We afterward discovered that several things were missing, of no great
importance except a round black tin case containing thermometers and small
instruments, which without doubt had been appropriated by the owner of the
house where we had been staying. Two or three weeks previously he had
begged me to let him have it, as he liked it much and needed it. I said
that was impossible, but evidently he thought otherwise. Perhaps the
Murungs are more avaricious than other tribes. I was told in Puruk Tjahu
that they were greedy, and it seems also as if their scruples about
stealing are less acute than elsewhere in Borneo. The reputation of the
Dayaks for honesty is great among all who know them. As far as my
knowledge goes the Murungs are mild-mannered and polite, but not
particularly intelligent. The higher-class people, however, are
intelligent and alert, manifesting firmness and strength of mind.
It was one o'clock before we were able to start, but circumstances
favoured us, and after dark we reached the kampong at the mouth of the
Laong River, where we made ourselves quite comfortable on the landing
float, and I rejoiced at our recent escape from an unpleasant situation.
The following day we arrived at Puruk Tjahu. After a few days' stay it was
found expedient to return to Bandjermasin before starting on the proposed
expedition through Central Borneo. A small steamer belonging to the Royal
Packet Boat Company maintains fortnightly connections between the two
places, and it takes only a little over two days to go down-stream.
CHAPTER XV
FINAL START FOR CENTRAL BORNEO - CHRISTMAS TIME - EXTENT OF MALAY
INFLUENCE - THE FLOWERS OF EQUATORIAL REGIONS - AT AN OT-DANUM
KAMPONG - THE PICTURESQUE KIHAMS, OR RAPIDS - FORMIDABLE OBSTACLES TO
TRAVEL - MALAYS ON STRIKE
Having arranged various matters connected with the expedition, in the
beginning of December we made our final start from Bandjermasin in the
Otto, which the resident again courteously placed at my disposal. Our
party was augmented by a military escort, under command of Onder-Lieutenant
J. Van Dijl, consisting of one Javanese sergeant and six native soldiers,
most of them Javanese. At midday the surface of the water was absolutely
without a ripple, and the broad expanse of the river, ever winding in large
curves, reflected the sky and the low jungle on either side with
bewildering faithfulness. At night the stars were reflected in the water in
the same extraordinary way.
In order to investigate a report from an otherwise reliable source about
Dayaks "as white as Europeans, with coarse brown hair, and children with
blue eyes," I made a stop at Rubea, two or three hours below Muara Tewe.
It was a small and sad-looking kampong of thirteen families in many
houses.
