Viewed from the deck of the Negros, Samarinda, which is the capital of the Residency of Koetei, was entirely8 satisfying. It corresponded in every respect to the mental picture which I had drawn9 of a Bornean town. It straggles for two miles or more along a dusty road shaded by a double row of flaming fire-trees. Facing on the road are a few-score miserable10 shops kept by Chinese and Arabs and the somewhat more pretentious11 buildings which house the offices of the European trading companies. Further out, at the edge of the town, are the dwellings12 of the Dutch officials and traders—comfortable-looking, one-story, whitewashed14 houses with deep verandahs, peering coyly out from the midst of fragrant15, blazing gardens. The Residency, the Custom House, the Police Barracks and the Koetei Club can readily be distinguished16 by the Dutch flags that droop17 above them. The river-bank itself is one interminable street. Here dwells the brown-skinned population—Malays, Bugis, Makassars, and a sprinkling of Sea Dyaks. Sometimes the flimsy, cane18-walled, leaf-thatched huts, perched aloft on bamboo stilts19, stand, like flocks of storks20, in clusters. Again they stray a little apart, seeking protection from the pitiless sun beneath clumps21 of palms. Malays in short, tight jackets and long, tight breeches of kaleidoscopic22 colors were sauntering along the yellow road, oblivious23 of the sun.[101] On the shelving beach naked brown men were mending their nets or pottering about their dwellings. Now and then I caught a glimpse of a European, cool and comfortable in topee and white linen24. It was all exactly as I had expected. It was, indeed, almost too story-booky to be true. Here, at last, was a green and lovely land, unspoiled by noisy, prying25 tourists, where one could lounge the lazy days away beneath the palm-trees or stroll with dusky beauties on a beach silvered by the tropic moon. I was impatient to go ashore26.
Changing from pajamas27 to whites, I ordered the launch to the gangway and went ashore to pay my respects to the Resident. To leave your card on the local representative of Queen Wilhelmina is the first rule of etiquette28 to be observed by the foreigner traveling in the Outer Possessions. In Java, which is more highly civilized29, it is not so necessary. Unlike the Latin races, the Dutch are not by nature a suspicious people, but political unrest is prevalent throughout the East, and with Bolshevists, Chinese agitators30 and other fomenters of disaffection surreptitiously at work among the natives, it is the part of prudence31 to establish your respectability at the start. To gain a friendly footing with the authorities is to save yourself from possible annoyance32 later on.
As I approached the shore the glamor33 lent by distance disappeared. The river-bank, which had looked so alluring34 from the cutter's deck, proved on closer inspection35 to be as squalid as the back-yard of a Neapolitan tenement36. It was littered with dead cats [102]and fowls37 and fish and castaway vegetables and rotten fruit and tin cans and greasy38 ashes and refuse from fishing nets and decaying cocoanuts by the million and sodden39 rags. This stewing40 garbage was strewn ankle-deep upon the sand or was floating on the surface of the river, not drifting seaward, as one would expect, but languidly following the tide up and down, forever lolling along the bank. Above this putrefying feast swarmed42 myriads43 of flies, their buzzing combining in a drone like that of an electric fan. The sun struck viciously down upon the yellow foreshore, its glare reflected by the hard-packed sands as by a sheet of brass44; the heat-waves danced and flickered45. Sending the launch back to the cutter, I picked my way across this noisome46 place to the shelter of the trees along the road. But the shade that had appeared so inviting47 from the river proved as illusory as everything else. Grass? There was none. The earth was baked to the hardness of asphalt.
To make matters worse, I found that I had landed too far down the beach. The building that I had assumed was the Residency proved to be the Custom House. The Harbor Master, whom I encountered there, seized the opportunity to present me with a bill for a hundred guilders—something over forty dollars—for port dues. It seemed a high price to pay for the privilege of lying in the stream, a quarter-mile off-shore. In all the Dutch ports at which we touched I noted48 this same disposition49 on the part of the authorities to charge all that the traffic would bear—and then [103]some. Foreign vessels50 are rarely seen at Samarinda, and one would suppose that they would be welcomed accordingly, but the Dutch are a business people and do not permit sentiment to interfere51 with a chance to make a few honest guilders.
The Residency, I found upon inquiry52, was two miles away, in the outskirts53 of the town. And, as there are neither rickshaws nor carriages for hire in Samarinda, I was compelled to walk. It was really too hot to move. In five minutes my clothes were as wet as though I had fallen in the river. The green silk lining54 of my sun-hat crocked and ran down my face in emerald rivulets55. When I had covered half the distance I paused beneath a waringin tree to rest. A breath of breeze from the river, sighing through the palms, brought to my streaming cheeks a hint of coolness and to my nostrils56 more than a hint of the garbage broiling57 on the beach. Anyone who could be romantic in Borneo must be in love.
