My Friends the Savages Part 32

The poisonous flora of the forest is not limited to trees and climbing plants; it extends also to countless herbs, to an infinite variety of fungi, berries, flowers and tempting fruits.

The realm of poison is known but very little. It still reserves the greatest surprises for the scientist who wishes to explore it. And because provident Nature in every manifestation of its fecundity has the habit of putting different qualities in contrast I think that amongst such an abundant vegetation of dangerous plants there may be another, perhaps less plentiful but which would serve to oppose the deadly effects of the first.

The Sakai knows no antidote except those I have mentioned: the _lemmah kapiting_ and the one empirically prepared with quicklime and urine.

Neither of them, however, can be warranted as genuine articles, so in this field Science would have everything to discover.

The great Sorceress, the great and incomparable Malayan Forest, offers wonderful treasures to the world, some of which give charms to Life and others conceal the snares of Death.

It is for the _h.o.m.o sapiens_ to distinguish this from that and to make himself the master of their secrets as he has done with Electricity, thereby making it the means of illumination, motive power, and the alleviation of many physical sufferings.

This forest, which would have answered to all the criminal exigencies of the Borgias as regards poisons, is still a waste land, notwithstanding its extraordinary riches.

Let Science tell us of the immense treasures there produced for the welfare of Mankind.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Preparing "Legop" poisons.

_p._ 214.]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 19: The _i_ is almost an _e_ and the _a_ in all these words are p.r.o.nounced as _ha_. _Translator's Note._]

[Footnote 20: The professors, A. Benedicenti and G. B. De Toni, of the Camerino University have published the result of their studies upon the roots and some juice extracted from the _broial_ which I sent them for the purpose in 1902. I think, however, that the conclusions of these two scientists would have been in favour of a greater and quicker effect of this poison if, in spite of all my care, the samples had not suffered from the change of climate and, very likely, been exposed to dampness.]

CHAPTER XVI.

Past and future geography--Mountains and plateaus--An attempt at a census--Temperature--Maladies and remedies--ALa a quack.

Thirty years ago, even in our best geographies, very little mention was made of the Malay Peninsula.

Something was said about its coasts and a scanty product of tin, antimony and coal but there was not a single word about the wide stretch of land far from the sh.o.r.es, partly unexplored and partly inhabited by savages, beyond stating that a chain of mountains ran the whole length, beginning at Kedak and Kelantan and terminating at the extreme end of the peninsula, so dividing it almost in the middle.

But a geographer in our days would have to write a great deal more, for the interior of this country is no longer a deep inviolated mystery, and its aspect has proved very different from what studies, made at a prudent distance, had led us to imagine.

The high mountains (the Berumbun reaches 6530 feet in height) present to the gaze scenery which would satisfy an artist. Some of the tops are covered with a rich, wild vegetation, some are rugged or have sharp peaks from which torrents of sparkling white foam dash down the narrow dark crevices with roaring fury.

From those superb ma.s.ses extend a series of plateaus like so many terraces which the more they descend the more they unfold the fruitfulness of the soil, irrigated by smooth rivers and rills.

There, where mountainous fertility ceases, one to the east and the other to the west, lie the plains of Pahang and Perak whose industrious hands guided by civilized ideas are carrying on a work of redemption from abandonment and malaria by the extension of cultivation and sanitary principles.

The forest--the territory of the Sakais--covers the central part of the Peninsula. On the outskirts live those less savage because of their contact and dealings with the Malays, Siamese, Chinese and Indians, by whom they are surrounded. The others press always closer on towards the mountains at the same rate that civilization approaches them, fixing their abode at an elevation of not more than from 1500 to 2000 feet. I have found some, but a very rare case, at a height of 4000 feet.

It is true that up there, there are not so many dangers to be met with, for wild beasts (with the exception of an occasional bear) and serpents do not frequent the heights but the cold is too intense to be well supported by individuals who do not wear clothes and who do not build houses to protect themselves from the inclemency of the weather.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Poisoning the arrows.

