DS 
 
 646.3 
 
 M555w 
 
 THE WILD MEN OF 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 

1 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
WILD MEN OF BORNEO (MURUTS) 
 
WITH THE 
 
 WILD MEN 
 
 OF BORNEO 
 
 Printed in U. S. A. 
 
 PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION: 
 
 MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA 
 
 Branches at Kansas City, Missouri ; Portland, Oregon ; Brookfield, Illinois ; 
 St. Paul, Minnesota ; Cristobal, Canal Zone 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1922 
 Pacific Press Publishing Association 
 
D5 
 
 Introduction 
 
 Borneo lies almost exactly under the equator, and 
 is one of the larger islands in the great East Indian 
 Archipelago. It is 830 miles long and 600 miles 
 wide. The size of this island may be appreciated 
 by a comparison of its area with that of a part of 
 Great Britain. It is roughly five times as large as 
 England and Wales. 
 
 Little is known of the early history of Borneo, 
 although European navigators and traders touched 
 its shores about the year 1511, in search of the 
 riches of the East. The Portuguese were the first 
 to establish commercial relations with the island; 
 and during the sixteenth century, Spanish traders 
 tried, with some success, to obtain a share of this 
 profitable commerce. 
 
 The formation of the Dutch and British East 
 India companies destroyed the monopoly so long en- 
 joyed by the earlier traders, with the Dutch taking 
 the lead throughout the Malay Archipelago. 
 
 The rich cargoes of the trading vessels offered 
 great temptations to the unprincipled natives of 
 Borneo and adjacent islands; and piracy became 
 such a menace to the lives and property of the Euro- 
 pean traders, that efforts were made to stamp out 
 the nefarious business. 
 
 One of the British expeditions under Sir James 
 Brooke, in 1838, was very successful in suppressing 
 piracy, and gained for the British considerable pres- 
 tige with the natives of Borneo. This aggravated 
 
 (7) 
 
8 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 the rivalry between the Dutch and the British in 
 their efforts to control the trade, and not until 1891 
 were the boundaries of British and Dutch Borneo 
 finally defined. The north and west coasts are now 
 under British rule, and in these districts the most 
 successful missionary efforts have been conducted. 
 The work of Pastor Mershon and his capable wife 
 in British Borneo shows what the gospel can ac- 
 complish in changing the hearts and lives of such 
 unpromising people as are found in these far- 
 off regions. 
 
 This little book is sent out with the assurance 
 that it will do its part in stimulating the reader's 
 interest in the great work now going forward 
 "The Gospel to All the World in This Generation." 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
Contents 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 1. En Route to Borneo . . 13 
 
 2. The History of Borneo .... 25 
 
 3. The People of Borneo ... 33 
 
 4. The Sago Palm 51 
 
 5. Edible Birds' Nests .... 57 
 
 6. A Trip to the Foothills of Kinabalu 61 
 
 7. A Narrow Escape .... 73 
 
 8. Encounters with Thieves . . .77 
 
 9. A Snake Story 83 
 
 10. A Night in a Fishing Village . . 89 
 
 11. A Visit to a Rubber Estate . . 95 
 
 12. Traveling in Borneo .... 103 
 
 13. Varied Experiences . . . . 115 
 
 14. Sacrificing for Missions . . . 125 
 
 (9) 
 
Illustrations 
 
 Wild Men of Borneo (Frontispiece) 2 
 
 Mission Home at Sandakan 12 
 
 Durian Fruit 18 
 
 Mount Kinabalu 21 
 
 Church at Labuan Island 23 
 
 Map of Borneo 24 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mershon and Native Workers 26 
 
 Huts of Natives Near Sandakan 29 
 
 A Jungle Vine in Sarawak ' 31 
 
 Native House, East Coast 32 
 
 Dyaks in Native Costume 34 
 
 Tamu (Native Fair) 35 
 
 Orang-utans 37 
 
 Dusun House, West Coast 39 
 
 Dusun Women Pounding Rice 41 
 
 Dusun Girls, West Coast 43 
 
 Dusun Wedding Group, Bride in Center 45 
 
 Bajaus (Sea Gypsies) 46 
 
 Orang Sungei (River Men) 47 
 
 Muruts, West Coast 49 
 
 Cutting Sago 53 
 
 Crude Sago Factory 54 
 
 Hauling Sago 55 
 
 Map Showing Trip to Rubber Estate 63 
 
 Native Village, Brunei 65 
 
 A Native Sailing Boat 66 
 
 Planting Paddy (Rice) , West Coast 68 
 
 General Workers, British North Borneo Mission 72 
 
 A Home in the Jungle 76 
 
 Dusun Children 82 
 
 Brownie, Protector from Thieves and Snakes 85 
 
 On the Lawn of the Mission Home 88 
 
 Padas River, West Coast 90 
 
 Brunei Fishing Village 92 
 
 A Grove of Rubber Trees 94 
 
 Tapping Rubber (Old Method) 96 
 
 Tapping Rubber (Modern Method) 97 
 
 Coagulating Tanks 99 
 
 Rubber Seeds and Seedling 101 
 
 Flower of the Rubber Tree 101 
 
 At the Pier, Jesselton . 102 
 
 Mrs. Mershon and Native Girl Workers 107 
 
 A Native Boat 108 
 
 Crocodile, East Coast 110 
 
 A Sago Palm Ill 
 
 Church Members, Sandakan, September, 1919 114 
 
 Wong Sisters 117 
 
 Boys' School, Sandakan 119 
 
 Native Boys, East Coast 121 
 
 Baptism at Gaya Bay, Jesselton 123 
 
 Pan Loi Yin 124 
 
 (11) 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 En *Rjaute to "Borneo 
 
 ORNEO ! What does the name suggest 
 to your minds? The first thing prob- 
 ably is the "wild man from Borneo." 
 From my childhood days until I ar- 
 rived in Borneo, all I knew about the 
 country was that it was where the wild men lived, 
 and I always imagined that they spent most of their 
 time running around the island cutting off people's 
 heads. Strange to say, even to this day, many 
 people have the same idea. Before you finish read- 
 ing what I am going to tell you about distant Borneo 
 and its people, I hope you will have learned that the 
 "wild man from Borneo" is not such a bad fel- 
 low after all. 
 
 Some years ago, the Mission Board invited me to 
 go to China. Gladly answering the call, I was 
 asked to lend a helping hand to the Singapore 
 Mission for a few months before proceeding to 
 China. While here, I was asked to go to Borneo, 
 and it was not long after this that I found myself 
 on the way to the country of the "wild man." 
 
 The steamship "Rajah of Sarawak" was adver- 
 tised to leave Singapore for Borneo at twelve noon. 
 My husband and I, accompanied by Brother and 
 Sister Munson, missionaries in Singapore, called 
 rickshas to take us down to the pier. Perhaps 
 some of you do not know what a ricksha is. This 
 is a short name for the jinrikisha, a high, two- 
 
 (13) 
 
14 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 wheeled cart pulled by a man. Some of these carts 
 are just wide enough for one person to sit in ; others 
 are a little wider, and sometimes two or three na- 
 tives can squeeze into one of them and appear to be 
 comfortable. 
 
 Our baggage had been sent on board ship the day 
 before. Arriving at the pier, we called a sampan 
 (a small native boat), and, depositing ourselves 
 with our "handgrips" in it, we were rowed to the 
 "Rajah," which was anchored out in the bay. The 
 Chinese boatmen stand up in their boats and row 
 with their oars crossed. To the Western mind, this 
 appears strange; but the Chinese, having rowed 
 this way for generations, are able to make their 
 boats glide rapidly through the water, and handle 
 them very skillfully. Our boatman grunted occa- 
 sionally, to let us know how hard he was working. 
 This is a habit the Chinese have of working on the 
 sympathies of the unwary passenger, to get a few 
 cents above the regular fare. We boarded the ship, 
 and chatted with Brother and Sister Munson until 
 the order "All ashore" was given. Then we bade 
 farewell to our friends, and saw them safely down 
 the gangway. Soon the anchor was pulled up, and 
 we began to move. 
 
 Singapore is called the "hub of the East," which 
 means that practically all the trade of the East 
 passes through this port. Ships from all over the 
 world call here. As our ship steamed her way be- 
 tween the large number of ships at anchor in the 
 bay, we recognized the flags of the United States, 
 England, Australia, France, Holland, Greece, China, 
 
En Route to Borneo 15 
 
 Japan, Sarawak, Siam, Sweden, and British North 
 Borneo. In about an hour's time, we had left them 
 all behind us, and passing the Horsborough Light- 
 house, we were in the South China Sea. Our boat 
 was small and the waves were high, so we retired 
 early. The next morning, we bravely faced the 
 breakfast table. The table was fastened on the deck 
 at the stern, but somehow the rocking of the ship 
 and the vibration of the propeller did not help us 
 to retain our food. However, by tiffin (midday 
 luncheon), we were back at the table; and from that 
 time, we were good sailors. 
 
 The second day out, we saw two waterspouts com- 
 ing directly in front of us. As they came nearer, 
 the captain changed the course of the ship, and the 
 waterspouts passed to the side. No doubt, on a 
 windy day, you have seen dust on the street whirl 
 round and round, rising higher and higher; narrow 
 at the bottom, and growing larger at the top, some- 
 what in appearance like a funnel. A waterspout 
 looks just about the same, only much larger and 
 higher; and the water, continually rising, is lost 
 in the clouds. When some one asked the captain 
 what would have happened if he had not altered 
 the course of the ship, he said that probably the 
 lifeboats would have been carried away, the tar- 
 paulin ripped to pieces, and we should all have 
 enjoyed a huge shower bath. 
 
 The same day, we passed the Anambas, a group 
 of islands belonging to the Dutch; and during the 
 night, we passed through the Natuna Islands, an- 
 other Dutch possession. On the morning of the 
 
16 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 fourth day, we arrived at Miri, an oil town in Sa- 
 rawak. The government of Sarawak does not per- 
 mit passengers to land, but we could see the town in 
 the distance. There seemed to be a number of oil 
 wells on the hills, a few houses and Chinese shops 
 lower down in the town. Two lighters laden with 
 lumber were towed to the side of the ship ; and when 
 the lumber had been swung over the side of the ship 
 and put in our hold, we pulled anchor and started 
 off again. 
 
 Late that night, we anchored near Labuan, an 
 island off the west coast of Borneo. This is owned 
 by England and is governed from Singapore. The 
 word "Labuan" means anchorage. When the "Ra- 
 jah" pulled up to the wharf early the next morning, 
 we were able to get a fairly good view of the town. 
 After breakfast, we strolled through the main street 
 to see the sights. Such a funny little place! If I 
 had not known it was Labuan, I should have said it 
 belonged to China. A row of Chinese shops lined 
 one side of the street. A few warehouses, and a mar- 
 ket, in which fruit and vegetables were being sold 
 by Chinese, were on the other side. Lower down, we 
 saw a courthouse with a post office combined; and 
 still lower down, police barracks. These, with a few 
 houses behind the shops, made up the town. We 
 saw few natives. On the street, little Chinese girls 
 and boys were playing; and later in the morning, 
 we heard the children singing their lessons at the 
 Chinese school. On the seashore near the wharf, 
 natives were breaking the shells of coconuts, and 
 putting the kernels in the sun to dry. 
 
En Route to Borneo 17 
 
 At ten o'clock, we pulled out again, headed for 
 British North Borneo. Soon after tiffin, we saw 
 Mount Kinabalu, a well-known landmark of North 
 Borneo. It is 13,700 feet in height, and is con- 
 sidered to be one of the highest mountains in the 
 East. About six in the evening, we reached Gaya 
 Island. Rounding the point, and passing between 
 this and Sapangar Island, we steamed into the bay, 
 and saw the town of Jesselton nestling at the foot of 
 the hills. It was well lighted with electricity. The 
 signal was given the captain to anchor at the wharf. 
 As soon as the gangway was placed in position, we 
 went on shore. Mr. Mershon had already spent 
 several years in Borneo, but everything was new to 
 me. I could see nothing of the "wild man"; just a 
 few peaceable looking Chinese and a few Malays. 
 We visited the home of our Chinese evangelist, Tsen 
 En Fook; and after a pleasant chat, we returned to 
 the boat to sleep. 
 
 The next day, we walked through the town, and 
 I got my first impression of what goes to make up a 
 town in Borneo. I think I am safe in saying that 
 a coastal town in Borneo consists of a club, a hotel, a 
 few government offices, a jail, police barracks, a fish 
 and general market, a hospital, lawn tennis and 
 football grounds, and a number of Chinese stores. 
 While walking through the market, I was surprised 
 to see a crowd of Chinese and natives scuffling and 
 yelling. Noticing a tall Sikh (Indian) policeman in 
 the midst of them, I thought perhaps he was trying 
 to arrest some one. Imagine my surprise to find 
 out, when the noise was over, that this was the way 
 
18 
 
 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 to buy fish. The fisherman empties his bag on 
 the floor, and his customers have to fight for what 
 they want. 
 
 In the market, we saw chickens, ducks, and pork 
 for sale. Of vegetables, there were sweet potatoes, 
 Irish potatoes about the size of marbles egg- 
 plant, cucumbers, turnips, bean sprouts, and tapioca 
 
 DURIAN FRUIT 
 
 roots. Pineapples and bananas were in abundance. 
 Mangoes, papayas, oranges, and other tropical 
 fruits were fairly plentiful. One fruit in particular 
 did not seem to be very plentiful, and that was the 
 durian. I had heard much about this fruit, and was 
 anxious to taste it. Some one had told me that it 
 had the odor of a dirty drain. It surely has a 
 peculiar odor, but I could not associate it with a 
 drain; in fact, it rather fascinated me. On tasting 
 the fruit, I found that I wanted more. I really 
 
En Route to Borneo 19 
 
 could not describe the taste to you, and I do not be- 
 lieve anyone else could do so either; at least, I have 
 never heard it described properly. All I can say 
 is, that to me, it is like the odor of decayed onions, 
 chloroform, and sweet custard. You will think this 
 is a strange description, but I cannot give a more 
 exact one. The natives say that if a man cannot eat 
 durian and enjoy it, he is not fitted for the tropics. 
 They think this is a good way of finding out whether 
 a European will endure the trying climate. 
 