The Assistant Resident, Monsieur de Haan, was as glad to see me as a banker away from home is to see a copy of The Wall Street Journal. I brought him a whiff of that great outside world from which he was an exile, with whose doings he kept in touch only through the meager58 despatches in the papers brought by the fortnightly mail-boat from Java, or through occasional travelers like myself. Dutch officials in the Indies can obtain leave only once in ten years and Monsieur de Haan had not visited the mother country for nearly a decade, so that when he learned I [104]had recently been in Holland he was pathetically eager to hear the gossip of the homeland. For an hour I lounged in a Cantonese chair beneath the leisurely59 swinging punkah—the motive60 power for the punkah being provided by a native on the verandah outside, who mechanically pulled the cord even while he slept—and chatted of homely61 things: of a restaurant which we both knew on the Dam in Amsterdam, of bathing on the sands of Scheviningen, of band concerts on summer evenings in the Haagsche Bosch. Only when his long-pent curiosity as to happenings in Europe had been appeased62 did I find an opportunity to mention the reasons which had brought me to Samarinda. I wished to go up country, I explained. I wanted to see the real jungle and the strange tribes which dwell in it; particularly I wished to see the head-hunters. Now in this I was fully63 prepared for discouragement and dissuasion64, for head-hunters are not assets to a country; to a visitor they are not displayed with pride. When, in the Philippines, I wished to see the head-hunting Igorots; when I asked the Japanese for permission to visit the head-hunters of Formosa, I met only with excuses and evasions65. At my taste the officials pretended to be surprised and grieved. But Monsieur de Haan, doubtless because he had lived so long in the wilds that head-hunters were to him a commonplace, not only made no objection, he even offered to accompany me.
"We can go up the Koetei on your cutter," he suggested. "It is navigable as far as Long Iram, two [105]hundred miles up-country, which is the farthest point inland that one of our garrisons66 is stationed. Thus you will be able to see the Dyak country as comfortably as you could see Holland from the deck of a canal boat. On our way we might pay a visit to the Sultan of Koetei, who has a palace at Tenggaroeng. Though he has no real power to speak of, he exercises considerable influence among the wild tribes, of which he is the hereditary67 ruler. He's the very man to put you in touch with the head-hunters."
The suggestion sounded fine. Moreover, in visiting savages68 as temperamental as the Dyaks, there would be a certain comfort in having the head of the government along. So, as Monsieur de Haan did not appear to be pressed with business, we arranged to start up-river the following morning.
It was late afternoon when I returned to the Negros. I was completely wilted70 by the terrible humidity, and, as the river looked cool and inviting in the twilight71, I decided72 to refresh my body and my spirits by a swim. But when I suggested to the Doctor that he join me he shook his head gloomily.
"Nothing doing," he said. "I've been wanting to go in all day but the port surgeon tells me that I'd be committing suicide."
"But why?" I demanded irritably73, for I was ill-tempered from the heat. "It's perfectly74 clean out here in mid-stream and there is no danger from sharks here, as there was at Zamboanga and Jolo."
By way of replying he pointed75 to a black object, [106]which I took to be a log, that was floating on the surface of the river, perhaps fifty yards off the cutter's gangway.
"That's why," he said dryly.
As he spoke76 a dugout, driven by half-a-dozen paddles in the hands of lusty natives, came racing77 down stream. As the canoe drew abreast78 of us, the paddlers chanting a barbaric chorus, there was a sudden swirl79 in the water and the object which I had taken for a log abruptly80 dropped out of sight.
"A crocodile!" I ejaculated, a little shiver chasing itself up and down my spine81.
The Doctor nodded.
"The river is alive with them," he said. "Man-eaters, too. The port surgeon told me that they get a native or so every day."
"I've changed my mind about wanting a swim," I remarked, heading for the ship's shower-bath.
(Dusk is settling on the great river and the palm fronds82 are gently stirring before the breeze that comes with nightfall on the Line. If you have nothing better to do, suppose you sit down beside me in a deck-chair and let me tell you something about these cruel and cunning monsters and the curious methods by which they are captured. Boy! Pass the cheroots and bring us something cold to drink.)
Though crocodiles are found everywhere in Malaysia, they attain83 their greatest size and ferocity in the[107] rivers of Borneo, it being no uncommon84 thing for them to attack and capsize the frail85 native canoes, killing86 their occupants as they flounder in the water. I suppose that the crocodile of Borneo more nearly approaches the giant saurians of prehistoric87 times than anything alive to-day. Imagine, if you please, a creature as large as a ship's launch, with the swiftness and ferocity of a man-eating shark, the cunning of a snake, a body so heavily armored with scales that it is impervious88 to everything save the most high-powered bullets, a tail that is capable of knocking down an ox, and a pair of jaws89 that can cut a man in two at a single snap. How would you like to encounter that sort of thing when you were having a pleasant swim, I ask you? Compared to the crocodile of Malaysia, the Florida alligator90 is about as formidable as a lizard91. One was captured while we were at Sandakan which measured slightly over twenty-eight feet from the end of his ugly snout to the tip of his vicious tail. Before you raise your eyebrows92 incredulously you might take a look at the accompanying photograph of this monster. Nor was this a record crocodile, for, shortly before our arrival at Samarinda, one was caught in the Koetei which measured ten metres, or within a few inches of thirty-three feet.
The crocodile obtains its meals by the simple expedient93 of lying motionless just beneath the surface of a pool where the natives are accustomed to bathe or where they go for water. The unsuspecting brown girl trips jauntily94 down to the river-bank to fill her[108] amphora—usually a battered95 Standard Oil tin. As she bends over the stream there comes without the slightest warning the lightning swish of a scaly96 tail, a scream, the crunch97 of monster jaws, a widening eddy98, a scarlet99 stain overspreading the surface of the water—and there is one less inhabitant of Borneo. But instead of proceeding100 to devour101 its victim then and there, the crocodile carries the body up a convenient creek102, where it has the self-control to leave it until it is sufficiently103 gamey to satisfy its palate. For the crocodile, like the hunter, does not like freshly killed meat. Hence, a crocodile swimming up-stream with a native in its mouth is by no means an uncommon sight on Borne an rivers.
