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 are able to 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 really 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! |
|