Blown to Bits: The Lonely Man of Rakata, the Malay Archipelago

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

  HUNTING THE GREAT MAN-MONKEY.

  Although Professor Verkimier had promised to return at once, he wascompelled to encamp in the forest, being overtaken by night before hecould reach the river and procure a boat.

  Next morning they started at daybreak. The country over which theypassed had again changed its character and become more hilly. On thesummits of many of the hills Dyak villages could be seen, and ricefields were met with as they went along. Several gullies and rivuletswere crossed by means of native bamboo bridges, and the professorexplained, as he went along, the immense value of the bamboo to thenatives. With it they make their suspension bridges, build theirhouses, and procure narrow planking for their floors. If they wantbroader planks they split a large bamboo on one side and flatten it outto a plank of about eighteen inches wide. Portions of hollow bambooserve as receptacles for milk or water. If a precipice stops a path,the Dyaks will not hesitate to construct a bamboo path along the face ofit, using branches of trees wherever convenient from which to hang thepath, and every crevice or notch in the rocks to receive the ends of thebamboos by which it is supported.

  Honey-bees in Borneo hang their combs, to be out of danger no doubt,under the branches of the Tappan, which towers above all the other treesof the forest. But the Dyaks love honey and value wax as an article oftrade; they therefore erect their ingenious bamboo ladder--which can beprolonged to any height on the smooth branchless stem of the Tappan--andstorm the stronghold of the bees with much profit to themselves, forbees'-wax will purchase from the traders the brass wire, rings,gold-edged kerchiefs and various ornaments with which they decoratethemselves. When travelling, the Dyaks use bamboos as cooking vesselsin which to boil rice and other vegetables; as jars in which to preservehoney, sugar, etcetera, or salted fish and fruit. Split bamboos formaqueducts by which water is conveyed to the houses. A small neatlycarved piece of bamboo serves as a case in which are carried thematerials used in the disgusting practice of betel-nut chewing--whichseems to be equivalent to the western tobacco-chewing. If a pipe iswanted the Dyak will in a wonderfully short space of time make a hugehubble-bubble out of bamboos of different sizes, and if his long-bladedknife requires a sheath the same gigantic grass supplies one almostready-made. But the uses to which this reed may be applied are almostendless, and the great outstanding advantage of it is that it needs noother tools than an axe and a knife to work it.

  At about mid-day the river was reached, and they found a native boat, orprahu, which had been sent down to convey them to the Rajah's village.Here Nigel was received with the hospitality due to a friend of Van derKemp, who, somehow--probably by unselfish readiness, as well as ability,to oblige--had contrived to make devoted friends in whatever part of theMalay Archipelago he travelled.

  Afterwards, in a conversation with Nigel, the professor, referring tothose qualities of the hermit which endeared him to men everywhere,said, with a burst of enthusiasm, which almost outdid himself--

  "You cannot oonderstant Van der Kemp. No man can oonderstant him. Heis goot, right down to zee marrow--kind, amiable, oonselfish, obliging,nevair seems to zink of himself at all, ant, abof all zings, is capable.Vat he vill do, he can do--vat he can do he vill do. But he is sad--very sad."

  "I have observed that, of course," said Nigel. "Do you know what makeshim so sad?"

  The professor shook his head.

  "No, I do not know. Nobody knows. I have tried to find out, but hevill not speak."

  The Orang-Kaya, or rich man, as this hill chief was styled, had providedlodgings for his visitors in the "head-house." This was a largecircular building erected on poles. There is such a house in nearly allDyak villages. It serves as a trading-place, a strangers' room, asleeping-room for unmarried youths, and a general council-chamber. HereNigel found the hermit and Moses enjoying a good meal when he arrived,to which he and the professor sat down after paying their respects tothe chief.

  "The Orang-Kaya hopes that we will stay with him some time and help todefend the village," said Van der Kemp, when they were all seated.

  "Of course you have agreed?" said Nigel.

  "Yes; I came for that purpose."

  "We's allers ready to fight in a good cause," remarked Moses, justbefore filling his mouth with rice.

