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

;282 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.is very common even before they are weaned. Cocoa-nuts,sweet potatoes, an occasional sago cake, and the refuse nut afterthe oil has been extracted by boiling, form the chief sustenanceof these people ; and the effect of tlais poor and unwholesomediet is seen in the fi'equency of eruptions and scurvy skindiseases, and the numerous sores that disfigure the faces of thechildren.The \allages are situated on high and rugged coral peaks, onlyaccessible by steep narrow paths, with ladders and bridges overyawning chasms. They are fiJthy with rotten husks and oilrefuse, and the huts are dark, greasy, and dirty in the extreme.The people are wretched, ugly, dirty savages, clothed in unchangedrags, and living in the most miserable manner ; and asevery drop of fresh water has to be brought up from the beach,washing is never thought of ;yet they are actually wealthy, andliave the means of purchasing all the necessaries and luxui'ies oflife. Fowls are abundant, and eggs were given me wlienever I^^sited the villages, but these are never eaten, being looked uponas pets or as merchandise. Almost all of the women wearmassive gold earrings, and in every village there are dozens ofsmall bronze cannon lying about on the ground, although theyhave cost on the average perliaps 10/. apiece. The chief men ofeach village came to AT.sit me, clothed in robes of silk andflowered satin, though their houses and their daily fare are nobetter than those of tlie other inliabitants. What a contrastbetween these people and such savages as the best tribes of hillDyaks in Borneo, or the Indians of the Uaupes in SouthAmerica, liAdng on the banks of clear streams, clean in theirpersons and their houses, wdth abundance of wholesome food,and exhibiting its effect in healthy skins and beauty of formand feature ! There is in fact almost as mucli difference betweenthe various races of savage as of civilized peoples, and we maysafely afiirm that the better specimens of the former are muclasuperior to the lower examples of the latter class.One of the few luxuries of Matabello is the palm wine, whichis the fermented sap from the flower stems of the cocoa-nut. Itis really a very nice drink, more like cider than beer, thoughquite as intoxicating as the latter. Young cocoa-nuts are alsovery abundant, so that anywhere in the island it is only necessaryto go a few yards to find a delicious beverage by climbingup a tree for it. It is the water of the young fruit that is drunkbefore the pulp has hardened ; it is then more abundant, clear,and refresliing, and the thin coating of gelatinous pulp isthought a great luxury. The water of full-grown cocoa-nuts isalways thrown away as undrinkable, although it is delicious incomparison with that of the old dry nuts which alone we obtainin this country. The cocoa-nut pulp I did not like at firstbut fruits are so scarce, except at jDarticular seasons, that onesoon learns to appreciate anything of a fruity nature.Many persons in Europe are under the impression that fruits