at preparations
were made by the inmates for his welcome. Some beautifully-worked mats
(in the manufacture of which the Kanowits are very clever) were spread
out on the floor, and siri and betel-nut produced; and while the
Resident was holding his "Bechara" (or Court business), surrounded by
a ring of admiring natives squatted around him, L. and I slipped away
with a young Kanowit warrior, who offered to show us round the
building.

[Illustration: DYAK WOMEN.]

Our guide first pointed with evident pride to the bunch of smoke-dried
human heads (thirty in number) that were hanging from a post in the
ruai, but hastened to assure us, on our examining them rather closely,
that they were all _old_ ones, the Kanowits having a great dread of
being suspected of head-hunting. Proceeding along the ruai, we
followed our cicerone into one of the little doors at the end, leading
into one of the small compartments of the married people, but a pair
of bare legs escaping through the side door into the adjoining "box,"
warned us that the fair occupant was evidently not at home to _us_!
Bidding us sit down, however, and await his return, our guide gave
chase, and presently came back to us, dragging two females of the
tribe with him, notwithstanding their cries and protestations to the
contrary.

These women were fair specimens, as we were afterwards informed, of
the tribe, and were, like the men, tattooed from head to foot. But for
the disgusting habit (which I shall mention anon) of blackening their
teeth and disfiguring the lobes of their ears, they would not have
been bad-looking. They wore a light brown petticoat of cloth woven by
themselves, and reaching from the waist to just above the knee. Their
hair was not left to fall loose, but tied tightly into a knot at the
back of their heads, very much as it is worn in Europe at the present
time. A few brass rings round their waists and arms completed their
attire. Strangely enough, the Kanowit women are, as a rule, darker
than the men.

They lost their sense of shyness after a time, and at length produced
the inevitable siri and penang. At the close of the interview we
begged their acceptance of a piece of Bristol bird's-eye each, which
they at once put in their mouths and commenced chewing, and we then
parted with mutual expressions of goodwill.

We now returned to the Resident and his party. The shouts of laughter
proceeding from their corner of the house announced that business