Next morning, after pulling down my tent, the Penyahbongs
placed stray pieces of paper on top of the remaining tent-poles as a sign
of joy that the kihams were left behind. There still remained some that
were obstinate on account of low water, but with our experience and
concerted action those were easily overcome, and early in the afternoon we
arrived at Djudjang, a rough, unattractive, and overgrown camp, where I
decided to stay until next morning. Many Malays die from beri-beri, but
there is little malaria among those who work in the utan of the Busang
River. The half dozen men who were present were certainly a strong and
healthy-looking lot. One of them, with unusually powerful muscles and
short legs, declined to be photographed.
Our next camp was at a pleasant widening of the river with a low-lying,
spacious beach of pebbles. I pitched my tent on higher ground on the edge
of the jungle. Some of the Penyahbongs, always in good humour and enjoying
themselves, went out with sumpitans to hunt pig, and about seven o'clock,
on a beautiful starlit night, a big specimen was brought in, which I went
to look at. While one man opened it by cutting lengthwise across the ribs,
another was engaged taking out the poison-carrying, triangular point. With
his knife the latter deftly cut all around the wound, taking out some
flesh, and after a little while he found part of the point, then the rest.
It looked like glass or flint and had been broken transversely in two;
usually it is made of bamboo or other hard wood.
The bladder was carefully cut out, and a man carried it off and threw it
away in order that the hunters should not be short of breath when walking.
The huge head, about fifty centimetres long, which was bearded and had a
large snout, was cut off with part of the neck and carried to one of the
camps, with a piece of the liver, which is considered the best part. I had
declined it, as the meat of the wild pig is very poor and to my taste
repulsive; this old male being also unusually tough, the soldiers
complained. The following morning I saw the head and jaws almost entirely
untouched, too tough even for the Penyahbongs.
Next day the river ran much narrower and between rocky sides. In the
forenoon the first prahu came upon an otter eating a huge fish which the
strong animal had dragged up on a rock, and of which the men immediately
took possession. It was cut up in bits and distributed among all of them,
the otter thus saving the expedition thirty-two rations of dried fish that
evening and next morning. To each side of the head was attached a powerful
long spine which stood straight out. The natives called the fish kendokat.
At one place where the water ran smoothly, one man from each prahu pulled
its rattan rope, the rest poling. I saw the Penyahbong who was dragging my
prahu suddenly catch sight of something under the big stones over which he
walked, and then he stopped to investigate. From my seat I perceived a
yellowish snake about one and a half metres long swimming under and among
the stones. A man from the prahu following ours came forward quickly and
began to chase it in a most determined manner. With his right hand he
caught hold of the tail and twisted it; then, as the body was underneath
the junction of two stones, with his left hand he tried to seize the head
which emerged on the other side. The snake was lively and bit at his hand
furiously, which he did not mind in the least. Others came to his
assistance and struck at its head with their paddles, but were unable to
accomplish their purpose as it was too well entrenched.
A splendid primitive picture of the savage in pursuit of his dinner, the
Penyahbong stood erect with his back toward me, holding the tail firmly.
After a few moments he bent down again trying in vain to get hold of its
neck, but not being able to pull the snake out he had to let the dainty
morsel go. Later we saw one swimming down the current, which the
Penyahbongs evidently also would have liked a trial at had we not already
passed the place.
The river widened out again, the rocks on the sides disappeared, and deep
pools were passed, though often the water ran very shallow, so the prahus
were dragged along with difficulty. Fish were plentiful, some
astonishingly large. In leaping for something on the surface they made
splashes as if a man had jumped into the water. On the last day, as the
morning mist began to rise, our thirty odd men, eager to get home, poling
the prahus with long sticks, made a picturesque sight. In early March,
after a successful journey, we arrived at Tamaloe, having consumed only
fourteen days from Bahandang because weather conditions had been
favourable, with no overflow of the river and little rain. It was pleasant
to know that the most laborious part of the expedition was over. I put up
my tent under a large durian tree, which was then in bloom.
CHAPTER XVII
THE PENYAHBONGS, MEN OF THE WOODS - RHINOCEROS HUNTERS - CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE PENYAHBONGS - EASY HOUSEKEEPING - DAILY LIFE - WOMAN'S LOT
The Penyahbongs until lately were nomadic people, roaming about in the
nearby Muller mountains, subsisting on wild sago and the chase and
cultivating some tobacco. They lived in bark huts on the ground or in
trees. Some eight years previous to my visit they were induced by the
government to form kampongs and adopt agricultural pursuits, and while
most of them appear to be in the western division, two kampongs were
formed east of the mountains, the Sabaoi and the Tamaloe, with less than
seventy inhabitants altogether.
