Travel in Borneo--Travelling Boats--Leave for Matang--
Our Crew--Alligators--Mosquitoes--Matang Bungalow--The
Garden--Ascend the Mountain--The Waterfall--A Nasty
Jump--View from the Summit--Snakes--Return to Kuching.
Travelling in the south-western districts of Borneo, and indeed
generally throughout the island, excepting in the far north and
interior, is done in boats, the density of its forests and swampy
nature of the ground rendering journeys overland in most parts of the
territory next to impossible. Jungle paths there are, running inland
to native houses, and "padi" (rice) clearings, as well as one or two
native roads of considerable length, such as the one leading from
Lundu, in Sarawak, to the Dutch settlement of Sambas, a distance of
twenty-eight miles; but the walking is very severe, and the journey
but seldom attempted except by Dyaks.
Its rivers may therefore be said to be the highways of Sarawak, and,
fortunately for the traveller, it is a well-watered country. The
Rejang, Batang Lupar, and Sarawak rivers are the largest, while among
many other smaller streams are the Sadong, Saribus, Kalaka, Eyan,
Muka, and Oya; the three latter, although small, are very important,
as they run through the sago districts, where are large forests of
that palm.
The travelling boats used by Europeans are propelled by means of
paddles, and vary considerably in size, from those pulled by six or
eight men, to those having a crew of thirty or forty, some of the Dyak
war canoes holding as many as eighty men. The latter are used only on
expeditions against the enemy. The ordinary travelling boat is roofed
over from stem to stern with "kadjangs," or dried palm-leaf awnings,
having a space in the centre some 8 feet long or more, according to
the size of the boat, walled in on each side with the same material,
the better to exclude the fierce rays of the sun. Herein sits, or
rather lies, the traveller, the lowness of the awning (which is
removable) precluding any other position. Boxed up in this manner, but
little can be seen of the surrounding country, but as in Sarawak one
river is so precisely alike another this is no great loss. In the
interior, however, the scenery improves, and is much finer, as I shall
presently show.
A short journey in this style is pleasant enough, but when the unhappy
traveller has to live, and cook, &c., for days together in one of
these craft it becomes very irksome and trying to the temper.
Moreover, the smell from the remnants of the crew's meals, such as
stale fish and decayed fruit and vegetables--which they will not take
the trouble to throw overboard, but invariably drop under the
"lanties" or bamboo deck--is well-nigh insupportable.
We left Kuching on the 4th of June for Matang, intending to make the
ascent of Sorapi, the highest peak of the Matang range. The tide not
serving further, Santubong was to be our resting-place that night, and
we were to proceed on our journey early the following morning. Matang,
though only eight miles from Kuching in a straight line, is fully
thirty by river, the stream which runs past the landing-place at
Matang having its outlet at Santubong. It was once intended by the
Sarawak Government to make a road from Kuching to the mountain, but on
being surveyed the intermediate country was found to contain a deep
swamp four miles across, so the project was abandoned.
Our craft on this occasion was pulled by a crew of six men, and,
though small, was, thanks to Mr. H. (who accompanied us), replete with
every comfort. On our way down river, H. pointed us out his crew with
pride as being all prisoners, who, although he never took a gaoler
with him, had never once taken advantage of him for three years,
during which time he had made several trips.
Three of these men were in for murder, and H.'s own body-servant, who
cooked our meals, waited on us. He was working out a sentence of
fifteen years for the murder of a Chinaman, whose head he had one day
conceived a desire to possess, which desire he had promptly gratified!
This man was a "Kayan," a tribe inhabiting the interior of Borneo, of
whom more anon.
By six o'clock that evening we were at Santubong, and cast anchor a
short distance from the shore, but were soon left high and dry on the
sands by the receding tide. Stepping on to the beach, L. and I set out
for a stroll on the sea-shore and a dip in the sea before dinner,
leaving H. to superintend the culinary operations in the boat. He
warned us ere we started to beware, when bathing, of sharks and
alligators, which swarm here.
There has ever been something most repulsive to me about the latter,
who, when they have seized their prey, human or otherwise, do not at
once devour it, but stow it away in their nests under water for two or
three days until the flesh becomes decomposed, when they return to
their hideous meal. Alligators do not attain a very large size in
Borneo, ranging from 10 to 15 feet long only. The offer by the Sarawak
Government of 30 cents, per foot, when captured, has greatly decreased
their number in most of the rivers. An amusing anecdote is told of an
enterprising Malay fisherman, who, when these rewards were first
offered, established a "farm" at the mouth of one of the rivers,
killing them when they grew to their full size, and claiming the money
for their capture. This did not last long, however, and the "wily
Oriental's" ingenuity was nipped in the bud by a punishment that has
deterred other natives from following his bad example. It is a curious
fact that the eggs of alligators are invariably found in the following
numbers--11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, &c.
The following story, which, had it not been told me by the Resident of
the district wherein it had occurred, and published in the _Gazette_,
I should have greatly doubted, may interest the reader:--
Two Malay children, the elder a girl, aged seven and four years, were
playing at low tide on a mud bank close to their dwelling, and some 15
yards from the water, when an alligator, which had advanced
unperceived, seized the younger, and was making for the water with the
child in its jaws. The little girl, on seeing this, had the presence
of mind to leap on the animal's back and plunge her fingers into its
eyes, when it instantly dropped the child unhurt, and made off into
the river.