"But it is a quick death," as an Englishman whom I met in Borneo philosophically104 observed. "They don't play with you as a cat plays with a mouse—they just hold you under the water until you are drowned."
Yet, in spite of the hundreds who fall victim to the terrible jaws each year, the natives seem incapable105 of observing the slightest precautions. For superstitious106 reasons they will not disturb the crocodile until it has shown itself to be a man-eater. If the crocodile will live at peace with him the native has no wish to start a quarrel. But the day usually comes when a native who has gone down to the river fails to return. In America, under such circumstances, the relatives of the missing man would send for grappling irons and an undertaker. But in Borneo they summon a professional crocodile hunter. The idea of this is not so[109] much to obtain revenge as to recover the brass ornaments107 which the dear departed was wearing at the moment of his taking off, for, though human life is the cheapest thing there is in Borneo, brass is extremely dear.
The professional crocodile hunters are usually Malays. One of the best known and most successful in Borneo is an old man who runs a ferry across the Barito at Bandjermasin. He has capitalized his skill and cunning by organizing himself into a sort of crocodile liability company, as it were. Anyone may secure a policy in this company by paying him a weekly premium108 of 2? Dutch cents. When one of his policy holders109 is overtaken by death in the form of a pair of four-foot jaws the old man turns the ferry over to one of his children and sets out to fulfill110 the terms of his contract by capturing the offending saurian, recovering from its stomach the weighty bracelets111, anklets and earrings112 worn by the deceased, and restoring them to the next of kin13. In order to make good he sometimes has to kill a number of crocodiles, but he keeps on until he gets the right one. This is not as difficult as it sounds, for the big man-eaters usually have their recognized haunts in certain deep pools in the rivers, many of them, indeed, being known to the natives by name. The old ferryman at Bandjermasin has been so successful in the conduct of his curious avocation113 that, so the Dutch Resident assured me, he has several hundred policy holders who pay him their premiums[110] with punctilious114 regularity115, thereby116 giving him a very comfortable income.
The method pursued by the crocodile hunters of Borneo is as effective as it is ingenious. Their fishing tackle consists of a hook, which is a straight piece of hard wood, about the size of a twelve-inch ruler, sharpened at both ends; a ten-foot leader, woven from the tough, stringy bark of the baru tree; and a single length of rattan117 or cane, fifty feet or so in length, which serves as a line. One end of the leader is attached to a shallow notch118 cut in the piece of wood, the other end is fastened to the rattan. With a few turns of cotton one end of the stick is then lightly bound to the leader, thus bringing the two into a straight line. Then comes the bait, which must be chosen with discrimination. Though the body of a dog or pig will usually answer, the morsel119 that most infallibly tempts120 a crocodile is the carcass of a monkey. But it must not be a freshly killed monkey, mind you. A crocodile will only swallow meat that is in an advanced stage of decomposition121, the more overpowering its stench the greater the likelihood of the bait being taken. The bait is securely lashed122 to the pointed stick, though anyone but a Malay would require a gas-mask to perform this part of the operation.
Everything now being ready, the bait is suspended from the bough123 of a tree overhanging the pool which the crocodile is known to frequent, being so arranged that the carcass swings a foot or so above the surface of the stream at high water level, the end of the rattan[111] being planted in the bank. Lured124 by the smell of the bait, which in that torrid climate quickly acquires a bouquet125 which can be detected a mile to leeward126, the crocodile is certain sooner or later to thrust its long snout out of the water and snap at the odoriferous bundle dangling127 so temptingly overhead, the slack line offering no resistance until the bait has been swallowed and the brute128 starts to make off. Then the man-eater gets the surprise of its long and checkered129 life, for the planted end of the rattan holds sufficiently to snap the threads which bind130 the pointed stick to the leader. The stick, thus caused to resume its original position at right angles to the line, becomes jammed across the crocodile's belly131, the pointed ends burying themselves in the tender abdominal132 lining.
The next morning the hunter finds bait and tackle missing, but a brief search usually reveals the coils of rattan floating on the surface of some deep pool at no great distance from the spot where the bait was taken. At the bottom of the pool Mr. Crocodile is writhing133 in the throes of acute indigestion. Taking the end of the line ashore, the hunter summons assistance. A score of jubilant natives lay hold on the rattan. Then ensues a struggle that makes tarpon fishing as tame in comparison as catching134 shiners. At first the monster tries to resist the straining line, its tail flailing135 the water into foam136. The great jaws close on the leader like a bear-trap, but the loosely braided strands137 of baru fiber138 slip between the pointed teeth. The leader holds. The natives haul at the line as sailors[112] haul at a halliard. Soon there emerges from the churning waters a long and incredibly ugly snout, followed by a low, reptilian139 head, with venomous, heavy-lidded, scarlet eyes, a body as broad as a row-boat and armored with horny scales, and finally a tremendous tail, twice as long as an elephant's trunk and twice as powerful, that spells death for any human being that comes within its reach. Sometimes it happens that the hunters momentarily become the hunted, for the infuriated beast, catching sight of its enemies, may come at them with a rush and a bellow140, but more often it has to be dragged to land, fighting every inch of the way.
