Plant collecting--Large nepenthes--Sociable birds--Mountain
climbing--Cold nights--Descent--Safe return to Kiau--Old
skulls--Tree ferns--Fine climate--Land culture--Crossing
rivers--"Lapayang's" welcome--Tarippe fruit--"Benhau"--Pleasant
evening at Kambatuan village--Graceful young girls--Bundoo--Little
gardens en route--Ghinambaur village--A hard day's walking--Return
to the Tampassuk--Short-tailed buffaloes--Two-horned
rhinoceros--Return to Labuan--Smith's illness--Success of the
expedition.
August 16th.--We were up by daybreak; and while "Jeludin" was preparing
breakfast, I went out with the men collecting such plants as I wanted,
and packing them in the native sago-sheath baskets (granjombs) with
which we had provided ourselves. I was anxious to begin thus early,
as I wanted to start most of the men back to Kiau to-day. After three
or four hours' hard work, we loaded twelve men and started them off on
the downward journey; and as we intended staying two days longer up the
mountain, they had orders to collect other plants which I had pointed
out to them near Kiau. After starting them off, I was glad to take
breakfast before exploring further for other things which I much wished
to procure. After our repast I started off over the ridge of the spur,
progress, however, being very slow, as nearly all the way one had to
climb through branches, roots, or low shrubs. A glossy-leaved begonia,
with large white flowers, was common beside the streams, and three
species of coelogyne were met with growing among the rocks and bushes.
A great many small-flowered orchids of various genera were seen, but
few were in bloom. Dacrydium, phyllocladus, and a peculiar casuarina of
drooping habit were seen, and several herbaceous plants, among which I
noted a drosera and a species of dianella, much resembling those of
Australia. Among ferns were at least two species of trichomanes, two
or three gleichenias, a peculiar form of dipteris resembling D.
Horsfieldii, but dwarfer and quite glaucous, nearly white indeed below,
and a strong-growing blechnum. Several mosses in fruit were gathered,
and most of them were either absolutely new, or had not been discovered
in Borneo before. Here and there I came across patches of an acre or
two in extent of rocky mountain side without any tree-growth. These
rocky patches were carpeted with coarse sedges, among which the great
Nepenthes Rajah grew luxuriantly, an enormous crimson-tinted pitcher
depending from each of its large lower leaves. These gigantic urns were
for the most part filled with rain-water, among which were the remains
of ants, beetles, and other insect-life. Nearly all the pitchers were
found resting on the surface of the earth, and in most cases they were
hidden by the overhanging leaves, sedges, and débris among which the
plants grow. It was, in the case of the younger specimens--plants a
foot high or so--that the pitchers were most evident and luxuriant.
Seedlings of this size were even more ornamental than their big
jug-bearing brethren. Here and there were specimens of N. Rajah, great
clumps having stems five or six feet in height, with very broad massive
leaves, and pitchers capable of holding two or three pints of water.
It is these large plants which flower most freely, some of the stems
bearing three or four spikes of their rich maroon-tinted blossoms,
around which two or three kinds of flies or gnats were playing in the
sunshine. The female plants were not nearly so plentiful as were the
males, and I am inclined to think that these tiny flies aid
fertilisation, for some of the female plants were a long way distant
from any males, and yet they appeared to have been fertilised. N.
villosa is often found in these open patches with the larger kind just
alluded to, but more frequently it affects the margins of the open
patches, and luxuriates among the low bushes, by which its weaker and
more elongated stems are supported. N. Lowii and the beautiful N.
Edwardsiana appear never to reach so high an altitude as those just
named. I cannot describe the elated emotions I felt in traversing this
mountain side, and gazing on forms of vegetable life the most remarkable
of any to be found in the whole world! Hunger, bruises, and the repeated
drenchings we had received during our journey hither, these and all
other of our troubles seemed to vanish as I gazed around me on the
wonders of creation and inhaled the cool invigorating mountain air. We
returned to our cave-dwelling about four o'clock. As I write up my
diary, a tiny bird is flitting about quite close to me, and does not
appear in the least afraid. It is but little larger than a wren, its
body being of a dark brown colour; the head and shoulders are mottled
with yellowish brown. From its lively and erratic flight, I suspect it
is of the flycatcher group. It flits backwards and forwards from bough
to bough, and frequently leaves a branch as though flying right off, and
quite surprises you by suddenly and adroitly twisting itself round and
dropping back into the place from which it started. Another occasional
visitor is a blackbird, having a golden bill and a reddish-brown
breast. It strongly resembles our own blackbird indeed, but is perhaps
a trifle fuller in the body. Again, we heard the little songster
alluded to in the account of my first visit here. I know of no bird
whose melody possesses the ravishing sweetness and variety of melody
of this one, its song in the early morning being especially delightful.
Were it possible to introduce it, this little stranger would be a most
welcome addition to our domesticated song-birds here at home. Space is
limited here in this cave, and one has to sit pretty close to the fire.
