

ETHNOLOGICAL EXCURSIONS IN THE MALAY PENINSULA. 221 



will have to perform his work. No less important task will 

 lie before him than a thorough study of the life of these pri- 

 mitive races with whom I had the good fortune to meet. He 

 will certainly be rewarded with many new. important, and 

 greatly interesting facts ; but the inquiry will only succeed if 

 he is not afraid of toil and fatigue, and if he will share for 

 some months the life of these primitive nomad tribes. This 

 is the only way to investigate now the habits of these interesting 

 savages, as all tales of the Malays about them are incorrect, 

 exaggerated, or entirely false. 



But this work should not be, delayed, as these tribes are 

 disappearing more and more without leaving any traces; 

 like the passage of the Orang Utan through the primeval for- 

 est his whole life passes away without leaving any trace be- 

 hind ; and this is true not only of the life of an individual but 

 of that of a whole tribe. In this way hundreds of human lives 

 are gone, and thousands of years have passed away. 



[Plate No. Ill, a small tracing of M. Ma clay's journey, 

 has not been copied. The Map with his Itinerary, published 

 in Journal No. I, will sufficiently explain the course he took.] 



