The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-07-24
AQUEER RACEIN SUMATRA.
A PEOPLE WITH NO IDEA OF A ru-
TURE STATE.
They Ent snakes and Bugs, 60
Naked and Have No idea OF own
crslitu of PrODcrty,


eminenty as having no idea of future
state. "When we are dead, we are dead"
they sententiously expressed it to Mr.
Henry o. Forbes, the naturalist, who
spent five years exploring Sumatra, and
who was the only white man who ever
got glimpse of one of them.
They construct only temporary dwell
ings of few simple branches erected
over a low platform to keep them off of
the ground. They are so timorous and
shy that it is rare circumstance for any
one to see them. No white man ever saw
one of them before Mr.. Forbes, except
as one secs the headquarters of a startled
deer. In the little trade carried on be-
tween them and the Malays, the trans
actions are performed without the one
party seeing the other. The Malay
trader, ascending to one of their places
of rendezvous, beats a gong in a
particular way to give notice of
his arrival. On hearing the sig.
nal the Kubus bring out what
forest produce they may have collected.
and, dopositing it on the ground ct this
place, hastily retire into close hiding,
beating gong as signal that all is
ready. The trader then slowly advances,
lays down on the ground the cloth,
knives and other articles of barter he
has brought to the amount which he
thinks an equivalent exchange, beats a
gong and in like manner rctircs. The
Kubus examine the barter offered. If
satisfactory they remove the goods, beat
their gong and go away, and the trader
picks up the produce he finds left on the
ground. If not satisfactory, they set on
one side portion of their produce to
reduce it to what they consider the
value of the barter offered, and thus the
trade dilly dallcs along until it is com
plctcd or abandoned. They are so
afraid of seeing any one not of their own
race that if suddenly met or come up
with in the forest they will drop every
thing and flee away. They cultivate
nothing for themselves, but live on
snakes, lizards and grubs, which they
eat ravcnously and raw. They eat fruits.
an occasional deer, pig or tapir, and
what they trade from the Malays. They
know nothing, absolutely nothing; they
manufacture absolutely nothing. Their
knives and the universal spear with
which they arc armed they pure base
from the Malays from whom they trade.
Neither mon nor women wear clothes,
except sometimes the small! 7. bandagc
Of dark cloth; some even 90 in state Of
nature. Sometimes they keep a few
BIRDS in confinement, and are often fol-
l2wcd by halffcd dog. They never
work, and when in their travels they
come to small stream rather than
cross IT they il end their Journey: They
never brush or comb their hair. but wear
1t IN dlshevelcd state, hence 1t Is often
matted ana twisted.
lhcir funerals are crude IN the ex,
trcmc' sometimes they leave their dead
unbnrIcd IN the spot where they died,
giving the place ever alter widc berth;
Somctlmce, however tue oody IS buried
race downward, win strlp OF park BE-
10" ana ABOVE .ne Douy' lheY nave one
lrauiioh' thaI thcy arc inc descendants
OF three orothcrs' one OF whom betook
himsc'l 10 inc WOODS 10 i've
MohoSamy IS Inc rule among them, nut
lew nave TWO or more wives. lheir
nnptial ceremony IS very Simple affair
ne man having nNcu MS choice on a
S"t "H" So' .ilo Ocu1cNV Vi 'ho P''ch'S'
ne prlhSs TO me ia'hcr sue, Sucn presents as
nc has-a knile, spear cIo,hcs or money,
DccSwaN' or any rare lru''s OF ah''ha!s OF
inc forests 'hac nc may nave. IL INC
presents are iarSe enough 10 SATISFY tHc
ereeu OF inc iathcr' al INC huouS WIN
III Gaming instance are summoned 30
eether; seating themselves below a
Tree, inc la'ncT oI inc maiden informs
'hem that lie mas gwen his daughter So
ana so 10 oo'ahd-so IN marriage. One
oil inc company then strikes the tree
with club procIaiminS them to be man
and wife. Then follows feast Of fruits
ana animals. Inc Malays very seldom
Will marry kubu woman. They con-
slider them an inferior race, and use as a
term OF reproach when angered, You
hubu. They VIII not interfere with 4
kubu dead body. The Kubus possess
no personal property except what they
carry around with them. They cat ami
mails in a scmi-pulrid condition, with
little or no cooking. In travcrsing the
forest if one of them finds bee-tree he
makes one or two hacks in the bark and
repeats a sort of spell. This is the only
i IL i