The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

132 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
impossible to reach the desired point by boat, or
if the waterway is very circuitous. On the lower
and deeper reaches of the rivers the paddle is the
universal instrument of propulsion. It is used
without any kind of rowlock—the one hand, grasping
the handle a little above the blade, draws the
blade backwards through the water ;
grasping the T-shaped upper end, thrusts it forward.
The lower hand thus serves as a fulcrum for the
other.
A small boat may be propelled by a single rower,
who, sitting at the stern, uses the paddle on one
side only, and keeps the boat straight by turning
the paddle as he finishes his stroke. In a boat of
medium size one man seated at the stern devotes
himself to steering with his paddle, although here
and there among the coast-people a fixed rudder is
used. In a war boat of the largest size, the two
men occupying the bow-bench and the four men on
the two sternmost benches are responsible for the
steering ; the former pull the bow over, or lever it
the other hand,
in the opposite direction.
During a day's journey the crew of a boat will
from time to time lighten their labour with song,
one man singing, the others joining in the chorus ;
and if several boats are travelling in company the
crews will from time to time spurt and strive to
pass one another in good-humoured rivalry. At
such times each crew may break out into a deeppitched
and musical roar, the triumphal chorus of a
victorious war party.
In the upper reaches of the rivers there are
numerous rapids, and here and there actual falls.
The boat is usually propelled up a rapid by poling.
Each member of the crew has beside him a stout
pole some eight or nine feet long ; and when the
boat approaches a rapid, the crew at a shout from
the captain, usually the steersman, spring to their