In Carrying A Path Along The
Face Of A Precipice, Trees And Roots Are Made Use Of For
Suspension; Struts
Arise from suitable notches or crevices in the
rocks, and if these are not sufficient, immense Bamboos fifty or
sixty
Feet long are fixed on the banks or on the branch of a tree
below. These bridges are traversed daily by men and women
carrying heavy loads, so that any insecurity is soon discovered,
and, as the materials are close at hand, immediately repaired.
When a path goes over very steep ground, and becomes slippery in
very wet or very dry weather, the Bamboo is used in another way.
Pieces are cut about a yard long, and opposite notches being made
at each end, holes are formed through which pegs are driven, and
firm and convenient steps are thus formed with the greatest ease
and celerity. It is true that much of this will decay in one or
two seasons, but it can be so quickly replaced as to make it more
economical than using a harder and more durable wood.
One of the most striking uses to which Bamboo is applied by the
Dyaks, is to assist them in climbing lofty trees by driving in
pegs in the way I have already described at page 85. This method
is constantly used in order to obtain wax, which is one of the
most valuable products of the country. The honey-bee of Borneo
very generally hangs its combs under the branches of the Tappan,
a tree which towers above all others in the forest, and whose
smooth cylindrical trunk often rises a hundred feet without a
branch.
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