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Hi!
Bill Measely here, son of the late Sir Horton Measely, former
owner and inventor of the hydrogen laser spotlight, which I, his son
and heir, now own. In this issue we're going to crank up the
voltage and focus the spotlight in the general direction of Indonesia,
hoping to illuminate for our faithful readers once and for all what
has to be one of the strangest and most mysteriously-shaped of the
SE Asian islands.
As we begin to cast
the hot 1250° beams across the map of Borneo, the first thing
we notice is that the paper starts to turn brown and smolder. But
before it bursts into flame, we can see that most all of Borneo is
uncharted territory. It seems that there are a few long houses
here and there, a few short houses, a couple of mountains, a lot of
rivers and swamps, some queer animals lurking in the forest, and not
much else. But we know that hidden in the more remote recesses
and less accessible corners there must be other things, and it is
to these places and things that we must now turn our attention and
the aim of the spotlight.
Borneo is often called
Kalimantan, which means 'dense and mangrove-choked, insect-infested,
hot and rainy swamp forest' in primitive Malay. The so-called
Twelve Tribes of Kalimantan are the Kiris, the Kudats, the Kabus,
the Kendengans, the Kanamits, the Kejangs, the Kanuas, the Kamis,
the Kundaus, the Kepans, the Keluks, and the Ketaps, but as we are
all aware, these are not the only peoples indigenous to Borneo.
There are also the Kapoks, the Kayaks, the Kudzus, the Kojaks, the
Kabobs, the Kaputs and the Kazoos. These native groups are believed
to have originated either above the wind or below the wind, but anthropologists
are not sure which.
Borneo was discovered
many years ago by a man named Bangar Kubong, who stumbled on it while
he was searching for the Philippines. He lived there by himself
until other people arrived looking for camphor and cutch, and modern
Borneo was created. Nowadays, Borneo consists of part of Indonesia,
part of Malaysia, and the tiny insignificant Kingdom of Broonay. Forests
in Borneo include swamp, peat, montane, inland, dry ground, vine and
coastal.
Rainfall in Borneo
ranges anywhere from 105" a month in the dry season to 110"
a month in the wet season, which usually lasts from August until the
following July. Wild temperature swings of up to 3-4° are
not unheard of, and it is often quite humid. Parts of the island
are sometimes lashed by heavy storms which cause trees to sway and
things to grow profusely. Chicle gum, the Bornean oilberry (from
which most of the island's oil is derived) and the rattan nut are
Borneo's chief exports.
Of course, Borneo
is most famous for the orangutan, a large, reddish, ofttimes surly
and ubsiguous animal that is completely unrelated.... Uh oh,
smoke is coming out of the spotlight, so we'd better turn it off now
and say goodbye to our faithful readers. Until next time, ciao! |