39 
O ii 
AOETH BOENEO. 
together, forming huge hummocks mixed with mud, which are exposed for half the tide ; so 
strongly bound together do they become that when a sudden rush of water detaches a mass 
of these palms they may be met with, floating erect, miles out at sea. The value of this 
palm to the Borneans is great; by collecting the leaves before fully opened, they are bound 
on a lath of nebong, and, after remaining pressed until dry, form splendid cool and water¬ 
proof roofs to their houses. Attaps, as this manufacture is called, are, however, considered 
superior when made of sago-palm leaves. The Nipa also supplies, when young, a covering 
for cigarettes, and is made into splendid waterproof mats called “kajang,” which are 
utilized for awnings for boats and for walls of houses, and I believe a coarse sugar is made 
from it. On one occasion I visited a breeding-place of the Darter or Snake-bird (Plotus 
melanogaster), which was situated in an unfrequented channel in this huge Nipa-swamp. 
These curious birds are a species of Cormorant, and are fairly common in the tide-ways of 
most Bornean rivers; they may often be seen sitting motionless on some dead log, but as 
your boat gets nearer the Darter glides into the water without the least splash and 
vanishes; perhaps if your eyes are sharp enough you may detect a snake-like head 
close to the bank as the bird proceeds up stream without the least sign of its body 
above the surface. During the breeding-season these birds collect in numbers, nesting on 
some low mangrove-trees; in the “ rookery ” visited by me there were about fifty nests ; 
about the middle of November some four or five white eggs are laid, which become much 
discoloured, like those of the Grebe, before they are hatched. The Darters were not the 
only inhabitants of this secluded spot, for hundreds of Fruit-Bats ( Pteropus ) were dangling 
at the ends of the Nipa palms, passing away their day by chattering or screaming or perhaps 
discussing their last night’s raid on some poor native’s fruit-garden. These Bats seem to 
court the full glare of the sun, keeping up a gentle fluttering motion with one wing as 
though fanning themselves. Every now and then some dozens would fly off as we 
approached too near, making a loud rattling noise with their wings, seeking to find some 
new resting-place, when the screaming and chattering would be increased by their com¬ 
panions, who did not wish to be disturbed by fresh claimants to their palm-stem; I noticed 
that as they flew between us and the mid-day sun them mouths were kept open as if panting 
for breath. 
My European guide, to whom we will in future allude as W. S., while we were 
paddling up one of the narrow channels suddenly exclaimed “ Hay Halligator! ” and 
immediately opened fire with his rifle : the crocodile, a huge beast, was basking on a log 
when his siesta was thus rudely interrupted; with a jump into the air and a splash that 
sent the water far and wide, he disappeared from our view; whether he was hit or not I am 
unable to say. The natives have peculiar ideas about these reptiles, which are called 
“ Buaia ” by them. They say that if a crocodile is not shot at or worried by man, it seldom 
does any harm, but if you make enemies of them they always kill you when they have the 
chance. Whether this is crocodilian etiquette or not I am unable to say; but, if possible, 
I should never give them a chance of proving it, and always treat them to a bullet when 
I have the opportunity. 
Towards evening we began to near the confines of this huge swamp; the Nipa now 
gradually gives way to other claimants of the soil, and forest trees, mingled with the tall- 