 Our boat left again at twelve noon. As we 
 passed between Gaya and Sapangar islands, we saw 
 Mount Kinabalu outlined against the deep blue 
 sky. A few cloudlets rested near the top. Some- 
 times the top is entirely hidden by clouds; at other 
 times, the whole mountain is hidden. For hours, we 
 kept the mountain in sight; and when we passed 
 Usakan a small cattle town on the coast, and the 
 nearest town by which to reach Kinabalu on the 
 west coast we saw it in all its beauty. The cap- 
 tain let us have his telescope to obtain a good look 
 at it; and as the sun was shining directly on its 
 western side, we were able to see the rugged rocks 
 with huge seams running in every direction. Some 
 explorers say the summit of the mountain is two 
 miles in length; others say it is from four to five 
 miles. The summit is said to consist of granite. 
 Here and there it is crossed by belts of white rock; 
 and below the granite is found a hard kind of shale 
 and greenstone. 
 
 At eleven o'clock the same night, we reached 
 Kudat, a small town on Marudu Bay. This is the 
 
20 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 most northerly town in Borneo. At one time, Kudat 
 was the capital of British North Borneo. In fact, 
 it was the first capital. Then it was the port of call 
 for large steamers. At the present time, the Straits 
 Steamship Company's boats, running from Singa- 
 pore to Sandakan, and the small coastal steamers, 
 are the only ones touching at this point. Kudat is 
 the home of the Kudat chair, well known in the East 
 for its durability and comfort. When we went 
 ashore the next morning, we saw Chinese men and 
 women sitting in the street selling eggs, chickens, 
 fruit, and vegetables. In the market on the sea- 
 shore, we saw pork, fish, chickens, ducks, fruit, and 
 vegetables exposed for sale. It did not take us long 
 to see the town. We purchased some custard apples 
 and returned to the "Rajah" to enjoy them. 
 
 At six o'clock in the morning, we were on the 
 move again. Mount Kinabalu was visible to the 
 south, and looked beautiful as the sun rose. About 
 twelve miles from the entrance to Marudu Bay, we 
 passed two islands, Balambangan and Banguey. 
 The former is forty square miles in extent; and the 
 latter, one hundred sixty-seven square miles. The 
 passage between Banguey and Borneo is called 
 Banguey South Channel. Passing through this 
 channel, we saw numerous islands, the largest of 
 which is Mallawalli. Between this and Borneo is 
 a very dangerous channel called the Mallawalli 
 Channel. The waters are studded with reefs, and 
 captains never attempt to sail their ships through 
 this channel at night. Looking over the sides of the 
 boat, we could see coral reefs close to the surface of 
 
22 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 the water. The captain changed the course of the 
 ship every few minutes. The government has 
 placed beacons in the water at several points, to 
 guide seamen through the channel. Nearly all the 
 boats on this run have at various times gone 
 aground on these reefs. 
 
 The captain directed our attention to a bay that 
 is scarcely noticeable to the ordinary traveler. In 
 the olden days, pirates used to wait here for the 
 wealth-laden ships that sailed these waters. On we 
 passed, zigzagging among islands and reefs. After 
 leaving the channel, our next point of interest was a 
 large bay, nineteen miles wide, called Labuk Bay. 
 Sailing on twenty miles southwest, we reached the 
 magnificent harbor of Sandakan. When we had 
 sailed for another three quarters of an hour, we 
 dropped anchor in midstream. All we could see of 
 the town was a few rows of kerosene lamps. We 
 were up early the next morning, and I was very 
 much interested to see what Sandakan looked like. 
 Rows of Chinese shops built over the water greeted 
 my eyes; and above, on the hills, I could see white 
 houses occupied by Europeans. The harbor of San- 
 dakan is about fifteen miles long, and five miles is 
 its greatest width. The only danger to be en- 
 countered in entering the harbor is a small rock, 
 known as "Atjeh Rock," which is located fourteen 
 feet below the water. It is marked with a small 
 white buoy. 
 
 At eight o'clock, we called a sampan to take us 
 ashore. This was manned by two Chinese women. 
 One sat in the stern sculling with a long oar; the 
 
En Route to Borneo 
 
 23 
 
 other used a small oar in the bow. We were not 
 long in getting ashore. We climbed the steps to the 
 pier; and passing through the customs, we realized 
 we were in Sandakan mission headquarters. 
 Chinese and Malays were lounging on the sides of 
 the road, curiously gazing at the mem bharu (new 
 mistress) walking by the side of the tuan padre 
 (minister). Calling a coolie to carry our hand bag- 
 gage, we walked up the hill to the mission house; 
 and thus began my life in the country of the 
 "wild man." 
 
 CHURCH AT LABUAN 
 
(24) 
 
 MAP OF BORNEO 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 The History of "Borneo 
 
 F you will turn to your school map of 
 Asia, you will see a group of islands 
 stretching from the Philippines to Aus- 
 tralia. New Guinea, to the northeast 
 of Australia, is the largest, not only of 
 the group, but of the world. Borneo ranks next 
 in size, and its area is more than 285,000 square 
 miles. Now turn to your geography and add up 
 the areas of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Vermont, 
 New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and 
 Rhode Island. You will find that the total area 
 lacks about 800 square miles of equaling the area 
 of Borneo. Let us consider it a little differently. 
 Take the areas of Uncle Sam's island possessions, 
 the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, Porto Rico, 
 Guam, and Tutuila, Samoa. The combined area 
 is much less than half the area of Borneo. 
 
 At the present time, the average person knows 
 little or nothing of Borneo; yet, as far back as the 
 sixteenth century, the possession of it was a bone of 
 contention with Portugal, Spain, Holland, and Eng- 
 land. The Portuguese landed in 1520. You will re- 
 member that in the year 1498, Vasco da Gama, a 
 Portuguese navigator, made his great voyage around 
 the Cape which opened up India to the Western 
 powers. Probably you know that the desire to find 
 the spice-growing countries led to this discovery. 
 
 (25) 
 
26 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 After Columbus discovered the New World, Pope 
 Alexander VI, to save trouble between the Portu- 
 guese and the Spanish, made a line of demarcation 
 from pole to pole, giving the Spanish all lands west 
 of the line, and the Portuguese the lands on the east. 
 The Portuguese and the Spaniards entered into a 
 treaty, and agreed not to trespass on each other's 
 
 MR. AND MRS. MERSHON AND NATIVE WORKERS 
 
 territory. According to this, the Spanish were not 
 able to sail to the Eastern Archipelago by way of 
 the Cape, so they had to find a passage by way of 
 the lands discovered by Columbus. In 1519, a Por- 
 tuguese navigator named Magellan started out with 
 a small fleet to find the "Spice Islands" in the in- 
 terests of Spain. He succeeded in finding a passage 
 to the Eastern Archipelago by way of what is now 
 called the Magellan Strait. Sailing eastward, he 
 discovered the Philippine Islands. In 1521, the 
 Spaniards landed in Borneo. The island was in a 
 
The History of Borneo 27 
 
 most flourishing condition at that time. Large num- 
 bers of Chinese were settled on its coasts, and an 
 immense trade was carried on with China. Each 
 season, many Chinese junks visited the island in 
 search of spices, edible birds' nests, and precious 
 stones. 
 
 About 1598, the Dutch began to stretch their 
 hands over the island. The English were rather 
 slow in following the example of their commercial 
 rivals. While they realized to a certain extent the 
 abundant wealth of the Eastern Archipelago, they 
 did not really wake up to do anything serious until 
 a Portuguese galleon from the Indies was wrecked 
 on the southern shore of England. The ship was 
 only 1,600 tons burden; but when it was searched, 
 its cargo was found to be worth 150,000, or $750,- 
 000. Interest was awakened. English merchants 
 got together and formed companies, and largely and 
 successfully prevented Portugal, Spain, and Holland 
 from monopolizing the spice trade of the East. 
 Each power had in turn claimed the Eastern Archi- 
 pelago. In 1599, a company of English merchants 
 was formed; and Queen Elizabeth granted them a 
 charter, which permitted them, "at their own costs 
 and charges," to make voyages to the East Indies, 
 and be one company named the "Governor and Com- 
 pany of Merchants of London trading in the 
 East Indies." 
 
 In 1602, the Dutch companies formed one big 
 company, calling it the "Netherlands and East India 
 Company." Shares were sold in Europe, and the 
 attention of all was centered on the spice trade of 
 
28 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 the East. This really proved to be the turning point 
 of the commerce of the Western Hemisphere. The 
 Dutch succeeded in driving out the Portuguese ; and 
 the Spaniards were finally forced to retire, by the 
 combined efforts of Holland and England. Now 
 the field was open to the two powers ; and during the 
 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, both struggled 
 hard for supremacy. 
 
 The main object of the early comers to Borneo 
 seems to have been to make as much out of it as 
 possible. All recognized it as a good country to 
 colonize; but no steps were taken in this direction 
 until 1877, when a small company of Englishmen 
 made overtures to the sultans of Brunei and Sulu 
 native rulers of Borneo for this purpose. 
 After the expenditure of much time and money, 
 there was granted to them by the sultan of Brunei 
 in 1877, and by the sultan of Sulu in 1878, that part 
 of the island now known as British North Borneo, 
 including all islands within nine miles of the main- 
 land. In 1881, the British government, recognizing 
 the patriotism of the association, and its untiring ef- 
 forts to colonize in Borneo, confirmed this grant by 
 royal charter, bestowing upon them the right to call 
 themselves the "British North Borneo Company," 
 and also granting the right to make and execute 
 their own laws. Great Britain does not assume any 
 control over the government ; but in case of a foreign 
 invasion, she agrees to protect the territory. Thus 
 British North Borneo is called a protectorate. 
 
 This action on the part of the British government 
 naturally stirred up trouble with Spain and Hoi- 
 
(29) 
 
30 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 land. Each claimed the island as its own, and op- 
 posed the grant of the charter as an "encroachment 
 and a violation of treaties with native rulers." The 
 rajah of Sarawak also opposed it. After a number 
 of years of negotiations, in 1892 the last claimant, 
 Holland, agreed to fixing the boundaries as they 
 now stand between Dutch and British Borneo. 
 
 The sultanate of Brunei, once so large and pros- 
 perous, has dwindled to almost nothing. When the 
 Portuguese and the Spanish first landed, Brunei 
 was at the height of its splendor. The town, once 
 boasting of 25,000 houses, consists of less than 
 3,000. The Chinese junks, which once crowded her 
 harbors to carry on extensive trade, are seen no 
 more in her waters. The courts of the princes were 
 known for their magnificence. All this has van- 
 ished. To the greed of the Dutch has this decline 
 been attributed. They demanded the goods for 
 which the natives had obtained fabulous prices from 
 China in the past, and gave small payment in re- 
 turn. The natives, realizing that their income 
 was cut off, turned to piracy and harassed the seas. 
 The sultan is now a ruler by courtesy, and his in- 
 come consists mainly of the rents collected from 
 the British. 
 
 The kingdom of Sarawak was created by the sul- 
 tan of Brunei in 1841, for James Brooke, as a 
 reward for services rendered in ridding the country 
 of the pirates that infested the coast. Sarawak is 
 still governed by a member of the same family. 
 
 The portion of the island belonging to Holland 
 has not made any material progress, the Dutch con- 
 
The History of Borneo 31 
 
 fining themselves to the coast, exploiting the oil 
 wells on the east and south sides. A well-known 
 Dutch writer has said, "Dutch Borneo is still the 
 least known, the least submissive, one of the least 
 civilized, and perhaps the least profitable, because 
 the least exploited, of all the Dutch colonial pos- 
 
 sessions." 
 
 A JUNGLE VINE IN SARAWAK 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 The People of "Borneo 
 
 T is not really known just how many 
 people are living in Borneo. While it 
 is not difficult to ascertain the num- 
 ber of people living on the coast, it is 
 very hard to find out the number liv- 
 ing in the heart of the country. Two thirds of the 
 island belongs to Holland, and it is estimated that 
 there are two million people in that portion. You 
 perhaps will wonder how an estimate is made. The 
 people living within a certain area are counted, and 
 the whole of the country is judged from that. 
 
 It is supposed that the Dyaks number a little less 
 than one million. In addition to these, there are 
 about half a million Chinese, three thousands Arabs, 
 fourteen hundred Europeans, and a few Malays and 
 Javanese. The Europeans are mostly government 
 officials, or have charge of oil wells or rubber estates. 
 The Malays are natives of the Malay States, and the 
 Javanese come from Java. 
 
 The Dyaks are the real natives of Borneo. They 
 are found scattered throughout Dutch Borneo and 
 Sarawak. The Dyaks living on the coast are lighter 
 in color than those living in the jungle. Possibly the 
 sea air and sunlight have something to do with this. 
 The Dyaks living in various parts of Borneo appear 
 to have different habits and customs, and this led 
 to the belief that there was more than one race of 
 
 (33) 
 
34 
 
 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 people living there. Now it is believed that they all 
 belong to one race, the difference in locality having 
 altered the habits and customs of the people. 
 
 The Dyak, in spite of all the wild tales one hears 
 about him, is not such a bad fellow after all. Of 
 course, it is true that he takes the heads of his 
 
 DYAKS IN NATIVE COSTUME 
 
 enemies when he is on the warpath; but in some 
 ways, he is not much worse than many so-called 
 civilized people. He knows nothing of the gospel, 
 and has not had the advantages that we in civilized 
 countries have. At home, he is cheerful and very 
 hospitable, kind to his wife and children, and is re- 
 
36 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 garded as the head of the house. He is well built 
 and has regular features, and his brown face is 
 rather taking in spite of his flat nose and large lips. 
 He is dreadfully lazy, and does not hesitate to tell a 
 lie to shield himself or to make himself seem im- 
 portant. When he feels that he has been offended, 
 he is very quick to resent it. 
 
 A Dyak child is a happy little creature. Some- 
 times the little girls have to work very hard, but 
 they do not seem to mind it. When a young couple 
 want to be married, they get some one to act as a 
 go-between for them. This person has to visit the 
 parents, and does all the talking until the marriage 
 is arranged. The future son-in-law always has to 
 make a present to his future parents-in-law, even 
 though they may oppose the marriage. When the 
 young folks are about fourteen years of age, they 
 are allowed to choose for themselves; but they 
 nearly always allow themselves to be guided by 
 their parents. 
 
 The Dyak in the north believes in spirits. To 
 him, everything is haunted, trees especially. He 
 believes that when spirits leave their dwelling 
 places, sickness follows. Certain gifts are made 
 to the spirits to induce them to return. Death is 
 believed to be the result if they do not. 
 
