The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-03-17

4 For heavens sake, Pau" she
said, when you get into the Palo-
wit, make them move quietly.
They want 70 babble sol But they
understand quiet IN an ambush.
Make them see that this IS q NOV
ing ambush"
| You get used 70 expecting that
men VIII foresee things ike that;
would have expected Blair,
though he had never fought q
river, to see at once that the Dyaks
would shriil and yammer at first
contact with an enemy. Years Of
having his hands on actual things
should have taught him to guess
that, without thinking. But how
did she known In sending away
Christine we were sending away
more than we could ever guess.
As we showed of, she called
after me, Paul, stay with your
boats. They may fail back to their
hill stockades, and if you follow
them they'll cut you Of. "
grinned. and waved goodby,
and we went swinging down the
river to the sea.
The long green rollers smeIled
clean and good after so long time
in the stagnant river. Once clear
Of the pass, we swung out through
open water around the headIand
of Panjang Lapa, IN the light Of a
rising sun; and we camped that
night on the Palowit. in jungle
once more.
There wasn't much to our little
river campaign, though il eemed
momentous undertaking TO me
then. Il Is a tremendous expert
ence when you start out for the
first time to hunt men, 50 that
every move you make seems i'm
portant, and your nerves respond
TO every flicker Of a leaf in the
Jungle
The Palowit Dyaks did what
Christine said they would do. But
if they had merely fallen back
upon their hin stockades would
probably have followed her adj
vice. Instead they began to blast
the river on our second day, and
pot-shot at Us with spears; and
there was a short savage brush IN
front Of big village.
Famine!
1 LOST eight men, one OF them
a Tenyalang. After that, their
retirement TO the hill stockades
was not an apology but a defiance,
and | had 20 60 on. At the end of
the third day the river petered
out, and We had to leave the
bankongs with part OF our force,
and go on through the jungle
trails, climbing over rough coun-
try. We had brought along a big
six-pounder, dismounted, in the
biggest of the bankongs, and we
took this with US up the jungle
on improyised sledges. Every man
had rope gals on his shoulders
before We were through. and many
Of the parang-men quit.
IN the end, nay gun smashed
down about SO feet of the stock
ade wall. and the parang Dyaks.
who had advanced very close un-
der shields of bundled branches,
fought through. The defenders
seemed bewildered by the smash
ing of the stockade: they took TO
the jungle after a weak resistance.
And Il was three days before /
could get my men to quit scour-
ing the jungle for stragglers and
come home.
We had been gone three weeks,
and things were not going so well
when we got back 70 Balingong.
Clyde had an impressive line Of
warehouses about half finished.
but as yet there was almost moth
ing 10 put IN them. Trading by any
other plan than the extortion
which tie Malays called trading
was impossible on any scale be-
cause Of The poverty of the people.
We did not have the right sort of
trade goods 10 persuade them TO
work. We had almost nothing 10
trade except guns. The Tenyalang
were our main stay, and they
would have broken I'D If we had
filed the jungle with guns deIiv-
cred at random.
Worse than this were the signs
that We were going 70 have fam
inc on our hands. War, waste,
shiftlessnesS. and bad crop the
previous year had almost cleaned
the country Of rice. How bad the
famine was going TO be we did not
yet know. but we did know that
there would soon be no more rice,
and no hope Of . fresh crop before
another seven months.
And depressing reports were
now coming IN regarding the Dyak
Preparations for rice planting.
Weeks hsd passed since CIyde's
decree that the villagers should
double their usual plantinsS. and
If they meant q do It. the clear
ing of the Jungle for the paddles
vhould have been well advanced.
Il was net well advanced. simply
because these peonle could not be
broken out 81 their ancient habits
in a week or in a yer. Strong evil
dsnces Of coming f5uine were IN
creaSing every day. bat neither
this nor the repeated insistences
which CLYDE sent them was TAX
ing any effect. Here and there an
isolated village was half-hearsed-
~ obeying tie white raiah. but il
the rice crop was gong % be
worth fsxing-or even taxable az
all N,ishout reducing the people 20
pTivation - something drastic
would ave % Be done.
sf-s..s94f fa5F a.. Eeeszs