5 i BORNEO— THE ORANG-UTAN. [cnxT. iv. 



large caaiaes, it bad no sign of the lateral protuberance 

 on the face, and was about one-tentli amaller in all its 

 dimensions tlian the other adult males. The upper in- 

 cisora, however, appeared to be broader than in the larger 

 species, a character distinguishing the Siniia morio of 

 Professor Owen, which he had described from the cranium 

 of a female specimen. As it waa too far to carry the 

 animal home, I set to work and skinned the Iwdy on 

 the spot, leaving the head hands and feet attached, to 

 be finished at home. This specimen is now in the British 

 MuseunL 



At the end of a week, finding no more Orangs, I re- 

 turued home ; aud, taking in a few fresh stores, and thb 

 time accompanied by Charles, went up another bmnch of 

 the river, very similar in character, to a place called Men- 

 ydle, where tliere w qtq, several small Dyak houses and one 

 large one. Here the landhig-place was a bridge of rickety 

 poles, over a considemble distance of water ; and I thouglit 

 it safer to leave my cask of arrack securely placed in the 

 fork of a tree. To prevent the natives from thinking it, I 

 let several of them see nie put in a number of snakes and 

 lizards ; but I rather think this did not prevent them from 

 tasting it. We were accommodated here in the verandah 

 of the large house, in which were severd great baskets of 

 ilried human heads, the trophies of past genenitions of 

 head-hunters. Here also there was a little mountain 

 covered with fruit-trees, and there were some maguilicent 

 Durian trees close by the house, the fruit of wluch was 

 ripe ; and as the Dyaks looked upon me as a benefactor in 

 killing Llie iMias which destroys a great deal of their fruit, 

 they let us eat as much as we Uked, and we revelled in 

 this emperor of fruits in its greatest pcrfectioa 



The very day after my arrival in this place, I was so 

 fortunate as to shoot another adult male of the small 

 oraug, the Jlias-kaasir of the Dyaks. It fell when dead, 

 hut caught in a fork of the tree and remained fixed As I 

 was veiy anxious to get it, I tried to persuade two young 

 Dyaks who were with me to cut down the tree, which was 

 tad, perfectly straight and smooth-harked, and without ^ 

 branch for Jifty or sixty feet. To my surprise, they said 

 they would prefer climbing up it, but it would be a good 



