5 



** ed as bearing a strong resemblance to the Boa- 

 " wa, or long armed gibbon, and, instead, of hav- 

 •* ing a bone in the lower part of the arm, they 

 •* have a piece of sharp iron which serves the 

 " double purpose of an arm and acleaverfor cut- 

 *' ing wood. There is another savage race, ac- 

 '* cording to the Malays^ called Bilian, who are 

 '* covered with hair, and have nails of extraordi- 

 ** nary length. Their principal occnpation is said 

 " to be tending the tygers, which are their pe- 

 " culiar flock, as the buflTaloes are of the Malays. 

 ** In rainy nights they are represented by tlie Ma* 

 " lays as sometimes coming to their residence, 

 " and demanding fire, whi^h those who are ac- 

 " quainted with their savage disposition hand 

 ** them upon the point of a sumpit, or arrow tube, 

 •* or at the extremity of a sword, as, were the 

 *• person to present it with his hand, he woiild 

 '* inevitably be seized and devoured by the sa- 

 ** vage monster, a fate which the credulous Ma- 

 " lay firmly believes has befallen many." 



This account of the piece of sharp iron instead 

 of a fore-arm strongly reminds the reader of the 

 ancient misapprehension which gave rise to the 

 belief of the existence of Centaurs and Lapithoe 

 and is to be traced to the same source* The 

 Mawas, and the Malays, mutually apprehensive 

 of each other, fly directly that accident brings 

 them into so unwelcome a presence, and the 

 Malay, in the has^ty and terrified glance which 

 he casts upon a form which his untutored mind 

 has already invested with imaginary horrors, mis- 

 takes the cleaver for the arm that wields it* 

 Essentially migratory as are the habits of the 