 A Dyak, in order to become a chief or to get mar- 
 ried, must bring to the chiefs of the village one or 
 more heads taken from some neighboring tribe. 
 The object of procuring heads is not so much to 
 prove one's bravery as is often thought. The main 
 idea seems to be to obtain the soul of the dead man 
 
ORANG-UTANS 
 
38 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 to protect the killer and his village. The heads are 
 thoroughly dried, then cleaned, and decorated with 
 flowers. In some places, the Dyaks have a tattooed 
 mark on the arm for each head taken. When feasts 
 are held, the choicest bits of food are offered to the 
 heads, in order to induce their souls to be on 
 friendly terms with the tribe by which the heads 
 have been taken. 
 
 The Dyak woman wears a short skirt and vest 
 made of cotton cloth or bark; and the man wears a 
 girdle or loin cloth. Both sexes wear bracelets of 
 bamboo or rattan fiber threaded with brass rings. 
 Sometimes the woman wears a girdle extending 
 from under the arms to the hips, and perhaps a col- 
 lar too. Men and women wear long hair twisted 
 into a knot. A man wears a piece of cloth fixed like 
 a turban on the head ; the women wear rattan hats. 
 
 Some of the tribes have the whole of their bodies 
 tattooed, according to their standing in social af- 
 fairs. The teeth are black from the long continued 
 use of tobacco and the chewing of betel nut. Their 
 food is very simple, and consists of rice, sago, bam- 
 boo shoots, fruits and vegetables, and fish both fresh 
 and dried. Nature is kind to the native in supply- 
 ing him so bountifully with food. The houses are 
 made of wood, and are built up high on piles, and 
 surrounded by fruit trees, sugar cane, and betel 
 palms. Usually the houses are very long, and con- 
 tain the whole of the village. These houses are di- 
 vided into compartments, one for each family. 
 Every village has a communal house, where all the 
 
40 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 public functions are held. The unmarried men use 
 this as a dormitory. 
 
 There are two classes of Dyaks. Those living in- 
 land are called Land Dyaks; those living on the 
 coast are called Sea Dyaks. The Sea Dyaks are not 
 as pure a race as the Land Dyaks, having inter- 
 married with the Bugis from Makassar, in the 
 Celebes. In disposition, the Sea Dyak is very 
 amiable and hospitable. When a stranger comes to 
 visit him, a mat is spread on the floor, and the guest 
 is invited to sit down. Food is offered to him ; betel 
 nut and tobacco also are handed to him. The Sea 
 Dyak, unlike the Land Dyak, is truthful and fairly 
 honest. When living near a town, he wears coat and 
 trousers, like civilized folks. His house is built of 
 split palm trees or bamboo, thatched with palm 
 leaves. As with the Land Dyak, as many as fifty 
 of these people will live in one long house, which 
 has a porch on the side, and a door leading from 
 each compartment to the porch. Each compartment 
 consists of one room, which serves as kitchen, din- 
 ing room, and bedroom. 
 
 As soon as a baby is born, the father waves a 
 fowl over it, then takes the fowl outside and kills it. 
 Then it is cooked, and eaten by the parents and any 
 friends who may happen to be there. This is sup- 
 posed to bring good luck to the child. Sometimes 
 the child is not named until it is about seven or 
 eight years of age. Until then, it is known by a pet 
 name. The Sea Dyak is fond of his children, and 
 treats them very kindly. They in turn are fond of 
 their parents. It is seldom that children are chas- 
 
DUSUN WOMEN POUNDING RICE 
 
 (41) 
 
42 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 tised for being naughty. As they grow older, one 
 would think they would be hard to manage on ac- 
 count of being spoiled in childhood; but they do 
 what their parents require of them. When a boy 
 reaches the age of ten, he proudly goes to work with 
 his father, and helps him all he can. The little girl 
 helps her mother cook and wash, and works like a 
 little woman. 
 
 The population of British North Borneo is very 
 scanty, and large areas in the interior and on the 
 east coast are not inhabited. The west coast is more 
 thickly populated. The shortage on the east coast 
 is the direct result of piracy and head-hunting in 
 the olden days. In the interior and on the west 
 coast are found the Dusuns, or Sun Dyaks, the main 
 tribe of British North Borneo. This tribe is divided 
 up into many tribes and sections, including the 
 Roongas, the Kooroories, the Umpoolooms, the Saga 
 Sagas, the Tunbunwhas, the Tingaras, and the 
 Roomanows. The Dusun darat (far interior) is 
 little better than a savage. Nearer the coast, the 
 Dusun is more civilized, both in his way of dress- 
 ing and in his manners. Nobody seems to know 
 much about the Dusuns, and as yet, no satisfactory 
 account has been written of them, or of the Dyaks 
 either. The Dyaks are considered as the aboriginals 
 of Borneo, yet they resemble the Chinese in many 
 ways. The Dusuns also seem to be half Chinese. 
 While it is difficult to find out just how much the 
 Dusuns owe their ancestry to the Chinese, it is still 
 more difficult to tell, in some instances, which are 
 Dusuns and which are Dyaks proper. Many of 
 
The People of Borneo 
 
 43 
 
 the Dusuns in the interior wear the chawat, and the 
 women use brass bracelets and girdles, as do the 
 Dyaks. Both Dyaks and the Dusuns have a fond- 
 ness for old jars ; and the Dusuns have had the cus- 
 
 DUSUN GIRLS, WEST COAST 
 
 torn of head-hunting, like the Dyaks. The methods 
 used by the Dusuns in tilling the ground are far 
 superior to those used by other natives of Borneo, 
 and it is thought that this is due to the influence of 
 the Chinese. 
 
 The general idea is that long ago, when the Chi- 
 nese junks came to Borneo in search of spices and 
 
44 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 birds' nests, many Chinese sailors and traders mar- 
 ried women of the country and settled down, thus 
 mixing, by degrees, the Chinese and the native 
 blood. They brought many of their customs, which 
 remain to this day. The Chinese language, which 
 was probably too hard for the native to acquire, 
 was not adopted, the Chinese using the native 
 language instead. 
 
 The Dusuns are very superstitious, and are 
 guided in all things by omens and dreams. If a 
 man starting out on a journey happens to see a 
 certain bird flying to the left, he returns home, and 
 starts out again the next day. If the bird flies to 
 the right, he continues his journey without fear. A 
 man starting on a journey may leave undone some- 
 thing he would have liked to do, such as chewing 
 his sirih (betel nut, lime, and pepper leaves), or 
 smoking a cigarette. If a scorpion stings him, or 
 some other mishap befalls him, he says at once that 
 it is because he left home without satisfying his 
 desire. When a piece of jungle is cleared for a rice 
 field, a few trees are left standing for the spirits to 
 rest in, lest they should be angry and curse the crop. 
 
 The Dusuns love dancing. During abundant 
 harvests, they dance all night, night after night, 
 in every village. The men together and the women 
 together holding hands, they form rings and circle 
 around and around in a slow, monotonous way, sing- 
 ing or chanting. The tribes on the coast live in 
 separate houses, with a few families in each house. 
 In the interior, the long house is used, and accommo- 
 dates twenty or more families. This is raised off 
 
The People of Borneo 
 
 45 
 
 the ground on long poles. The space under the 
 house is occupied by chickens and goats. A notched 
 pole is used as steps, and the native does not find 
 it difficult to mount this with his naked toes. The 
 Dusuns are a quiet people. The word "Dusun" 
 means "garden" or "orchard." They are fond of 
 
 DUSUN WEDDING GROUP, BRIDE IN CENTER 
 
 working their gardens, and seem to shun associat- 
 ing with other races and tribes. In fact, it is 
 thought that this shyness is what drove them back 
 into the hills. Under the British North Borneo 
 Company's influence, all bloodthirsty tendencies 
 have been abandoned by them, and they show every 
 symptom of thriving under a firm government. 
 
 On the east coast of British North Borneo are 
 found the Bajaus, or Sea Gypsies. They are a lazy, 
 irresponsible race, building their houses over the 
 
46 
 
 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 water, but living almost entirely in their boats. 
 They are of Malay origin, although much darker 
 and larger than the Malays. Taking each day as it 
 comes, and never troubling about what is going to 
 happen to-morrow, they pick up a scanty living 
 along the seashore, catching fish, and finding turtles' 
 
 BAJAUS (SEA GYPSIES) 
 
 eggs, clams, and sea slugs. They lead a wild, rov- 
 ing life in the open air, plundering and robbing at 
 every opportunity. It was a subdivision of this 
 tribe which infested the seas from Makassar, Ba- 
 tavia, and Singapore, in the south, to Manila in the 
 north, in the days when the old Spanish galleons 
 sailed to the East Indies in search of the riches of 
 the East. One of their strongholds was in San- 
 
48 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 dakan Bay, and it is said that there are some people 
 now living in Sandakan who are descendants of 
 those who were kidnaped from distant parts and 
 sold in the old times. The last pirate raid along the 
 coast of Borneo was in 1879, when sixty-five per- 
 sons were murdered or carried off. Since the Brit- 
 ish government took control, piracy has completely 
 stopped. 
 
 The weapons used by the Bajaus are a long knife, 
 a spear, a round shield, and a long, light lance made 
 of bamboo, with a sharp wooden spike on the end. 
 This is called a tumbleloosow. The Bajaus can hurl 
 this from fifty to sixty yards. Naturally lazy and 
 unruly, the Bajaus do not trouble to make things, 
 as other natives do, although they make their own 
 clothes. The men and the women wear wide trou- 
 sers made of brightly colored cloth. Over these is 
 worn the sarong (skirt). Strange to say, many of 
 these sarongs are of Scotch design the Bruce and 
 Stuart tartans. 
 
 The villages near the coast and at the mouths of 
 rivers are inhabited by Sulus, Illanos, and Bugis. 
 These are not natives of Borneo. The Sulus and the 
 Illanos are from the Sulu Archipelago, and the 
 Bugis are from the Celebes. The Sulus are very 
 lazy, independent, and troublesome. Yet they are 
 very brave, and make the best sailors and traders 
 among the islands. The Illanos were pirates in the 
 olden days. 
 
 A very low race called the Muruts live in the in- 
 terior, on a mountain range near the west coast. 
 These people simply will not work. They eat any 
 
50 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 food they can put their hands on. No matter how 
 dirty an article of food may be, and no matter how 
 long an animal may be dead, it is all the same to 
 the Muruts ; they eat it and seem to enjoy it. 
 
 The Kadayans are found on the shores of Brunei 
 Bay, in British North Borneo. These are a small 
 tribe, and are of Brunei origin. Next to the Dusuns, 
 they are the most industrious natives in Borneo. 
 
 The natives living in Brunei are called after the 
 name of their country. They too are very lazy; but 
 when they have a mind to work, they make good 
 fishermen. 
 
 In addition to these natives, there are many Chi- 
 nese in British North Borneo. Of all natives in the 
 East, the Chinese are the most industrious. They 
 form the backbone of all business affairs. The 
 shops are kept by them; the rice fields are worked 
 by them ; the coolie work is done by them ; in fact, all 
 business is carried on by them. They clerk in the 
 stores, in the warehouses, in the post and telegraph 
 offices. Without them, all business would cease. 
 
 There are also a few Malays and Javanese in 
 British North Borneo. The former are naturally 
 lazy, and do not care to work. The Javanese make 
 fairly good gardeners for the Europeans. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 The Sago Palm 
 
 WONDER how many of my young 
 readers know where sago comes from! 
 Would you be surprised to learn that 
 it is obtained from a huge tree, and 
 that nearly all the sago comes from 
 Borneo? The sago palm is characteristic of Borneo, 
 not only by its abundance, but by its beauty. Some- 
 times it grows fifty feet in height. In the interior, 
 it is found growing vigorously along the banks of 
 rivers, and in huge forests on swampy land. It is 
 also found in large tracts along the muddy coast. 
 The native name for the sago palm is rumbiah. 
 There are two kinds known in Borneo. One variety 
 has a trunk without any spines or spikes. The 
 trunk of the other is armed with long, strong spikes. 
 These preserve it, when young, from the ravages of 
 wild pigs, which abound in all parts of Borneo. 
 What you know as sago is obtained in the form of 
 fine white flour from the heart of the palm. About 
 six to eight years after the time of planting, the 
 terminal spike of the flower appears. The palm is 
 then cut down at the root, and divided into lengths 
 of six to eight feet. These are hauled by buffaloes 
 or floated down the rivers to the factories, where 
 the crude sago is prepared. 
 
 The factories are usually built near running 
 water. Sometimes they are to be found near stag- 
 
 (51) 
 
52 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 nant water. The pith is obtained by the use of a 
 rude saw made from a board eight inches wide, with 
 nails driven diagonally across. This is drawn back 
 and forth across the log, and the pith falls to the 
 ground, looking somewhat like planers' shavings. 
 It is picked up in baskets and placed on mats over 
 a trough by the waterside. The water is drawn up 
 by means of a long pole set in a fork made of two 
 bamboo poles, a pail on one end and a heavy weight 
 on the other. The pail is lowered to the water, and 
 the weight at the other end draws it up. Water is 
 constantly poured over the pith on the mats, and 
 a rough separation of the starch from the woody 
 matter is effected by the natives' jumping up and 
 down on it, treading it out with their feet. The 
 starch runs off with the water into the trough below. 
 The woody matter is thrown away or given to the 
 pigs for food. The water is allowed to run off from 
 the trough, the sediment sinking to the bottom. 
 
 At this stage, the sago is known as lamunta 
 (raw), and is of a grayish color. It is made up 
 into packages of ten to thirty pounds, and taken to 
 the Chinese factories, where it is washed until it is 
 white. Loads of sago are hauled in small flat- 
 bottomed boats over land and water by buffaloes, 
 owners astride. Sometimes the natives bring their 
 sago in their boats, which are made from the trunks 
 of trees, hollowed out by burning. 
 
 I wish you could visit a sago factory. Perhaps 
 if you did, you would not care to eat sago again. 
 That was the way I felt for a long time. Outside 
 the factory, there are huge bins of raw sago, which 
 
54 
 
 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 looks like mud. The odor is much like that of a 
 tannery. Inside the factory are immense vats, into 
 which the raw sago is emptied. Water is poured in, 
 and the mixture is stirred with a wooden paddle, 
 then emptied into a large trough similar to a water- 
 ing trough with one end out. A board about three 
 inches wide 'is placed in the open end, with a cloth 
 
 CRUDE SAGO FACTORY 
 
 stretched across, leading to another vat. The sago 
 from the first vat is then put into this watering 
 trough. The little board at the end dams up the 
 water. Some of the sago sinks to the bottom, while 
 the remainder passes with the water through the 
 cloth into the next vat. From here, the process is 
 repeated, sometimes as many as twenty times. At 
 the last trough, the water, no longer containing 
 
56 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 sago, is allowed to run off. The sago now resembles 
 wet cornstarch, and is placed on mats and put in 
 the sun to dry. 
 
