w relate, in order that it may be seen among what kind of people
this gentleman has undertaken to introduce the arts of civilization.

[The Dyacks.] The Dyacks are, by all accounts, a fine race, and
much the most numerous of any inhabiting Borneo. They are almost
exclusively confined to the interior, where they enjoy a fine climate,
and all the spontaneous productions of the tropics. They are believed
to be the aborigines of the island. The name of Dyack seems to be
more particularly applied to those who live in the southern section
of Borneo. To the north they are called Idaan or Tirun, and those so
termed are best known to the Sulus, or the inhabitants of that part of
the coast of Borneo over which the Sulus rule. In personal appearance,
the Dyacks are slender, have higher foreheads than the Malays, and are
a finer and much better-looking people. Their hair is long, straight,
and coarse, though it is generally cropped short round the head. The
females are spoken of as being fair and handsome, and many of those
who have been made slaves are to be seen among the Malays.

In manners the Dyacks are described as simple and mild, yet they are
characterized by some of the most uncommon and revolting customs of
barbarians. Their government is very simple; the elders in each village
for the most part rule; but they are said to have chiefs that do not
differ from the Malay rajahs. They wear no clothing except the maro,
and many of them are tattooed, with a variety of figures, over their
body. They live in houses built of wood, that are generally of large
size, and frequently contain as many as one hundred persons. These
houses are usually built on piles, divided into compartments, and
have a kind of veranda in front, which serves as a communication
between the several families. The patriarch, or elder, resides in
the middle. The houses are entered by ladders, and have doors, but
no windows. The villages are protected by a sort of breastwork.

Although this people are to be found throughout all Borneo, and even
within a few miles of the coast, yet they do not occupy any part of
its shores, which are held by Malays, or Chinese settlers. There
is no country more likely to interest the world than Borneo. All
accounts speak of vast ruins of temples and palaces, throughout the
whole extent of its interior, which the ancestors of the present
inhabitants could not have constructed. The great resemblance these
bear to those of China a