Through Central Borneo

Through Central Borneo

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Title: Through Central Borneo: An Account of Two Years' Travel in
the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917
Author: Carl Lumholtz
Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7489] [Yes, we are more than
one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on May 10,
2003]
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THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO
AN ACCOUNT OF TWO YEARS' TRAVEL IN THE LAND OF THE
HEAD-HUNTERS BETWEEN THE YEARS 1913 AND 1917
BY
CARL LUMHOLTZ
MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF SCIENCES OF CHRISTIANIA,
NORWAY GOLD MEDALLIST OF THE NORWEGIAN
GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY ASSOCIÉ ÉTRANGER DE LA
SOCIÉTÉ DE L'ANTHROPOLOGIE DE PARIS, ETC.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE
AUTHOR AND WITH MAP

We may safely affirm that the better specimens of savages are much
superior to the lower examples of civilized peoples.
_Alfred Russel Wallace._

PREFACE
Ever since my camping life with the aborigines of Queensland, many
years ago, it has been my desire to explore New Guinea, the promised
land of all who are fond of nature and ambitious to discover fresh
secrets. In furtherance of this purpose their Majesties, the King and
Queen of Norway, the Norwegian Geographical Society, the Royal
Geographical Society of London, and Koninklijk Nederlandsch
Aardrijkskundig Genootschap, generously assisted me with grants, thus
facilitating my efforts to raise the necessary funds. Subscriptions were

received in Norway, also from American and English friends, and after
purchasing the principal part of my outfit in London, I departed for
New York in the autumn of 1913, en route for the Dutch Indies. In
1914, having first paid a visit to the Bulungan, in northeast Borneo, in
order to engage the necessary Dayaks, I was preparing to start for
Dutch New Guinea when the war broke out.
Under these changed conditions his Excellency, the Governor-General,
A.W.F. Idenburg, regretted his inability to give me a military escort
and other assistance needed for carrying out my plan, and advised me
to await a more favorable opportunity. During this interval, having
meanwhile visited India, I decided to make an expedition through
Central Borneo, large tracts of which are unexplored and unknown to
the outside world. My project was later extended to include other
regions of Dutch Borneo, and the greater part of two years was spent in
making researches among its very interesting natives. In these
undertakings I received the valuable assistance of their Excellencies,
the governor-general and the commanding general, as well as the
higher officials of the Dutch Government, to all of whom I wish to
express my heartfelt thanks.
Through the courtesy of the well-known Topografische Inrichting, in
Batavia, a competent surveyor, whose work will later be published, was
attached to my expeditions. He did not accompany me on my first visit
to the Bulungan, nor on the second occasion, when I went to the lake of
Sembulo, where the country is well known. In the map included in this
book I have indicated the locations of the different tribes in Dutch
Borneo, based on information gathered from official and private
sources and on my own observations.
I usually had a taxidermist, first a trained Sarawak Dayak, later a
Javanese, to collect mammals and birds. Fishes and reptiles were also
preserved in alcohol.
Specimens of ethnological interest were collected from the different
tribes visited; the collection from the Penihings I believe is complete.
Measurements of 227 individuals were taken and as soon as practicable
will be worked out by Doctor K.S. Schreiner, professor at the
University of Christiania. Vocabularies were collected from most of the
tribes. In spite of adverse conditions, due to climate and the limitations
under which I travelled, a satisfactory collection of photographic plates

and films was brought back.