We enjoyed a cool and refreshing dip in the sea, and it was almost
dark ere we left the water to return to the boat. A light was placed
in her little cabin, which shone like a firefly over the sands, giving
promise of good things within, to which we were shortly doing justice,
in the shape of an excellent fowl curry (prepared by the murderer),
washed down by a bottle of claret cool and fresh from the spring on
shore, where it had been placed on arrival. The night was beautiful
and starlight, and, our repast over, the awning was removed, and we
sat out enjoying our cigars in the cool night breeze blowing in fresh
and strong from the sea. The quiet ripple of the waves as they broke
on the sandy beach had a soothing effect very favourable to reflection
(and baccy), and the lights of the little fishing village twinkling at
the foot of the black and rugged peak of Santubong--which rose to a
height of 1,500 feet above our heads, and behind which the moon was
just rising--presented a fine and uncommon picture.
But, alas! our enjoyment, like many others in this world, was of short
duration, and received a severe shock from a sudden exclamation by H.
of "By Jove! we have forgotten mosquito curtains! We shall be eaten
alive!" It was too true. In the hurry of departure, and forgetting
that we were to pass a night at the mouth, we had left them behind,
knowing that on Matang mosquitoes are unknown. There was no help for
it, however, and, our cigars finished, we turned in with a foreboding
that sleep that night was not for us. Nor were we wrong in our
conjecture, for no sooner were we wrapped in our blankets, and the
lights out, than the enemy, mosquitoes and sandflies--for the latter
of which Santubong is famous--attacked us in myriads. We eventually
gave it up as a bad job about eleven p.m., lit our lamps, and waited
for daylight, when the cold land breeze came and dispersed these
pests, leaving us a couple of hours' sleep ere we should start with
the morning tide.
The morning was bright and sunny, and, starting at seven, we were
entering the Matang stream which runs past the Bungalow landing-stage
at eleven o'clock a.m. Our destination was reached at one p.m., and,
loading our amiable crew with baggage and provisions, we started off
up the mountain for the bungalow, which was reached, after a rather
severe climb, at three o'clock.
There was formerly a coffee estate on Matang belonging to the Raja.
This was started in 1868, but the coffee, though good in quality, grew
in such small quantities that it was deemed advisable to abandon the
scheme, and this was accordingly done in 1873. The bungalow, however,
which was built in the same year is still kept up as a sanitarium--a
great boon to the Europeans in Kuching, as the climate here is
delightful, the temperature at night never exceeding 80 even in the
hottest season. The bungalow, which stands about 1,000 feet above sea
level, is a comfortable wooden house, containing a sitting-room and
three good bed-rooms. It stands on the sheer mountain side, the jungle
for 100 feet or so below it having been completely cleared, and
replaced by a pretty garden, built in five terraces one below the
other, and containing roses, honeysuckles, sweetbriar, and many
English flowers that would not live a day on the plains below.
It was barely daybreak the next morning ere we were awoke by H., and,
hastily swallowing a biscuit and cup of coffee, we set out for the
summit. Our road for the first half-mile lay through the old coffee
clearing, and the path was easy enough, which was, perhaps, lucky, as
everything was enveloped in a dense mist issuing from the valley
below, which rendered objects quite invisible ten yards off. By six
o'clock, however, the sun was shining so brightly that we were not
sorry to leave the open and enter the forest, from which we should
not now emerge until we attained the summit.
To arrive at the foot of the Sirapi mountain two distinct ridges must
be ascended and descended, and after an hour's hard walking (though
nothing to what we were coming to), we descended the second ridge,
into the valley, and arrived at the waterfall, which here descends the
mountain from a height of some 600 feet.
Seating ourselves on a huge black boulder overhanging the fall, we
paused here for a while to regain our breath, of which we should
shortly stand so much in need, for up till now the work had been
child's play compared with what was coming. The most striking thing
about this valley was its dense gloom, the huge forest-trees of
Tapang, Pli, and other kinds, excluding every ray of light, excepting
where here and there a bright patch of blue sky peeped in through the
thick trellis-work of branches overhead. Beautiful palms, kladiums,
and tree ferns, grew in profusion around us, and rare orchids filled
the air with their sweet perfumes. Strangely enough not a bird, or
living thing, was to be seen in this lovely glen, and the solemn
stillness which reigned, broken only by the plash of the water as it
fell from rock to rock, was almost oppressive.
We could have lingered here willingly for an hour, but our guide was
inexorable, and "forward" was again the cry. Climbing now commenced in
real earnest, for, leaving the old track altogether, we began the
sheer ascent of the mountain. Dense undergrowths and sharp rocks
impeded our every step, and cut our feet cruelly, while, every now and
then, a fall flat on the face was the result of misplaced confidence
in a fallen tree trunk, which had become rotten from the ravages of
ants or other insects. Falling any considerable height was, however,
scarcely possible, as the binders and undergrowth, which tore our
clothes and scratched our faces, legs, and arms, unmercifully,
prevented that.
