The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

loo PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
facing up the hill, the other cuts a similar notch
about a foot lower down
on the opposite side, each
cutting almost to the
centre of the stem. This
operation is accomplished
in a surprisingly short time, perhaps
thirty minutes in the case of a stem
two to three feet in diameter. When
all the large trees within the Vshaped
area have been cut in this
way, all the workers and any women,
children, or dogs who may be present
are called out of the patch,
and one or two big trees, carefully
selected to form the apex of the
phalanx, are then cut so as to fall
down the hill/ In their fall these
giants throw down the trees stand-
ing immediately below them on the
hillside ; these, falling in turn against
their neighbours, bring them down.
And so, like an avalanche of widening
sweep, the huge disturbance propagates
itself with a thunderous roar
and increasing momentum downwards
over the whole of the prepared
area ; while puny man looks
on at the awful work of his hand
and brain not unmoved, but dancing
and shouting in wild triumphant
delight.
The fallen timber must now lie
some weeks before it can be burnt.
This period is mainly devoted to
^ They are skilled woodmen, and know how to cut
a tree so as to ensure its falling in any desired manner ; FiG. II.
the final strokes cut away the ends of the narrow
portion of the stem remaining between the upper and lower notches.