Just after dinner to-night, as I sat making notes in my pocket-book,
Smith, in lifting our extemporised kettle off the fire, let it fall,
and the boiling water fell over my feet. My boots were off, and the
pain was rather hard to bear. "Suong," who is equal to all emergencies,
recommends me to put some wet salt on the scalded portions of my feet,
which, to please him, I did, and the pain soon after abated. I was very
sorry for this accident, being afraid it would prevent my extending my
excursions up the mountain side to-morrow, as I had arranged to do.
It is raining very heavily, and Smith reminds me that we have only had
two wholly fine days since leaving Labuan.
August 17th.--Our cave had become drier, owing to the fire we had
constantly kept burning, and we slept well last night. One of our
men, on going to his basket this morning, found a rat in it, which
he at once secured and killed. It had doubtless been tempted by the
warmth and his little store of food. It resembled very nearly the
long-tailed grey Norway species, now so common in England, and was
quite distinct from the short-tailed, long-snouted kind, of which
"Kurow" had trapped two specimens during our first visit here. When
our Dusun guides came in, one of them quickly appropriated it as a
desirable addition to his edible stores. Our own breakfast this morning
was of oatmeal porridge (a nice change from constantly eating rice) and
tea and biscuit. I had some difficulty in putting my boots on, owing
to the scalding my feet received last night. My feet were very painful
at first, but getting warm with walking, they did not inconvenience
me so much as I had expected. We had a long walk up the mountain side
to-day searching for seeds and plants. The highest height we reached
was 10,700 feet, but it must be pointed out that our object was to
collect all the plants and seeds we could in the richest vegetable
zone on the mountain, and not to reach the summit. Had our object
been to ascend to the top nothing would have prevented our doing so;
indeed, the real difficulties of climbing "Kina Balu" are very few,
and not worth mentioning; indeed, we found our journey to its base
from the coast far more exacting to our strength and temper. We were
fortunate in our search to-day, having, after a long and disappointing
search yesterday, failed to obtain the particular plants and seeds I
was anxious to obtain. To-day, however, I was rewarded by finding a
few in good condition. We returned to our cave at about four o'clock,
and found our Dusun followers, who had been in another direction,
had also brought me in a nice lot of seeds, plants, and flowers. They
had complained of the cold nights on the mountain, and threatened
to leave us this morning (as indeed they did last journey), but I
promised them some rice for their evening meal, and eventually they
had consented to stay another night. Before dinner we packed up our
plants and seeds carefully, and arranged everything ready for our
descent in the morning. I wished to start early, so as to have plenty
of time for collecting on our way, as at one spot I much wished to make
a détour to collect seeds. Our bird visitors came around us to-day
again, and fearlessly came quite close to pick up the crumbs of rice
we threw towards them. We have had rain more or less for two whole
days, and it was bitterly cold towards eight o'clock, when we wrapped
our rugs around us to retire for the night. My thermometer stood at
45° just outside the cave, and during the night it had descended to
38°. I awoke during the night quite stiff with cold, although I lay
close to a good fire. My rugs had slipped from my shoulders, and I
was glad to fold them tightly around me, and to put more fuel on the
fire. It was a lovely moonlight night, the light being so strong on
the branches opposite our cave as to make them look as if covered
with snow. Mr. St. John mentions having seen a sort of hoar-frost
here during one of his journeys. The great fall looked like a silver
streak down the rocky mountain side opposite, and the rush of its
waters into the chasm below comes quite clearly through the night air.
August 18th.--While Jeludin boiled the water for our coffee this
morning, I carved my initials on the soft red sandstone wall of our
cave, and then clambered up a tree just opposite to try and get a
better view. All is mist and cloud below us except seaward, where a
strip of the coast line and the rivers towards Menkabong and Gaya are
visible. I can see the great fall very plainly coming down the face
of the rock opposite, just where it disappears into the wooded gully,
below there is a magnificent grove of tree ferns, and as I am fully a
thousand feet above them, I can look down on their expanded clusters
of fresh green fronds, and the effect in the morning sunlight is past
all description. About 7.30 a.m. we started on our downward journey,
at first climbing the ridge through roots and branches which were
notched here and there for foothold. On reaching the path above,
a few minutes' walk brings us to a series of great steps and an
open space or two covered with jutting rocks and boulders, sedges,
low bushes, and the great pitcher-plants. Here we made a short stay
collecting, much to the disgust of our Dusun guides, who pointed to
the dark clouds and told us we should have rain, and much wished
us to push onwards. Lower down still we came across plants of the
beautiful Nepenthes Edwardsiana, scrambling up bushes and casuarina
trees to a height of twenty or thirty feet. Both this species,
and also the curious N. Lowii, are frequently perfectly epiphytal,
all the old stems and roots originally in the ground being dead, but
the top growth has rooted into the wet moss and débris which rests
on the trees and bushes everywhere around. Of the first-named there
are two distinct varieties, differing in the length and form of their
pitchers. N. Lowii is first seen at about 5,000 feet, and is one of the
most singular of the whole group, its urns being flagon-shaped, and of
a hard leather-like consistence. Growing quite plentifully beside the
path were tiny plants bearing tripetalous flowers of a white or pink
tint, and very pretty. In some places it was quite bushy in habit and
a foot in height, being literally covered with blossoms. Some large
mosses, one of them having stems a foot in height, were also gathered,
and a few inconspicuous orchids, epiphytal and otherwise, were observed
in bloom. A plumose filmy fern (Trichomanes, sp.?) depended here and
there from the half rotten casuarina branches overhead.
