Philippine Islands are descended. They
are perhaps the most intelligent, but certainly the most troublesome
peoples. They are best known as the "head-hunters" of Borneo. Among
themselves, the one who has killed the greatest number of people is the
greatest man of the tribe, and the heads of his victims are the
testimony to his greatness. So the head-hunters kill just for the
pleasure of killing, and the heads of their victims are kept as
trophies. Not all Dyak tribes are head-hunters, however.

When they are not off on head-hunting expeditions, the Dyaks are very
industrious farmers. They are fond of ornaments. The men of some of the
tribes wear richly embroidered jackets; the women may wear waists made
of fine rattan strung with metal beads and ornaments. They may even wear
crowns of burnished metal; at all events, they are certain to wear
earrings of astonishing size--perhaps three or four inches across and
made of solid brass. To hold these pieces of native jewelry the lobes of
the ears, after they have been pierced, are stretched until they form
loops two inches or more in length.

The men also are fond of earrings and similar ornaments, but a real Dyak
swell does not consider himself properly in style until his front teeth
are filed away so that they are notched and shut together like the teeth
of a steel trap. Moreover, he cannot hope to obtain a wife unless he has
at least one head as a trophy.

In hunting, the Dyak often makes use of the blow-gun. This weapon, for
short distances, is about as sure and true as a rifle. It is a wooden
tube four or five feet in length, the bore of which is made very
straight and smooth. The arrow, or dart, fits the bore of the tube. To
make sure of the game the tip of the dart is dipped in a most deadly
poison; so that, if it merely breaks the skin of the animal at which it
is shot, it makes a wound that is quickly fatal.

Unlike most of the natives of the tropical Indies, instead of living in
villages, the Dyaks frequently live in communal houses. Sometimes twenty
or more families live in the same house, which is not unlike the
communal houses of the American Indian, except that it is surrounded by
a broad veranda.

Hunting honey in the forests is one of the native sports. The forests of
certain parts of Borneo seem to be alive with wild bees. As a result,
honey and wax are very abundant. The honey-bear gets a good share of the
wild honey, for his shaggy hide is proof against