  "Or to die in it!" added Verkimier, engulfing the breast of a chicken ata bite. "But as zee pirates are not expected for some days, ve may asvell go after zee mias--zat is what zee natifs call zee orang-utan. Itis a better word, being short."

  Moses glanced at the professor out of the corners of his black eyes andseemed greatly tickled by his enthusiastic devotion to business.

  "I am also," continued the professor, "extremely anxious to go at zeebootterflies before--"

  "You die," suggested Nigel, venturing on a pleasantry, whereat Mosesopened his mouth in a soundless laugh, but, observing the professor'sgoggles levelled at him, he transformed the laugh into an astoundingsneeze, and immediately gazed with pouting innocence and interest at hisplate.

  "Do you always sneeze like zat?" asked Verkimier.

  "Not allers," answered the negro simply, "sometimes I gibs way a gooddeal wuss. Depends on de inside ob my nose an' de state ob de wedder."

  What the professor would have replied we cannot say, for just then aDyak youth rushed in to say that an unusually large and gorgeousbutterfly had been seen just outside the village!

  No application of fire to gunpowder could have produced a more immediateeffect. The professor's rice was scattered on the floor, and himselfwas outside the head-house before his comrades knew exactly what was thematter.

  "He's always like that," said the hermit, with a slight twinkle in hiseyes. "Nothing discourages--nothing subdues him. Twice I pulled himout of deadly danger into which he had run in his eager pursuit ofspecimens. And he has returned the favour to me, for he rescued me oncewhen a mias had got me down and would certainly have killed me, for mygun was empty at the moment, and I had dropped my knife."

  "Is, then, the orang-utan so powerful and savage?"

  "Truly, yes, when wounded and driven to bay," returned the hermit. "Youmust not judge of the creature by the baby that Verkimier has tamed. Afull-grown male is quite as large as a man, though very small in thelegs in proportion, so that it does not stand high. It is also verymuch stronger than the most powerful man. You would be quite helplessin its grip, I assure you."

  "I hope, with the professor," returned Nigel, "that we may have a huntafter them, either before or after the arrival of the pirates. I knowhe is very anxious to secure a good specimen for some museum in which heis interested--I forget which."

  As he spoke, the youth who had brought information about the butterflyreturned and said a few words to Moses in his native tongue.

  "What does he say?" asked Niger.

  "Dat Massa Verkimier is in full chase, an' it's my opinion dat when hecomes back he'll be wet all ober, and hab his shins and elbows barked."

  "Why d'you think so?"

  "'Cause dat's de way he hoed on when we was huntin' wid him last year.He nebber larns fro' 'sperience."

  "That's a very fine-looking young fellow," remarked Nigel, referring tothe Dyak youth who had just returned, and who, with a number of othernatives, was watching the visitors with profound interest while theyate.

  As the young man referred to was a good sample of the youth of histribe, we shall describe him. Though not tall, he was well and stronglyproportioned, and his skin was of a reddish-brown colour. Like all hiscomrades, he wore little clothing. A gay handkerchief with a gold laceborder encircled his head, from beneath which flowed a heavy mass ofstraight, jet-black hair. Large crescent-shaped ornaments hung from hisears. His face was handsome and the expression pleasing, though themouth was large and the lips rather thick. Numerous brass ringsencircled his arms above and below the elbows. His only other piece ofcostume was a waist-cloth of blue cotton, which hung down before andbehind. It ended in three bands of re
d, blue, and white. There werealso rows of brass rings on his legs, and armlets of white shells. Athis side he wore a long slender knife and a little pouch containing thematerials for betel-chewing.

  "Yes, and he is as good as he looks," said the hermit. "His name isGurulam, and all the people of his tribe have benefited by the presencein Borneo of that celebrated Englishman Sir James Brooke,--Rajah Brookeas he was called,--who did so much to civilise the Dyaks of Borneo andto ameliorate their condition."