Owing to the rain yesterday our descent was far from pleasant, and
falls were not infrequent, in fact on both occasions I have found
descending this mountain very troublesome and dangerous owing to
the wretched paths one has to follow. I carried a sago sheath basket
behind me, fitted with bark straps for the shoulders, and it was lucky
I did so, for I had one or two nasty falls backwards, and it saved
my head more than once from contact with the slippery stones. Our
guides have at last gone on a-head quite disgusted at my stopping
here and there to take up a plant or gather seeds, which I can never
resist doing. My boots had given way like brown paper owing to their
being constantly wet, and I had to tie them on my feet with strips
of bark. My feet had chafed where scalded, and were now very painful,
while the constant strain on the legs during the slippery descent was
very exhausting. However after many falls backwards and forwards we
reached Kiau about four o'clock p.m. thoroughly tired and hungry. I
felt thankful when I regained the hill above the village where all the
hard work is over. I had tired out the patience first of our guides,
then of my Labuan men, and even Smith had at last left me lingering
collecting roots and specimens, and so I was the last man of our
party to reach the village. As I descended the hill three of my men
met me and took my load of plants, for I had both arms full besides
the basket at my back. Tired and wet as I was I could not resist the
impulse to look at the plants my men had brought down two days before,
and I was glad to find that they were fresh and healthy. A mist swept
around us soon after I got inside the house, and the steady rain we
had experienced all the afternoon changed to a regular downpour. I
was glad to put on my dry clothes after a thorough good wash and rub
down with a towel warmed at the fire. I found that the skin was off
my feet in great patches, and they swelled very much after removing
my boots. Smith had a large sore on his heel, and he agreed with me
that our ascent was child's play compared with the descent.
My "boy" had cooked us some rice and had bought us some fine ripe
tarippe fruit to eat with it. We afterwards had a cup of nice warm
chocolate each, and lighting our cigarettes, our fatigue and bruised
shins were soon forgotten, as we nestled cosily in our warm rugs in the
glow of a sweet wood fire. After our return crowds of people flocked
in to see us, and the house resembled a market-place, fowls, rice,
sweet potatoes, maize cobs, rattan hats, tobacco, wax, caoutchouc, and
Dusun gourd-organs of bamboo being among the produce and manufactures
offered. The men squat down in groups, and there is a great deal of
talking about the mountain and "Tuan Hillow" (Mr. Low), and "Tuan
Bunga," the name by which I am known to these people as well as to the
Malays of the coast. It is quite a gala night, and the young girls are
full of questions about the mountain. My men "Suong" and "Jeludin"
told me that the cave on the mountain was a good place to sleep in,
as there were no spirits there, adding that on the island at Gaya,
and also at Pulo-Tiga they had been afraid to sleep, as the spirits
were so many there! By the first stream we crossed to-day in descending
the mountain, a pretty pink-flowered impatiens was flowering freely,
and on the wet rocks we noticed a tuft of red-berried nertera. On
a dripping wet rock here also a very fine trichomanes luxuriates,
forming large mat-like masses of black roots, and long finely-cut
filmy fronds. Two boys brought in a quantity of anæctochili to-night
soon after our arrival, and asked for needles in exchange, which we
gladly gave them. The talking and laughter of the natives, who seemed
quite pleased at our safe return, lasted until I fell asleep about
eight o'clock, how much later I do not know. Previous to this I called
"Suong," and bade him tell all the villagers assembled that I intended
leaving in the morning, so as to give time for my men to prepare their
things, and that the natives, knowing our intentions, might bring in
any fowls or rice they wished to sell early ere our departure.
