9 
XXxi MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES, &C, 
pupation of the U. S. in 1840, not far from 44 per cent were under 
fifteen years of age, while of the slave population (among whom are 
many instances of special longevity) the proportion of children un¬ 
der ten is fully equal to the proportion under 14 here. Waiving, 
however, all conjecture as to what number of the human family falls 
within the first fifth of man’s “ three score years and ten,” I return 
to the general fact that the population of Kardng&n has, for many 
years, been diminishing, and is still becoming less with every lustre. 
He whom the periodicals of the world delight to honor, whose au¬ 
thority I have never seen questioned —will tell you that not only is 
this so, but property and rights and industry were known, when he 
was a listening, witnessing boy, where now poverty, squalor and op¬ 
pression so abound : I refer to no other than “ the oldest inhabitant,” 
and, though this venerable link of one century with another may 
paint broadly and warmly, there is a broad and chilling truth in his 
pictures of decline ; nay, rather, the blood of a Christian spectator 
might fitly warm with hallowed indignation at the architects of a ruin 
so well nigh complete. This D&yak of To-Day, indolent, filthy, un¬ 
grateful, mendicant that you see — improvident—unehastely loquaci¬ 
ous—ingeniously obscene — his very liberty of spirit held in pawn by 
beings viler than himself —trodden as he is is oppression’s very 
wine-press of contempt —feels at times a prompting worth within 
him, and uses to his rulers speech so plain that listening courtiers 
fain would dare admire: God grant that his long — slumbering 
energy may, ere long, lose, by proper means, its incubus, and rise 
to follow fitting guidance to glorious results ! Before proceeding 
to a few of the customs of the Dayak (as here found) I will illus¬ 
trate, in a word, the fairness of one or two of the adjectives applied 
to him above : some of them need no setting forth,— -others avoid 
the publicity of type perforce. I called him “ improvident,” and 
give you as the reason for so saying, that he almost never raises 
a fair 8 months supply of food for his entire year, and that he has 
been known to buy, this very day, one chitpak or one gantang of 
rice for a sum of money which, before the end of three weeks, will 
purchase 1*2 to 14 similar measures, of a better quality. He has 
