Neither desiring to plagiarize Cæsar nor to compare my book to Gaul, I
wish to mention briefly that this volume as a whole is divided into
three parts, of which one is occupied by the single poem, “The Dyak
Chief,” the verses that give title to the book; another, the second, is
occupied by American army ballads, and yet another, the third, is
occupied by various verses on miscellaneous subjects.
However, if recollections of my personal campaigns against Cæsar--armed
only with a Latin vocabulary and grammar--serve me rightly, the old
Roman was not merely a worthy foe, but one who might well be held up as
a worthy example; who dealt with his chronicles as he dealt with his
enemies on the field, in a simple, direct, forcible manner, bare of
circumlocution, tautology or ambiguity--that he who runs may read--and
reading, know his Gaul and Gallic chieftains, his Cæsar and his Cæsar’s
legionaries, even as Cæsar knew them.
The initial poem, “The Dyak Chief,” forming Part One, is a romance of
Central Borneo, that I visited in July, 1908, during a little trip
around the World.
Coming over from Java, which I had just finished touring, I arrived at
Bandjermasin, in southeastern Borneo, near the coast, and from whence I
took a small steamer up the Barito River to Poeroek Tjahoe, pronounced
“Poorook Jow,” deep in the interior of the island.
Poeroek Tjahoe was the last white (Dutch) settlement, and from there I
went with three Malay coolies five days tramp on foot through the
jungle, northwest, penetrating the very heart of Borneo, sleeping the
first three nights in the houses of the Dyaks, some nomadic tribes of
whom still roam the jungle as head-hunters, and the last two nights upon
improvised platforms out in the open, till I reached Batoe Paoe, a town
or kampong in the geographical center of the island.
I also visited a nearby village, Olong Liko, afterwards returning by the
Moeroeng and Barito Rivers to Poeroek Tjahoe, and from thence back to
Bandjermasin on the little river-steamer and then by boat to Singapore,
which was the radiating headquarters for my trips to Sumatra, Java,
Borneo and Siam.
Having thus reached the very center of Borneo on foot, I had an
excellent opportunity to study the country, the people and the general
conditions, so that the reader of “The Dyak Chief” need feel no
hesitancy in accepting as accurate and authentic, all descriptions,
details and touches of “local color” or “atmosphere” contained in the
poem.
Full notes on “The Dyak Chief” will be found at the end of the volume.
Part Two contains a number of new American army ballads, gathered mostly
as a result of my personal observations and experiences when serving as
a private in Companies “L” and “G,” 23rd U. S. Infantry (Regulars) and
Troop “I,” 5th U. S. Cavalry (Regulars), during the Philippine
Insurrection of 1899-1902.
As I have just mentioned, the army verses are all new ones, and
consequently not to be found among those contained in my previous
volume, “My Bunkie and Other Ballads.”
Part Three consists of individual poems on various subjects without any
interrelation.
It is sincerely hoped that the reader will make full use of the notes
appended at the end of the book, which addenda I have endeavored to
treat with as much brevity as may be compatible with succinctness.