August 19th.--First thing this morning I heard that our buffalo, which
had been turned loose to graze on the green here, is missing. All the
men went to seek it while we ate our breakfast. "Kurow" had so often
tried to induce me to exchange this animal--a female--for a male of
his own that I was for a time suspicious of his having stolen it during
the night. We had intended to start for Koung to-day, but the loss of
our buffalo will detain us, as we cannot well leave without it, partly
on account of its use to me now that my feet are raw and tender, and
partly because it will not do to allow a theft to pass unpunished. A
Dusun woman brought in a basket of fresh ginger roots this morning,
which I find is cultivated by these people. Several fowls and some
rice were also brought in, and these my "boy" bought in exchange
for our old biscuit tins and glass bottles. During our forced delay
I walked out to take a last look at the village, and to make a few
sketches and notes. In the little flat-topped hut, which served as a
head-house, I found a pile of about fifty skulls in one corner, some
being in a basket suspended on the wall. These, the villagers tell me,
are the skulls of their old enemies, and their individuality seemed
well known to one old man, who pointed out several to me as having
once rested on the shoulders of some of the Chinese settlers, who,
some few years ago, disappeared from this Dusun country altogether,
although their peculiar physiognomy still lingers among the Dusun
tribes into which they married, so that it is just possible that they
became absorbed into the native tribes. Others were pointed out as the
heads of their old foes the Lanun, whom the Dusun people detest, say
that they formerly came up to the hills with the ostensible purpose of
trading, but adding, that they really wanted to steal their children
as slaves. I offered "Boloung" a good Tower musket for a couple of
these heads, but so highly are they still valued by these people that
he refused to part with them, even for so high a price. This custom
of head-hunting may be said to have died out amongst the Dusun,
since they failed to subsist by hunting, and have taken to the less
exciting employment of land culture. One place was pointed out to
me where thirty men and their chief had been slaughtered together
and their heads taken, only a few years ago. This was at a ford near
Sineroup, and a rude circle of stones still marks the spot where the
bodies were interred; all the stones are single except that which
represents the chief, which has a smaller stone on its apex. I find
the custom of marking burial places with erect stones very common
among these people. On returning to the house I find that "Kurus,"
one of my men, a shock-haired Bruneian, has brought in my buffalo,
having tracked it through the soft mud to a bit of jungle at some
distance from the village, and there he found him tied to a tree!
The large house in which we stayed is big enough to accommodate five or
six families, and the large common room, which extends from end to end,
will hold twenty or thirty men and their baggage quite comfortably,
having three or four hearth-stones for fires at intervals. It stands
on a grassy knoll just at the entrance to the village, and the group
of pinang and cocoa-nut palms on the lower side give to it quite a
picturesque appearance. All over this district tree-ferns are very
beautiful, especially so in the valleys and glades which exist up
among these cool hills. Every now and then the traveller comes upon
whole groves of them, and solitary groups exist even in the cultivated
ground. So sweetly fresh and green are they, and quite distinct in
form and tint from all surrounding vegetation, indeed, these feathery
tree-ferns, and the tall clustering wands of bamboo, form the most
distinctive features of the landscape. We at length bade our friends
good-bye, and the whole village came to the knoll above the stream to
see us start, and the girls were especially interested and begged of us
to come again and bring them some needles, looking-glasses, and cloth.
Coming down the hill-side cornfields from Kiau I saw here and
there patches of cotton (Gossypium barbadense), and a delicate
pink-flowered variety of tobacco was in bloom, and being supported
by stakes, were perhaps left for seed. On the steep side of the
opposite hill are numerous little farms, and on each you see a tiny
flat-topped bamboo-hut which is used for shelter and rest during
field labour. The soil is a reddish friable loam, thickly sprinkled
with large sandstone boulders and stones; while in the lower plains
and valleys is a deep black deposit which under irrigation yields
splendid crops of rice. Under European protection and management,
aided by systematic Chinese coolie labour, the virgin tracts on
these hill ranges might be worked with advantage in the production
of coffee and cinchona. Once fairly started, and with improved
roads, this district would possess many attractions, not the least
being a comparatively cool and salubrious climate. At elevations
of 3,000 to 5,000 feet a cool bracing air is readily obtainable,
indeed, as suggested by Mr. Low, the Marie Parie spur would form a
capital site for a sanatorium of the utmost value to Europeans. At
higher elevations a really cool climate, almost European, in fact,
is obtainable. To bring this fertile district into cultivation and to
form anything like good roads, however, would be a task Herculean,
and one only to be accomplished by an immense expenditure of labour
and capital. The system employed by the natives in clearing their
new farms is to fell the trees and then to burn them during the
dry season. The old stumps are left, and to prevent the rich earth
and forest débris from being washed away by heavy rains, logs are
laid against these horizontally all down the steep shoulders of the
spurs. Land newly cleared yields splendid crops of hill or dry rice,
maize, kaladi, tobacco, sweet potato, and other crops. There is
very little primitive forest on these lower hill ranges and spurs,
nearly all the land not now actually under culture being fallow, in
the shape of low jungle. The only really virgin forest is the tops of
the hills beyond Kiau and the spurs of Kina Balu itself on the south
and east sides. On our way to Koung to-day we had a lot of trouble
owing to the swollen and rapid state of the river, which we crossed no
less than thirteen times. All along our way we saw little torrents of
muddy water pouring into the river from the hill-sides. The two last
times we had to cross the stream previous to our reaching the regular
ford at the entrance to Koung village were really very dangerous,
and I shudder when I think of the surging torrents we crossed, and
of the large treacherous boulders, water-worn and as smooth as ice,
which lay hidden in their beds.
