The Dyaks sit in their boats on a rough matting made of split bamboo tied together with cane. For shelter against the sun and rain they have an awning made of palm-leaves (_kadjang_). This is tied on to a rough framework of wood fixed on the boat, and is an excellent protection against the weather. There are many dangers to be guarded against when travelling by boat in Borneo. Many rivers have a large tidal bore during the spring-tides, and if the boat be in some narrow part of the river when it meets the tidal bore it is likely to be swamped. The safest course is to wait for the tidal bore in some broad part of the river, where it is not at all dangerous. There are also many sand-banks, and though Dyak boats draw little water, still these have to be guarded against when the tide is very swift. I have known cases where a boat has struck against a sand-bank and been rolled over and over by the swift tide, and lives lost. [Illustration: BOAT-TRAVELLING A boat being dragged through the rapids. The boatmen are wading in the water and dragging it along.] In certain parts of the lower reaches of the large Bornean rivers, where large sand-banks are to be found, the swift incoming spring-tide makes, soon after it has covered the sand-bank, a peculiar dangerous motion of the water, called by the natives _langan_. We all know the bubbling appearance of boiling water in an open pot, and if we picture to ourselves that kind of thing on a very large scale, it will give a good idea of what the _langan_ is like. It does not last long in any particular part of the river, because, as soon as the water has risen and is deeper, the _langan_ disappears. It is most dangerous. The peculiar motion of the water is so irregular and uncertain that small boats are easily swamped, and many lives have been lost owing to this _langan_. The part of the Batang Lupar near the village of Rawan is particularly dangerous from this cause. I have known of many cases of a Dyak boat being swamped by the _langan_ there, and not a single person being saved. Though the Dyaks are good swimmers, the boat is rolled over by the swift current, and they have no chance of saving themselves. When I have had to travel past Rawan during the spring-tides when there is most danger, if the tide has only just made, I have thought it wisest not to run any risks, and have told my boatmen to fasten the boat to the bank, and wait for ten minutes, and not to proceed till there was no danger of being swamped by the terrible _langan_.