 The dried sago is put into sacks and shipped to 
 Singapore; and there it is either converted into the 
 pearl sago sold in stores, or is shipped to all parts of 
 the world. Sago in the form of fine white flour is 
 used largely for sizing cloth and in the preparation 
 of candy. 
 
 A full-grown sago palm is said to produce, with a 
 few days' labor, 650 pounds of excellent food, or 
 enough to furnish nourishment for a man for a 
 whole year. The sago flour, boiled into a paste, is 
 used as food in some villages when rice is scarce. It 
 is also used by the Chinese as starch. If the sago 
 palm is allowed to flower and seed, the pith dries up 
 and is useless, and the tree dies. The seeds are un- 
 productive; but each palm gives off numerous off- 
 shoots, which take the place of the parent tree. 
 These in turn leave a family behind, and thus sago 
 is inexhaustible. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 Edible "Birds' Nests 
 
 N arriving in a strange land, one is 
 naturally interested in becoming ac- 
 quainted with the people, and in ob- 
 serving their strange habits and cus- 
 toms. Things that appear very queer 
 to us at first, become familiar in the course of time, 
 and we learn to accept them as a part of the regu- 
 lar routine. 
 
 In Borneo, one of the first sights that attract the 
 newcomer is the long rows of shops on the sides 
 of the streets, with their eatables exposed for sale. 
 In America, we are accustomed to see glass windows 
 in front of the stores; and inside, edibles kept in 
 packages or in glass cases, free from dust and flies. 
 The ordinary Chinese store has no glass windows 
 or show cases. During the day, the entire front of 
 the shop is open, and the goods are exposed to the 
 mercy of the flies and to the dirty hands and noses 
 of the passers-by. 
 
 As we enter, many strange looking and evil 
 smelling articles greet the eye and the nose. Above 
 the counter, perhaps there is a string of dried rats 
 or fish. If you could peep into the dirty boxes on 
 the shelves, most likely you would find dried lizards 
 or deer horns. In front of the shop, near the side- 
 walk, bags of flour and sugar stand open. Natives, 
 passing by, stop to pick up a handful of either or 
 
 (57) 
 
58 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 both, to examine and smell. This is thrown back 
 into the bag, and the next man coming along does 
 the same thing. In addition to this, swarms of flies 
 hover around, attracted, no doubt, by the odor of 
 ancient duck eggs, sharks' fins, beche de mer 
 (dried sea slugs), turtles' eggs, edible birds' nests, 
 and other Chinese delicacies that are jumbled to- 
 gether close by. 
 
 One of the strangest articles of food, and one that 
 is prized very highly by the Chinese, is edible bird's 
 nest. This is considered not only as an article of 
 food, but as a tonic, and as a remedy for consump- 
 tion. It is also used for restoring opium smokers, 
 and for building up convalescents after a long 
 illness. 
 
 There are three kinds of nests. The best are 
 quite white. These are collected after they have 
 been finished by the birds, but before the eggs are 
 laid. The second quality consist of nests that have 
 been used, but in which the eggs have not been 
 hatched; the third contain adhering feathers. The 
 first and second qualities are known as white 
 (puteh) ; the third, as black (hitam). It is said 
 that the white and the black nests are made by dif- 
 ferent birds. In the black nests, pieces of seaweed 
 and moss are found embedded in the layers with the 
 feathers. 
 
 There seems to be some doubt as to the exact 
 species that build these nests, but all are agreed that 
 they are built by small swifts, which select large 
 caves for building in. The nests are usually found 
 in large limestone caverns near the seashore or 
 
Edible Birds' Nests 59 
 
 farther inland. Some of these caves are very dark, 
 while in others there is more or less light, which 
 creeps in through the entrance or through cracks. 
 The nests are collected twice a year. In some places, 
 the collecting is done at night, to avoid the intense 
 heat during the day. The work of collecting is very 
 risky ; but the natives are adepts at it, and accidents 
 seldom occur. The men have to climb the wet and 
 slippery sides of a cave to the roof, and with the 
 aid of slings and ladders, move around like flies on 
 the ceiling, in utter darkness, or in the dim light. 
 
 The nests are not white when collected. Often 
 they are brown and discolored where they have been 
 attached to the rocks. They have to be cleaned be- 
 fore being put on the market. The white nests are 
 used in making soup, and the black nests are used 
 in making a certain kind of glue. At first, there 
 was doubt as to what the nests were composed of. 
 Some thought they were made of seaweed collected 
 by the birds. Now it has been settled that they are 
 made from salivary matter secreted by the birds, 
 similar to that used by swallows in binding together 
 the clay of which their nests are made. 
 
 One of the principal bird's nest caves in Borneo 
 is called Gomanton. It yields over $25,000 worth a 
 year. Near the entrance to this cave, at sunset, 
 clouds of birds hover, waiting for darkness to come 
 on. All at once, there is heard a peculiar humming ; 
 and with a whir, the bats come out and the birds 
 fly in. The floors are covered with a large amount 
 of guano, the deposits of thousands of birds and 
 bats for centuries. It is said that in some of these 
 
60 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 bird's nest caves, rudely carved figures and molder- 
 ing coffins are to be seen. Some of these coffins are 
 resting on ledges of the rocks at a high elevation. 
 They are supposed to have been left there a long 
 time ago by an old tribe called Sabahans. 
 
 Most of these caves are owned by natives, and the 
 ownership has been handed down from one genera- 
 tion to another. In some cases, the government has 
 confiscated the caves when their owners have been 
 implicated in uprisings. These are let out to other 
 natives. 
 
 One afternoon, while I was walking along the 
 board walk over the edge of the bay, my attention 
 was attracted to numerous piles of small brown 
 objects that Chinese merchants were sorting. Pick- 
 ing up one to investigate, I found that they were 
 birds' nests just brought in from the caves on the 
 other side of the bay. On looking closely, I saw that 
 the nest was covered with vermin, dropped by the 
 bats. I asked what the value of the nests on the 
 board walk was estimated at, and was told they were 
 worth over $35,000 gold. From this amount, the 
 government had collected $7,000 commission. Only 
 a few of these nests are used in Borneo. Most of 
 them are sent to China, where the wealthy men pay 
 a large sum for them. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 BOUT six years ago, while traveling by 
 the steamship "Sandakan" from Singa- 
 pore to Borneo, Mr. Mershon became 
 acquainted with an Englishman who 
 was manager of a large rubber estate 
 at Tuaran, near Mount Kinabalu. One day, while 
 they were talking of mission work in Borneo, this 
 man invited Mr. Mershon to visit him at his estate. 
 He was anxious to have some one come in among 
 the Dusuns to teach them to read and write, and to 
 treat them when they were ill. Until last year, it 
 had not been possible to accept the kind invitation. 
 In the month of August, when on a trip to the west 
 coast, Mr. Mershon met the Englishman again, and 
 the invitation was renewed with increased earnest- 
 ness. Last December, when on the west coast, we 
 were detained in Jesselton for a few days, waiting 
 for a boat to take us home to Sandakan. Thinking 
 the time would be wisely spent in visiting the estate, 
 we telephoned to see if it would be convenient for 
 the manager to have us come at that time. He was 
 very much pleased to have us come, and made the 
 necessary arrangements for us to get there. 
 
 His native boatman had orders to call us at six 
 o'clock the next morning. Experience has taught 
 us that "the East never hurries"; so we were not 
 
 (61) 
 
62 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 surprised at six-thirty to hear a soft Malay voice 
 calling, "Tuan! Tuan! Sampan sedia!" (Master! 
 Master! The boat is ready!) Hastily dressing, we 
 started for the boat. Everything was quiet. The 
 cool morning air was very refreshing after a hot 
 night spent in the hotel. Slipping down the sea 
 wall into the boat, we found everything in readi- 
 ness. Cushions had been placed in the stern for us 
 to sit on, and a canopy was provided to shelter us 
 from the fierce rays of the tropical sun. A Dusun 
 sat in the stern, using a paddle to steer. Four Du- 
 suns sat in front to paddle. Soon we were on our 
 way, and we settled down to eat our breakfast of 
 egg sandwiches, which we had persuaded the Chi- 
 nese boy at the hotel to let us have the night before. 
 The wind and the tide were against us, and we 
 made slow progress. The natives rowed hard for 
 a time; then one or the other would relax and let 
 the others do the work. The man immediately in 
 front of us kept taking off his hat to find something 
 in his hair. After a few frantic efforts, he pulled 
 out something between his fingers, looked at it 
 rather tenderly, and bit it with his front teeth. 
 This little performance was repeated many times 
 during the trip; and judging from appearances, he 
 must have had a large supply. 
 
 After two hours' rowing, we left Gaya Island 
 behind us; and as we rounded a point of land op- 
 posite Sapangar Island, Jesselton was lost to view. 
 Passing into Sapangar Bay, we saw several rubber 
 estates and a number of native huts on the main- 
 land. Sometimes we could see little dark-skinned 
 
A Trip to the Foothills of Kinabalu 
 
 63 
 
 faces peering at us from under the beautiful coco- 
 nut palms. Before long, we were alarmed to hear 
 a crunching noise, as if the boat were passing over 
 a rock. Looking down into the transparent water, 
 we could see a huge bed of coral. The natives were 
 quite unconcerned. They had been this way before, 
 and this was nothing new to them. Before we 
 
 MAP SHOWING TRIP TO RUBBER ESTATE 
 
 reached our destination, we found that there were 
 many beds of coral to row over. 
 
 At last, we reached a small fishing village called 
 Gentisan. The boat was pushed against the rocks 
 on the beach, and over these we climbed to the shore. 
 Here we were met by some Bajaus, who had orders 
 to carry our suitcase and guide us on our way. 
 We were informed that a boat was waiting for us 
 on the other side of a steep hill Kaetan Peak 
 just in front of us. We began to climb, but it 
 
64 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 seemed as if we should never reach the top. When 
 finally we were at the summit, and looked down on 
 the road ahead of us, that seemed worse than the 
 one we had just climbed. Huge ruts were washed 
 out, and we had to pick our way as well as we 
 could. 
 
 Reaching the water's edge, we found that it would 
 be almost impossible to get through the slimy mud 
 between us and the boat. Two of the Bajaus said they 
 would carry me across; and clasping hands, they 
 formed a chair for me to sit on. Remembering the 
 head-hunting experience on the other boat, I sat 
 very gingerly on the natives' hands. At first, I 
 tried not to touch them with my hands, but I soon 
 found that to balance myself, I had to clasp them 
 by the shoulders and hold tight. Several times, I 
 got a whiff of the odor coming from their dirty 
 bodies ; but my courage was good, and I held on till 
 we reached the boat. 
 
 Mr. Mershon's experience was a little different. 
 He was persuaded by a Bajau half his size to have 
 a pick-a-back ride, and it looked very funny to see 
 such a big man on the back of such a small native. 
 
 We were soon on our journey; but the wind and 
 the tide were still against us, and the natives pulled 
 hard for an hour and a half before we reached the 
 mouth of the stream. 
 
 Although it was very hot, we enjoyed our run 
 down the stream. It was quite interesting to see the 
 Bajau villages that were built over the tidewater 
 on the banks of the stream. Some of them were 
 very old and looked as if they were about to topple 
 
66 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 over. All of them were very dirty. Brightly 
 colored sarongs hung on the railings. Little naked 
 children with dusky bodies paddled in the mud and 
 water with the dogs and the ducks. Sometimes the 
 dogs would bark, the children scream, and the ducks 
 squawk, and in the confusion, all would disappear. 
 Men and women were busy with long poles, digging 
 for clams along the shore. 
 
 Just before we got to the mouth of the stream, 
 we saw the white tops of the waves on the ocean. 
 
 A NATIVE SAILING BOAT 
 
 Passing out of the stream, and crossing a small bay, 
 we reached the mouth of the River Menkabong, 
 called by the natives Kuala Menkabong. The native 
 name for the mouth of a river is kuala; a river to 
 them is sungei. Our small craft began to rock like 
 a ship far out at sea. Away out on the ocean the 
 South China Sea we could see a number of fish- 
 ing boats. One of them turned into the kuala and 
 
A Trip to the Foothills of Kinabalu 67 
 
 caught up with us as we got well up into the river. 
 Then something interesting happened. Our boat- 
 men decided that they were not going to let that 
 boat get ahead of us ; so they put up their sails, and 
 then a good race began. Although the sails carried 
 us along at a fairly swift rate, our men used their 
 paddles, and we sped through the water rapidly. Of 
 course, I hoped we should win; and we did. When 
 we reached the village of Menkabong and landed, 
 the other boat had not reached the shore. 
 
 Our landing place was a native house built over 
 the water. Reaching the path leading from the 
 house, we saw two Dusuns waiting for us. They 
 had ponies for us to use; but as I was not dressed 
 for riding, we decided to use "Shanks' pony." We 
 were accustomed to this way of traveling; so off 
 we started on another trip, this time three miles 
 by land. 
 
 We had a narrow path over which to travel. On 
 each side, fields of rice were growing luxuriantly. 
 In some of the fields, we saw crude looking wind- 
 mills, which were worked by hand. We learned 
 that these were put in motion to scare away the 
 birds, which destroy the crops. In other fields, we 
 saw small huts built in the center, from which 
 strings were fastened to a row of strings around 
 the field. Pieces of white paper were attached to 
 these; and whenever birds alighted on the rice, the 
 strings were operated by a native who sat in the 
 hut. The birds, seeing the pieces of paper suddenly 
 move, would be scared and fly away. 
 
A Trip to the Foothills of Kinabalu 69 
 
 We met a number of Dusun men and women on 
 the way, who looked in wonder to see a white 
 woman walking along that narrow trail. They in- 
 quired of our guides as to who we were, and why 
 we were so stupid as to walk when we could ride. 
 
 Before long, a shower overtook us, and we were 
 obliged to take refuge in an abandoned native hut, 
 with a young water buffalo and some stray ponies. 
 After the rain ceased, we continued our journey, 
 reaching the Tuaran River at 5 p. m. Stepping into 
 a boat, we were poled across the river by a young 
 Dusun boy. Climbing up the wet, slippery bank on 
 the other side did not improve our appearance. 
 After a short walk through the jungle, we arrived 
 at our destination footsore and weary. 
 
