g such an
intercourse must be left to the thousand contingencies which govern
all, and act so capriciously on the tempers of the savage races. The
utmost forbearance, and a liberality guided by prudence, so as not
to excite too great a degree of cupidity, appear the fundamental
rules for managing men in a low state of civilization. The results
of an amicable understanding are as uncertain as its commencement;
for they depend on the enterprise of the individual, and the power
of the native tribe into whose hands he may have fallen. I will not,
therefore, enter into a visionary field of discovery; but it appears
to me certain that, without the assistance of the natives, no small
party can expect to penetrate far into a country populous by report,
and in many parts thickly covered with wood. Without entertaining
any exaggerated expectation, I trust that something may be added
to our geographical knowledge of the sea-coast of this bay, its
leading features, productions, rivers, anchorages, and inhabitants,
the prospect of trade, and the means of navigation; and although my
wishes lead me strongly to penetrate as far as the lake of Kini Ballu,
yet the obstacles which may be found to exist to the fulfillment of
this desire will induce me to rest satisfied with the more moderate
and reasonable results.

It may not be superfluous to notice here, that a foregone conclusion
appears to be spread abroad regarding the aboriginal (so called)
inhabitants of Borneo, and that they are usually considered and
mentioned under the somewhat vague appellation of Dyaks. They are
likewise commonly pronounced as originating from the same stock as the
Arafuras of Celebes and New Guinea, and radically identical with the
Polynesian race. The conclusion is not in itself highly improbable,
but certainly premature, as the facts upon which it is built are so
scanty and doubtful as to authorize no such structure. On an island
of the vast size of Borneo, races radically distinct might exist;
and at any rate, the opposite conclusion is hardly justifiable, from
the specimens of language or the physical appearance of the tribes
of the southern portion of the country. We have Malay authority for
believing that there are many large tribes in the interior, differing
greatly in their degree of civilization, though all alike removed from
the vicinity of a superior people. We have the Dyaks of the south; the
Idaan of the north; the Kagins; and a race little bett