The money was all in silver, as it is all over India and the Archipelago for general use. The engineer and the seamen2 shared with the four hunters; for the former had done all the work and some of the shooting. The steamer was made fast at the shore, and all hands except Pitts landed for a walk through the town. Their first visit was to a fruit-store kept by a Chinaman; and most of the shops in the place were in the hands of the Celestials3.
Bananas and oranges were the principal, though there were also nearly all the tropical fruits in season. Many of the party purchased useful articles in other places. They had learned in Singapore and[49] Batavia how to deal with Chinese traders, and they seldom gave even more than one-third or one-half of what was demanded. After diligent4 search Achang found a certain Dyak tool he wanted,—a sort of axe5, which Lane, the carpenter's assistant, ridiculed6 without mercy.
The young men visited the English Mission, where they were kindly7 received, and went to the school. The American missionaries8 are also active in Borneo, and one of them has made a vocabulary of the Dyak language.
It was decided9 to start down the river the next morning on the way to the Sadong and Simujan Rivers, the latter being a branch of the former. In the early morning, as the hands were casting off the fasts, two Malays came alongside in a sampan, and asked to be towed to the Sadong. Achang had some talk with them, and made the request of the captain for them. He learned that they were engaged in the business of catching10 crocodiles for the reward.
"They don't shoot crocodiles, and they have no rifles," added Achang.
"How do they get them then?" asked Louis.
"They fish for them."
"What, with a hook and line?" demanded Captain Scott.
"With a line, but have no fish-hook," replied the Bornean. "You must see them catch one."
"All right," replied the captain; "we will tow them down the river."[50]
After the yacht had been moving about an hour, they came to a colony of saurians apparently11, for several of them were in sight at once. Achang directed the reptile12-hunters to catch one of them, and they paddled their sampan towards a large one. The Blanchita kept near enough to enable all hands to witness the operation, which the Bornean described to them as the Malays made their preparations, for they had all their fishing-gear in their boat.
The line they used was a rattan13 about forty feet long. At the "business end," as Scott called it, they attached a float to keep it on the top of the water. The steamer just crawled along on the river in order not to disturb the game, though the reptiles14 were accustomed to the sight of vessels15.
"Now you see that stick the hunter has in his hand," said Achang, though each of them had one. "'Most a foot long, like a new moon."
"Crescent-shaped," added Louis.
"Called an alir in Malay. Made of green wood, very tough, pointed16 at the ends; they fasten the rattan line to the middle of the stick."
Some tough green bark, braided together, was then wound around the stick so that the game could not bite it in two. A big fish for bait was then attached to the alir, and carefully fastened to it so that the reptile could not tear it off.
Thus prepared, the apparatus18 was thrown overboard, and the sampan paddled away from it to give the game an opportunity to approach it, the Malays[51] each paying out his forty feet of line, one on each side of the boat. The spectators watched the result with great interest. As the sampan receded19 from the saurians, they approached the bait. Crocodiles and alligators20 do not nibble21 at their prey22, but bolt it as a snake does a frog.
The bait nearest to the observers on the yacht was soon gobbled up by the hungry crocodile, who appeared not to have been to breakfast that morning; and the Malay at the other end of the line gave a sharp jerk to his gear, the effect of which was to draw the pointed crescent "athwart ships," as the sailors would say, or across his stomach; and the harder it was pulled the more the pointed ends would penetrate23 the interior of the organ.
The first Malay had hardly hooked his game before the second had another ready to haul in. Both of the saurians struggled and lashed24 the dark water into a foam25; but both of the men in the sampan kept the line as taut26 as they could with all their strength; and this is the rule in hauling in all gamey fish.
"Tell them we will go ahead, Achang, and all they need to do is to make fast their rattans to the sampan," said Captain Scott, when he had taken in the situation.
In reply to the message the Bornean delivered to them, the Malays nodded their heads vigorously, and smiled their assent27.
"Go ahead, down the river, Clinch," added the captain to the helmsman.[52]
"I fancy there will be a lively kick-up on the part of the game," said Louis, as the boat came up to her course.
"Not much," added Scott. "If we put them through the water at the rate of eight knots an hour, the crocs will not feel much like doing any gambolling28. We are not making more than four knots now."
"They are as lively now as a parched29 pea in a hot skillet."
"I will ring the speed-bell now, and see how that will affect them," replied the captain, suiting the action to the word.
The Blanchita darted30 ahead at her usual speed. Clingman began to overhaul31 the painter of the sampan, for it did not look strong enough for the present strain. He had scarcely got hold of it before it snapped in the middle, and relieved the strain on the crocodiles. The steamer backed at the order of the captain; and a strong line was thrown into the sampan, which one of the Malays seized and made fast.
When the strain upon them was thus removed, the saurians made violent struggles to escape. The yacht then went ahead again, and the speed-bell was rung immediately. The pressure on the game was renewed, and they ceased to struggle. The apparatus held fast, for the saurian fishers were experienced in their business, and had done their work well.[53]
At eight o'clock the Blanchita reached the mouth of the river. The crocodiles were not dead, but their stomachs must have been in a terrible condition. To Louis it seemed to be cruel to prolong their sufferings; and he wished Achang to request the Malays to kill them, and Scott agreed with him. The Bornean said they could not kill them while they were towing behind, and that, if the lines were slacked, they might get away.