  The prophecy of Moses about the professor was fulfilled. Just as it wasgrowing dark that genial scientist returned, drenched to the skin andcovered with mud, having tumbled into a ditch. His knuckles also wereskinned, his knees and shins damaged, and his face scratched, but he wasperfectly happy in consequence of having secured a really splendidspecimen of a "bootterfly" as big as his hand; the scientific name ofwhich, for very sufficient reasons, we will not attempt to inflict onour readers, and the description of which may be shortly stated by thesingle word--gorgeous!

  Being fond of Verkimier, and knowing his desire to obtain a full-grownorang-utan, Gurulam went off early next morning to search for one.Half-a-dozen of his comrades accompanied him armed only with nativespears, for their object was not to hunt the animal, but to discover oneif possible, and let the professor know so that he might go after itwith his rifle, for they knew that he was a keen sportsman as well as aman of science.

  They did not, indeed, find what they sought for, but they were told bynatives with whom they fell in that a number of the animals had beenseen among the tree-tops not more than a day's march into the forest.They hurried home therefore with this information, and that day--accompanied by the Dyak youths, Nigel, the hermit, and Moses--Verkimierstarted off in search of the mias; intending to camp out or to takeadvantage of a native hut if they should chance to be near one whennight overtook them.

  Descending the hill region, they soon came to more level ground, wherethere was a good deal of swamp, through which they passed on Dyak roads.These roads consisted simply of tree-trunks laid end to end, alongwhich the natives, being barefooted, walk with ease and certainty, butour booted hunters were obliged to proceed along them with extremecaution. The only one who came to misfortune was, as usual, theprofessor; and in the usual way! It occurred at the second of thesetree-roads.

  "Look, look at that remarkable insect!" exclaimed Nigel, eagerly, in theinnocence of his heart. The professor was in front of him; heobediently looked, saw the insect, made an eager step towards it, andnext moment was flat on the swamp, while the woods rang with hiscompanions laughter. The remarkable insect, whatever it was, vanishedfrom the scene, and the professor was dragged, smiling though confused,out of the bog. These things affected him little. His soul was largeand rose superior to such trifles.

  The virgin forest into which they penetrated was of vast extent;spreading over plain, mountain, and morass in every direction forhundreds of miles, for we must remind the reader that the island ofBorneo is considerably larger than all the British islands put together,while its inhabitants are comparatively few. Verkimier had beenabsolutely revelling in this forest for several months--ranging itsglades, penetrating its thickets, bathing, (inadvertently), in itsquagmires, and maiming himself generally, with unwearied energy andunextinguishable enthusiasm; shooting, skinning, stuffing, preserving,and boiling the bones of all its inhabitants--except the human--to thegreat advantage of science and the immense interest and astonishment ofthe natives. Yet with all his energy and perseverance the professor hadfailed, up to that time, to obtain a large specimen of a maleorang-utan, though he had succeeded in shooting several small specimensand females, besides catching the young one which he had tamed.

  It was therefore with much excitement that he learned from a party ofbees'-wax hunters, on the second morning of their expedition, that alarge male mias had been seen that very day. Towards the afternoon theyfound the spot that had been described to them, and a carefulexamination began.

  "You see," said Verkimier, in a low voice, to Nigel, as he went a stepin advance peering up into the trees, with rifle at the "ready" andbending a little as if by that means he better avoided the chance ofbeing seen. "You see, I came to Borneo for zee express purpose ofobtaining zee great man-monkey and vatching his habits.--Hush! Do I nothear somet'ing?"

  "Nothing but your own voice, I think," said Nigel, with a twinkle in hiseye.

  "Vell--hush! Keep kviet, all of you."

  As the whole party marched in single file after the professor, and wereat the moment absolutely silent, this order induced the display of agood many teeth.

  Just then the man of science was seen to put his rifle quickly to theshoulder; the arches of the forest rang with a loud report; varioushorrified creatures were seen and heard to scamper away, and next momenta middle-sized orang-utan came crashing through the branches of a talltree and fell dead with a heavy thud on the ground.

