came to the rescue,
the attacking party would retreat, pursued by such of the inmates of the
house as dared to follow them; but if no help came, the house would be
rushed, the men and women cut down, and the children killed or taken
captive. The heads of the dead would be cut off amid wild whoops of joy,
and carried off in triumph.

The Dyaks thought it a grand thing to be able to bring home a human head
to hang up as an ornament in their house. The man who succeeded in
securing a human head was looked upon as a great warrior, and so very
often the young braves would make an expedition against some tribe
simply because they wanted to bring home the ghastly trophy of a human
head.

Not only were the Dyaks head-hunters in those days, but many of them
were pirates. There was a great deal of piracy, and it was secretly
encouraged by the native rulers, who obtained a share of the spoil, and
also by the Malays who knew well how to handle a boat. The Malay fleet
consisted of a large number of long war-boats or _prahus_, each about
ninety feet long or more, and carrying a brass gun in the bows, the
pirates being armed with swords, spears and muskets. Each boat was
paddled by from sixty to eighty men. These terrible craft skulked about
in the sheltered coves waiting for their prey, and attacked merchant
vessels making the passage between China and Singapore. The Malay
pirates and their Dyak allies would wreck and destroy every trading
vessel they came across, murder most of the crew who offered any
resistance, and make slaves of the rest. The Dyaks would cut off the
heads of those who were slain, smoke them over the fire to dry them, and
then take them home to treasure as valued possessions. If you visit some
of the Dyak houses to-day, you will see some of these human heads, taken
in piratical raids in old days, hanging in bunches over the fireplaces.

The whole country in those old days was in a great state of disorder.
The Dyaks were constantly at war, tribe against tribe, and no Dyak
village was safe from sudden attack. Many human lives were sacrificed
because the Dyaks wished, not only to obtain booty, but to satisfy their
lust for blood, and indulge in their favourite pursuit of head-hunting,
and gain glory for themselves by bringing home human heads to decorate
their houses with.

CHAPTER II

THE COMING OF THE WHITE RAJAH--THE MISSIONARIES

I have told you, in the last chapter, what kind of people the Dyaks