Each of these villages contains a head-house; in that at Sirambau there were thirty-three heads, at Bombok thirty-two, and at Peninjau twenty-one, with the skull of a bear killed during a head-hunting expedition. They were all very ancient-looking, in fact none had been added to their store since Sir James Brooke assumed the government of the country. That they still have a longing for a fresh skull, I have little doubt, though previously to the Chinese insurrection the apparent impossibility had made them rather careless on the subject. There is a custom in these tribes to assist the Orang Kaya in making his farms; in fact, it is one of the most lucrative of his perquisites. Mita of Sirambau had pushed his prerogative too far, and had forced his people to make him three farms, and as from this and many other reasons, he had ruined his popularity, he looked about him for a means to recover it. At last it struck him that a fresh head would make the whole tribe look up to him with respect. I was visiting the village one day, when he told me he had a great favour to ask, which was, that I would endeavour to obtain from Sir James Brooke permission for him to make a foray into the neighbouring districts. All the elders of the tribe were present, and it was evident that they were deeply interested in the answer. The earnest way in which they assured me that the crops had not been good for many years, because the spirits were angry at the ancient rites having fallen into disuse, showed that he had worked upon them to believe in the necessity of a head being procured, but my answer was so discouraging that they never ventured to mention the subject to Sir James Brooke. Mita was afterwards removed from his office, to the great satisfaction of the tribe. Our cottage was just twelve hundred and thirty feet above the level of the sea, and had a pure and cool atmosphere about it; but the most remarkable spot near was a natural bath-house. In a ravine close by rose a huge rock, seventy feet in length by forty in breadth; somewhat of the shape of a mighty but very blunt wedge. The thicker end was buried in the ground, the centre, supported on either side by two rocks, left a cave beneath, while the thinner part, thrust up at an angle of thirty degrees, overshadowed a natural basin, improved by art, at which we bathed. A rill that glided from under the rock supplied us plentifully with cool, clear water. It was a beautiful spot, a charming natural grotto, in which to pass the burning midday hours; twenty or thirty people could sit there with comfort, and admire the vegetation that grew thickly around, but yet affording glimpses of distant hills through the trees.