The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-07-05

SO dark as our Indians They
are Of medium height, and no men
in all the world surpass or even equal
them in strength and activity. While
so fierce and cruel. the Dyaks might be
| called handsome people. The strong
est men rarely have any beard. and but
for the dress, it would be difficult to
tell the sexes apart.
The land Dyaks-even the women
tattoo their arms and breasts, but the
sea Dyaks never disigure themselves
in this way, so that it is easy to tell
them apart. One of the things that
surprised me most among the land
Dyaks was the fact that all the chill
dren, boys and girls, had the most
beautiful white teeth | ever saw, while
the teeth of the grown up people were
as black as ink. and shone as IL they
had been japanned- The stain for the
teeth is produced from the sap of
native tree, and the staining is a great
event among these people. 1t is usual
~ followed by a feast, for it marks
that period of life when the girl is to
be regarded as woman and the boy as
a man.
All the men. women and children
among the land Dyaks delight in adorn-
ing their arms and ankles with rings Of
brass and coils of copper wire. The
reason the sea Dyaks do not use these
ornaments is that If they upset their
boats the load of metal would cause
them to sink.
Although considered savages, the
Dyaks build comfortable houses, live in
villages ruled over by a chief, and they
are wonderfully skillful in working
iron ore into steel blades. Their swords
are only exceled by the famous blades
of Toledo and Damascus, and they not
only make sharp, bright swords, but
they are so expert in using them that
hand to hand they have beaten the best
English soldiers.
There is a great deal of swampy
country in the land of the Dyaks, in
southeastern Borneo, and these OBJ
stacles to travel are overcome. not by
boards or bridges, such as we have,
but by means of ropes swung from tree
TO three, or from bank to bank. The
people cross these slender bridges with
rapidity and ease that would amaze
our best tight-rope dancers. Women
with unconcern carry great loads over
these ropes, and they cross them like
squirrels, with their children strapped
to their backs. They use no balancing
poles, and even little tots of children
run over these ropes, or swing from
them, seemingly as secure as if they
were on the solid earth.
WANTED to cross one Of these bridges
in order to make a journey, but l did
not dare undertake il. There was
nothing left for me but to trust my one
hundred and fifty pounds weight to a
Dyak guide. He took me on his back
with an ease and confidence that ought
to have treasured me, but it did not
closed my eyes and held my breath, but
that man carried me across on a rope
hundred feet in length and not much
thicker than a clothesline, and he
would have carried my rifle and bag
gage at the same time had / not vio-
lently protested.
The women are skillful in weaving
strong and firm cloth from the fibres
of a native plant, and though there is
heavy garments, their attire is becom-
ing and picturesque. The children,
like all the children of these tropic is
lands, go nearly naked, but they have
a great fondness for wearing garlands
of bright-hued flowers about their
heads, and they often make most be- !
coming capes of the same beautiful but
frail materials.
have seen the boys and girls of every |
land, but do not think 1 ever met any
so slender, graceful, active and tireless /
as the young land Dyaks. They i'm |
pressed me in their movements and !
with their peals of musical laughter, as
being intangible from the descendants |
of the fairies, Of whom / had delighted !
to read as a child. One OF the great |
charms of the Dyak women and young |
folks is their hair. II is black, thick, |
glossy and well cared for, and where /
allowed to flow freely over the back it |
frequently touches the ground.
Unlike most savage races, the Dyak /
men treat their women with much af- /
lection and do not throw on them the /
great burden of the work. The women /
are good cooks. and all the Dyaks are 4
great eaters, as are most people who /
take a great deal of exercise. These /
people have idols, vet they believe that 4
there is only one true God, but they. 1
have innumerabl evil spirits, and they
have horror of going near a grave at
night, particularly the grave of rela-
tive or friend.
While they are afraid Of dead friends,
they like TO have the trophies Of dead
foes near them AS l have told you,
they are great fighters, and they are
always at war with their neighbOrs.
The great purpose of their battles is
TO get heads-that Is, they cut of the
heads of the enemy slain in battle, and
bear them to their villages in triumph.
The heads are preserved By being !
smoked. In every village Of the land
Dyaks there is large building known
as the headhouse." In this are stored
not only the heads taken by the pres
ent generation, but the heads captured
BY their fathers and sr1ndfathers, SO
that IN the chief village of large tribe
IL is not unusual 10 see building IN
which there are hundreds, even thou
sands. of these ghastly trophies
had Intended saying much more
about these strange people, but as l
have already exceeded the limit I set
myself, I must defer 1t till some other
A GREAT MIsTAKE-A FABLE.
". c. Brooks II Tie yotce-