  The professor's rifle was a breech-loader. He therefore lost no time inre-charging, and hurried forward as if he saw other game, while the restof the party--except Van der Kemp, Nigel, and Gurulam--fell behind tolook at and pick up the fallen animal.

  "Look out!" whispered Nigel, pointing to a bit of brown hair that he sawamong the leaves high overhead.

  "Vere? I cannot see him," whispered the naturalist, whose eyes blazedenough almost to melt his blue glasses. "Do _you_ fire, Mr Roy?"

  "My gun is charged only with small-shot, for birds. It is useless forsuch game," said Nigel.

  "Ach! I see!"

  Up went the rifle and again the echoes were startled and the animalkingdom astounded, especially that portion at which the professor hadfired, for there was immediately a tremendous commotion among the leavesoverhead, and another orang of the largest size was seen to cross anopen space and disappear among the thick foliage. Evidently thecreature had been hit, but not severely, for it travelled among thetree-tops at the rate of full five miles an hour, obliging the huntersto run at a rapid pace over the rough ground in order to keep up withit. In its passage from tree to tree the animal showed caution andforesight, selecting only those branches that interlaced with otherboughs, so that it made uninterrupted progress, and also had a knack ofalways keeping masses of thick foliage underneath it so that for sometime no opportunity was found of firing another shot. At last, however,it came to one of those Dyak roads of which we have made mention, sothat it could not easily swing from one tree to another, and thestoppage of rustling among the leaves told that the creature had halted.For some time they gazed up among the branches without seeing anything,but at last, in a place where the leaves seemed to have been thrustaside near the top of one of the highest trees, a great red hairy bodywas seen, and a huge black face gazed fiercely down at the hunters.

  Verkimier fired instantly, the branches closed, and the monster movedoff in another direction. In desperate anxiety Nigel fired both barrelsof his shot-gun. He might as well have fired at the moon. Gurulam wasarmed only with a spear, and Van der Kemp, who was not much of asportsman, carried a similar weapon. The rest of the party were stillout of sight in rear looking after the dead mias.

  It was astonishing how little noise was made by so large an animal as itmoved along. More than once the hunters had to halt and listen intentlyfor the rustling of the leaves before they could make sure of being onthe right track.

  At last they caught sight of him again on the top of a very high tree,and the professor got two more shots, but without bringing him down.Then he was seen, quite exposed for a moment, walking in a stoopingposture along the large limb of a tree, but the hunter was loading atthe time and lost the chance. Finally he got on to a tree whose top wascovered with a dense mass of creepers which completely hid him fromview. Then he halted and the sound of snapping branches was heard.

  "You've not much chance of him now," remarked the hermit, as they allstood in a group gazing up into the tree-top. "I have often seen themias act thus when severely wounded. He is making a nest to
lie downand die in."

  "Zen ve must shoot again," said the professor, moving round the tree andlooking out for a sign of the animal. At last he seemed to have foundwhat he wanted, for raising his rifle he took a steady aim and fired.

  A considerable commotion of leaves and fall of broken branches followed.Then the huge red body of the mias appeared falling through, but it wasnot dead, for it caught hold of branches as it fell and hung on as longas it could; then it came crashing down, and alighted on its face withan awful thud.

  After firing the last shot Verkimier had not reloaded, being too intenton watching the dying struggles of the creature, and when it fell withsuch violence he concluded that it was dead. For the same reason Nigelhad neglected to reload after firing. Thus it happened that when theenormous brute suddenly rose and made for a tree with the evidentintention of climbing it, no one was prepared to stop it except the Dyakyouth Gurulam. He chanced to be standing between the mias and the tree.

  Boldly he levelled his spear and made a thrust that would probably havekilled the beast, if it had not caught the point of the spear and turnedit aside. Then with its left paw it caught the youth by the neck,seized his thigh with one of its hind paws, and fixed its teeth in hisright shoulder.

  Never was man rendered more suddenly and completely helpless, and deathwould have been his sure portion before the hunters had reloaded if Vander Kemp had not leaped forward, and, thrusting his spear completelythrough the animal's body, killed it on the spot.