28 
AN EXPEDITION TO THE BAH COUNTRY. 
Kalabit big toe. It is very long and sticks out from 
the foot more after the fashion of a thumb. It must 
be very useful in clutching hold of roots and projections 
when climbing the hills. 
Their religion is of the slightest. They own to 
a “ Superior Being” and various semideities, and also 
■every object has a spirit of its own, which has to be 
pacified before anything can be done with it or to it. 
They unconsciously have one delightful trait. When¬ 
ever a big chief dies, his people go to the top of a 
neighbouring ridge and fell all the trees on it as a 
door for the soul to fly out, and then celebrate this 
with a feast and lots of beer. But these clearings give 
one the chance of getting most wonderful views over 
the surrounding country, which would be otherwise 
impossible. 
As I have said before the}' have a name for being 
treacherous, but I think that this has arisen by force 
of circumstances, as until recently the number of feuds 
between the different villages made life impossible 
unless subterfuges were practised. In some villages I 
heard matters were in such a state that the men of two 
neighbouring houses would be at enmity and take the 
first opportunity of killing one another, whilst the 
women-folk were quite friendly and intermixed daily; 
so I expect that this trait will die out with better 
communications and a lasting peace. 
These people live in long houses consisting of any¬ 
thing from four to twenty doors or rooms. The house is 
divided in half by a wall running the whole length of it. 
The front half is one long verandah and is used as a 
general sitting room, whilst the back half is partitioned 
off into rooms, each room or door being the possession of 
a separate family. These are generally wretched smoky 
hovels, and even the Kavans and Kenvahs with me 
complained of having to live in them. The people are, 
however, most hospitable, and make very genial hosts, and 
after the first meeting get over their shyness and become 
quite friendly. The women were curiously not at all 
afraid or shy as is the case generally with savage races, 
but boldly came forward and were soon being chaffed 
and exchanging the usual pleasant retorts with the 
