The Dyaks Climb These Lofty Trees At Night, Building Up
Their Bamboo Ladder As They Go, And Bringing Down Gigantic
Honeycombs.
These furnish them with a delicious feast of honey
and young bees, besides the wax, which they sell to traders, and
with the proceeds buy the much-coveted brass wire, earrings, and
bold-edged handkerchiefs with which they love to decorate
themselves.
In ascending Durian and other fruit trees which
branch at from thirty to fifty feet from the ground, I have seen
them use the Bamboo pegs only, without the upright Bamboo which
renders them so much more secure.
The outer rind of the Bamboo, split and shaved thin, is the
strongest material for baskets; hen-coops, bird-cages, and
conical fish-traps are very quickly made from a single joint, by
splitting off the skin in narrow strips left attached to one end,
while rings of the same material or of rattan are twisted in at
regular distances. Water is brought to the houses by little
aqueducts formed of large Bamboos split in half and supported on
crossed sticks of various heights so as to give it a regular
fall. Thin long-jointed Bamboos form the Dyaks' only water-
vessels, and a dozen of them stand in the corner of every house.
They are clean, light, and easily carried, and are in many ways
superior to earthen vessels for the same purpose. They also make
excellent cooking utensils; vegetables and rice can be boiled in
them to perfection, and they are often used when travelling.
Salted fruit or fish, sugar, vinegar, and honey are preserved in
them instead of in jars or bottles.
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