Now comes the most hazardous141 part of the whole proceeding—the securing of the monster. By means of a noose142, deftly143 thrown, the great jaws are rendered harmless. Another noose encircles the lashing144 tail and binds145 it securely to a tree. The front legs are next lashed behind the back and the hind146 legs treated in the same fashion. Thus deprived of the support of its legs, the crocodile is helpless and it is safe to release its tail. A stout147 bamboo is then passed between the bound legs and a score of sweating natives bear the captive in triumph to the nearest government station, where the bounty148 is claimed. The crocodile is then killed, the stomach cut open and its contents examined, any brassware or other ornaments worn by its victim at the time of his demise149 being handed over to the heirs.
The method of fishing pursued by the Dyaks of[113] Borneo is quite as curious, in its way, as their manner of catching crocodiles. Instead of netting the fish, or catching them with hook and line, they asphyxiate150 them, using for the purpose a poison obtained from the tuba root, known to scientists as Cocculus indicus. When a Dyak village is in need of food the entire community, men, women and children, repairs to a stream in which fish are known to be plentiful151. Across the stream a sort of picket152 fence is erected153 by planting bamboos close together. In the center of this fence is a narrow opening leading into an enclosure like a corral, the walls of which are made in the same fashion. When this part of the preparations has been completed a party of natives proceeds up-stream by canoe for a dozen, or more miles, taking with them a plentiful supply of tuba root. Early the next morning the canoes are filled with water, in which the tuba root is beaten until the water is as white and frothy as soapsuds. When a sufficient quantity of this highly toxic154 liquid has thus been obtained, it is emptied into the stream and, after a brief wait, the canoes are again launched and the fishermen drift slowly down the current in the wake of the poison. Many of the fish are stupefied by the tuba and, as they rise struggling to the surface, are speared by the Dyaks. Other, seeking to escape the poisonous wave, dart155 down-stream and, when halted by the barrier, pour through the opening into the corral, where they are captured by the thousands. I might add that the tuba does not affect the flesh of the fish, which can be eaten with safety. As a[114] means of obtaining food in wholesale156 quantities fishing with tuba is perhaps justified157. As a sport it is in the same class with shooting duck from airplanes with machine-guns.
Monsieur de Haan, wearing the brass-buttoned white uniform and gold-laced conductor's cap which is the garb41 prescribed for Dutch colonial officials, came abroad the Negros shortly after breakfast. The gangway was hoisted158, Captain Galvez gave brisk orders from the bridge, there was a jangle of bells in the engine-room, and we were off up the Koetei, into the mysterious heart of Borneo. Above Samarinda the great river flows between solid walls of vegetation. The density159 of the Bornean jungle is indeed almost unbelievable. It is a savage69 tangle160 of bamboos, palms, banyans, mangroves, and countless161 varieties of shrubs162 and giant ferns, the whole laced together by trailers and creepers. Contrary to popular belief, there is little color to relieve the somber163 monotony of dark brown trunks and dark green foliage164. It is as gloomy as the nave165 of a cathedral at twilight. Here and there may be seen some vine with scarlet berries and many orchids166 swing from the higher branches like incandescent167 globes of colored glass. But it is usually impossible for one on the ground to see the finest blooms, which turn their faces to the sunlight above the canopy169 of green. Gray apes chatter170 in the tree-tops; strange tropic birds of gorgeous plumage flit from bough to bough, monstrous171 reptiles172 slip silently through the[115] undergrowth; insects buzz in swarms173 above the putrid174 swamps; occasionally the jungle crashes beneath the tread of some heavy animal—a rhinoceros175, perhaps, or a wild bull, or an orang-utan. (I might mention, parenthetically, that orang-utan means, in the Malay language, "man of the forest," while orang-outang, the name which we incorrectly apply to the great red-haired anthropoid176, means "man in debt.") The Bornean jungle is a place of indescribable dismalness177 and dread178, its gloom seldom dissipated by the sun, its awesome179 silence broken only by the stirrings of the unseen creatures which lurk180 underfoot and overhead and all around.
The palace of the Sultan of Koetei stands in the edge of the jungle at a horseshoe bend in the river. You come on it with startling abruptness—miles and miles of primeval wilderness and then, quite unexpectedly, a bit of civilization. In no respect does its exterior181 come up to what you would expect the palace of an Oriental ruler to be. It is a great barn of a place, two stories in height, painted a bright pink, with the arms of Koetei emblazoned above the entrance. It reminded me of a Coney Island dance hall or one of the tabernacles built for Billy Sunday.
