caw. v.] 



UrAK BRIDGES. 



79 



that it seems doulitful whether they ever would have 

 attempted such works if they had not possessed it. Tlie 

 Dyak bridge is simple but well designed. It consists 

 merely of stout Baml ioos crossing each other at the road* 

 way like the letter X, and rising a few feet above it. At 

 the crossing the}' are firmly bouod togetlier, aiid to a large 

 Bamboo which lays upon them and forms the only path- 

 way, with a slender and often very shaky one to serve as a 

 batidrail 'When a river is to be crossed an overhanging 

 tioii is chosen, from wbicli the bridge is partly suspended 

 aud partly supported by diagonal struts from the banks, so 

 as to avoid placing posts in the stream itself, whicli would 

 be liable to be carried away by floods. In carry^ing a path 

 along the face of a precipice, trees and roots are made use 

 of for suspension ; stmts arise from suitable notchiis or 

 crevices in the rocks, ami if these are not sufficient, im- 

 mense Bamboos fifty or sixty feet long are fixed on tbti 

 l»aiiks or on the branch of a tree below. These bridges 

 are traversed daily by men and women carrjHug heavy 

 loads, so that any insecurity is^ soon disccjvered, and, as tlie 

 materials are close at hand, immediately repaired. When 

 a path goes over very steep ground, and lieconiea slippery 

 ill very wet or very dry weather, the Baiuboo is used in 

 another way. Pieces arc cut about a yard long, and 

 opposite notches being made at each end, holes are formed 

 through wliich pegs are driven^ and lirm and convenient 

 steps are thus formed with the greatest eose and celerity. 

 It is true that nuicli of this will decay in one or two 

 seasons, but it can be so quickly replaced as to make 

 it more economical than using a haitier and more 

 durable wood. 



One of the most striking uses to which Bamboo is 

 applied by the Dyaks, is to assist them in climbing lofty 

 ti-ces, by driving in pegs in the way I have ah'eady 

 described at pxige 55. This method ia constantly used in 

 order to obtain wax, which is one of the most valuabh; 

 products of the countiy. The honey-bee of Borneo very 

 generally hangs its combs under the branches of the 

 Tappan, a tree wliieh towers above all others in the 

 forest, and whose smooth cylindrical trunk often rises a 

 hundred feet ^vithout a branclu The Dyaka climb thesa 



