aw in the streets of Sambos. There
both species were exhibited by the itinerant jugglers--for both the
sun-bears can be easily tamed and trained--and these men stated that
they had procured the "big bruang," in the woods of Borneo.

Since, then, he was there to be found, why go to Sumatra in search of
him? They had still travelling enough before them; and they were
beginning to get tired of it. It was natural that--after so long an
absence and the endurance of so many perils and hardships--they should
be longing for home, and the comforts of that fine palace on the banks
of the Neva.

They resolved, therefore, to accompany the Dyak guide on a new
expedition.

They were a whole day upon the journey; and just before nightfall
reached the place, where the man expected to fall in with the big
bruangs. Of course, they could not commence their search before
morning. They baited, therefore, and formed camp--their Dyak guide
erecting a bamboo hut in less than an hour, and thatching it over with
the huge leaves of the wild _musaceae_.

The place where they had halted was in the midst of a magnificent grove,
or rather a forest, of palms; of that kind called _nibong_ by the
natives, which is a species of the genus _arenga_. It is one of the
"cabbage" palms; that is, its young leaves before expanding are eaten by
the natives as a vegetable after the manner in which Europeans use
cabbage. They are of a delicate whiteness, with a sweet nutty flavour;
and, in point of excellence, are even superior to those of the
cocoa-nut, or even the West India cabbage palm (_areca oleracea_). But
the nibong is put by the Borneans and other natives of the Indian
Archipelago to a great variety of uses. Its round stem is employed as
uprights and rafters for their houses. Split into lathes, it serves for
the flooring. Sugar can be obtained from the saccharine juice of its
spadix, which also ferments into an intoxicating beverage; and sago
exists in abundance within the trunk. Pens and arrows for blow-guns are
also made from the midribs of the side leaves; and, in fact, the _arenga
saccharifera_, like many other palms, serves for an endless variety of
purposes.

Alexis was greatly interested by the appearance of this beautiful tree;
but it was too late when they arrived on the ground for him to have an
opportunity of examining it. The half-hour before darkness had been
occupied in the construction of the hut--in which all hands had bo