A broad flight of white marble steps leads to a wide, covered terrace of the same incongruous material. This terrace opens directly into the great throne-hall, a lofty apartment of impressive proportions, though its furnishings are a bizarre mixture of Oriental taste and Occidental tawdriness. Its marble[116] floor is strewn with splendid rugs and tiger-skins; hanging from the ceiling are enormous cut-glass chandeliers; set in the walls, on either side of the scarlet-and-gold throne, are life-size portraits of the present Sultan's father and grandfather done in glazed182 Delft tiles, which seem more appropriate for a bathroom than a throne-hall. From each end of the apartment scarlet-carpeted staircases, with gilt183 balustrades, lead to the second floor. Under one of these staircases is a sort of closet, with glass doors, which looks for all the world like a large edition of a telephone booth in an American hotel. The doors were sealed with strips of paper affixed184 by means of wax wafers, but, peering through the glass, I could made out a large table piled high with trays of precious stones, ingots of virgin185 gold and silver, vessels, utensils186 and images of the same precious metals. It was the state treasure of Koetei and was worth, so the Resident told me, upward of a million dollars.
When I was at Tenggaroeng the young Sultan, an anaemic-looking youth in the early twenties, had not yet been permitted by the Dutch authorities to ascend6 the throne, the country being ruled by his uncle, the Regent, an elderly, affable gentleman who, in his white drill suit and round white cap, was the image of a Chinese cook employed by a Californian friend of mine. Upon the formal accession of the young Sultan the seals of the treasury187 would be broken, I was told, and the treasure would be his to spend as he saw fit. I rather imagine, however, that the Dutch [117]controleur attached to his court in the capacity of adviser188 will have something to say should the youthful monarch189 show a disposition to squander190 his inheritance.
Up-stairs we were shown through a series of apartments filled to overflowing191 with the loot of European shops—ornate brass beds, inlaid bureaus and chiffoniers, toilet-sets of tortoise-shell and ivory, washbowls and pitchers192 of Sèvres, Dresden and Limoges, garnish193 vases, statuettes, music-boxes, mechanical toys, models of all ships and engines, and a thousand other useless and inappropriate articles, for, when the late Sultan paid his periodic visits to Europe, the shopkeepers of Paris, Amsterdam and The Hague seized the opportunity to unload on him, at exorbitant195 prices, their costliest196 and most unsalable wares197. Opening a marquetry wardrobe, the Regent displayed with great pride his collection of uniforms and ceremonial costumes, most of which, the Resident told me, had been copied from pictures which had caught his fancy in books and magazines. That wardrobe would have delighted the heart of a motion-picture company's property-man, for it contained everything from a Dutch court dress, complete with sword and feathered hat, to a state costume of sky-blue broadcloth edged with white fur and trimmed with diamond buttons. I expressed a desire to see the royal crown, for I had noticed that the pictures of former sultans, which I had seen in the throne-room, showed them wearing crowns of a peculiar198 design, strikingly similar to those worn by the Emperors of Abyssinia. My request resulted in a whispered colloquy199 [118]between the Resident, the Controleur, the Regent and the young Sultan. After a brief discussion the Resident explained that the Controleur kept the crown locked up in his safe, but that he would get it if I wished to see it. To the obvious relief of everyone except the young Sultan I assured them that it did not matter. He seemed distinctly disappointed. I imagine that he would have liked to have gotten his hands on it.
Outside the palace—just below its windows, in fact—is a long, low, dirt-floored, wooden-roofed shed, such as American farmers build to keep their wagons200 and farm machinery201 under. This was the royal cemetery202. Beneath it the former rulers of Koetei lie buried, their resting-places being marked by a most curious assortment203 of fantastically carved tombs and headstones. Some of the tombs hold the ashes of men who sat on the throne of Koetei when it was one of the great kingdoms of the East, long before the coming of the white man.
Lady luck was kind to me, for shortly after our arrival at Tenggaroeng a delegation204 of Dyaks from one of the tribes of the far interior appeared at the palace to lay some tribal205 dispute before the Regent for his adjudication. There were about a score of them, including a rather comely206 young woman, whose comeliness207 was somewhat marred208, however, according to European standards at least, by the lobes168 of her ears being stretched until they touched her shoulders by the great weight of the brass earrings which depended from them. The warriors210 were the finest physical [119]specimens of manhood that I saw in all Malaysia—tall, slim, muscular, magnificently developed fellows, with bright, rather intelligent faces. They had the broad shoulders and small hips194 of Roman athletes and when the sun struck on their oiled brown skins they looked like the bronzes in a museum. Unlike the natives we had seen along the coast, whose garments made a slight concession211 to the prejudices of civilization, these children of the wild "wore nothing much before and rather less than 'arf o' that be'ind." Several of them were armed with the sumpitan, or blow-gun, which is the national weapon of the Dyaks, and each of them carried at his waist a parang-ilang, the terrible long-bladed knife which the head-hunter uses to kill and decapitate his victims.
Monsieur de Haan, as well as the other Dutch officials whom I questioned on the subject, attributed the prevalence of head-hunting in Borneo to the vanity of the Dyak women. He explained that, just as American girls expect candy and flowers from the young men who are attentive212 to them, so Dyak maidens213 expect freshly severed214 human heads. The warrior209 who refused to present his lady-love with such grisly evidences of his devotion would be rejected by her and ostracized215 by his tribe. Nor does head-hunting end with marriage, for the standing216 of both the man and his wife in the community depends upon the number of grinning skulls217 which swing from the ridgepole of their hut. Heads are to a Dyak what money is to a man in civilized countries—the more he has, the greater his importance.[120] The Controleur at Tenggaroeng assured me very earnestly that his Dyak charges were by no means ferocious218 or bloodthirsty by nature and that they practised head-hunting less from pleasure than from force of custom. But I am compelled to accept such an estimate of the Dyak character with reservations. From all that I could learn, head-hunting is a sport, like fox-hunting in England. Nor does it, as a rule, involve any great risk to the hunters, for the head-hunting raids are usually mere219 butcheries of defenceless people, the Dyaks either stalking their victim in the bush and killing him from behind, or attacking a village when the warriors are absent and slaughtering220 everyone whom they find in it—old, men, women, and children. The head of an orang-utan, by the way, is as highly prized in many of the Dyak tribes as that of a human being. Nor is this surprising, for the warrior who single-handed can kill one of the mighty221 anthropoids is deserving of the trophy222.