I rode my buffalo: Smith walked and clung to the ropes which held
the saddle. The banks of the stream were overflowed so that we could
not tell exactly the proper place to cross. My buffalo was a brave
and careful animal, and must have been possessed of immense power,
seeing how she carried me and dragged poor Smith over safely. I shall
never forget our last crossing. We had missed the proper place to ford
without our knowing it. The place we had chosen to cross was, as we
afterwards found, a succession of smooth boulders and deep holes. The
buffalo had to feel its way, and when in mid-stream, unluckily, set
its feet on a boulder. Splash we went, all over together, into a deep
hole. Ugh! how I did shiver as I sank to my neck with the buffalo
submerged beneath me. As we rose again I glanced around and thought
for a moment poor Smith had gone. In a moment, however, he rose to
the surface of the stream, where he lay extended grasping the ropes of
the saddle with one hand at arm's-length, and gasping for breath. All
the time we were being carried down stream, and bravely as the plucky
buffalo struggled her feet continually slipped on the loose pebbles
below. "Hold on, Smith!" I gasped, as splash we all went over another
gigantic boulder, and the water surged up to my ears although on the
back of the beast. I clung like a sailor in a gale. Fortunately for
us the buffalo regained her footing, and clearing the current by a
great effort she carried me and dragged poor old Smith up the bank
Koung-wards. "That's a narrow squeak, old boy," I said, but Smith was
too exhausted to answer as he tottered and staggered to a seat on a
stone lying near. I also was glad to rest, and although thankful for
our merciful escape, I could scarcely look sober as I glanced at Smith,
who was as white as a ghost, and staggered like a drunken man.
"Well," said he, when he had recovered his breath, "it's all very
well laughing, but you don't catch me crossing in that way again."
And in justice to his veracity I must own that I never did, for he
avoided me and the beast at crossings ever afterwards. Arriving at the
ford at Koung a young Dusun came and assisted Smith over, the water
being very high and rising every minute. He then recrossed and led
over my buffalo, who a few minutes afterwards once more regained her
liberty on the green, while we, as usual, took up our quarters with
"Lapayang" in his bamboo-house. He and his people were surprised
at our having got across the river to-day, and pointed to where it
was rushing and foaming a yard higher than its usual current. Smith
lost his stick and some plants he was carrying for me, and his rifle,
too, would have gone had it not been strapped to his back. No one can
possibly understand the danger of these swollen torrents who has not
had personal experience of them. Once off one's feet in the surging
stream, running seven or eight miles an hour at the least, one's life
would inevitably be dashed away on the boulders and jagged rocks which
occur every few yards. Adventures of this kind look tame when calmly
written down after all danger is past, and when read by a comfortable
fireside, but they are really very real and exciting when one is
undergoing them in person. A little later we were surprised by "Suong"
and my "boy," poor little "Kimjeck," who came in looking as miserable
as drowned rats. They had avoided the dangerous fords by coming along
the hill-path beside the river, but my other fellows refused to come
on, and took shelter from the rain in some Dusun huts midway.
"Lapayang" received us kindly, as usual, and gave us a fowl and some
rice, and lent us some cooking pots. Another villager brought us eggs
and a cluster of fine golden bananas--I never tasted more delicious
ones--so that we dined well after all our mishaps. After dinner our
host brought us in a couple of fine large tarippe fruit, just at a
time when dessert was least expected; we deserved it, however, and
enjoyed it accordingly. I think I never felt so fatigued before in
my life, my feet and legs were sore, and the exertion of the descent
yesterday, and the falls I had, made me ache all over. Added to this,
my skin from head to foot was covered with irritable red eruptions,
caused by a minute red parasite of acaroid nature, which my men told
me came off the buffalo on which I had ridden. As we sat smoking after
dinner we heard the rain falling very heavily, and it lasted most of
the night. The troubles of the day are ended, and we have cause to
be grateful for our preservation from its dangers.
August 20th.--It was at first very wet this morning, but an hour after
sunrise it cleared up and the sun shone beautifully. Our laggards
came in about eight o'clock, just as we finished our breakfast of
fowl and rice. There are plenty of fine cocoanut trees here, and one
can obtain fine fruit. "Kurow" overtook us here this morning, having,
together with his little daughter and another girl, walked from Kiau
since daybreak. They are going on to Kambatuan, he tells me, to trade,
and the girls have baskets of tobacco on their backs. We bought some
cocoanuts and paid our host "Lapayang." He particularly wanted some
powder and caps for his musket, and these we gave him, together with
a handkerchief or two, and looking-glasses for his sisters, two fine
girls, both married to young men of the village.
