58 



BORNEO— THE ORANG-UTAN, [chap. iv. 



anomaly in tbe physical features of tlie Sarawak district. 

 In the f^atloiiy:, where 1 obsoTved it, the Mias is only found 

 when the country is low k-vol and swanij>y, and at the 

 same tim*? covered with a lofty vir^dn forest. From 

 these swamps rise many isolated mounhiius, on some of 

 which tlie Dyaks luwe settled, and eovere«l with planta- 

 tions of fruit trees. Those are a jjreat attraction to tSn- 

 Mias, which conies to feed on tlie unrijH' friuts, hut always 

 retires to the swamp at night. Wliere tite eouiury becomes 

 sli*^htly elevated, and the soil dry, the Mias is no longer 

 to he found, I"or example, in nil the lower part of the 

 SiifJong valley it ahoun<U, but as soon as we ascend above 

 the limits of the tides, where the country, thou^jh still Hat, 

 is ld<ih en^nigh to be dry, it tlisappeai's. Now tlie Sarawak 

 valley has this peculiarity — -tlie lower ]K)rtion though 

 swampy is not covered with continuous lofty forest, but is 

 principally occupied by the Nipa palm ; and near the town 

 of Sarawak where the country becomes dry, it is greatly- 

 undulated in many parts, and covered with small patches 

 of virgin foi^est, and much second-^'rowth jungle on ground 

 which has one^e been cultivated hy the Widays or Dyaks, 



Now it seems to me probable, that a wide extent of 

 unbroken and equally lofty virgin forest is necessary to 

 tlie condbrtable existence of these auintals. hiucli foresta 

 furm then- o]>en country, where they can roam in every 

 direction witli as much facility as the Indian on the 

 prairie, or the Amb on the desert ; passing from tree-top 

 to tree-top without ever being obliged to descend upon 

 the eartb. Tlie elevated and the drier districts are more 

 frequented by man, moi-e cut up by clearings and low 

 second-growth jungle not adapted in its peculiar mode of 

 progression, and where it would therefore be more exposed 

 to danger, and more frequently obliged to descend upon 

 the earth. There is probably also a greater variety of 

 fruit in the Mias district, the small mountains which 

 rise like islands oiit of it serving as a soit of gardens or 

 plantations, where the trees of the uplands arc to be found 

 in the very midst of the swampy plains. 



It is a singular and very interesting sight txi watch 

 a Mias making his way leisuiiely through the forest. He 

 walks deliberately along some of the ^ai^er branches, in 