During my stay in Borneo I heard many theories advanced in explanation of head-hunting. Some authorities claimed that it is the Dyak's way of establishing a reputation for prowess. Others asserted that he takes heads merely to gratify the vanity of his women. There are still others who hold the opinion that the Dyak believes that he inherits the courage and cunning of those he kills. In certain of the Dyak tribes the heads are treated with profound reverence223, being wreathed with flowers, offered the choicest morsels224 of food, and sometimes being given a place at the table,[121] while in other tribes they are hung from the ridgepole and displayed as trophies225 of the chase. My own opinion is that, though prestige and vanity and superstition226 all contribute to the prevalence of head-hunting, in the inherent savagery227 of the Dyak is found the true explanation of the custom.
I have already made passing mention of that characteristic weapon of the Dyaks, the sumpitan, or, as it is called by foreigners, the blow-gun. The sumpitan is a piece of hard wood, from six to eight feet in length and in circumference228 slightly larger than the handle of a broom. Running through it lengthwise is a hole about the size of a lead-pencil. A broad spear-blade is usually lashed to one end of the sumpitan, like a bayonet, thus providing a weapon for use at close quarters. The dart is made from a sliver229 of bamboo, or from a palm-frond, scraped to the size of a steel knitting-needle. One end of the dart is imbedded in a cork-shaped piece of pith which fits the hole in the sumpitan as a cartridge230 fits the bore of a rifle; the other end, which is of needle-sharpness, is smeared231 with a paste made from the milky232 sap of the upas tree dissolved in a juice extracted from the root of the tuba. With the possible exception of curare, this is the deadliest poison known, the slightest scratch from a dart thus poisoned paralyzing the respiratory center and causing almost instant death. The dart is expelled from the sumpitan by a quick, sharp exhalation of the breath. In fact, M. de Haan told me that among certain of the Dyak tribes virtually all of the men suffer from[122] rupture233 as a result of the constant use of the blow-gun. Though I have heard those who have never seen the sumpitan in use sneer234 at it as a toy, it is, at short distances, one of the most accurate weapons in existence and, when its darts235 are poisoned, one of the deadliest. In order to show me what could be done with the sumpitan, the Regent stuck in the earth a bamboo no larger than a woman's little finger, and a Dyak, taking up his position at a distance of thirty paces which I stepped off myself, hit the almost indistinguishable mark with his darts twelve times running. That, as the late Colonel Cody would have put it, "is some shooting."
In Borneo the use of the blow-gun is not confined to the Dyaks. They are also used by fish! That is to say, by a certain species of fish. This fish, which is remarkable236 neither in size nor color, seldom being larger than our domestic goldfish, is known to the natives as ikan sumpit (literally "fish with a sumpitan") and to science as Toxodes jaculator. But it is unique among the finny tribe in possessing the curious power, on corning to the surface, of being able to squirt from its mouth a tiny jet of water. This it uses with unerring aim against insects, such as flies, grasshoppers237 and spiders, resting on plants along the edge of the streams, causing them to fall into the water, where they become an easy prey238 to these Dyaks of the deep. It was lucky for us that the crocodiles were not armed with blow-guns!
When Latins engage in a serious quarrel they are[123] prone239 to decide it with the stiletto, or, if they belong to the class which subscribes240 to the code, they meet on the field of honor with rapiers or pistols; Anglo-Saxons are accustomed to settle their disputes in a court of law or with their fists; but when Dyaks become involved in a controversy241 which cannot be adjusted by the tribal council, they have recourse to the s'lam ayer, or trial by water. This curious method of deciding disputes is conducted with great formality, according to the rules of an established code. For example, should two husky young head-hunters become involved in a lovers' quarrel over a village belle—the lobes of whose ears are probably pulled down to her shoulders by the weight of her brass earrings—they adjourn242, with their seconds and their friends, to what might appropriately be called the pool of honor. Almost any place where there are four or five feet of water will do. Into the bottom of the pool the seconds drive two stout bamboo poles, a few yards apart. The rivals then wade243 out into the water and take up their positions, each grasping a pole. At a signal from the chief who is acting244 as umpire they plunge245 beneath the water, each duelist keeping his nostrils closed with one hand while with the other he clings to the pole so as to keep his head below the surface. As both of them would drown themselves rather than acknowledge defeat by coming to the surface voluntarily, at the first sign either of the two gives of being asphyxiated246, the seconds, who are watching their principals closely, drag the rivals from the water. They are then held up by[124] the heels, head downward, in order to drain off the water they have swallowed, the one who first recovers consciousness being declared the victor and awarded the hand of the lady fair. It is a quaint247 custom.