We started for Kambatuan after all our men had arrived, and "Kurow"
accompanied us. Altogether we had a day's rough work, two of the
crossings being shoulder high and very rapid, so that only I and
the buffalo could cross, and the men and Smith had to follow the
windings of the river a much longer distance over rough ground, for the
most part covered with coarse grasses and jungle. It rained heavily
at intervals, and we did not reach the foot of Kambatuan hill much
before dusk; and after half an hour's climbing up a path like a drain,
sometimes stony, sometimes of slippery yellow clay, we reached the
village in a regular downpour. Nowhere else in Borneo have I seen
such groves of "tarippe" trees as surround this village. When we
last visited "Kina Balu" in December, "langsat" fruit was in season,
and met with at nearly all the Tawaran villages. Now, in August, the
"tarippe," rich and luscious, is most abundant, and now and then a
coarse brown fruit, something like a horse-mango, is obtained, and is
agreeable for a change. The perfume of the ripe "tarippe" fruit was
most cheering to ourselves and our men, and almost as soon as we had
got off our wet garments, and put on dry ones, a dusky maiden appeared
with four large fruit in her plump little arms. She was dressed à la
mode Dusun, and had wire wristlets, and a heavy wire anklet an inch
thick, which must have weighed two or three pounds, around her left
leg. A younger child brought us some fine plump bananas, which we
found to be rich and luscious as new honey, leaving an aroma in the
mouth like that produced by ripe filberts and old dry port.
We had a large concourse of the villagers in to see us this evening
after dinner, including "Beuhan," the headman, who wears a head-cloth
and kriss, and in general build and physiognomy resembles the Sulus
much more than either Dusun or Malays. "Kurow" was the principal
talker, and related all that we had done and how much he had helped us
in ascending the mountain. The young girls crowded to see us, and tried
hard to get speech with us. We had given the girls who brought us fruit
a looking-glass each, and we could quite well understand that all were
eager for a similar gift. They were very, very scantily clad; indeed
the most tolerant of Lord Chamberlains might well wish to add an inch
or two to their tiny petticoat, especially as 'tis the only garment of
which they can boast. It answers somewhat to the American definition
of a dress "which began too late and left off too soon." Here, however,
it is the customary fashion, and as such is honoured. How graceful were
the figures of some of these young girls! Perfect little Amazons, lithe
of limb and having regular features, eyes full of gentle expression,
and a richness of raven hair most European ladies might envy. It is
pleasant to know that these dusky girls, lovely as some of them are,
will never be degraded to anything worse than field labour, which is
a far better lot than that of their Malayan sisters along the coast,
whose personal charms chance to be interesting. We found out later
on in the evening that the pretty damsel who had first brought us
fruit was the headman's daughter, "Sa' Tira" by name. Most of the
evening she knelt by the fire, her dainty little fingers busily
making cigarettes for her papa's guests, many of whom had arrived
from other villages near to look at us. Altogether we spent a very
pleasant evening with these hospitable people, and we have no doubt
but that they will long look back to our visit themselves, seeing
that whole months frequently elapse without their seeing anyone from
the coast even, much less a white man or two from far-off Labuan.
August 21st.--Our buffalo had wandered from her moorings during the
night, and so we lost some time in finding her. She was brought in
at last, however, and we prepared to start on our way. "Beuhan," the
headman here, had been very hospitable to us, first in setting aside
a good clean house for us, and he also gave our men rice and fruit,
as their supplies, like our own, were very small. Indeed, the fellow
seemed so pleased to have us at his village, and behaved so well to
us, that I felt bound to make him a fair repayment. I found out from
"Suong" that "Lapayang" had told him of the musket which Mr. Veitch
and myself had given to him, and that "Beuhan" wanted one too. I was
glad to have the power of thus easily satisfying him. When I handed
the musket to him before all his people and told him always to help
the white men who came to him, he was visibly delighted, and looked
at the glistening barrel and bright brass-work with rapture. I also
gave him a small supply of ammunition. He had heard of my shooting
down cocoanuts from the trees, both at Koung and at Kiau, and he
desired me to do this at his village. Smith handed me his rifle, and
luckily for my reputation, I smashed the particular nut he pointed
out to atoms. Here, at this village I took leave of my old friend
"Kurow," and gave his little daughter a Chinese looking-glass, which
pleased her greatly. Another little girl also from Kiau was with her,
and she looked so sorry that she had not one too, although pleased at
her friend's good fortune, that I could not but hand her one also,
and her dusky face was all sunshine in an instant. These two girls
had walked all the way from Kiau yesterday perfectly barefoot over
rough ground, rocks, streams, and jungle, carrying heavy loads, while
"Kurow" carried only his slender-shafted spear. It is this hard work
at an early age which so soon destroys the lithe figures and tiny
hands and feet these Dusun children so often possess.