 We were glad to have a wash and put on clean 
 clothes. Our host was very kind, and told us some 
 interesting facts about the Dusuns. The next day, 
 we walked over the rubber estate. We visited the 
 "coolie lines" quarters of the coolies and saw 
 a large number of natives living in them. Separate 
 houses are provided for married people. We noted 
 the smiling faces of the natives, and it seemed to us 
 that life to them on this estate was not a burden- 
 some one. Work was over for the day. Some of 
 the natives were playing games, while others were 
 producing weird airs on a musical instrument called 
 a sumpit. With the natives, anything they blow 
 through is a sumpit. The blowpipe, a weapon used 
 by the Dusuns, is made by hollowing out the small 
 branch of a tree. This is called a sumpitan. When 
 
70 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 a Dusun wishes to use his weapon, he blows a 
 poisoned dart through it. 
 
 Mount Kinabalu loomed up to the right of us, 
 about twenty miles in the distance. I wish I had 
 time to tell you some of the stories the natives 
 tell about this beautiful mountain. Some of the 
 natives believe that after death, they have to climb 
 Kinabalu. For the good, this is supposed to be 
 easy; but for the wicked, it is a difficult feat. The 
 good ascend at once ; but the wicked are left behind, 
 unsuccessfully trying to scramble up the rocky sides 
 of the mountain. 
 
 We learned that there were many Dusuns living 
 in these parts. Sometimes our friend goes among 
 them with medicine to treat them. We could see 
 that he was loved very much by these Dusuns. We 
 did not have to ask the reason. Evidently he loved 
 them very much, and the natives were aware of it. 
 These poor creatures do not get credit for knowing 
 much, but they are very bright in some ways. 
 
 The next morning, we started on our return 
 journey to Jesselton. We preferred to walk back 
 to Menkabong; so, accompanied by a Dusun carry- 
 ing our suitcase, we started off about seven o'clock. 
 We made the distance in good time, and found, when 
 we got to the boathouse, that there were a number 
 of people going along with us. The cushions were 
 given to us to sit on; and from under the canopy, 
 we were able to have a good look at the other pas- 
 sengers, who were sitting in the bow. One was a 
 Javanese woman with a child. The others were 
 mostly Chinese kranies (clerks) from the estate. 
 
A Trip to the Foothills of Kinabalu 71 
 
 Soon the child began to smile at us, and before long, 
 we were quite friendly. We had a good wind be- 
 hind us, and were not long in getting back to Kuala 
 Menkabong and Gentisan. The Javanese woman 
 carried the child over the steep hill, but it did not 
 seem to tire her. We reached the boat by removing 
 our shoes and stockings and wading through the 
 shallow water. 
 
 From Gentisan to Jesselton, we had the wind and 
 the waves against us again. The sails flapped idly, 
 but the natives rowed hard. Not meeting with any 
 success, one of them stood up in the boat and called 
 on the spirits to help them. He chanted, "Angin 
 balk! Angin baik!" (Good wind) ; but it did not 
 help us out. I believe that was the longest boat ride 
 I ever had. When we rounded the point and saw 
 Jesselton in the distance, it seemed as if we should 
 never reach there. We could see our boat, the 
 "Densamud," anchored at the wharf, and we knew 
 she was due to sail at 5 o'clock for Sandakan. At 
 4 : 30, we were still on the water. All of a sudden, 
 the wind sprang up, our sails began to fill, and by 
 4 : 45, we reached the shore. Hurrying to the hotel, 
 we called on some coolies to come and carry our 
 baggage to the boat, and we got there just in time 
 to sail by her. 
 
 Before we left Tuaran, our friend begged us to 
 send some one to help the Dusuns, and offered to 
 help support a missionary, and teach him the lan- 
 guage, and introduce him to the people. We hope 
 the day is not far distant when this call shall be 
 answered. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Narrow Escape 
 
 HIS story I am going to tell in Mis- 
 sionary Mershon's own words : "In No- 
 vember, 1918, we made our first 
 attempt to solicit donations to carry 
 on gospel work in Borneo. Assisted 
 by Pan Khi Heng, our Chinese evangelist in Sanda- 
 kan, we met with good success in our home town, 
 so I decided to visit the small towns on the west 
 coast. It was the time of my regular visit to that 
 part of the island. Accompanied by Tsen En Fook, 
 our Chinese evangelist at Jesselton, I spent several 
 days traveling and holding meetings. We reached 
 Papar, a small town on the railway line, where we 
 had promised to stop off and visit several families 
 who were interested in the Bible. 
 
 "Some months before this, I had received a letter 
 from an Indian man who lived on a rubber estate 
 about eight miles from Papar. At the same time, 
 he sent me seventy dollars (Borneo currency) as an 
 offering to help our work. Having written him that 
 I would call on him at the first opportunity, I re- 
 solved to keep my promise at this time. Arriving 
 at Papar on Friday noon, and having made appoint- 
 ments to leave for Singapore on the following Sun- 
 day, it was necessary for me to make the trip and 
 return the same afternoon. En Fook was obliged to 
 return to Jesselton, and I had to make the journey 
 alone. As I had not visited the estate before, I 
 
 (73) 
 
74 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 procured the services of a guide a Chinese to 
 take me there. Traveling through the jungle is not 
 like traveling through the woods at home. The 
 trees are so dense and the undergrowth so thick, 
 that a man is not able to go any distance without 
 cutting his way through. Following a narrow trail, 
 which was crossed by many other trails, we made 
 our way through the jungle. After walking for 
 three hours beneath a tropical sun, and making our 
 way through a heavy shower, we reached our des- 
 tination, dripping with rain and perspiration. 
 
 "I found the Indian man and his wife at home, 
 and both were very anxious to hear more of the 
 gospel. As I had not had lunch, they placed food 
 on the table, and told me to eat while I talked. 
 They were eager to know more of the Saviour and 
 why He came to this earth to die for man. They 
 urged me to stay overnight, so that they might learn 
 more. This was impossible. I had to hold a service 
 at a little town near Papar on the following day, 
 and my appointments were made to leave for Singa- 
 pore the day after. 
 
 "Still wearing my wet clothes, I started off on the 
 return journey with the guide. It was late in the 
 day; and as there is no twilight in the tropics, we 
 hurried to pass the Bajau villages before dark. It 
 is dangerous for a man to pass through any of these 
 villages at night. I had in my pockets $400, which 
 I had collected on my journey up the line, and I was 
 a little nervous about going through the jungle 
 with the darkness coming on. When we had gone 
 half the way, the guide told me he could not go 
 
A Narrow Escape 75 
 
 the rest of the distance. The truth was that he had 
 a friend who lived close by, and he wanted to visit 
 him. Darkness was almost upon us, and there re- 
 mained two villages to pass. I knew it was useless 
 for me to urge him to come along, and although 
 dreading the journey alone, I told him he could 
 leave me there. 
 
 "Starting off alone, with a prayer in my heart to 
 God for protection, I plunged into the jungle, with 
 more than three miles yet to go. Presently a form 
 loomed ahead of me. In the dim light, I saw that it 
 was a native with a huge club in his hand, going in 
 the same direction. I did not want to pass him ; so, 
 lessening my pace, I followed slowly behind. Some 
 time elapsed, and he did not seem to gain ground; 
 so I decided to pass him and put a greater distance 
 between us. I knew that one blow from that club 
 would kill me, and after being relieved of the money 
 in my pocket, my body would provide food for the 
 crocodiles in the river close by, and no one would be 
 the wiser. Fear gripped my heart, but the promises 
 of God came into my mind. 
 
 "Starting forward and walking at a rapid pace, 
 I soon overtook the native and passed him. You can 
 imagine my feelings when I saw him fall into step 
 with me about a pace and a half behind. Afraid to 
 run and thus reveal to him my nervousness, I hur- 
 ried still more. So did he. I slowed down; he 
 slowed down. Again I hurried, and again he 
 hurried. Seeing that I could not shake him off, I 
 stepped aside, pretending to tie my shoe laces. He 
 waited for me. Not a word was said all this time. 
 
76 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 There was nothing for me to do but to go ahead. 
 We got into step again, I in front, and the native 
 just behind. If I had been considered a fast walker 
 before, this time I broke all former records. On 
 we sped, and not an inch did I gain. My feet were 
 sore, and my muscles began to weaken. Soon I saw 
 the lights of Papar in the distance, and when we 
 reached the outskirts of the town, my native com- 
 panion vanished. 
 
 "To this day, I have never known whether he was 
 an angel sent to protect me, or a native bent on 
 hurting me, but restrained by the power of God. I 
 know that I was delivered, and God's hand was in 
 it. Thus we see the precious promises fulfilled." 
 
 A HOME IN THE JUNGLE 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Encounters With ThieVes 
 
 NE of the many problems the mission- 
 ary has to face in the East, is petty 
 thieving. Seldom is anything of much 
 value taken away at one time, but a 
 little taken, away each day amounts 
 to a great deal by the end of the year. On the 
 mission grounds, we have a large variety of fruit 
 growing, mangoes, bananas, pineapples, mango- 
 steens, and passion fruit; but we rarely have the 
 privilege of enjoying it. Just before it ripens, it 
 disappears. I have watched bananas until they 
 were ready to pick, only to have them stolen before I 
 could get them cut and brought to the house. Early 
 in the season, I have seen mangosteens in the market 
 which I knew came from our grounds, as our trees 
 are the only ones in Sandakan; and I have been 
 asked ten cents each for them. 
 
 Not only on the grounds are we robbed. In the 
 house, it is not unusual to miss sugar, flour, salt, 
 kerosene oil, cooking oil, matches, and soap. These 
 are pilfered steadily by the cup, or the tablespoon, 
 or the box. The native servants think this is the 
 way to do; and as they do not know any better 
 no matter how much we try to show them it is 
 wrong it continues. I have offered our servant 
 some of these articles if she would ask me for them, 
 but it is useless. The Europeans submit to this 
 
 (77) 
 
78 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 order of things, as there is nothing else to do. All 
 servants are alike, and a change might make mat- 
 ters worse. 
 
 Early one morning, the tuan padre the natives' 
 name for Mr. Mershon was awakened by the 
 shaking of a mango tree just outside the window. 
 At first, he thought it was the wind ; but as the 
 breeze did not come in through the window, he de- 
 cided to investigate. Not waiting to dress, he went 
 down the back stairs, stopping only to pick up a 
 broom handle. Sure enough, a Chinese was under 
 the tree, causing the disturbance. Hearing ap- 
 proaching footsteps, he began to run, with a basket 
 of mangoes on his back. Mr. Mershon, taking a 
 short cut behind the house, caught him on the hill. 
 When asked where he got the fruit, the man replied 
 that he got it at home. The tuan padre asked how 
 that could be, as the sap was still oozing from the 
 stems ; and catching hold of the fellow, he invited him 
 to come to the house. Thereupon the thief dropped 
 his basket and began to argue. Then he jerked him- 
 self from his captor's grasp and ran. The tuan 
 padre gave chase, but stumbling over a hillock, fell, 
 and the thief escaped. Since then, we have often 
 met this man on the road, and several times we have 
 heard him say to his companions, "Here comes the 
 man who beat me with the broom handle." 
 
 One evening, Cromo, our kebun (gardener), ac- 
 companied by a kindred spirit, brought a thief to 
 the house, explaining that he had found him up a 
 tarap tree stealing the fruit. We did not think the 
 kebun had any desire to do us a good turn, as he 
 
Encounters with Thieves 79 
 
 and his wife and friends had a great weakness for 
 tarap. This is a tropical fruit with a very strong 
 flavor, and for which the natives have a great fond- 
 ness. We looked at the thief a Chinese and 
 recognized him as one who had been troubling us a 
 good deal. We had tried kindness, and found it to 
 be of no avail. This time, we thought we would 
 teach him a lesson. We sent Cromo to call the 
 mata-mata (policeman) ; and as is usual, he could 
 not be found. The thief began to be impatient, and 
 wanted to run away. Thinking of an old air gun 
 upstairs, I brought it down and placed it where he 
 could see it, but beyond his reach. This had the de- 
 sired effect; he sat down quietly and waited. We 
 telephoned to the police station, and soon a native 
 policeman came and took him off to prison. 
 Next morning, in the police court, the magistrate 
 asked him, "What were you doing at the top of the 
 missionary's tarap tree last night?" "Cutting 
 grass," was the reply. "Six weeks' rigorous im- 
 prisonment" was the sentence; which meant that 
 for six weeks, he would break rocks, with rice and 
 salt to eat, and water to drink. 
 
 On another occasion, two young fox terrier dogs 
 Growler and Brownie helped us capture a 
 thief, a Chinese who for years had been robbing our 
 grounds. Returning from the town one day, we 
 heard the dogs barking, and noticed they were act- 
 ing in an excited manner. They came to the back 
 door where I was standing, and they seemed to want 
 me to go with them. Rather curious, I followed. 
 They rushed down the terrace at the rear of the 
 
80 With the Wild Men of .Borneo 
 
 house. I saw some sticks thrown from behind a 
 mango tree, at the approaching dogs. Following 
 the dogs, I saw them make a jump at a Chinese who 
 was hiding there with a basket of fruit. He had 
 a large knife in his hand, with which he was trying 
 to defend himself from them. Another knife lay 
 in the basket. Calling the dogs off, I asked him 
 what he was doing there. He told me a long story, 
 hoping to gain my sympathy. I called the tuan 
 padre, meanwhile watching closely the knife in the 
 thief's hand while both of us pulled at the basket. 
 Mr. Mershon seemed ages in coming, though in 
 reality he was only a few minutes. When he ar- 
 rived, he told the Chinese to walk ahead of him to 
 the entrance of the grounds, where the mata-mata 
 usually walked his beat. To our surprise, the 
 policeman was there. Handing the thief over to 
 him, we returned to the house. The magistrate 
 sentenced the man to six weeks' rigorous imprison- 
 ment, and told him if he was caught stealing again, 
 he would be banished from the state. He was an 
 "old offender," and the kebun and his wife thought 
 the mem (mistress) was very brani (clever) to 
 catch him. It appears he had threatened them 
 both when they had caught him stealing at differ- 
 ent times. 
 
 I want to tell you of another time when we were 
 protected from thieves by Brownie, the female 
 terrier. On this occasion, the tuan padre and Elder 
 Youngberg were away on the west coast. A few 
 days before, Growler had died; and I could not 
 make up my mind as to whether he had been 
 
Encounters with Thieves 81 
 
 poisoned by the natives, or a snake had bitten 
 him. For some time, we had been having repairs 
 made on the house. Painters were passing in and 
 out, and electricians were putting in electric lights. 
 In addition to all this, some coolies had come to the 
 house to carry the tuan padre's trunk to the boat. 
 The trunk was taken from the room where we kept 
 the safe. The workmen were all Chinese, and per- 
 haps some of them entered the house ; but I have al- 
 ways felt that the coolies were the guilty parties. 
 
