On their arrival at Sambos, our young hunters according to their usual
custom, procured a native guide to direct them to the haunts of their
game.
In this case it was a Dyak who became their conductor--one of those who
follow the business of bee-hunters; and who, from the very nature of
their calling, are often brought into contact with the bears as well as
the bees.
Under the direction of the Dyak, our hunters made an excursion to a
range of wooded hills, not far from Sambos, where the sun-bear was known
to exist in great numbers; and where one was likely to be found almost
at any time.
As they were passing through the woods, they observed a very singular
species of tree--indeed many species, that might be styled singular; but
one pre-eminently so, that strongly arrested their attention. These
trees did not grow in any great numbers together; but only two or three
in one place; and more generally they stood singly--apart from any of
their own kind, and surrounded by other trees of the forest. But though
surrounded by other sorts, they were overtopped by none. On the
contrary, their own tops rose above all the others to a vast height;
and, what was most singular, they did not put forth a branch from their
trunks until the latter had shot up to some feet above the "spray" of
the surrounding forest. It was this peculiarity that had drawn the
attention of our hunters. They might not have noticed it, had they kept
on under the trees; but, on crossing a slight eminence--where the ground
was open--they chanced to get a view of a number of these tall trees,
and saw that they towered to a vast height, above all the others.
Even their tops had the appearance of tall trees, standing thinly over
the ground--the ground itself being neither more nor less than the
contiguous heads of the other trees, that formed the forest. Had this
forest been a law jungle, there would have been nothing extraordinary in
what they saw; but our hunters had already observed that it was a true
forest of grand trees--most of them a hundred feet in height. As the
trees which had attracted their admiration rose full fifty feet above
the tops of the others, it may be imagined what tall individuals they
were. They were slender, too, in proportion to their height; and these
stems rising two hundred feet, without a single offshoot or branch upon
them, gave the trees the appearance of being still taller than they
actually were--just as a thin clean spar, set upright, looks much taller
than a hill or a house of the same elevation.
We have said that there were no branches for the first hundred feet or
so up the stem. Beyond that there were many and large limbs; which,
diverging only slightly, and in a fastigiate manner, carried the tree
nearly as much higher. These branches were regularly set; and covered
with small, light, green leaves, forming a beautiful round head.
The bark of this tree was white, and by piercing it with a knife, our
hunters perceived that it was soft and milky. The wood, too, for some
inches below the periphery was so spongy, that the blade of the knife
penetrated into it almost as easily as into the stalk of a cabbage.
The wood near the bark was of a white colour. Inwards it became harder;
and had they been able to reach the heart, they would have found it very
hard, and of a dark chocolate colour. On exposure to the air, this
heart-wood turns black as ebony; and is used for similar purposes by the
native Dyaks and Malays, who manufacture from it bracelets and other
_bijouterie_.
On asking their Dyak guide the name of this remarkable tree, he said it
was called the _tapang_. This, however, gave no information regarding
its species; but Alexis, shortly after, in passing under one, observed
some flowers that had fallen from its top; and having examined one of
these, pronounced the tree a species of _ficus_--a very common genus in
the islands of the Indian Archipelago.
If our young hunters were filled with admiration at sight of this
beautiful tree itself, they shortly after observed something that
changed their admiration into wonder. On advancing towards one of the
tapangs, they were struck with a singular serrated appearance that
showed along the edge of its trunk--from the ground up to the base of
its branching head. It looked as if a tall ladder was laid edgeways
along the trunk of the tree--one side of it bidden under the bark! On
drawing nearer, this appearance was explained. A ladder in reality it
was; but one of rare construction; and which could not have been removed
from the tree, without taking it entirely to pieces. On closer
examination, this ladder proved to be a series of bamboo spikes--driven
into the soft trunk in a slightly slanting direction, and about two feet
apart, one above the other. The spikes themselves forming the rounds,
were each about a foot in length; and held firmly in their places by a
bamboo rail--to which their outer ends were attached by means of thin
strips of rattan. This rail extended the whole way from the ground to
the commencement of the branches.
It was evident that this extemporised ladder had been constructed for
the purpose of climbing the tree, but with what object? Upon this head
their Dyak guide was the very man to enlighten them: since it was he
himself who had made the ladder. The construction of such ladders, and
afterwards the climbing of them, were the most essential branches of his
calling--which, as already stated, was that of a bee-hunter. His
account of the matter was as follows. A large wasp-like bee, which is
called _lanyeh_, builds its nests upon these tall tapangs. The nest
consists of an accumulation of pale yellowish wax--which the bees attach
to the under-side of the thick branches, so that these may shelter the
hive from the rain. To reach these nests, the bamboo ladder is
constructed, and the ascent is made--not for the purpose of obtaining
the honey alone--but more on account of the wax, out of which the combs
are formed. The lanyeh being as much _wasp_ as _bee_, produces a very
small quantity of honey; and that, too, of inferior quality; but the wax
is a valuable article, and of this several dollars' worth may be
procured from a single hive.
It is dearly earned money--very dearly earned, indeed; but the poor Dyak
bee-hunter follows the calling from motives not easily understood--since
almost any other would afford him a living, with less labour and
certainly with less _pain_. Pain, indeed! he never succeeds in
plundering the store of the _lanyeh_, without being severely stung by
the insects; and though their sting is quite as painful as that of the
common wasp, experience seems to have rendered the Dyak almost
indifferent to it. He ascends the flimsy ladder without fear--carrying
a blazing torch in his hand, and a cane basket on his back. By means of
the torch, he ejects the bees from their aerial domiciles; and, then
having torn their combs from the branches, he deposits them in his
basket--the incensed insects all the while buzzing around his ears, and
inflicting numerous wounds over his face and throat, as well as upon his
naked arms! Very often he returns to the ground with his head swollen
to twice the size it was previous to his going up! Not a very pleasant
profession is that of a Bornean bee-hunter!