"Beuhan" sent two men with us as guides to Sineroup. This was a great
gain to us, as they knew the road well, and conducted us by what I may
call the "overland route," that is, by the hill-paths, and in this way
we avoided three or four of the worst crossings. We found the walking
very rough and fatiguing, especially in the close gullies we had now
and then to cross. About ten o'clock we reached the village of Bundoo
on the opposite hill, and here, while awaiting our men, I sketched the
top crags of the great mountain, of which we obtained an excellent
view, and also made a sketch of some Dusun tombstones on the little
village green. While waiting, a woman brought us two young cocoanuts
and put them down before us, so that we might drink, which we were
glad to do, as it was very hot to-day. We gave her a looking-glass,
which she evidently considered a good price for her fruit. I found
these Tampassuk Dusun far more inclined to be hospitable than their
brethren of the Tawaran.
We passed several tiny hill villages to-day, and some of them had a
neat bamboo-fence and a stile at the entrance with notched sticks for
steps. Some of the houses are surrounded by luxuriant gardens, each
of which contains kaladi, Indian corn, a castor-oil plant (Ricinus)
or two, cotton bushes, and in each there is invariably a clump of
cocoanut trees, and three or four slender-stemmed betel-nut palms,
while here and there old stumps are verdant with the betel pepper,
the leaves of which are chewed along with bits of betel-nut, and a
few condiments, such as lime--made from coral reef or shells--and
gambier. Here and there, too, the red-fruited rose-apple or jambosa
was seen. We reached Sineroup about 3.30, and singularly enough have
not had a drop of rain all day. "Gantang," the Orang Kaya, was glad
to see us, and pointed with pride to the new garments he wore, made
from the cloth he had earned by accompanying us to Kiau.
August 22nd.--We left Sineroup and its hospitable headman this morning,
after having arranged with him for a guide and another buffalo as far
as Ghinambaur. We descended the hill, and after crossing the river two
or three times, which was easily done now, since no rain had fallen
yesterday, we were surprised by meeting a young Labuan man--whom I
had formerly employed. He was a handsome young fellow named "Sallia,"
a relative of poor old Musa, and from him I heard that Mr. Pretyman,
accompanied by Mr. Dobree, a Ceylon coffee planter, were following,
and that their object was to proceed to "Kina Balu" in search of land
suitable for coffee culture. A few minutes later we met them and had
luncheon together on the dry stones of an old river course. In answer
to Mr. Dobree's inquiries I told him what I had seen of the country,
of the large extent either actually under cultivation by the Dusun or
lying fallow as jungle, and that virgin soil in large tracts would
only be obtainable by felling the primæval forests on the enormous
spurs of Kina Balu itself. We parted just as a heavy shower came on,
and pursued our way to Ghinambaur, which place we reached about four
o'clock, drenched to the skin and covered with mud to our waists,
the roads being in a frightful state owing to the rain. We sought our
old quarters, and soon made ourselves comfortable for the night. We
heard that a court-house was being built here by Mr. Pretyman, but
did not see it, and inquiries as to what the "white man" was going
to do were numerous, as indeed they had been all along our route.
After resting, I could not resist making the accompanying sketch
of the great mountain as it loomed up through the cloud strata just
before sunset. We were four days' journey from its base, and yet it
seemed so very nigh to us in the last hours of sunlight as to appear
only a mile or two distant through the sun-lit air of evening.
August 23rd.--We started early this morning from Ghinambaur, having a
walk of fifteen miles before us over wretched roads ere we arrived at
Mr. Pretyman's residence, "Port Alfred," on the Tampassuk. My buffalo
was nearly knocked up, and so I left her in charge of the men, and I
and Smith, trusting to our knowledge of the way, pushed on ahead. We
had a hard day's work a greater part of the way, floundering about
in the mud of buffalo tracks, or crossing streams and creeks up to
our necks, with just such a suspicion of lurking alligators being in
them as made the thing exciting. I stayed at one place to collect
palm-seeds, and the roots of a dwarf zingiberaceous plant, bearing
pretty little white and lilac flowers. Here and there in the jungle we
also saw a large amorphophallus, bearing erect spikes of red berries,
and a pale-leaved variety of banana had its leaves beautifully blotched
with reddish purple. In one place we had to cross a grassy plain,
the mud and water being up to our waist-belts in places, and the tall
coarse grasses arched over our heads so that for a mile or more one has
to flounder up this grassy sewer, the effluvia from the festering mud
and the heat being alike almost unbearable. We at last reached the low
sandstone hills and padi fields near the Badjow village, and were glad
to know that we were within a mile or two of our destination. Then came
another case of floundering through a wet rice field in a drenching
shower, up to the knees in unctuous black mud, remarkably warm, too,
it felt to the legs and feet. After all our struggles, however, we
reached the Residency about four o'clock, dirty, wet, and tired. Here
we found M. Peltzer in charge, although looking very pale and ill. We
found out that he was suffering from low fever and dysentery, although
fortunately not in anything like its worst phases. A bath and clean
dry clothes was the first thing, after which we were glad to sit
and rest ourselves ere dinner time. We discovered that our friend,
M. Peltzer, had formerly studied in the Horto-Agricultural College,
founded by the late M. Van Houtte, at Ghent, and that he had come here
to make experiments in the culture of tapioca, tobacco, and other
kinds of tropical produce. He related to us an account of a journey
made into the interior as far as Sineroup, in the course of which he
had lost three buffaloes in the streams. Altogether we passed a very
pleasant evening, glad to be so near the termination of a long, and
at this time of the year, a very critical journey. The accommodation
here was luxurious to what we had been accustomed to, and in spite
of mosquitoes we slept the sleep of the thoroughly weary.