 Mrs. Youngberg and the children and I had re- 
 tired early. Late in the night, Mrs. Youngberg was 
 disturbed by the noise of some one jumping on some 
 lumber that was under the window downstairs on 
 her side of the house. Listening carefully, she 
 heard Brownie growling and snarling in the hall at 
 the bottom of the stairs. Presently she heard a 
 man's voice exclaiming, "A ya! A ya!" (a Chinese 
 expression of surprise), and then the noise of a man 
 jumping through the window. It is probable that 
 Brownie had bitten him on the ankle. Soon after, 
 she heard voices like Chinese speaking Malay under 
 the trees. Then all was quiet. While this was go- 
 ing on, Mrs. Youngberg came to my door several 
 times to waken me; but something impelled her not 
 to disturb me. I slept in the room where the safe 
 was kept. 
 
 The next morning, when I opened the door for 
 Brownie to come into -my room, she almost devoured 
 me. Licking my hands and wagging her stumpy 
 tail, she looked up into my face as if expecting 
 something. I remarked to Mrs. Youngberg how 
 
82 
 
 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 strangely the dog was acting, and she told me of the 
 previous night's experience. I was astonished that 
 I had heard nothing of the noise. On going down- 
 stairs, we found where the thief had entered the 
 house through the window on the side occupied by 
 Mrs. Youngberg. On the porch, we found a num- 
 ber of cigarette stubs, which had probably been left 
 by the thief. 
 
 Looking back on this experience, I always think 
 that in God's providence, I had been delivered from 
 danger that night, and that He had permitted me to 
 sleep soundly through it all. As a rule, I am dis- 
 turbed by the slightest noise. If I had been awak- 
 ened, probably I would have gone down stairs to 
 investigate. Chinese thieves always carry knives, 
 and do not hesitate to use them. God is good, and 
 has a care for His people. 
 
 DUSUN CHILDREN 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 A Snake Story 
 
 HAVE already mentioned the death 
 of Growler, our male fox terrier. He 
 was a fine dog, and was admired by 
 all who knew him. One morning, I 
 went to town, taking Growler with me. 
 Going into a Chinese store to purchase some gro- 
 ceries, I noticed that he kept near my side, pressing 
 close to me, and looking as if something was the 
 matter. The Chinese clerk remarked, "Something 
 ails your dog." Leaving the store, the dog ran 
 ahead of me, and kept looking back to see if I was 
 coming. When I had climbed the first hill, he was 
 at the top, waiting to see if I was coming. That 
 was the last I saw of him alive. I stopped to talk 
 to a friend, and arrived home about fifteen minutes 
 later. Mrs. Youngberg met me at the entrance. 
 Her face was serious and she said she had some 
 bad news for me. Then she told me Growler was 
 dead. He had returned home, and had a number of 
 convulsions, and died. 
 
 Poor Growler! He had been a faithful friend 
 and companion during the days when I had been 
 obliged to stay in the big mission house alone while 
 the tuan padre was away, before Elder and Mrs. 
 Youngberg came to Borneo. I felt so bad that I 
 went up to my room and wept. I saw him lying 
 stiff and swollen, and suspected snake bite. Finally 
 I told the Chinese boy to bury him. 
 
 (83) 
 
84 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 Before this happened, Brownie had been looking 
 very despondent, and I thought she was sick. When 
 Growler's body was taken away, she went to the 
 spot where he had died, scratched the soil with her 
 hind legs, and seemed to be quite happy about it. 
 It really looked as if she had been jealous of 
 Growler and was glad he was gone. It was three 
 days later that she scared the thief away; and 
 from that time, Brownie began to fatten up, and 
 reign supreme. 
 
 A few months later, I was awakened about six 
 o'clock one morning by the cry of an animal in pain. 
 Looking over the balcony at the back of the house, 
 I saw Brownie lying in the drain with her legs 
 stiffened, and she was whining piteously. Calling 
 Mr. Mershon, I told him I thought Brownie was 
 dying. We both ran downstairs, and he picked 
 her up and brought her into the dining room. I 
 hastened to get some mustard and water, which I 
 forced down her throat. The tuan padre said, "It 
 is too late," and went down town to the market. 
 The dog had vomited; and I determined that if there 
 was a chance, Brownie was going to have it. 
 I continued to do what I could for her, and finally 
 she relaxed and appeared to be asleep. 
 
 I watched her closely for an hour, and then she 
 tried to rouse herself and follow me. I placed her 
 back on the bed I had made for her and covered her 
 up. Again she fell asleep. A little later she stag- 
 gered to the kitchen where I was cooking, and 
 looked at me very piteously. Suddenly I thought of 
 her three small pups, which were only a few days 
 
A Snake Story 
 
 85 
 
 old. She was trying to tell me that she wanted her 
 pups! Warming some milk, to which I added a 
 little sugar, and procuring a nipple, which I put on 
 the mouth of a bottle, I brought the pups and the 
 feeding bottle to her, and let her see them suck the 
 nipple. They were hungry and sucked heartily. 
 
 BROWNIE, PROTECTOR FROM THIEVES AND SNAKES 
 
 Looking at them for a while, she was satisfied, and 
 fell asleep. She slept for hours, while I fed the 
 pups when they needed it. That night, Brownie 
 was better, but very weak. The next morning, I 
 gave her the pups to suckle, as she appeared to be 
 better. There had always been a strong tie of af- 
 fection between us; but after this, it seemed as if 
 she wanted to be near me always. 
 
86 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 Ten days later, I was sitting in my room upstairs, 
 when Brownie crawled up the back stairs and came 
 to me staggering and falling. At once I thought of 
 snake bite, and administered the same remedies as 
 before. She pulled through quickly, and before 
 long, was all right again. 
 
 Soon after this, the tuan padre and I had to leave 
 for the west coast, in the interests of mission work. 
 Our boat sailed at 11 p. m. ; so bidding Elder and 
 Mrs. Youngberg good-by, we left the house about 
 7 o'clock. As we sat on the deck of the "Densa- 
 mud," little did we realize what was happening up 
 at the house. It appears that after we left, Mr. 
 Youngberg took Brownie and her pups downstairs 
 for the night. Before long, Mr. and Mrs. Young- 
 berg heard Brownie growling and snarling at some- 
 thing downstairs. As she did not quiet down, they 
 decided to see what was the matter. Coming down 
 the stairs, they heard a peculiar hissing noise. 
 They switched on the light; and opening the dining 
 room door, they found Brownie biting and snarling 
 at something below the wall, which was built about 
 four inches from the cement floor. Lighting a 
 match and peering beneath, they saw four wicked 
 eyes, and the black, shining coils of two king cobras. 
 The snakes were very angry and hissed frightfully. 
 
 Mr. Youngberg was very much excited, and ran 
 around the neighborhood to see if he could borrow a 
 gun. Finally he got one ; but when he reached home, 
 he found that the shells did not fit. By this time, 
 the natives were greatly interested in those snakes, 
 and a number were squatting outside the bathroom 
 
A Snake Story 87 
 
 door to see what was going to happen. The wall 
 under which the snakes had made their nest was be- 
 tween the dining room and the bathroom. From the 
 bathroom, the kebun helped Mr. Youngberg in try- 
 ing to poke the snakes out of the hole with sticks. 
 The snakes objected; then suddenly, as quick as a 
 flash, one of them darted at the kebun, and as 
 quickly drew back to the nest. The kebun fell back 
 into Mr. Youngberg's arms, saying, "Tuan, sahya 
 sudah mail" (Master, I am dead). Then, getting 
 very desperate, and with a great desire for revenge, 
 he stood over the hole, whirling his stick, and saying 
 that he was going to kill the snakes, as he must die 
 anyway. Mr. Youngberg pulled him away from the 
 hole and held him back. 
 
 It was not as bad as was at first thought. The 
 cobra had not bitten the kebun, but had spit poison 
 into his eyes. This was bad enough; but when he 
 found that he had not been bitten after all, he felt 
 reassured. The snakes were still in the hole, so it 
 was decided to cement them in the next morning; 
 and this was done. Since then, Brownie has not 
 been troubled. We were now satisfied as to the 
 cause of Growler's death and Brownie's illness. Af- 
 fectionate little Brownie! Nobly had she fought 
 for the protection of her pups from those deadly 
 reptiles ! 
 
 When the kebun thought he was bitten by one of 
 the snakes, the natives squatting outside consoled 
 him by saying: "It is Fate. This is punishment 
 for your meanness to your wife." Previous to 
 this, he had not been treating his wife nicely; but 
 
88 
 
 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 the thought that he was going to die had some effect 
 in correcting the difficulty. 
 
 After we learned that the snakes were under our 
 dining room wall, I remembered that I had sat with 
 my back against the wall, within a few inches of 
 their nest, when I treated Brownie. We now 
 realized that God had protected us from danger. 
 
 ON THE LAWN OF THE MISSION HOME 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 Night in a Fishing Village 
 
 HILE at Beaufort, a small town on the 
 railway line on the west coast, we de- 
 cided to visit Weston, a small fishing 
 village on Brunei Bay. Accompanied 
 by Pan Khi Heng, we walked to the 
 ferry, in order to cross the Padas River, one of 
 the largest rivers of West Borneo. The ferry was 
 self-propelled. A wire rope is stretched across the 
 river, to which the ferry is attached by a wire rope 
 with a pulley on the upper end. By shifting the 
 rudder, the boat is steered back and forth across 
 the river. Boarding the ferry, we began our jour- 
 ney across. The river was in flood, and huge logs 
 floated down the stream. One of the logs struck 
 our rude craft, but no harm was done. The natives 
 on board were excited, and when we reached the 
 other side, they quickly got ashore. Sometimes 
 crocodiles are seen from the ferry; but this time, 
 the water was too high for them to bask on the 
 banks of the river. 
 
 Walking a short distance to the railway track, 
 we found the train waiting to pick up passengers. 
 There were a large number of natives and Chinese 
 on board, eating mangoes and coconuts. The seats 
 consisted of a few old rattan chairs, and a stuffed 
 seat from which the coir was trying to escape. 
 After waiting what seemed to us a long time, the 
 
 (89) 
 
90 
 
 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 train gave a shrill whistle, and we began to move. 
 We were the only Europeans on the train. The 
 other passengers were Chinese, Kadayans, and 
 Malays. 
 
 We passed large rubber estates and rice fields, 
 and went through dense jungle. In some places, 
 huge ferns lined the track, and rattan vines, with 
 
 PADAS RIVER, WEST COAST 
 
 their three-clawed thorns, trailed against the sides 
 of the coaches. 
 
 The train was not an up-to-date one. Appar- 
 ently, when the track was built, the builders' 
 greatest desire was to have as many curves as 
 possible. The wheels creaked and groaned at every 
 turn. One of the engineers told us that every two 
 
A Night in a Fishing Village 91 
 
 years, the tires have to be renewed. We did not 
 wonder at it. 
 
 After two hours, we arrived at Weston. We in- 
 quired where our friends lived, and were directed to 
 a fishing village in the distance. Going directly to 
 the shore of the bay, we found that the tide was 
 down, and we must walk on damp soil to reach the 
 logs by which we should mount the approach to the 
 wharf. This wharf was built on piles high above 
 the water. It was made of the trunks of palm trees 
 split down the center, and nailed, with small spaces 
 between, to a support fastened to the piles in the 
 water. Mounting the approach, we walked about 
 one hundred feet to the end, where the house 
 was built. 
 
 We were welcomed by the owner of the fishing 
 shed and his wife both Chinese. On every side 
 we could see shrimps and fish drying in the sun. 
 A "very ancient and fishlike smell" pervaded the 
 atmosphere. A number of Bruneis were sitting on 
 the wharf, and seemed just as much interested in 
 looking at us, as we were in looking at them. On 
 either side of us were native houses. On one side 
 was a Brunei village, and we could see the women 
 and the children weaving baskets and putting them 
 in the sun to dry. Some small children were swim- 
 ming in the water, with the dogs and the ducks of 
 the village. At our shed, we noted that each boat 
 had a boy to cook the food for the fishermen when 
 they returned from their trips. We watched them 
 eat their rice and dried fish, and they seemed to 
 enjoy it. These boys who do the cooking, I noticed, 
 
92 
 
 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 had their heads shaved, with the exception of a long 
 tuft on the top. On asking why they shaved their 
 heads like that, we were told that the tuft on the 
 top was a mark of honor for unmarried men. 
 
 About five o'clock, we were invited to sit down 
 to eat. The place was reeking with the odor of stale 
 fish, and somehow this did not whet my appetite. 
 
 BRUNEI FISHING VILLAGE 
 
 Fresh and dried fish was placed before us, with rice 
 and green vegetables. Our host and hostess helped 
 themselves liberally to some pork they had cooked. 
 The meal over, we visited the few shops in the town. 
 About eight o'clock, we returned to the shed. The 
 fishermen were already asleep, and I began to 
 wonder where we were going to rest our weary 
 heads. In a little while, our hostess took us to our 
 room for the night. We saw a very dirty mosquito 
 
A Night in a Fishing Village 93 
 
 net tied up in a corner of the room. Pulling the 
 net aside, I found the mattress on the floor, and the 
 looks of it were not at all inviting. There were no 
 sheets nor pillow cases; and from the appearance, 
 I should judge that the bed had been in use for 
 centuries. 
 
 We spread our hand towels, which we always 
 carry with us, over the pillows, and lay down to 
 rest. But rest was impossible. Creepy things 
 seemed to be running over us ; occasionally we were 
 bitten. Rats ran across the low partition above us. 
 Presently we heard a terrific screeching and a sound 
 of claws going up the wall. It was only the cat 
 catching a rat; so we held our breath and waited 
 for the next item on the program. The cat caught 
 more than one rat that night, and I began to wonder 
 if this was a regular occurrence, or whether the cat 
 was trying to show us how many she could catch. 
 In the middle of the night, we heard the fishermen 
 go out with their boats. Some of them were chant- 
 ing a weird song, probably calling on the spirits to 
 aid them on their trip. All night long the swish of 
 the water beating against the piles sounded in our 
 ears. By morning, everything was quiet, and it was 
 with a sigh of relief that we boarded the train to 
 return to Beaufort. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 Visit to a 'Rjibber Estate 
 
 T five o'clock one morning while we 
 were at Beaufort, we were awakened 
 by the sounding of a gong calling the 
 coolies to work on a rubber estate about 
 a mile away. Rain had fallen all 
 night, and the river was in heavy flood. We talked 
 over our plans for the day, which must be somewhat 
 altered because of the recent rains. The sounding 
 of the gong reminded us that we had planned to 
 visit this estate sometime during our stay in Beau- 
 fort. We finally decided to go to Woodford the 
 name of the estate. 
 
