SOME ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES. 77 



them as essentially a forest people — and do a little fishing, 

 cultivating and fire-wood cutting. They are now Moham- 

 medans which is to say that they have lost all ethnographical 

 individuality. 



But in the interior of Batam still exist an almost un- 

 spoilt people who, although the island is so small and they 

 are nomadic, never come down to the sea. These are evident- 

 ly Logan's "Orang Muka Kuning" (for his other tribe the 

 Treng-Bubong " appear to have shared the fate of the Sa- 

 bimba) although the name seems unknown to the shore 

 people. I have not seen them personally, for living in tem- 

 porary shelters and wandering about, they are not easily met 

 with during a short visit but it was stated that they are less 

 than a hundred in number. They trade a little jungle pro- 

 duce occasionally and wear bark chaivats when they possess 

 no cotton garments. 



The most interesting fact in connection with them is 

 that they still use the sumpitan and ipoh poison. They do 

 not themselves manufacture the weapon but use one of a 

 Borneo pattern obtained by trading. My informants assured 

 me that though the poisoned darts were effective against wild 

 animals yet they would never kill a fowl. 



A similar tribe occupies the interior of Pulo Galang 

 where a Belgian Planting Company has recently had some 

 communication with them. 



As these are probably the only island tribes who have 

 maintained practically uncorrupted their paganism and their 

 isolation, speedy investigation is most desirable. 



R. A. Soc, Xo. 5C, 1903. 



