Through Central Borneo An Account Of Two Years' Travel In The Land Of The Head-Hunters Between The Years 1913 And 1917 By Carl Lumholtz
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The
One Referred To Had Roof And Walls Of Palm Leaves, And As A Matter Of
Course, Stood On Piles.
Though said to be only three years old it was
already very shaky; still after clearing away the grass and some of the
jungle next to it, we established quite a comfortable camp.
Chonggat brought in a number of birds and animals here, among them the
lovely raja bird, snow-white except for the deep blue head, and with a
very long graceful tail. It is also called paradise flycatcher
(terpsiphone), and is found from Sumatra up into middle China. In Borneo
it is quite common, being observed also on the Mahakam in the central part
of the island. According to the legend, it formerly cost a man his life to
kill it. This man soon showed himself to be an excellent worker who took
his business very seriously and did not allow himself to be distracted
when I amused visiting Kayans with simple moving pictures and by playing a
music-box. The jungle, dripping with dew in the early morning, did not
deter him, and at night it was his custom to shoot owls and hunt for deer
or other animals. After arranging his tent with little or no help from the
Dayaks, he would next put up a frame-work on which to dry his skins, under
a roof of palm leaves; here a fire was always kept, without which the
skins would have spoiled in that damp climate.
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