_p._ 214.]

The tract of land inhabited by the Sakais is, at a rough guess, comprised between 3 50' and 5 50' North lat.i.tude and 101 and 102 East longitude (Greenwich). But for such an extension they are very few in numbers because in the year 1903, pa.s.sing from one village to another in 25 days, I could not count more than 6800 persons camping round the durians at the ingathering season.

Reckoning the women left behind because of a recent confinement, the old and infirm and the little children I do not think that altogether they can be many more than 10,000 souls. It is truly the case to say: "_rari nantes in gurgite vasto_!".

It would be impossible to take a real census of the Sakais owing to their distrust of everything they do not understand and the difficulty their nomadic life presents.

The climate where they live, although damp, is good, for the thick foliage of the forest and the breezes that often hail from the mountains mitigate the heat of the sun's rays.

There are no alternations of seasons as in temperate zones but only the distinction of dry and rainy ones, the former being determined by the monsoon blowing from the east, and the latter from that coming from the west.

It is not unusual for the heat at noon to surpa.s.s 40 (centigrade) but to the torrid temperature of the day follows a cold night and the hotter the day is, the colder the night. From 40 it easily falls under 20.

The Sakais who possess no garments, or rugs and whose huts are very open and airy, sleep all huddled together (to keep each other warm) round a large fire but they frequently suffer from these variations of temperature.

As I have before mentioned severe colds are very prevalent among the Sakais against which they have no efficacious remedy so that it often happens for a simple attack of influenza to turn into a serious bronchial or lung affection and finally result in consumption.

Neither the _tenak_ or _cintok_ is of any use then; the evil spirit never leaves hold of his prey.

Cases of fever are very rare and these few must be attributed to the wind which ascends from the plain bringing with it germs of infection.

It is extremely seldom that a woman dies in child-birth, but a great many succ.u.mb to senile decay at about 60 years of age.

Both men and women are very subject to a cutaneous disease which covers the body with large blotches of a lighter colour than their skin, giving a repugnant appearance to the poor wretch so afflicted. But it is neither a serious nor a contagious illness, nor does it excite amongst the jungle-dwellers that loathing which it would with us because this discoloration does not prevent them from getting married and having children as healthy as other peoples'.

Sometimes one of them is struck down by an infectious disease for which they know no remedy or cure. The sick person is at once isolated from all the rest and is almost entirely abandoned in order to check any propagation of the malady.

I have never noticed any illness which might be considered as peculiar to the people themselves or the region they inhabit but I have been able to establish the fact (from a special study made by me as to the causes of death among the Sakais) that the victims of wild beasts and serpents are on a very low average.

It is quite an extraordinary thing for anybody to lose their life in this way if they have not by some imprudence brought death upon themselves.

I only remember, perhaps because it took place not long ago, that a young woman incautiously wandered away from her hut one evening, as it was getting dark, and was attacked by a panther which fastened its teeth into her lower jaw. Hearing her scream the husband rushed out just in time to kill the animal and save his poor wife's life, but she, of course, remained deformed.

The pharmacopoeia of these foresters, freed from all superst.i.tion, is of truly primitive simplicity and only contains vegetable remedies. A decoction of the root _tenak celes_ is an excellent purgative. A poultice made of its leaves pounded with lime and _sirih_ and applied to the forehead is intended to cure headache.

The _sla delok_ (a bitter leaf) serves in the place of our worm powders for children.

Another leaf (the _sla poo_) is used for curing dysentry.

They have also several other medicines (whose virtues are kept secret by the _Ala_) for complaints of the stomach or that may be used at will without any precise knowledge of the illness needing treatment.

The gum extracted from the _singret_ is employed for stopping decayed teeth and is also rubbed over the cheek during a fit of tooth-ache to preserve it from the air, without putting on bandages.