kin to the delightful game of Head-hunting
indulged in by the Dyaks of Borneo.

The Dyaks have for centuries been known as the head-hunters of the Far
East. They, in common with the Igorotes of the Philippines, have had the
playful custom of going out when the mood took them and bringing in a
few heads just as our Indians used to get scalps. When a Dyak youth
wanted to marry a nice young Dyak girl to whom he had taken a fancy (and
I can assure the reader that some of them are as beautiful as Rodin's
bronze statues), he didn't even dare mention his desire for that young
bronze beauty until he had brought in five or six heads. After that he
had some standing in the lady's sight. Without the heads he had no more
chance of winning either the girl herself or her pa or ma or any of the
Dyak family than the proverbial snowball has of getting through Borneo
without melting. It just simply couldn't be done according to Dyak
etiquette.

Head-hunting was a game between tribes also. When two tribes of Dyaks
felt a playful mood coming on, they would challenge each other to a
head-hunting game. The game would last for a week or so and the tribe
that took the most heads won. It was nothing like "Tag you're it." If
so, some of the skulls that I have seen at Dyak Compounds would not be
grinning so hideously these days as they ornament the poles of certain
vain and proud Dyak hunters.

The Battaks of Sumatra also have a playful custom of getting rid of
their old men. When a man gets so old that they think it is about time
for him to tell his last tale, they put him up a Cocoanut tree. Then all
of the young bucks of the village get together and try to shake him
down. If he is too feeble to hold on, and comes down, that is a sign of
heaven that his days are through and they cook him and eat him.

* * * * *

The Japanese claim to have a great sense of humor. Japanese students
speaking in America, insist that this is true. But travelers in Japan do
not find it so. Indeed if Japan had a sense of humor, it would keep her
out of many an international tangle. She does not know how to laugh. Her
sense of dignity is so exaggerated that she does not know the fine art
of smiling and laughing at herself.

"What does Japan most need to learn?" a student asked me.

"To laugh," I replied.

"I think that you are right! Your Lincoln knew how to laugh!" was his
response as he went off thoughtfully.

I was advertis