Malays and Milanoes have their settlements on or near the coast, within reach of the tide. Malays are expert fishermen, and excel in boat building. They are Muhammadans, and are the most civilized of the Rajah’s subjects. Milanoes inhabit the Rejang delta, the river-banks of Matu, Oya, Muka, and Bintulu, and are the sago workers of the country. Though mostly Muhammadans, they have a curious superstitious religion of their own. Land Dyaks dwell amongst the mountains and hills south of Kuching; Sea Dyaks frequent the Batang Lupar, Saribas, Kalaka, and the Rejang Rivers; Kayans live more inland, and their tribes are supposed to have settlements right across from west to east of the northern portion of Borneo; nor must we forget the Chinese immigrants who have settlements all over the principality, and who invade it in increasing numbers with every succeeding year, greatly adding to the prosperity of the country. All these people are, as it were, sprinkled over the land. If one could imagine a giant sower dipping into a bag filled with the seeds of mankind and flinging it out haphazard by handfuls, some by the sea, and some by the inland rivers and forests, it might give an idea of the manner in which the population of Sarawak is scattered over the country. The different tribes hold themselves entirely aloof from one another; one never meets with Dyaks residing in Malay settlements, or _vice versa_, nor do the Chinese build among people of an alien race. It must be remembered that there are very few roads in Sarawak, and as yet no railways; for it can well be understood that road-making or laying down railway lines would be a costly undertaking in this country, intersected as it is by marshes, hills, mountains, and almost unbridgeable rivers. Commerce and trade, however, thrive without the help of such accessories, for Borneo is known to be one of the best-watered countries in the world, and the produce of its jungles and its forests find an easy passage down the numberless canals and rivers which nature has provided through this watery land. Indeed, it seems to me that there are three things one cannot escape from in Sarawak: these being mountains, trees, and water. The sound of water is heard everywhere; houses are built for the most part on the banks of rivers or streams, so that the tide, as it swishes backwards and forwards, is heard by day and night; daily showers drip on to one’s habitation, and the noise of paddles--for the people use the river as Europeans use their streets--is never lacking. Even the animals seem to imitate the sound of water in their morning and evening cries. For instance, the little monkeys, called wah-wahs, give vent, at the first approach of the sun, to liquid sounds, which, whenever I heard them, made me think of the Spirit of the rain pouring refreshing streams through the trees in which these monkeys congregate.