handrail. When a river is to he crossed an overhangO inO"
tree is chosen, from which the bridge is partly suspended
and partly supported by diagonal struts from the banks, so
as to avoid placing posts in the stream itself, which would
be liable to be carried away by floods. In carrying a path
along the face of a precipice, trees and roots are made use
of for suspension; struts arise from suitable notches or
crevices in the rocks, and if these are not sufficient, immense
Bamboos fifty or sixty feet long are fixed on the
banks or on the branch of a tree below. These bridges
are traversed daily by men and women carrying heavy
loads, so that any insecurity is soon discovered, and, as the
materials are close at hand, immediately repaired. When
a path goes over very steep ground, and becomes slippery
in very wet or very dry weather, the Bamboo is used in
another way. Pieces are cut about a yard long, and
opposite notches being made at each end, holes are formed
through which pegs are driven, and firm and convenient
steps are thus formed with the greatest ease and celerity.
It is true that much of this will decay in one or two
seasons, but it can be so quickly replaced as to make
it more economical than using a harder and more
durable wood.
One of the most striking uses to which Bamboo is
applied by the Dyaks, is to assist them in climbing lofty
trees, by driving in pegs in the way I have already
described at page 85. This method is constantly used in
order to obtain wax, which is one of the most valuable
products of the country. The honey-bee of Borneo very
generally hangs its combs under the branches of the
Tappan, a tree which towers above all others in the
forest, and whose smooth cylindrical trunk often rises a
hundred feet without a branch. The Dyaks climb these
lofty trees at night, building up their Bamboo ladder as
they go, and bringing down gigantic honeycombs. These
furnish them with a delicious feast of honey and young
bees, besides the wax, which they sell to traders, and with
the proceeds buy the much-coveted brass wire, earrings,
and gold-edged handkerchiefs with which they love to
decorate themselves. In ascending Durian and other fruit
trees which branch at from thirty to fifty feet from the
ground, I have seen them use the Bamboo pegs only,
without the upright Bamboo which renders them so much
more secure.
The outer rind of the Bamboo, split and shaved thin, is
the strongest material for baskets; hen-coops, bird-cages,
and conical fish-traps are very quickly made from a single
joint, by splitting off the skin in narrow strips left
attached to one end, while rings of the same material or
of rattan are twisted in at -regular distances. Water is
brought to the houses by little aqueducts formed of large
Bamboos split in half and supported on crossed sticks of