The previous night he had applied
a remedy which made it possible to peel the dead skin off, and his face,
chest, and stomach were clean, as were also his legs and arms. His back
was still faulty because he had not had enough of the remedy, but he was
going to tackle the back that evening. The remedy, which had been taught
them by the Saputans, consists of two kinds of bark and the large leaves
of a jungle plant with red flowers, one of which was growing near my tent.
All the tribes visited by me suffer more or less from various kinds of
skin diseases caused by micro-parasitic animals, the Kenyahs and
Oma-Sulings in a much less degree. The most repulsive form, just described,
does not seem to interfere with general health. Three of my Kayan carriers
thus affected were more muscular and stronger than the rest. One of them
was the humorous member of the party, always cutting capers and dancing.
Women are less affected than men, and I often saw men with the disfiguring
scaly disease whose wives were evidently perfectly free from it.
A party of six fine-looking Penyahbongs were here on a rhinoceros hunting
expedition. They came from the western division, and as the rhino had been
nearly exterminated in the mountain ranges west and northwest of Tamaloe,
the hunters were going farther east.