 After breakfast, we started out. The roads be- 
 ing wet and muddy, we made our way to the rail- 
 way track and walked the ties. We arrived at the 
 estate, and entered a large gate about fifty yards 
 from the railway track. On all sides, we saw coolies 
 men and women tapping the rubber trees. 
 Every few minutes, we could hear the rubber seeds 
 exploding, because of the warmth of the morning 
 sun. About one hundred yards from the entrance, 
 we reached the office and the storerooms and the fac- 
 tory. On asking for the manager, we were in- 
 formed that he was still in bed. We were presented 
 to one of the assistant managers a pleasant, red- 
 headed Scotchman recently arrived from Scotland. 
 We explained our errand, and he was delighted to 
 
 (95) 
 
TAPPING RUBBER (OLD METHOD) 
 
 (96) 
 
TAPPING RUBBER (MODERN METHOD) 
 
 (97) 
 
98 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 show us over the place. In Borneo, Europeans are 
 always glad to meet other Europeans, as they are 
 so scarce. 
 
 At first, the assistant took us out to where the 
 rubber trees were growing. He explained to us 
 that the estate covered an area of 1,600 acres, all 
 planted. This is divided into three pajaks, or 
 sections. Each of these is in the charge of a Euro- 
 pean who has about three hundred coolies working 
 under him. Each section is divided up into smaller 
 pajaks, over which are placed mandors native men 
 who look after a certain group of coolies. Each 
 mandor must see that the trees are tapped properly, 
 that his section is kept free from weeds, and that 
 the coolies do their work faithfully and are on time. 
 
 The trees are planted about twenty feet apart 
 each way. One coolie taps from three hundred to 
 five hundred trees, the number depending on the 
 nature of 'the ground. On flat land, five hundred 
 trees is an easy task; on steep ground, three hun- 
 dred is the task for the best workers. Most of the 
 trees are planted on hills, it being thought that rub- 
 ber grown there is better than that grown on the 
 lowlands. When the tree is five years old, tapping 
 begins. The European in charge, or the mandor, 
 goes around and marks the lower trunk of each tree 
 in four perpendicular sections. Each section has 
 tapping space to last one year; and at the end of 
 four years, that portion of the trunk has been en- 
 circled. In tapping, a diagonal cut is made. A 
 very thin shaving is taken off every morning. 
 
A Visit to a Rubber Estate 
 
 99 
 
 The rubber, or latex, is a white, sticky fluid held in 
 little cells in the bark. After each cut is made, the 
 latex oozes out and runs down the incline into a tin 
 spout that is attached to the tree below the incision. 
 From the spout, it drips into a cup that is placed at 
 the lower end. Each tree yields about one third of 
 a cup a day, or what in one year amounts to two 
 to twelve pounds of dried rubber. The tapping be- 
 
 COAGULATING TANKS 
 
 gins at daylight. About ten o'clock, the latex is col- 
 lected. The cups are washed and replaced, and the 
 latex is taken to the factory. Here it is measured 
 and the specific gravity taken, to find out if the 
 coolies have added water to it. (In some cases, the 
 coolies are too lazy to collect all the latex from their 
 pajak, and they mix water with what they do 
 collect, in order to bring in the regular measure.) 
 It is then strained, and poured into large wooden 
 
100 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 vats or earthenware jars. Acetic acid or some other 
 coagulant is stirred in, with the aid of broad wooden 
 paddles, and the rubber is poured into molds and 
 allowed to stand overnight. 
 
 Next morning, the workmen run this coagulated 
 rubber between rollers under pressure, in order to 
 squeeze out all the water. After this, it is again 
 run between rollers, to roll it out thin. A small 
 stream of water is kept constantly running on the 
 rollers, to prevent the rubber from picking up dirt 
 or fluff. This process is repeated several times. 
 Then the rubber is put between other rollers, which 
 press a diamond-shaped pattern and the name of 
 the estate into it. Now it is in strips about twelve 
 inches wide and eight feet in length. It is placed 
 out in the air to dry ; and care must -be taken not to 
 allow the sun to shine on it, as this causes "tacki- 
 ness" one of the consumers' worst enemies. It is 
 then placed in the smokehouse and smoked to a dark 
 brown color. After it is taken out, it is examined, 
 and the damp spots are cut out. It is then cut into 
 lengths of twenty-four inches, and packed in wooden 
 cases, under pressure, and shipped to all parts of 
 the world. 
 
 The rubber that falls on the ground coagulates of 
 itself. This is gathered separately and put into a 
 "barking" machine. Here it is pulverized and 
 mixed, and washed until all particles of bark and 
 impurities are removed. It comes from this ma- 
 chine in long, stringy masses. It is then run back 
 and forth between rollers until it is a smooth sheet. 
 From here it is put into a craping machine, which 
 
A Visit to a Rubber Estate 
 
 101 
 
 makes it look like crape, only much thicker. It is 
 afterward treated the same as the other, but it 
 brings less money on the market. 
 
 The rubber trees are grown from seeds. The 
 seeds are collected from the best rubber-bearing 
 trees, and stored. When a new plantation is to be 
 
 RUBBER SEEDS AND SEEDLING 
 
 FLOWER OF THE RUBBER TREE 
 
 started, the seeds are placed separately in palm-leaf 
 sacks twelve by four inches with rich soil; and 
 these sacks are put into the ground, side by side, in 
 a sheltered place, and the seeds allowed to sprout 
 and grow until ready for transplanting. The seed- 
 ling is at that time about four feet high. With the 
 sack of rich soil still about its roots, it is planted in 
 a permanent place. The top of the seedling is cut 
 off, to force the limbs to sprout low. 
 
102 
 
 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 After all this, we were taken to see the "coolie 
 lines." Chinese and Javanese and natives will not 
 live close together; so seperate houses are provided 
 for them, on different parts of the estate. The 
 estate runs its own kadai (store), where the coolies 
 are expected to buy their supplies. They are al- 
 lowed to leave the estate but twice a month. The 
 law compels each estate to give the coolies two 
 holidays a month. There is a hospital on each 
 estate, supervised by a European doctor. This is 
 required by law. A jail also is found on every es- 
 tate, where petty offenders are locked up overnight. 
 
 AT THE PIER, JESSELTON 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 Traveling in "Borneo 
 
 RAVELING is not so easy and com- 
 fortable in Borneo as in the homeland, 
 or even in other places in the East. 
 Java has good railway service, good 
 street cars, automobiles, and pony car- 
 riages. In Singapore, there are fairly good street 
 cars, jitneys, rickshas, and automobiles. In Borneo, 
 there are a few automobiles and rickshas, but these 
 are luxuries. On the west coast of British North 
 Borneo, there is a railway line, one hundred miles 
 in length, running from Jesseiton to Melalap. Leav- 
 ing Jesselton at eight o'clock in the morning, the 
 train reaches the terminus at five o'clock in the 
 afternoon. From Beaufort, there is a branch run- 
 ning to Weston, on Brunei Bay. This is about 
 twenty miles long. The train carries three classes 
 of coaches. The first-class accommodate Euro- 
 peans; the second-class are patronized by Javanese, 
 Chinese, and well-to-do natives; and the third-class 
 carry the coolie class of Chinese and natives. 
 
 The engine is operated by Malay engineers. 
 Wood is used instead of coal or oil. Sometimes the 
 train has to stop and wait for the fire before it can 
 continue its journey. One day, while traveling on 
 the train, we came to a full stop between stations. 
 On inquiring the cause of the delay, I was informed 
 that the wood on the engine was green, and the fire 
 
 (103) 
 
104 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 would not burn under the boiler. However, after 
 a short time, we continued our journey. Sometimes 
 buffaloes or cattle get on the track, so the engineer 
 blows his whistle, and keeps up a continual screech 
 until the animals leave the track. 
 
 When we want to visit up the line, we go by train 
 to the nearest station, and walk the rest of the 
 way, sometimes eight miles out and eight miles 
 back. 
 
 One time, we wanted to visit a Chinese church 
 member, who, with his family, lives at Bintian, 
 an abandoned Dusun village. This Chinese brother 
 has a family of seventeen children, all living. Some 
 are married and away from the paternal roof. At 
 that time, there were about ten at home. It was 
 during the rainy season; and as there had been a 
 landslide over the railway track, the train was not 
 running from Beaufort six miles from Bintian. 
 As one of our brother's sons, Howard Wong, was 
 employed by the railway company, we decided to 
 inquire of him as to whether we could get a trolley 
 to take us to his father's home. We were more than 
 pleased to learn that he was working on the line be- 
 yond Bintian, and would be going up on the trolley 
 at six o'clock the next morning. He advised us not 
 to eat breakfast before leaving, as his parents would 
 attend to that when we got there. 
 
 At half past five the next morning, we were 
 awakened by the Chinese boy at the resthouse where 
 we were staying; and by six o'clock, we were at the 
 railway station, ready for our trolley ride. Howard 
 was there with four Muruts, who proved to be the 
 
Traveling in Borneo 105 
 
 motors to run the trolley. One sitting on each 
 corner, they propelled it with their feet. When we 
 came to down grade, they would raise their feet and 
 let the trolley tear down of its own accord. Travel- 
 ing in this manner on level country is fairly pleas- 
 ant; but when tearing downhill, especially crossing 
 bridges near the edge of a river infested with 
 crocodiles, somehow the thrill is taken out of it. 
 
 In spite of all this, we had a good trip. The 
 mists were rising from the hills, reminding us of the 
 song we sing, "When the mists have rolled in splen- 
 dor from the beauty of the hills." Rain had fallen 
 the night before, and the trees in the jungle glis- 
 tened in the early morning sun. Once we had to 
 wait for our motormen to get off the trolley and cut 
 away some rattan vines that had fallen on the track. 
 Centipedes and large black scorpions crawled across 
 the track. 
 
 The cool morning air gave us a good appetite, and 
 we began to wish for something to eat. We found 
 Henry Wong and his children at home ; but his wife 
 had" walked to Beaufort that morning, carrying 
 vegetables to sell in the market. After visiting for 
 . a while, we began to wish we had had our breakfast 
 before we left Beaufort. I could see that no prepa- 
 rations were being made for us to eat. Before 
 long, Mr. Wong brought us some boiled peanuts. 
 After we had eaten some of these, one of the sons 
 brought some sugar cane for us to nibble. We ate 
 as much as we could of this, but our appetites were 
 not satisfied. Meanwhile the girls visited with me, 
 
106 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 while the muk-su (Chinese name for Mr. Mershon, 
 meaning "minister") talked with Mr. Wong. 
 
 In the afternoon, the girls began to prepare a 
 meal; and at four o'clock, everything was ready on 
 the tables. The girls sat at a table by themselves, 
 and I was assigned a seat of honor with the men 
 and boys at another table. The meal tasted very 
 good. Dried mushrooms, cucumbers, green vege- 
 tables, and beans were spread before us; and I can 
 assure you that after waiting so long for something 
 substantial to eat, we did justice to all of it. 
 
 After dinner, we went upstairs to a room in 
 which a small organ was standing. Vui Yin, the 
 eldest girl at home, played and sang with the other 
 children. I wish you could have listened to them 
 away off there in the jungle! Outside there was 
 a stillness that could be felt. This was broken only 
 by a little stream running down the hill at the side 
 of the house. Occasionally a monkey chattered to 
 remind us that he was near. 
 
 As I listened to the Chinese voices singing the 
 hymns we love so well, I thought how the children 
 in the homeland would enjoy being there. I knew 
 that if you could only hear those dear children 
 singing so heartily the songs you sing, you would 
 want to be missionaries too, and bring the light of 
 the gospel to such places as this. When they sang 
 the chorus of "Jesus loves me" 
 
 "Ya s kiu Ju oi ngo 
 Ya s kiu Ju oi ngo 
 Ya s kiu Ju oi ngo 
 Yu Shin Shu kau s ngo" 
 
Traveling in Borneo 107 
 
 a big lump rose up in my throat as I thought of the 
 wonderful power of the gospel to penetrate the 
 jungles of heathen Borneo. 
 
 The trolley was to return at five o'clock; and 
 after prayer, we left our friends, with thankfulness 
 
 MRS. MERSHON AND NATIVE GIRL WORKERS 
 
 in our hearts that we had the privilege of working 
 for the Master among the people we love so well. 
 
 Another time, we planned to visit the Papar rub- 
 ber estate, about eight miles from Papar. We tried 
 to hire a boat to take us there, but it was impossible 
 to procure one. Then we tried to get ponies to ride, 
 but we could not find any. Finally we talked to one 
 of the railway officials about hiring a trolley with 
 four men to take us to the end of the track, four 
 
108 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 miles out. This he gladly let us do, so off we 
 started. With us were Mr. M. Mullinnex and his 
 wife, from Singapore, who were on a visit to Bor- 
 neo. Chairs were provided for the ladies, Mr. Mul- 
 linnex and Mr. Mershon sitting on the trolley. The 
 track was old and uneven, and in some places wider 
 than it was intended to be. When we came to the 
 wide places, the trolley would skip the track, and of 
 course we went with it. However, nothing serious 
 happened. 
 
 From the terminus, we walked to the estate. 
 Rain began to fall, and we found shelter in the 
 
 A NATIVE BOAT 
 
 jungle until it ceased. The path was wet and 
 slippery, and steam seemed to rise from the ground. 
 It was soff ocating ! On the return trip, the air was 
 cooler. When we reached the terminus, we found 
 that the trolley was not there, so we decided to wait 
 for a while. In the meantime, we persuaded some 
 natives to climb a coconut palm to bring us down 
 some coconuts. We were very thirsty, and wanted 
 to drink the milk of the coconuts. 
 
Traveling in Borneo 109 
 
 When we had finished, we heard the trolley com- 
 ing. It had returned to Papar to bring an estate 
 manager to the terminus. In his hand he held a 
 loaded revolver in such a way that everybody could 
 see that he had it. We learned that he had been to 
 get money from the bank to pay the coolies on the 
 estate. The natives knew of his errand, and this 
 was the only way he could protect himself from at- 
 tack. Our return trip was made without any seri- 
 ous happening. 
 
