BORNEO 
233 
Eeptiles abound, as in all the Malayan islands, but 
there are in Borneo many peculiar species, including 
two kinds of crocodiles not found elsewhere. These are 
much feared by the natives, and not without reason, for 
in the southern division of Borneo forty-one persons are 
officially recorded as having been killed by them during 
1889 , and this probably does not represent anything 
like the true total. Insects are excessively abundant, 
and many are of the largest size and of extreme beauty, 
but they show no great divergence from those of the 
Malay Peninsula. 
6. Native Races. 
Occupying a central position in the archipelago, Borneo 
exhibits considerable diversification among its inhabitants. 
Briefly, the island is populated as follows:—In the 
centre—or more accurately, in almost every part with the 
exception of a belt extending round the coast—are an 
aboriginal race of Indonesians, collectively known as 
Dyaks. No Negritos are known to exist. All round 
the seaboard, except in the northern portion of the east 
coast, and settled for the most part at the mouths of the 
rivers, are a thriving population of Mohammedan Malays. 
On the eastern and part of the southern coast the Bugis 
of Celebes—from time immemorial a race of traders—have 
settled themselves. The north-eastern part of the island 
is peopled by a large proportion of Sulus, that region 
having, until the advent of the British North Borneo 
Company, formed part of the territory of the Sultan of 
Sulu. The Chinese are extremely numerous in Borneo, 
carrying on a flourishing trade in the sea-ports, and 
occupying large areas in Western Borneo, to the exclusion 
