DIALECTS OF THE MELANECTAN* TRIBES. 43 



before the influx of Malaydom into the mountains and forests of 

 the Peninsula, and have thus kept themselves free from intermix- 

 ture, still retaining their own language. 



I had the good fortune to find these people in many other 

 places, and I have not failed during my Anthropological studies to 

 collect as many words as possible of their dialects, although a 

 naturalist can do little with the materials of language. I un- 

 dertook this small task (which nevertheless required no small 

 amount of patience and attention) for the reason named in my 

 first letter; viz, that these languages are disappearing, 

 partly because the tribes intermingle with other races and partly 

 because they die out. Although I can draw no conclusions aa to the 

 various relations of these dialects to other Papuan tongues, this 

 small collection has nevertheless given me some interesting and 

 not uuimportant facts. 



Firstly as to the connection between the various tribes of the 

 Orang Sakai, living quite cut off from one another, in Pahang, 

 Kelantan and Singora. 



Secondly, and what astonished me stiil more, as to the relation 

 in point of language between the very mixed and distant-dwelling 

 Oraug-Utan of Johor, with the Orang-Sakai in the north of 

 the Peninsula. 



It is undoubtedly an interesting result to have ascertained 

 that these tribes, isolated and ignorant ot each other, are through- 

 out the whole peninsula, from Johor to Ligor (South of Siam) 

 thus closely connected in speech. This circumstance gives me 

 a fresh conviction that my opinion expressed in the beginning of 

 this year*" and before my second journey, is correct, viz : that 

 the Orang-utan of Johor, notwithstanding their great inter- 

 mixture, undoubtedly show traces of a Melanesian blood. I send 

 you herewith a small Comparative Vocabulary of the dialects 

 collected. I hope the result I have arrived at will coincide with 

 your opinion upon the origin of the language of the Orang-Utan 

 of Johor. 



* N. Miklucho-Maclay. Ethnologische Excursion in Johor. Natuur- 

 kundis^ Tijdschrift, 1875. 



