The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1859-11-10
The Men Monkeys Of MALAGA.

Their language and features are unlike those
Of the Malays proper, of whom they are also
politically independent. They have no his
tory, having been found by the early Portu-
gese voyagers in the country in which they
reside. They are called the Orange Bcnnar,
or men of the great country the Orange
Hutang, or men of the forest whence the
word so common with us, DURAN -outang, or
wild men, ifmen they may be called, when
common opinion has assigned them a rank
hardly above monkeys and baboons. i'
They generally live in houses made by
bamboo sticks, and suspended to the tops OF
lofty trees, to which they ascend by rude
ladders. These cabins. suspended to the
tree-tops, are so narrow that stranger can
not be admitted without annoyance to a
member Of the family. or his exclusion; for
one must go down when new one comes
up. Others who have no taste for these
aerial abodes--nests, not for birds, but for
men-construct huts raised two or three feet
above the ground. The first story serves
for lodging, where they eat and sleep, by the
side of fire, always kept brightly burning,
in order to frightep away the tigers and 9th
er wild beasts which fill the forests. In the
second story they put their arms for safety,
the provisions and kitchen utensils, all OF
which are comprised in pixies, in earthern
pots, and one or two great China bowls.
They eat whatever comes to hand, as wild
boars, apes and birds, which last are taken
either in snares or shot with arrows, and
the roots and tubers which the earth pro.
duces in abundance. If they plant rice, it
is only enough to meet their absolute wants.
Instead of regular labor, they prefer the ia
tiguing adventures Of the chase and running
among the woods. Their cuisine is of the
lowest order, their favorite dish being slices
of meat half cooked, and still reekinr with
blood.
The weddings are preceded by a most sim
g'llar and ludicrous ceremony. An old man
presents the future husban and wife to a
large assemblage of invited guests, whom he
conducts, followed by their respective fami-
lies, into grand circle, around which the
young lady, the bride, sets out running upon
all fours, and the young man who is the
bridegroom, in the same style after her. II
he succeeds in overtaking her she becomes
his wife; if not, he forfeits all his rights, and
''love's labor is lost" This often happens
when the bridegroom fails of pleasing the
young lady, who endeavors to escape from
the embraces of distasteful or odius hus
band by beating him in this queer trotting
match.
Upon the death Of one of their number.
they wrap his body in white winding sheet,
and then deposit il in grave dug near his
hut, sometimes in as erect position. some
shines sitting and sometimes lying down.
They are careful to put lance at his side,
parang,' and .sumpitan,' their instru
ments of hunting and of war, but never use
any religious ceremony. Still, these wea-
pons placed by the side of the corpse indi-
cate shadowy belief in future existence.
Their religion Is confused mass Of the
grossest superstitutions, propagated by the
pagans, kind of priests, who are called
physicians and halfjugglers Their magical
science is in great esteem with the Malavs
The singular kind of life they lead, the Pc
culiant' of their costume and the long inter-
val OF their appearance among the people,
secure for them certain prestige and respect
Seen from afar and through a mysterious
velluthey pass for beng endowed with su-
perhuman power, to whom the plants and
roots of the forests have revealed their most
secret virtues. In word they are believed
to hold in their hands the power of confer.
ing health or inHicting DEATH In accordance
with this belief, the Malays are careful not to
provoke their ill-will.
Naturally, the Jakoons are of an open and
ingenious disposition, and withal inclined to
gaiety. To the appearance of timiditv trey
JOIN the independence of life without con-
troll, spent in the midst of thick forests and
everlasting verdure.. Respectful without be-,
ing servile, in conversation they use an ab.
rupt and violent tone of voice, which strong
ly contrasts with their habituai gentleness
and modesty. They love strong liquors and
get intoxicated whenever they have an op-
portunity.
1t is honorable to the zeal of the Catholic
priests, that they have missionary, who.
notwithstanding the low ranks of these peo
pie in the scale of humanity, the wide terri
tory over which they are scattered, and the
thick forests which it is necessary to penc-
trate to reach them, and the absence of all
roads, while ferocious wild beasts are thick
at every step, is labori ig among them, and
makes his home with them.
Such are the people in whom originated
the idea of the stories about,the DURAN -outanp
the man of the forests
A BRoDERIcK INCIDENT The day he left
New York tor California, in lS49, we met
him on the steps of the old banking house cf
the State of New York. He had drawn his