The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

I50 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
in addition to the edible fruits are, gutta-percha,
rubber, camphor, various rattans, beeswax and
honey, vegetable tallow, wild sago, damar- resin
from various trees, and the edible birds' nests.
Small parties of men and boys go out into the
jungle in search of these things, sometimes travelling
many days up river before striking into the
jungle ; for it is only in the drier upland forests that
such expeditions can be undertaken with advantage.
The party may remain several weeks or months
from home. They carry with them a supply of rice,
salt, and tobacco, cooking -pots and matches, a
change of raiment, spears, swords, shields, blow-
pipes, and perhaps two or three dogs. On striking
into the jungle, they drag their boat on to the bank
and leave it hidden in thick undergrowth. While
in the jungle they camp in rude shelters roofed with
their leaf mats and with palm leaves, moving camp
from time to time. They vary their labours and
supplement their food-supply by hunting and trap-
ping. Such an expedition is generally regarded as
highly enjoyable as well as profitable. As in camping-parties
in other parts of the world, the cooking
is generally regarded as a nuisance to be shirked
if possible. The Sea Dayaks indulge in these
expeditions more frequently than others, and such
parties of them may often be found at great
distances from their homes. In the course of such
long excursions they not infrequently penetrate
into the regions inhabited by other tribes, and
many troubles have had their origin in the truculent
behaviour of such parties. Such parties of Sea
Dayaks have been known to accept the hospitality
of unsuspecting and inoffensive Klemantans, and
to outrage every law of decency by taking the
heads of old men, women, and children during the
absence of their natural defenders.
Valuable varieties of gutta-percha are obtained