ty was to
start for the enemy's country, and how much food each man was to take
with him.

Then the War Spear would be sent round to the neighbouring villages, to
let all know of the expedition. A man would bring the spear to a long
Dyak village house, deliver his message, and return, leaving the spear
to be carried on by one of the men in that house to the next village,
and so on. At once the men in that house would get their war-boats
ready. They would furbish up their arms, and sharpen their weapons, and
decorate their helmets and war-jackets.

The costume a Dyak wears when going on the war-path, consists of a
basket-work cap, decorated with feathers, and sometimes with human hair,
a sleeveless skin or cotton jacket, and the usual Dyak costume of the
waistcloth. For weapons, he has a sword. This may be of foreign or of
their own make. It is a dangerous weapon at close quarters. He also has
a spear consisting of a long wooden shaft of some hard wood with a steel
spear-head, which is tied on firmly to the shaft with cane. For
defensive purposes the Dyak has a large wooden shield, about three feet
long, which, with its handle, is hollowed out of a single block of wood.
It is held in the left hand, well advanced before the body, and meant
not so much to receive the spear-point, as to divert it by a twist of
the hand. It is generally painted in bright colours, and often decorated
with human hair.

Sometimes the shaft of the spear is a _sumpit_ or blow-pipe. This is a
small wooden tube about eight feet long. The smoothness and straightness
of the bore is remarkable. The hole is drilled with an iron rod, one end
of which is chisel-pointed, through a log of hard wood, which is
afterwards pared down and rounded till it is about an inch in diameter.

The dart used with the _sumpit_ is usually made of a thin splinter of
the _nibong_ palm, stuck into a round piece of very light wood, so as to
afford a surface for the breath to act upon. These darts are sharpened
to a fine point, and are carried in neatly-carved bamboo quivers.

The poison for these darts is obtained from the _ipoh_ tree (upas).
Though the wound made by the dart is very slight, yet so potent and
deadly is the poison, that death follows in a very short time.

The Dyaks do not attack a village if their approach has been discovered,
and the people are on the defensive. Under these circumstances, they
content themselves with cutting off stragglers, or hide near