were
many women among the groups; they appeared to be well made, and more
than tolerably good looking. I need not enter into a very minute
description of their attire, for, truth to say, they had advanced very
little beyond the costume of our common mother Eve. We were soon in
closer contact with them, for one of our party throwing out of the boat
a common black bottle, half a dozen of the women plunged into the stream
to gain possession of it. They swam to the side of our boat without any
reserve, and then a struggle ensued as to who should be the fortunate
owner of the prize. It was gained by a fine young girl of about
seventeen years of age, and who had a splendid pair of black eyes. She
swam like a frog, and with her long hair streaming in the water behind
her, came pretty well up to our ideas of a mermaid.

As we had contrived to empty a considerable number of these bottles
during our expedition, they were now thrown overboard in every
direction. This occasioned a great increase of the floating party, it
being joined by all the other women on the beach, and for more than half
an hour we amused ourselves with the exertions and contentions of our
charming naiads, to obtain what they appeared to prize so much; at last
all our empty bottles were gone, and the women swam on shore with them,
as much delighted with their spoil as we had been amused with their
eagerness and activity.

About 10 o'clock we landed, and proceeded to pay our visit to the Chief.
We were ushered into a spacious house, built of wood and thatched with
leaves, capable of containing at least 400 people. The Chief was sitting
on a mat with his three sons by his side, and attended by all his
warriors. The remainder of the space within was occupied by as many of
the natives as could find room; those who could not, remained in the
court-yard outside. The Chief, who was a fine looking grey-bearded man
of about sixty years of age, was dressed in velvet, and wore on his head
a turban of embroidered silk. The three sons were dressed in the way I
have already described the one to have been who came to us in the canoe.
Without exception, those three young men were the most symmetrical in
form I have ever seen. The unrestrained state of nature in which these
Dyaks live, gives to them a natural grace and an easiness of posture,
which is their chief characteristic. After the usual greetings and
salutations had been passed through, we all sat down on mats and
cu