August 24th.--We arose soon after 5 a.m., and calling our followers,
bade them prepare our boat for the homeward voyage. We ourselves
looked after the welfare of our plants, and packed up our roots and
seeds carefully. A party of men were sent to the sandstone hills to
procure roots of the white gardenia before alluded to. At 7.50 we
obtained a beautiful view of the mountain, the top crags, ridges,
and water-falls being very distinct in the clear morning sunlight. I
could not resist sitting down on the verandah and sketching the
scene. Although my sketch was true as regards outline, nothing but
colour could represent anything of the beauty of this scene--it is a
subject worthy of Walton's skill and labour. The tints of light are
ever changing in the morning's sun, and the cloud strata lie like
downy pillows on the bosom of a giant. No wonder the simple Dusun,
gazing on this mountain in all the radiance of its early morning glory,
has idealised it as the heaven of his race!
A small herd of water-buffaloes have come down to the opposite side
of the river to drink, and I was surprised to see that most of them
had short stumpy tails. On inquiry I am told that the Badjows cut
the tails of their riding buffaloes, otherwise they draggle in the
mud and dirty water so common here, and then besprinkle the clothing
of their masters. The poor beasts must feel their loss sadly in a hot
country where mosquitoes and other blood-sucking flies are abundant,
but as we cut our sheep's tails short without so good a reason,
we must not be the first in this case to throw a stone.
We gave all our men a rest this afternoon, which they sadly needed,
for several of them were nearly exhausted. About four o'clock we
were surprised at the return of Mr. Dobree and Mr. Pretyman, who had
proceeded no further than the hill just above Sineroup. The Chinese
cook of course received orders to augment his food supply, and we
spent a very agreeable evening. Mr. Dobree showed us the skin of a
young rhinoceros which he had shot in the mud pool near the Sagaliad
river, about twenty miles from Sandakan. The lower horn was three
inches in length, the upper one only just growing. Mr. Pretyman had
also a small but very interesting collection of large coleoptera
caught in the immediate neighbourhood.
August 25th.--We finished rigging up our boat this morning, and
stowed all our plants and stores on board before breakfast. Four of
my men, including "Suong," who had been very useful to me, agreed to
stay at this place as policemen under Mr. Pretyman. To oblige him
I allowed them to do this. About 1 p.m. we stalled down the river,
a much easier thing than pulling the other way. We reached the mouth
in about an hour, but could not get over the bar, as there was not
a foot of water on the bar; indeed we saw two native fishermen carry
their little canoes over. We had to wait until 10 o'clock at night,
when we got over and out to sea with a favourable breeze, but we
did not reach Labuan until August 30th, since we had contrary winds,
and altogether a very rough passage.
Thus ended our journey for the second time to "Kina Balu," which
occupied in all thirty-one days from Labuan, of which thirteen were
occupied in the sea voyage from Labuan to the Tampassuk and back;
from Tampassuk to Kiau and back thirteen; and from Kiau to the
mountain and back five days. Our last journey, viz., the Tawaran
from Gaya and Menkabong, occupied in all twenty-three days, but as
we happened to start just at the commencement of the dry season, we
avoided the dangers and difficulties of fording rapid streams. In the
dry season the Tampassuk route could be accomplished in five days,
and the ground is much more level than that along the Tawaran route,
which is both hilly and fatiguing, the track being almost impassable
for buffaloes. The difference in the time occupied by the two routes
is in part accounted for in this way. Thus when I and Mr. Veitch went
by the Tawaran we saved four or five days in going by chartering a
passage for ourselves by a trading steamer which landed us at Gaya
Bay the next morning after leaving Labuan. On our reaching Labuan,
poor Smith, who had been ill in the boat for two or three days, had
to go to the hospital with a very bad attack of fever, doubtless
contracted during our walk from Ghinambaur to the Tampassuk. He
fortunately recovered in a week's time, but evidently had felt the
effects of a difficult mountain journey. All our friends in Labuan were
glad to see us back again, and the mails from home which had arrived
during my absence were of the most cheering kind. Notwithstanding our
rough passage I found my plants and seeds in good condition, and I
am glad to know that the practical results of this journey were more
encouraging than I had expected, and many of the plants and seeds
obtained ultimately reached Chelsea alive. Having at this time been
over a year in Borneo, I had learned a good deal of the language,
and had also found much to admire in the Malays and aboriginals,
so that I felt in a way loath to leave a land which had been fraught
with so many novelties and adventures to me.