 On another occasion, we were invited to visit 
 some Chinese people living up the Papar River. We 
 arrived at Papar; and the next morning, we found 
 that the boat was ready to take us to the home of 
 our Chinese friends. When we got to the water's 
 edge, we saw two long boats, made from the trunks 
 of trees, the insides having been hollowed out by 
 fire. Mr. Mershon and I sat in one boat with two 
 Chinese, while Ng Shu Kong, our Chinese evangelist 
 at Papar, sat in the other with another Chinese. 
 We had to sit flat in the boat, with our legs stretched 
 out in front of us. After sitting for a time this 
 way, we began to wish we could change our position. 
 At the slightest movement on our part, the boat- 
 man would call out to us to keep still or the boat 
 would upset. The river was full of crocodiles; so 
 we held tight, because we did not want to go over- 
 board to give them a feed. 
 
 We passed numerous sago factories, with the 
 natives jumping up and down on the sago mats. 
 Native boats laden with sago passed us frequently. 
 We saw several boats manned by Dusun women. 
 
110 
 
 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 Native villages surrounded by coconut palms came 
 into view on both sides of the river. At one village, 
 we heard the natives playing on their gamelan (na- 
 tive musical instrument), and it sounded very sweet 
 as we were rowed up the river. 
 
 It took us four hours to get to our destination. 
 After visiting for a while and partaking of some 
 oranges and papayas, we left for the home of an- 
 
 CROCODILE. EAST COAST 
 
 other Chinese, a little farther up the river. This 
 time, Ng Shu Kong rowed us; but he did not seem 
 to be so skilled in handling the boat. Once he ran 
 us on a sand bank. While we were on the river, a 
 tropical storm came up. We could hear it ap- 
 proaching in the distance. The rain beating on the 
 palms in the jungle sounded like rain pouring down 
 on a corrugated iron roof. Somewhat damp, we 
 arrived at our friend's garden; and after a good 
 
A SAGO PALM 
 
 (111) 
 
112 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 meal, to which I sat down with the men, we started 
 back for Papar. Two boys rowed; and as we had 
 the wind and the tide in our favor, we reached 
 Papar in two hours. 
 
 At the close of last year, Mr. Mershon paid a visit 
 to the east coast of Borneo, and took a trip over to 
 Tarakan, an oil town in Dutch Borneo. To get 
 there he had to take a coastal steamer from San- 
 dakan to Tawau, and there get a Chinese junk to 
 take him on to Tarakan, a distance of sixty miles, 
 a two days' trip. This was accomplished safely; 
 but on the return trip, it looked as if he would 
 never reach land again. The Chinese in charge 
 of the junk were either stupid or lazy. Leaving 
 Tarakan at dusk, they dropped anchor before mid- 
 night, intending to sail on at daybreak the next 
 day. When daylight came, it brought a severe 
 storm with it. It was the season of the northeast 
 monsoon, when the big typhoons sweep down over 
 the Chinese Sea. For two days, they could make no 
 headway. The tuan padre had enough food and 
 water to last him two days ; but when that was fin- 
 ished, he was obliged to eat dry rice and salt fish 
 or else go without food, and he had no water to 
 drink. The passengers, natives and Chinese, were 
 huddled together on the cargo of rice and coconuts. 
 On the third night, the boat was caught in a whirl- 
 pool, and after being whirled three times around, 
 was thrown out of it. Soon after this, she struck 
 a reef, on which she settled until the tide rose again. 
 On the evening of the fourth day, the boat reached 
 
Traveling in Borneo 113 
 
 Tawau, and Mr. Mershon was very glad to go on 
 shore and get something to -eat and drink. 
 
 There are a few ponies in Borneo, but they are so 
 poor and skinny that it seems like cruelty to dumb 
 animals to ride behind them. In Sandakan, there 
 are a few carriages, but these are so old and shabby 
 that only natives will ride in them. Water buffaloes 
 are the beasts of burden. There are a few Indian 
 oxen used. The buffaloes are huge beasts, and 
 though slow in their movements, they are very 
 strong. When they get angry, they tear along like 
 the wind, smashing everything in the way. Fortu- 
 nately this does not happen often. These big crea- 
 tures are very docile, and can be led by little 
 children. The natives are fond of buffalo milk, 
 which is very thick and of a bluish hue. When the 
 buffaloes are feeding in the fields, they are attended 
 by pure white herons, which stay by their sides. It 
 is queer to see these clean white birds in the com- 
 pany of dirty buffaloes that love to wallow in the 
 mud. Swarms of insects hover around them; and 
 the buffaloes seek the mudholes, to get a coat of mud 
 to protect them. The herons help to keep the in- 
 sects off. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Varied Experiences 
 
 NE morning, my Chinese house girl, 
 Lo Kwui Len, came to me and told me 
 her mother was ill, and that she was 
 very hot. After asking a few ques- 
 tions, I decided to go and see what I 
 could do for her. Taking Kwui Len with me, I 
 started off for her home, about three quarters of a 
 mile away. We walked on the road for half a mile, 
 then crossed a small wooden bridge over a narrow 
 stream. Passing a few Chinese gardens, from 
 which several large dogs threatened to devour me 
 they were acquainted with Kwui Len we crossed 
 another creek in the jungle, and finally reached 
 the house. 
 
 It was an ordinary Chinese house, dirt floor, with 
 piles of old furniture and tin cans and baskets 
 strewn around. Going into the bedroom, I found 
 the patient lying on a wooden bed with a wooden 
 mattress. She had a bad breast, hard and swollen. 
 Smeared all over it was a green mixture that looked 
 like chewed leaves. Washing it off, I had Kwui Len 
 heat some water; and armed with my fomentation 
 cloths, I proceeded to treat my patient. 
 
 All the family, from the old grandfather to the 
 youngest grandchild, stood around to see what the 
 muk-su-nyong (Chinese for "minister's wife") was 
 going to do. As I began to wring out those hot 
 
 (115) 
 
116 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 cloths, the folks opened their mouths with astonish- 
 ment. When I applied them, they began to chatter 
 and make remarks. However, they saw that the 
 patient took it quietly and appeared to be satisfied. 
 When I applied cold after each fomentation, they 
 asked among themselves, "What kind of affair is 
 this?" 
 
 After the treatment, I showed Kwui Len how to 
 massage the swollen breast gently, and gave in- 
 structions for the same treatment to be repeated in 
 the evening. The next morning, when I called to 
 see the patient, she said she felt better. After a 
 week's treatment, she was well again, and the old 
 grandfather told me that he had never seen such 
 wonders brought about by the use of hot and 
 cold water. 
 
 While sitting talking with the grandmother, I 
 observed on each of her toes a small red spot. When 
 I inquired what they were, she said she suffered 
 with cold feet, and had put a piece of hot iron on 
 each toe to burn them in order to make her 
 feet warm. 
 
 Another time, while sitting in our little church 
 at a meeting one Sabbath morning, I noticed that 
 one of the Chinese boys had a sore wrist. From the 
 appearance of it, I judged that something had bit- 
 ten him, and he had neglected to take care of the 
 wounds. After church, I invited him to come to 
 the mission house and I would attend to it. He 
 came that afternoon; and on closely examining the 
 wounds, I found they were infected and that he 
 had a slight fever. Getting a bowl of hot water, to 
 
WONG SISTERS 
 
 (117) 
 
118 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 
 
 which I added some lysol, I had him soak his wrist 
 in that for half an hour. Then I bandaged it up, 
 and invited him to come to see me the next day. 
 
 Naturally I thought he would then leave, but he 
 kept on sitting. I was new to Chinese ways, and 
 did not understand his behavior. After an hour had 
 passed away, I went upstairs to the muk-su and ex- 
 plained the situation to him. He laughed and sug- 
 gested that I ask the boy to go. Returning to my 
 patient, though feeling somewhat embarrassed, I 
 told him it was time to go. He smiled, and 
 thanked me for treating his wrist, and departed. 
 For a week, he came every day ; and each day, after 
 treating him, I had to tell him it was time to go. 
 Since this experience, I have become quite used to 
 telling the long stayers it was time to go. 
 
 One day, Mrs. Youngberg told me that her baboe 
 (servant) was ill, and she could not quite make up 
 her mind what the illness was. Sometimes when the 
 servants want a holiday, they say they are sick, for 
 an excuse. Armed with various utensils, I paid a 
 visit to the baboe, a Javanese woman named Sarepa. 
 I found her with a high fever, lying on a mat on the 
 floor. Several native women were squatting around 
 talking and chewing sirih and smoking cigarettes. 
 I politely asked all but one to pigi (go). With the 
 aid of this one, I gave Sarepa a good treatment, 
 covered her up, and told her to go to sleep, and not 
 to get up until I came to see her again. I told the 
 woman who helped me, not to talk to her, or the 
 mem b'sar (the big mistress) this is what the na- 
 
120 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 lives call me would be very angry. I had to tell 
 her this to enforce quietness. The natives greatly 
 dislike to have anyone angry with them. An hour 
 later, I returned to Sarepa, to find her fast asleep, 
 with huge drops of perspiration on her face. This 
 was what I wanted, so I carefully wiped her face, 
 and returned home. At six o'clock that evening, I 
 paid her another visit, and found her in the act of 
 getting up. When I asked her what she was doing, 
 she said she was all right now and was going to 
 get up. I told her my treatment required that she 
 stay in bed until the next morning, so she quietly 
 took to her mat again. Next morning, she was 
 back at work, feeling well but a little weak. 
 
 While treating Sarepa, I had noticed a large tooth 
 in a bowl of water standing on the table. I asked 
 what that was, and they told me it was an elephant's 
 tooth to make Sarepa well. I told them the tooth 
 had been on the table for some time and had not 
 made her well, and that it was my treatment that 
 had broken up the fever. When I asked them if 
 that was not so, they hardly knew what to say. 
 Deep down in their hearts, the poor creatures be- 
 lieved that the elephant's tooth had cured Sarepa. 
 However, after this, when Sarepa or her husband 
 had a cut or a sore, they were very quick in coming 
 to the mem b'sar for medicine to cure them. 
 
 For some years, we had a Javanese woman, 
 Semina, as servant in the mission house. She was 
 a good worker as far as native servants go. One 
 day, I happened to look over the balcony when 
 
NATIVE BOYS, EAST COAST 
 
 (121) 
 
122 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 Semina was washing the dishes, and to my horror, 
 I saw her wiping the perspiration from her face and 
 neck with the cloth used for wiping the dishes. I 
 told her she must not do that again. After this, 
 I watched her pretty closely, and again I was re- 
 warded with seeing her spitting on the knives and 
 wiping them with the cloth. I felt that this was 
 about as much as I could stand. I told her that in 
 the future, I did not want her to wipe the dishes ; all 
 I wanted her to do was to wash them and then scald 
 them and put them in the rack to dry in the sun. 
 Then I waited upstairs to see what would hap- 
 pen. The dishes were washed, but I could see no 
 signs of their being scalded. Calling to Semina, 
 I asked about the hot water. "Nanti, nanti" 
 (wait), she replied. I waited. Then I asked again. 
 The reply came again, "Nanti, nanti." Going down- 
 stairs, I found she had not even put water on to 
 heat, so I told her to pigi. 
 
 A friend in America sent me an old picture roll 
 such as we use in the Sabbath school. It was a back 
 number, so I handed it to Mrs. Youngberg, think- 
 ing her little daughter would be interested in it. 
 Mrs. Youngberg put it up on the wall. Next morn- 
 ing, Sarepa came into the room to sweep. Looking 
 at the picture of Christ with His disciples, she said : 
 "Those men must be the giants that eat people. If 
 I had that in my house at night, I should not be able 
 to sleep." Poor Sarepa ! 
 
 These people are full of superstition, and very 
 much afraid of the spirits. Their idea of serving 
 
Varied Experiences 
 
 123 
 
 their gods is to offer them things in order to make 
 them feel kindly disposed toward them. They know 
 nothing of our kind heavenly Father who sent His 
 Son to die for us, that we might be saved. May 
 God grant that in some way these people may 
 be reached. 
 
 BAPTISM IN GAYA BAY, JESSELTON 
 
PAN LOT YIN 
 
 (124) 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Sacrificing for Missions 
 
 BOUT five years ago, Pan Loi Yin, a 
 young Chinese girl in Borneo, was 
 turned out of her home because she be- 
 came a Christian. Weeping bitterly, 
 she came to the mission house and told 
 the muk-su (minister) her trouble. The muk-su's 
 heart was touched, and he told her she might come 
 and live in the mission house and he would help her 
 all he could. Loi Yin came to live with us, and we 
 gave her two dollars a month to buy food. This 
 was before food was so expensive as it is now. 
 
 The thirteenth Sabbath was near at hand. The 
 muk-su told our Chinese brethren in the Sabbath 
 school that the offering was for China, and sug- 
 gested several ways in which they could raise a little 
 extra money for the donations. The Chinese in our 
 mission are very poor, most of them being gardeners 
 living on a few cents a day. The thirteenth Sabbath 
 arrived ; and when the donations were handed in, we 
 had fifteen dollars a large sum for the Chinese to 
 give. The donors were invited to relate their experi- 
 ences in obtaining the money for the offering. One 
 told of cutting wood, another of selling chickens, an- 
 other of working in the field. In the rear of the 
 church sat Pan Loi Yin weeping softly to herself. 
 She had brought to the altar fifty cents, but would 
 not tell where she had got it. 
 
 (125) 
 
126 With the Wild Men of Borneo 
 
 The meeting over, we returned home. When Loi 
 Yin arrived, the muk-su said to her, "Loi Yin, won't 
 you please tell me how you were able to give fifty 
 cents for China to-day?" At first, she said nothing. 
 At last, trembling, she said, "I deprived myself of a 
 meal a day to give it." Our hearts were touched 
 at the sacrifice she had made. 
 
 Young friends, think of it! She had existed on 
 one meal a day for a month, in order to give to mis- 
 sions. Have you ever had to go without food to give 
 for missions? Think it over quietly. 
 
 As time passed on, the way was opened for Loi 
 Yin to attend the Singapore Training School. From 
 there she came to Borneo to enter the Bible work. 
 We found her always faithful. This year, she mar- 
 ried, and has gone to China with her husband, who 
 is also in Christian work. 
 
 This is just one example of the fruits of our labor 
 in "distant Borneo." We have many Chinese girls 
 and boys of the same material as Loi Yin, and there 
 are many yet who have never learned of the Saviour. 
 Do you not want to have a part in winning such 
 girls and boys for the Master? 
 
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