of red jacket and the conical Malay
hat; but those are used only on "state occasions." The single garment
was secured at the waist by being drawn into a belt of rattans, colored
black. Above this was worn a coil of many rings of large brass wire; and
all of them seemed to be provided with this appendage. There was some
variety in the use of this ornament; for some wore it tightly wound
around the body, while others had it quite loose.

In addition to this some of the young girls had a dozen rings of various
sizes hanging loosely around their necks, and falling upon the chest,
which had no other covering. Their eyes were black, as was also their
hair, which was very luxuriant, and generally well cared for, being tied
up in a cue behind.

The village did not consist of a great number of small buildings, but
from the landing-place could be seen the end of an immense structure
with a forest of palms behind it. The rear of it was not perpendicular,
but slanted outward, like many of the walls of corn-houses in New
England, doubtless to keep the rain from the roof from penetrating. All
the party, including the sailors, landed; for Mr. Eng declared that the
Dyaks were honest, and even in Sarawak were never known to steal
anything, though the Malays and Chinamen were given to pilfering.

The crowd of men, women, and children gathered on the shore had looked
the Blanchita over with the closest attention while the Americans were
looking them over. The party landed under the escort of the agent, and
took up the line of march for the big house. The entire crowd of Dyaks
followed them, though they did not intrude upon them; on the contrary,
they treated all of the visitors with a respect and deference bordering
on homage.

"That 'long-house,' as we call it here, is nearly two hundred feet in
length," said Mr. Eng. "It is thirty feet wide. Now you can see more of
it; and you notice that it is set upon a multitude of posts, like all
Malay and Dyak houses. These posts are firmly set in the ground; and
being about six inches in diameter, you can readily see that the house
rests on a solid foundation. It is not likely to be blown down in any
ordinary gale, though a hurricane might sweep it away. Not a nail, not a
wooden pin or peg, is used in the construction of such buildings."

"Then, I should think any ordinary gale would level them to the ground,"
suggested Louis.

"But the Dyaks have a substitute for nails or pins," replied th