BY R. S. DOUGLAS. 
19 
for which the Tutau River is famous. The crews of the 
canoes dropping their paddles, now used long poles to 
pole the boats up the rapids, and, in the more dangerous 
ones, when half the people were in the water pushing 
and heaving and the other half pulling from the rocks, 
the scene became quite exciting and lively. As usual the 
Kayans and Kenyahs, who are about the finest boatmen 
in the world, got the canoes through all right, and after 
four days poling, pulling and pushing, we safely reached 
our landing place up a side stream named the Kebaan, 
from which we had to commence our march inland. 
On the first day’s march we reached a friendly 
Kalabit village, Panglah, where we stopped two days to 
enable us to collect carriers and divide up the loads. 
Whilst here a curious ceremony was performed. The 
Kayans and Kenyahs erected a large platform, in the centre 
of which was a huge trunk of a soft wood tree. One of 
the oldest Kay an chiefs, a magnificent figure in full war¬ 
paint of war-coat and helmet covered with the black and 
white feathers of the hornbill, then got up and address¬ 
ing the assembled company informed them of the objects 
of the expedition and how much depended on the be¬ 
haviour of the younger men to bring it to a successful 
and peaceful issue, but, and here his voice grew louder 
and more vigorous, if in the event of trouble, any one of 
his people did not fight to his last gasp in defence of the 
Sarawak flag, he there and then cursed them by all their 
gods to the nethermost hell. Then drawing his sword 
and grasping it with both hands, he leapt into the air 
and, on reaching terra firma once more, dealt the tree 
trunk a furious blow, cutting out a big chunk and 
repeated this time after time until he was exhausted, 
■every blow being accompanied by the name of some 
deity, or the manner of some awful death which would 
happen to him or his followers if they broke faith with 
the Government or deserted the cause. Then followed 
a procession of Kayan, Kenyah and Kalabit chiefs, each 
protesting his loyalty and courage to the accompaniment 
of resounding blows with his sword on the hapless trunk 
until eventually it was cut through, when the per¬ 
formance ceased. 
We were here joined by some two hundred friendly 
Kalabits, so our whole force amounted to about 500 
■strong. 
