A BATTA GRAVE. 



417 



tliese mountain-streaiiiBj also bananaa, janibus or rose- 

 apples, and a kind of fruit like tliat from which the 

 guava jelly is made. 



Rice is the chief article of food of the natives here, 

 with dried fish and bananas, and a few eggs and chick- 

 ens. From this village we rode to Kotanopan, onr 

 way again descending along a large foaming brook, 

 in which the opziener of that district assured me the 

 natives were accustomed to wash for gold, which they 

 still obtain, though only in small quantities. 



Here we passed the grave of a Batta. It con- 

 sisted of a rectangular mound, with a wooden image 

 of a horse's head on one end, and a part of a lioi-se's 

 tail fastened to the other — the momad forming his 

 body. At each of the four comers was an image of a 

 nnde man or woman. Over the whole was a mde roof 

 stipported on fom' posts, and around the whole was 

 placed a row of sticks four feet high, and a foot or 

 two apart, bearing on theu' tops small flags of white 

 cloth. This tendency to ornament gi-aves we have 

 alrea(ly noticed among the aborigines of the Mina- 

 hassa. It is also seen, but in a more revolting form, 

 in the Papuan temple at Dorey. 



Mm'ch 2d, — ^From Kotanopan we have come to 

 Fort Elout, after a journey of more than ordinary 

 danger. For the fij-st five miles oui' road was very 

 good, but then we found it completely overgrown 

 with tail grass. So long as it was over the level 

 lands there was little danger, but soon it changed to 

 the flanks of a spur, thrown out by the chain that 

 formed the northeastern boundary of the valley. 

 There it became very narrow, and the tall grass com- 



2^ 



