The warrior who has drawn
first blood of the slain foe claims the credit of having taken his
head. Such a free fight seldom lasts more than a few minutes. Unless
one party quite overwhelms the other in the first few minutes, both
draw off, and the fight is seldom renewed.
Since the establishment of the European governments in Borneo,
punitive expeditions have been necessary from time to time in order
to put a stop to wanton raiding and killing. In this respect the
Ibans and some of the Klemantans have been the chief offenders;
while the Kayans and Kenyahs have seldom given trouble, after once
placing themselves under the established governments. In the Baram
river, in which the Kayans form probably a larger proportion of the
population than in any other, no such expedition against them has
been necessary since they accepted the government of H.H. the Rajah
of Sarawak nearly twenty-five years ago.
In organising such an expedition, the European governments, especially
that of Sarawak, have usually relied in the main on the services
of loyal chiefs and their followers, acting under the control of a
European magistrate, and supported usually by a small body of native
police or soldiers armed with rifles. There is usually no difficulty
in securing the co-operation of any desired number of native allies or
volunteers; for in this way alone can the people now find a legitimate
outlet for their innate and traditional pugnacity.
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