The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

—I124 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.It is universally believed in Lombock that some men have thepower to turn themselves into crocodiles, which they do for thesake of devouring tlieir enemies, and many strange tales aretold of such transformations. I was, therefore, ratlier surprisedone evening to hear the following curious fact stated, and as itwas not contradicted by any of the i^ersons present, I am inclinedto accept it provisionally, as a contribution to the NaturalHistory of the island. A Bornean Malay who had been formany years resident here, said to Manuel, " One thing is strangein this country—the scarcity of ghosts." " How so ? " askedj\Ianuel. "Why, you know," said the Malay, "that in ourcountries to the westward, if a man dies or is killed, we darenot pass near the place at night, for all sorts of noises are heardwliich show that ghosts are about. But here thei^e are numbersof men killed, and their bodies lie unburied in tlie fields and bythe roadside, and yet you can walk by them at night and neverhear or see anything at all, which is not the case in our country,as you know very well." " Certainly I do," said Manuel ; and soit was settled that ghosts were very scarce, if not altogether unknownin Lombock. I would observe, however, that as theevidence is purely negati'S'e we should be wanting in scientificcaution if we accepted this fact as sufliciently well established.One evening I heard Manuel, Ali, and a Malay man whisperingearnestly together outside the door, and could distinguishvarious allusions to "krisses," throat-cutting, heads, etc., &c. Atlength Manuel came in, looking veiy solemn and frightened, andsaid to me in Englisli, " Sir—must take care ;—no safe here ;want cut throat." On further inquiry, I found that the Malayhad been telling them that the Eajah had just sent down anorder to the village, that they were to get a certain number ofheads for an offering in the temples to secure a good crop of rice.Two or three other Malays and Bugis, as well as the Amboynaman in whose house we lived, confirmed this account, and declaredthat it was a regular thing every year, and that it wasnecessary to keep a good watch and never go out alone. Ilaughed at the whole thing, and tried to persuade them that itwas a mere tale, but to no effect. They were all firmly persuadedthat their lives w^ere in danger. Manuel would not go outshooting alone, and I was obliged to accompany him everymoi'ning, but I soon gave him the slip in the jungle. Ali wasafraid to go and look for firewood without a companion, andwould not even fetch water fi'om the well a few yards behindthe house unless armed with an enormoi;s spear. I was quitesure all the time that no such order had been sent or received,and that we wei"e in perfect safety. This was well shownshortly afterwards, when an American sailor ran away from hisship on the east side of the island, and made his way on footand unarmed across to Ami^anam, liaving met with the greatestliospitality on the whole route. Nowhere would tlie smallestpayment he taken for the food and lodging which were willingly