceed by this route, although 

 it meant crossing the Mulu Range of hills. 



On the third day of my departure from the Government 

 Station at Claudetown I picked up Dyau Blawing, the Kenyah 



jour. Straits Branch R, A. Soc, No. 49, 1907, 



