Among the Dyaks, a name indiscriminately applied to all the wild people on the island of Borneo, we find no less revolting customs than among the Battas of Sumatra. They are hunters of their kind, not merely for the sake of an unnatural feast, but simply for the sake of collecting heads. Skulls are the commonest ornaments of a Dyak house, and the possession of them is the best token of manly courage. A Dyak youth is despised by all the maidens of his village as long as he has not cut off the head of an enemy or waylaid a stranger; returning from a successful chase with one of these ghastly trophies, he is welcomed as a hero. The head is stuck upon a pole, and old and young dance around it, singing and beating gongs. Murder of the most revolting atrocity, which anywhere else would make its perpetrator be considered the enemy of his kind, is thus by a horrible perversity one of the elements of courtship. The same atrocious custom is found among the Harafuras of Celebes, the Nias Islanders, and some other Malay nations of the Indian Archipelago. When the Harafuras go to war, they first steal some heads, boil them, and drink the broth to render themselves invulnerable. The Minkokas of Celebes limit the custom of taking heads to funeral or festive occasions, more especially on the death of their rajah or chief. When this occurs they sally forth, with a white band across their forehead to notify their object, and destroy alike their enemies and strangers. From twenty to forty heads, according to the rank of the deceased rajah, being procured, buffaloes are killed, rice boiled, and a solemn funeral feast is held, and, whatever time may elapse, the body is not previously buried. The heads, on being cleaned, are hung up in the houses of the three principal persons of the tribe, and regarded with great veneration and respect. The national weapon of the Dyaks, though not in use among all their tribes, is the Sumpitan, a blow-pipe about five feet long, with an arrow made of wood, thin, light, sharp-pointed, and dipped in the poison of the upas tree. As this is fugacious, the points are generally dipped afresh when wanted. For about twenty yards the aim is so true that no two arrows shot at the same mark will be above an inch or two apart. On a calm day the utmost range may be a hundred yards. Though impregnated with a poison less deadly than the Wourali of the American Indians, yet the shafts of the sumpitan are formidable weapons from the frequency with which they can be discharged, and the skill of those who use them. The arrows are contained in a bamboo case, hung at the side, and at the bottom of this quiver is the poison of the upas. When they face an enemy the box at the side is open, and, whether advancing or retreating, they fire the poisoned missiles with great precision.