Bamboos crossing each other at the road-way like the letter X, and
rising a few feet above it. At the crossing they are firmly bound
together, and to a large Bamboo which lays upon them and forms the only
pathway, with a slender and often very shaky one to serve as a handrail.
When a river is to be crossed, an overhanging tree is chosen from which
the bridge is partly suspended and partly supported by diagonal struts
from the banks, so as to avoid placing posts in the stream itself, which
would be liable to be carried away by floods. In carrying a path along
the face of a precipice, trees and roots are made use of for suspension;
struts arise from suitable notches or crevices in the rocks, and if
these are not sufficient, immense Bamboos fifty or sixty feet long are
fixed on the banks or on the branch of a tree below. These bridges
are traversed daily by men and women carrying heavy loads, so that any
insecurity is soon discovered, and, as the materials are close at hand,
immediately repaired. When a path goes over very steep ground, and
becomes slippery in very wet or very dry weather, the Bamboo is used
in another way. Pieces are cut about a yard long, and opposite notches
being made at each end, holes are formed through which pegs are driven,
and firm and convenient steps are thus formed with the greatest ease and
celerity. It is true that much of this will decay in one or two seasons,
but it can be so quickly replaced as to make it more economical than
using a harder and more durable wood.
One of the most striking uses to which Bamboo is applied by the Dyaks,
is to assist them in climbing lofty trees by driving in pegs in the way
I have already described at page 85. This method is constantly used in
order to obtain wax, which is one of the most valuable products of the
country. The honey-bee of Borneo very generally hangs its combs under
the branches of the Tappan, a tree which towers above all others in the
forest, and whose smooth cylindrical trunk often rises a hundred feet
without a branch. The Dyaks climb these lofty trees at night,
building up their Bamboo ladder as they go, and bringing down gigantic
honeycombs. These furnish them with a delicious feast of honey and young
bees, besides the wax, which they sell to traders, and with the proceeds
buy the much-coveted brass wire, earrings, and bold-edged handkerchiefs
with which they love to decorate themselves. In ascending Durian and
other fruit trees which branch at from thirty to fifty feet from the
ground, I have seen them use the Bamboo pegs only, without the upright
Bamboo which renders them so much more secure.
72