As I have no desire to strain your credulity to the breaking-point, I will touch on only one more Dyak custom—the disposal of the dead. It seems a fitting subject with which to bring this account of the wild men to a close. Certain of the Dyak tribes expose their dead in trees, some burn them, while still others bury them until the flesh has disappeared, when they exhume248 the skeletons, disarticulate them, and seal the bones in the huge jars of Chinese porcelain249 which are a Dyak's most prized possession. Sometimes these burial-jars are kept in the family dwelling—a rather gruesome article of furniture to the European mind—but more often they are deposited in a grave-house, a small, fantastically decorated hut or shed which serves as a family vault250. But I doubt if any people on the face of the globe have so weird251 a custom of disposing of their dead as the Kapuas of Central Borneo, who hollow out the trunk of a growing tree and in the space thus prepared insert the corpse252 of the departed. The bark is carefully replaced over the opening and the tree continues to grow and flourish—literally a living tomb.
Noticing that I was interested in the equipment of the Dyaks, the Regent of Koetei called up their chief and, without so much as a by-your-leave, presented me with his sumpitan and the quiver of poisoned darts, his [125]wooden shield—a long, narrow buckler of some light wood, tastily trimmed with seventy-two tufts of human hair, mementoes of that number of enemies slain253 on head-hunting expeditions—a peculiar coat of mail, composed of overlapping254 pieces of bark, capable of turning an arrow, and his imposing255 head-dress, which consisted of a cap formed from a leopard's head, with a sort of visor made from the beak256 of a hornbill, the whole surmounted257 by a bunch of yard-long tail-feathers from some bright-plumaged bird. When the presentation was concluded all the chieftain had left was his breech-clout. He did not share in my enthusiasm. From the murderous glance which he shot at me when the Regent was not looking, I judged that if he ever met me alone in the jungle he would get his shield back, with another scalp to add to his collection. And I could guess whose head that scalp would come from.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
atlas
|
|
| n.地图册，图表集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
smacks
|
|
| 掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
gateway
|
|
| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
penetrating
|
|
| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
ascending
|
|
| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
ascend
|
|
| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
wilderness
|
|
| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
pretentious
|
|
| adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
dwellings
|
|
| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
kin
|
|
| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
whitewashed
|
|
| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
droop
|
|
| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
cane
|
|
| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
stilts
|
|
| n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
storks
|
|
| n.鹳( stork的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
clumps
|
|
| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
kaleidoscopic
|
|
| adj.千变万化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
oblivious
|
|
| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
linen
|
|
| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
prying
|
|
| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
ashore
|
|
| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
pajamas
|
|
| n.睡衣裤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
etiquette
|
|
| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
civilized
|
|
| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
agitators
|
|
| n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
prudence
|
|
| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
annoyance
|
|
| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
glamor
|
|
| n.魅力，吸引力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
alluring
|
|
| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
inspection
|
|
| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
tenement
|
|
| n.公寓；房屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
fowls
|
|
| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
greasy
|
|
| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
sodden
|
|
| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
stewing
|
|
| 炖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
garb
|
|
| n.服装，装束 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
swarmed
|
|
| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
myriads
|
|
| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
brass
|
|
| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
flickered
|
|
| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
noisome
|
|
| adj.有害的，可厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
inviting
|
|
| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
disposition
|
|
| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
vessels
|
|
| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
interfere
|
|
| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
inquiry
|
|
| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
outskirts
|
|
| n.郊外，郊区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
lining
|
|
| n.衬里，衬料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
rivulets
|
|
| n.小河，小溪( rivulet的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
nostrils
|
|
| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
broiling
|
|
| adj.酷热的，炽热的，似烧的v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的现在分词 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
meager
|
|
| adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
leisurely
|
|
| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
motive
|
|
| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
homely
|
|
| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
appeased
|
|
| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
dissuasion
|
|
| n.劝止；谏言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
65
evasions
|
|
| 逃避( evasion的名词复数 )； 回避； 遁辞； 借口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
garrisons
|
|
| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
hereditary
|
|
| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
savages
|
|
| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
wilted
|
|
| （使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
twilight
|
|
| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
irritably
|
|
| ad.易生气地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
racing
|
|
| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
abreast
|
|
| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
swirl
|
|
| v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
abruptly
|
|
| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
spine
|
|
| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
fronds
|
|
| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
attain
|
|
| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
uncommon
|
|
| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
frail
|
|
| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
killing
|
|
| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
prehistoric
|
|
| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
impervious
|
|
| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
jaws
|
|
| n.口部；嘴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
alligator
|
|
| n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
lizard
|
|
| n.蜥蜴，壁虎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
eyebrows
|
|
| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
expedient
|
|
| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
jauntily
|
|
| adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
battered
|
|
| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
scaly
|
|
| adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
crunch
|
|
| n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
eddy
|
|
| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
proceeding
|
|
| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
devour
|
|
| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
creek
|
|
| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
philosophically
|
|
| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
incapable
|
|
| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
superstitious
|
|
| adj.迷信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
ornaments
|
|
| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
premium
|
|
| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
holders
|
|
| 支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
fulfill
|
|
| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
bracelets
|
|
| n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
earrings
|
|
| n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
avocation
|
|
| n.副业，业余爱好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
punctilious
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，谨小慎微的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
regularity
|
|
| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
thereby
|
|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
rattan
|
|
| n.藤条，藤杖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
notch
|
|
| n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
morsel
|
|
| n.一口，一点点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
tempts
|
|
| v.引诱或怂恿（某人）干不正当的事( tempt的第三人称单数 )；使想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
