e to have thin
cotton garments.

Most of the country of Borneo is covered with thick jungle, where large
forest trees grow close to each other, many of them with trunks over six
feet in diameter. These trees are often loaded with creepers and ferns,
and from the branches, high up overhead, beautiful orchids hang.

The natives of Borneo are called Dyaks, and these tropical jungles are
their home. Let me try and describe to you what these people are like.
They are not black like negroes, but have a brown skin. They are not as
tall as Englishmen, but are slightly bigger than the Malays. The Dyak
men and women wear very little clothing because of the great heat. The
Dyak men wear a waistcloth which is made either of the soft inner bark
of a tree, or else of cotton cloth. It is about one yard wide, and from
eight to eighteen feet in length, and is twisted round and round their
waists and pulled up tight between the thighs, one end hanging down in
front and the other behind. Dyak women wear a short petticoat which is
drawn tightly round the waist and reaches down to the knees. Round their
bodies the women wear hoops of rattan, a kind of cane, and these are
threaded through small brass rings placed so close together as to hide
the rattan. Both men and women wear necklaces, bracelets, and ear-rings.
The men wear their hair long, and they blacken their teeth and often
file them to a point, or bore holes in them and insert brass studs into
them.

Let me tell you something of the kind of life the Dyaks used to live in
the old days. You have heard of the head-hunters of Borneo. Seventy
years ago the Dyaks were one of the most savage and cruel people in the
world. In those days there was constant warfare between the different
tribes. The Dyaks therefore lived together in large numbers in long
village houses, and round these houses they built strong stockades, as a
defence against any sudden attack.

In those old days a party of Dyaks would often attack some neighbouring
house. Such of the men as were at home would repel the attack as best
they could, for defeat meant certain death. The women and children would
be crowded together in the verandah of the Dyak house, and the men,
armed with swords, spears and shields, would form a circle round them.
Large brass gongs would be struck in a peculiar manner, to let the
neighbours know of the attack, and to implore their help. The fight
would continue till one party was defeated. If any