The captain took the matter in hand, and told Achang what he intended to do, which he communicated to the reptile-hunters. On the starboard hand Scott fixed32 his gaze on a small tongue of land extending out into the river. Taking the wheel himself, he run her close to the land some distance above the point, and worked the sampan and its tow close to the shore. The tow-line of the sampan was then lengthened33 out to a hundred feet or more, and the yacht went ahead again, rounding the point, so that the peninsula lay between the steamer and her tow.
Then she went ahead again, and the result was that she pulled the sampan upon the point; and as she was flat-bottomed, there was no difficulty in doing so. The Blanchita continued on her course, and the two crocodiles were landed after her. One of the Malays then produced a parong latok; and even more skilfully34 than Achang had done the job, he cut off the heads of both reptiles. They were out of misery36 then, and Louis was satisfied.[54]
The yacht was then run up to the point, and Lane was sent on shore to measure the reptiles, while the fishermen proceeded to recover the apparatus from the stomachs of the defunct37 reptiles. The larger crocodile was twelve feet and four inches long, and the other ten feet and seven inches. The voyage was resumed on the sea to the mouth of the Sadong; and in three hours more she entered the stream, which was a large one, averaging half a mile wide for twenty miles.
"Bujang!" called Achang, as instructed by the captain. "Do you want to go any farther?"
The head man replied in his own language that they wished to go to Simujan, or till they came to plenty of game. The Bornean said Bujang was a great hunter, for he had killed fifty-three crocodiles that year. The yacht, with the sampan still in tow, started up the river, keeping in the middle of it. Just before sunset she reached the junction38 of the Simujan and Sadong.
On one side of the branch stream there was a considerable Malay village, backed by an abundance of cocoanut palms; and, of course, the houses were built on stilts39 close to the water. On the other side was the Chinese kampon, or quarter, consisting largely of shops and trading-houses. Louis Belgrave had been presented to the officials at Sarawak as the owner of the Guardian-Mother, and that established him as a person of great distinction.
After the ship departed on her voyage to Siam,[55] many attentions were bestowed40 upon him; and when, after the return of the yacht from up the Sarawak, they learned that she was going to the Simujan, one of the officials had given him a letter of introduction to the Chinese half-cast government official, who was the magnate of the place. Figuratively, he took the "Big Four" in his arms, and there was nothing he was not ready to do for them.
He conducted them to the government house, and insisted that they should live there during their stay at Simujan. It had been erected41 to receive such officials as might have occasion to remain there at any time. It was well built and comfortable, and each chamber42 had a veranda43 in front of it. It was set on posts six feet from the ground, like all the other dwellings44 near it. It was the police station of the region; and the two Malays collected eight or nine dollars for their game, which they did not offer to share with the crew of the yacht—no Malay would do such a thing.
The agent's tender of the rooms to the party was accepted, for the members wished to sleep in a four-posted bedstead once more for a change. The chief Malay of the place called upon them, and treated them very handsomely. The Chinese official gave them much information as they were seated on a veranda of the house.
"You may find the orang-outang up the Simujan; but I don't know that you want such large game," said he.[56]
"We have shot tigers in India, and Mr. McGavonty has shot more cobras than all the rest of us. He has a talent for killing45 snakes."
"Show me the snakes, and I will finish them," added Felix.
"You will not find many of them in the jungle. There are some water snakes taken occasionally, and people here eat them. They make a very fine curry46."
"I should ask to be excused from partaking of that dish," said Scott.
"That is all prejudice," said the agent. "Perhaps you would like to go a-fishing in the Sadong and its branches. We have a peculiar47 way of taking fish here. We use the tuba plant, which the Malays prepare for use. It is a climbing-plant, the root of which has some of the properties of opium48. It is reduced to a pulp49, mixed with water. I cannot fully17 explain the process of preparation, in which the Malays are very skilful35. At the right time of tide, the fluid is thrown into the stream. The effect is to stupefy and sometimes kill the fish. With dip-nets the fish are picked up, though some of them are so large that they can be secured only with a kind of barbed spear."
"I don't think I care to fish in that way," said Louis, with some disgust in his expression. "It is very unsportsmanlike, and it looks to me to be a mean way to do it."
"Just what some Englishmen who were here a[57] while ago said, and perhaps you are right; but it is a Malay art, and not English."
The party slept very comfortably on bedsteads that night, but they were up before the sun the next morning.
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1
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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celestials
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| n.天的，天空的( celestial的名词复数 ) | |
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diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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reptile
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| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
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rattan
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| n.藤条，藤杖 | |
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reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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vessels
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| 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 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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alligators
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| n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 ) | |
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nibble
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| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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gambolling
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| v.蹦跳，跳跃，嬉戏( gambol的现在分词 ) | |
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parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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overhaul
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| v./n.大修，仔细检查 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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lengthened
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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defunct
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| adj.死亡的；已倒闭的 | |
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junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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stilts
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| 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 | |
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40
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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46
curry
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| n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革 | |
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47
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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48
opium
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| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
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49
pulp
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| n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆 | |
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