decomposition
|
|
| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
lashed
|
|
| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
bough
|
|
| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
lured
|
|
| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
bouquet
|
|
| n.花束，酒香 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
leeward
|
|
| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
dangling
|
|
| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
brute
|
|
| n.野兽，兽性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
checkered
|
|
| adj.有方格图案的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
bind
|
|
| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
belly
|
|
| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
abdominal
|
|
| adj.腹（部）的，下腹的；n.腹肌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
writhing
|
|
| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
catching
|
|
| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
flailing
|
|
| v.鞭打( flail的现在分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
foam
|
|
| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
strands
|
|
| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
fiber
|
|
| n.纤维，纤维质 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
reptilian
|
|
| adj.（像）爬行动物的；（像）爬虫的；卑躬屈节的；卑鄙的n.两栖动物；卑劣的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
bellow
|
|
| v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
hazardous
|
|
| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
noose
|
|
| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
deftly
|
|
| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
lashing
|
|
| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
binds
|
|
| v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
hind
|
|
| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
bounty
|
|
| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
demise
|
|
| n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
asphyxiate
|
|
| v.无法呼吸，窒息而死 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
plentiful
|
|
| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
picket
|
|
| n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
ERECTED
|
|
| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
toxic
|
|
| adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
dart
|
|
| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
wholesale
|
|
| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
justified
|
|
| a.正当的，有理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
hoisted
|
|
| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
density
|
|
| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
tangle
|
|
| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
countless
|
|
| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
shrubs
|
|
| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
somber
|
|
| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
foliage
|
|
| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
nave
|
|
| n.教堂的中部；本堂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
orchids
|
|
| n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
incandescent
|
|
| adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
lobes
|
|
| n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 )；（器官的）叶；肺叶；脑叶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
canopy
|
|
| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
chatter
|
|
| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
monstrous
|
|
| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
reptiles
|
|
| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
swarms
|
|
| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
putrid
|
|
| adj.腐臭的；有毒的；已腐烂的；卑劣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
rhinoceros
|
|
| n.犀牛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
anthropoid
|
|
| adj.像人类的，类人猿的；n.类人猿；像猿的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
dismalness
|
|
| 阴沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
awesome
|
|
| adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
lurk
|
|
| n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
exterior
|
|
| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
glazed
|
|
| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
gilt
|
|
| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
affixed
|
|
| adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
virgin
|
|
| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
utensils
|
|
| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
treasury
|
|
| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
adviser
|
|
| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
monarch
|
|
| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
squander
|
|
| v.浪费，挥霍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
overflowing
|
|
| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
pitchers
|
|
| 大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
garnish
|
|
| n.装饰，添饰，配菜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
hips
|
|
| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
195
exorbitant
|
|
| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
196
costliest
|
|
| adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
197
wares
|
|
| n. 货物, 商品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
198
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
199
colloquy
|
|
| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
200
wagons
|
|
| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
201
machinery
|
|
| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
202
cemetery
|
|
| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
203
assortment
|
|
| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
204
delegation
|
|
| n.代表团；派遣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
205
tribal
|
|
| adj.部族的，种族的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
206
comely
|
|
| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
207
comeliness
|
|
| n. 清秀, 美丽, 合宜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
208
marred
|
|
| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
209
warrior
|
|
| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
210
warriors
|
|
| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
211
concession
|
|
| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
212
attentive
|
|
| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
213
maidens
|
|
| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
214
severed
|
|
| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
215
ostracized
|
|
| v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 )；流放；摈弃；排斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
216
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
217
skulls
|
|
| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
218
ferocious
|
|
| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
219
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
220
slaughtering
|
|
| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
221
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
222
trophy
|
|
| n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
223
reverence
|
|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
224
morsels
|
|
| n.一口( morsel的名词复数 )；（尤指食物）小块，碎屑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
225
trophies
|
|
| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
226
superstition
|
|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
227
savagery
|
|
| n.野性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
228
circumference
|
|
| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
229
sliver
|
|
| n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
230
cartridge
|
|
| n.弹壳，弹药筒；(装磁带等的)盒子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
231
smeared
|
|
| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
232
milky
|
|
| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
233
rupture
|
|
| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
234
sneer
|
|
| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
235
darts
|
|
| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
236
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
237
grasshoppers
|
|
| n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
238
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
239
prone
|
|
| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
240
subscribes
|
|
| v.捐助( subscribe的第三人称单数 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
241
controversy
|
|
| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
242
adjourn
|
|
| v.（使）休会，（使）休庭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
243
wade
|
|
| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
244
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
245
plunge
|
|
| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
246
asphyxiated
|
|
| v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的过去式和过去分词 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
247
quaint
|
|
| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
248
exhume
|
|
| v.掘出，挖掘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
249
porcelain
|
|
| n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
250
vault
|
|
| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
251
weird
|
|
| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
252
corpse
|
|
| n.尸体，死尸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
253
slain
|
|
| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
254
overlapping
|
|
| adj./n.交迭（的） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
255
imposing
|
|
| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
256
beak
|
|
| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
257
surmounted
|
|
| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |