At the same time the Dayaks were swarming out
of the bazaar seeking something to kill, like the typical Englishman,
though not knowing which side to take. The Resident hastened after
the Tinjars, threw himself before them, and appealed and threatened,
pointing to the two guns at the fort now trained upon them; and Tama
Bulan showed his true greatness by haranguing his people, saying his
wound was purely accidental and unintended, that it was a mere scratch,
and commanding them to stand their ground. Several of the older and
steadier chiefs followed his example and ran to and fro holding back
their men, exhorting them to be quiet.
The crisis passed, the sudden gust of passion slowly died away,
and peace was patched up with interchange of messages and presents
between the two camps. The great boat race was announced to take
place on the morrow, and the rest of the day was spent in making
ready the war canoes, stripping them of their leaf roofs and all
other superfluous gear.
At daybreak the racing-boats set off for the startingpost four miles
up river. The Resident had given strict orders that no spears or other
weapons were to be carried in the racing-boats, and as they started
up river we inspected the boats in turn, and in one or two cases
relieved them of a full complement of spears; and then we followed
them to the post in the steam-launch.
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