The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-03-26
Chapter Il
Too Much Time To Think

Too Much Time To Think
IN the long winding stretches OF
i the river where the channel was
narrow and the jungle dense, q
constant sniping Of spears .umpi-
tanS, and guns a. point blank
range kept picking OF my people
At the end Of q week had aban-
doned three bankongz and six
lesser praus for lack Of men.
We reached the first enemy VIZ
lage, and found It empty. stripped
of all loot. We burned it-or at
least left il a blackened, sooty
mess. smudge-potti in the rain
2at in spite Of the perpetual
strain Of vigilance and the fire.
quent fighting, / had too much
time 10 think. | could understand
my Dyaks, when they addressed
me, and make myself understood,
but never in my life had ! felt 50
terribly alone. The drive Of the
paddles became a long monotony,
hour after hour, day after day, as
If it would never end. and there
was time for many things 10
strsighten themselves in my head
The situation into which we had
penetrated was fully as bad as /
had expected-in some ways
worse. The heavy push Of the food
SO far had prevented the enemy
from lodgin-. log booms across the
channel to block our praus. but !
knew that a drop in the river
would enable them to close the
booms ahead Of US and behind.
We might have to fight harder
getting out than we had fought
getting in The jungle on both
sides Of the river was fairly crawl
ing alive with Tomarrup Dyaks:
and yet. though we had now pene-
trated many days deeper into this
river than / had ever travelled be-
fore, we were unable 70 come TO
grips. / no longer knew how much
distance we had made, but I sup
pose that we had followed the
windings Of the Tomarrup at least
60 miles.
As yet we heard nothing to in
dictate that support was on is way,
though we listened constantly for
friendly agongs 10 sound at the
far-od mouth But I believed now
that our mission IN behalf Of the
white Fsiah would be accom-
plished whether we came out Of
there or not Little as we had ac-
complished. we could no longer
entirely lose.
What / could do for Clyde, and
for Christine. was 70 establish in
Summarizing fear Of the white
man. A few Malays could handle
thousands Of Oyaks because the
Dysks knew that no Malay was
stopped until he was destroyed.
Now mp opportunity was 70 show
that white man cannot be turned
by Malay. When we had finished
here il might be long time before
Clyde would have TO fight again:
and when he fought he would
have superstitious fear as his ally.
Wild EMULATION
a QUEER fanatacism was coming
"a into my Dyaks as they saw
that ] was not going 20 turn back.
The Dyaks are tot supported like
the Malays BY a belief that a man
who dies in battle gains eternal
paradise. They believe in four or
five ghostly reinczrnstionS. but
these reincarnated spirits are nor
tai IKE themselves. and each Is
weaker th7- the one before so
that they peter out into sago root
and things like that and are pres
emily lost out Of existence forever.
But there Is one thing that
Dyak wishes 70 become when he
Is dead. and that is.a Kamang.
Only the most implscable Dysk
warriors. they believe. &re ad-
mitted 70 the hideous and terrible
society Of the Kamangs when they
are dead Going by this belief. my
fighters were as good as Kamangs
already. I. put strange wild ex-
ultation into them in the oinches
Of the fighting. such as few Dyak
warriors had ever goi int their
fghting before.
Strangely. / saw now thai their
belief was rue In a sense. Ny
Dyaks thought that when they
were dead taey would walk among
their enemies spreading confusion
and deStruction-znd they we're
right Long after their bones were
earth. these men would IN truth
still stalk the jungle. in the form
OF memories. in the form Of fear.
fighting harder for Clyde than
they ever could IL they stayed
alive.
And IN that long journey ~ the
Tomarrup. in which ! had 50 much
more time 70 think than was good
for me. / saw other things. For the
first time I saw clearly Why Clyde
was here. and why ] was here. and
Christina. and l saw bRvnnf vhnt