coming from the Labuk, I stayed at the houses on the
hill-top. Pamaitan to Moroli twelve miles.
Oct. 1st.—Got away to Pinowanter to-day, taking
the old man from Moroli to assist in the bichara with
the Pinowanter people.
Leaving Moroli in an E. to E.S.E. direction [Moroli:
old man, Sidik; men, 100; women, 120; houses, 15;
but dispersed among the hills], we followed down
the Alowakie, which is a tributary of the Kaponakan;
it received a small tributary called the Solokan-
momanon. Leaving the Alowakie, we passed through
Tiput (two houses), and shortly afterwards struck
the Kaponakan, which river we followed for some
considerable distance. Our course was now S.S.E.
with the river, but on leaving the Kaponakan we
followed a S. course. Climbing some small hills, and
crossing the streamlet Tionkon, we arrived on the
banks of the Kondironkan River, running E.N.E.- to
the Kaponakan, close to Pinowanter, and up near the
head of which the edible nest cave is said to be.
Pinowanter consists of 5 houses; old man, Sak-
hong; men, 30; women, 35. Two high hills about
two miles away; one Barrambangan hill gave the following
bearings from Pinowanter: western end, 263°;
eastern end, 230°. The other hill, separated from
Barrambangan by a deep ravine, was called Molong-
Kolong, and is about 4500 feet high. I t gave bearings
¡—highest point, 286°.
After some trouble with the Pinowanter people, who
much objected to show us the cave, and any amount of
bichara between the chiefs, we at length got a guide
and left Pinowanter in a W. direction. We passed a
small saline spring, through the water of which small
bubbles of gas were rising. The temperature of the
salt spring also was higher than that of the neighbouring
streams. Arrived on the banks of the Kondorikan,
the river noted yesterday; our course now liay right in
the bed of the stream. After immense difficulty in
getting up, and climbing up over large boulders and up
steep banks, we at length arrived at a place where the
Dusuns pointed out a hole in the’rock to us. We had
brought no candle, and, in fact, had no means of
obtaining a lig h t; this was a mistake, but it would not
prevent us exploring the cave. The hole was, on a
level with a deep pool, and there was evidently water
inside, of w;hat depth one could not say. The pool
had to be crossed first,'which was quickly managed by
swimming across. The Dusun chief from Pamaitan,
myself, and a Malay entered the cave, which, luckily for
us, only had about a foot of water on the floor. I t was
very low, so that we could feel all over the roof with
our hands. Every inch of the place was examined,
and not a shadow of a nest could be found, nor was the
rank smell which always pervades guano-caves present.
Thoroughly disgusted with the Pinowanter Dusuns,
whom we suspect of having taken us to the wrong place,
we retraced our steps, and so angered was Bonkal that
he drew his parang on the Pinowanter men, and there
would have been a fight but for the old man of Moroli,
who acted as peacemaker.
We arrived back in Kinoram on the 4th of October,
and Mr. Beveridge was down from the hills with a
small box of specimens. One of these was a piece of
quartz, containing what struck me at first sight to be
copper pyrites. On obtaining a little of the substance
free from gangue, and boiling in nitric acid, it all dis