The Portland daily press., 1892-01-21

coming, sent to invite them to con-
ference with him, but the Tingara gen.
tlemen, who had evidently been doing
something that would not bear inquiry,
held ''bichara" IAN untranslatable
Malay word answering to the west
African 'palaver'') to consider the mat
ter, and finally decided, by the advice of
shrewd old chief, to keep their own
skins out of harms way and send dep
utation of women in their stead.
Accordingly the ladies Of the forest
appeared in body early one fine morn
ing outside the Englishman's tent, and
very queer sight they were. Their
toilet was not elaborate, consisting chiefly
of a gray monkey skin around the loins,
but it's scantiness was amply atoned for
by the profusion of native ornaments
which they wore. Every woman OF the
group carried enough brass wire about
her to fit up a telegraph station-brass
wire around her neck. Ssrass wire around
her waist, brass wire around her wrists
and ankles, and more brass wire still
twisted in her hair, thrust through the
lobes of her ears or fastened around the
place where her forehead ought to have
been if she had happened to have any
Ono of the Tingara beauties-who,
being the wife of a chief, probably set
the local fashions-seemed very proud
of her headdress, which was a kind Of
coronet or tiara OF large colored beads
strung upon wires. placed on the crown
Of the head and hanging down like a
fringe over the upper face. The same
lady had her shaggy black hair done up
at the back in kind of club, and, as if
this were not enough of itself, supple
mented it with bona fae chignon of
dried grass almost as big as q young
cocoanut.
None Of them having ever seen q white
woman before, the Tingara bellies were
aroused to high pitch Of excitement by
their first view of the English lady,
around whom they crowded with eager
curiosity, pointing and chattering like q
gang of excited monkeys, and examin
ing her as closely as if she had been
some newly discovered kind of wild
beast. They inspected minutely the ar
rangefnent of her clothes and hair, and
eyed both with an air of wondering con-
tempt which plainly showed how vastly
superior they considered their own toilet
to be.
But to the eye of any outside observer
this confidence would have seemed very
i'll founded The gaunt, long armed,
apelike forms of these Malay beauties;
their greasy, dark brown skins; their
coarse, straight, black hair; their bony,
high checked, slzull-like faces; their
small, deep set, cunning, restless eyes,
and their teeth, black as coal from the
constant chewing of betel, were all
hideous to the last degree. Nor was
their aspect much improved by the
frightful deformity of their ears. which,
as is the custom with nearly all the in
land tribes of Borneo and with some of
the Sumatra Malays likewise, had been
gradually dragged down by the weight
of their heavy earrings of beads and
brass wire till the tip Of the feshy part
actually touched their shouldersl
But in spite of their hobgoblin aspect.
these unwashed Ewes Of the Kwarnosch
turned out to be very simple, harmless,
good humored creatures, as easily amused
as children and with even more than a
child's love Of sweets of every kind. They
were hugely delighted with the supply
of well sugared tea which was promptly
set before them by their hostess, and de-
voured with every mark of satisfaction
three or four big dishes of native cakes
made of rice -four, sugar and cocoanut
paste and strongly favored with CHINA
mon. They expressed great surprise and
delight at the prompt action of some wax
matches which were shown to them,
their own most usual way of striking a
light being to scrape dry chip of bam-
| boo with broken potsherd, and their
! Joy knew no bounds when the lady pre-
eented them with a box Of the wonder
| full "fire sticks" which they had just been
admiring and had hailed with loud cries
of ..ilmu! ilmu" (magic, magic.
Finally, after having received as a
parting gift two Or three handfuls of Gig
arettes and q number of gay colored
handkerchiefs, the "Blackhide Susansa
went off in high glee. At their departure
there was q general chorus of s'Orang-
orang, pooti orang-orang bal" the white
men are good mem, and, as we afterward
learned, they gave such glowing ac-
count of their reception that am daily
expecting to hear Of the opening of an
Anglo -Tingara trade. DAVID KER.
Mrs. Zach Chandlers new home in
Washington has cost $3.50, 900, exclusive
Of the interior fittings and furnishings.
= It is one of the finest houses in the c8pi-