After three-quarters of an hour of this work--which in a tropical
climate, with the thermometer something like 90° in the shade, was no
joke--we again struck on the old path, which, though now completely
overgrown, we determined to follow for a short time. With injunctions
from H. to "hold on by our eyelids," and "'ware holes" where the path
had given way, we proceeded along this track about three feet wide,
whence descended a sheer precipice of at least 2,000 feet. Glancing
upwards, however, we could see that the neck of the journey was
broken, and, encouraged by this, we went ahead merrily. But our pride
was destined to have a fall. L. and I were proceeding alone, H. having
stopped behind to secure an orchid, when, on turning a corner, we
were brought up "all standing." About ten paces in front of us was an
enormous landslip. It had commenced about 150 feet above the track,
and, carrying huge rocks and trees with it, had swept down to the base
of the mountain, demolishing the path on which we stood, and leaving a
smooth, perpendicular precipice of earth, rocks, and trees, to mark
its course. Going round was impossible, for it had left a gap about
twelve feet wide, while under us yawned the dread gulf, a fall down
which must have been fatal. Over this chasm lay a thin bamboo pole
about a foot in circumference, evidently thrown over the chasm, and
crossed by some native, for Dyaks and Malays are as active as cats,
and in feats of this kind know no fear.
This mode of transit seemed to us, however, out of the question, and
we were lamenting our bad luck in having to return without having
reached the summit, when H. came up. Without a moment's hesitation,
and merely remarking "rather an awkward place," he crossed the pole,
while it swayed and oscillated with every movement he made, in a way
that made my blood run cold. Having seen him over safely, there was no
help for it but to follow, and, dissembling a feeling within me very
much akin to what schoolboys denominate "funk," I determined to jump
for it, but cross that infernal stick--never! Consigning Matang and
all things connected with it to a considerably warmer sphere than
Borneo, I "threw my heart over" and followed it a run, a wild bound in
the air, a scramble, and I was over, L. almost jumping on my back, and
both being ignominiously hauled out of danger by H., who showed no
more interest in the whole affair than he would have done in crossing
Piccadilly!
This little adventure over, matters were easy enough, until within a
short distance of the summit. It then became terrible work. Tearing
and struggling through masses of briars and thorns, cut about the feet
by sharp rocks, and having literally to pull ourselves upwards by tree
trunks and branches, on we went, until a shrill yell from L. gave us a
happy excuse for a halt. He had been bitten by a "sumut api," or
fire-ant, the pain of whose bite is intense, and strongly resembles
the running of a red-hot needle into the flesh. "Never mind," said H.,
"you won't feel it in a minute." We resume the climb, and I am just
beginning to be aware that very few minutes more of this work will sew
me up altogether, when, O joyful sound! a faint cry from H., who is
some distance ahead, comes back to us. "Hurrah! here's the top!"
Panting and exhausted, we at length reach the summit, and throw
ourselves on the ground dead beat.
When sufficiently recovered in wind and limb to get up and look around
us, we feel that double the hard work undergone would have been amply
repaid by the magnificent view now disclosed to us.
Far away in front of us, surrounded by an interminable forest of
jungle, lies Gunong Poé, the south-west boundary of Sarawak, while
behind it again rise the long low hills of Sambas, in Dutch Borneo.
Stretching far out to sea, and to the right of Poé, is the long spit
of land, or promontory, known as "Tanjong Api," on this side of which
lies the mountain of "Gading," or Mount Brooke, in Sarawak territory.
Nearer to us again are Santubong and Moratabas, and far down the coast
the Sadong mountains, the home of the Mias or orang utan of Borneo.
We can plainly trace the course of the Sarawak river, which looks from
here like a thin silver thread, as it winds its way past Kuching, its
white houses glittering in the sunshine. The mountains of Singgi and
Cerambo are plainly discernible, as also the sharp rugged hills of
Legora, where the cinnabar and antimony mines are; while farthest away
of any on the dim horizon, we can distinguish the island of Burong, at
the mouth of the Batang Lupar, and the flat-topped mountain of Lingga,
where the Sarawak Mission has established its headquarters. The sky
was cloudless, and H. told us that never before had he been able to
procure such a good view from the summit.
We enjoyed the fresh breeze at the top for half an hour, and then
commenced our descent, avoiding the landslip, and reached the
waterfall in a little over the hour. Pausing here for a few minutes to
rest, and quench our thirst, we resumed our journey, and reached the
bungalow at midday none the worse, with the exception of leech-bites
and cut feet, for the climb. Remarking to H. on the extraordinary
number of snakes I had noticed on the way up, he informed me that
Matang is famed for them, and that, on rising one morning at the
bungalow we were then in, he discovered a cobra eight feet long,
curled up asleep under his pillow. It had evidently been there all
night, and, not best pleased at the interruption, was crawling away
when a bullet from H.'s revolver cut short its career.
We stayed two days more at the bungalow, after which we returned to
our quarters at Kuching, not a little pleased at having accomplished
the ascent of "Sirapi."