Had some capital pigeon-shooting to-daj—a bag of
twelve. . . . Sighted high ranges of hills. . . .
Elevation 100 feet to-day.
* * * * *
Jan. 27th.—Got away at 5.50, D. W .; one mile per
hour, and for hours dragging the prahu up rapids and
carangans. At 7.15, 160° (S.). At 6.80 passed an
island. At 7.25, another island. . . . Stopped at
9.25; got away again at 10.25. . . . The people
here are in the most pi-tiable condition of filth of
all Dusuns that 1 have yet come across. I have never
seen any so filthy, so miserable, and so abject as
and scaly bark. The fruit is round or sligbtlv oval, about the size of
a large cocoanut, of a green colour, and covered all over with short
stout spines, the bases of which touch each other, and are consequently
somewhat hexagonal, while the points are very strong and sharp. It
is so completely armed, that if the stalk is broken off it is a difficult
matter to lift one from the ground. The outer rind is so thin and
tough, that from whatever height it may fall it is never broken. From
the base to the apex five very faint lines may be traced, over which
the spines arch a little ; these are the sutures of the carpels, and show
where the fruit may be divided with a heavy knife and a strong hand.
The five cells are satiny-white within, and are each filled with an
oval mass of cream-coloured pulp, embedded in which are two or three
seeds about the size of chestnuts. This pulp is the eatable part, and
its consistence and flavour are indescribable. A rich butter-like custard
highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it,
but intermingled with it come wafts of flavour that call to mind
eream-cheese, onion-sauce, brown sherry, and other incongruities.
Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing
else possesses, but which adds to its delicacy. It is neither acid, nor
sweet, nor juicy, yet one feels the want of none of these qualities, for
it is perfect as it is. I t produces no nausea or other bad effect, and
the more you eat of it the less you feel inclined to stop. In fact, to
eat durians is a new sensation, worth a voyage to the East to experience.”—
Wallace’s Malay Archipelago.
those above Quamut. Churlish and suspicious, envious,
timid, and inhospitable.
The banks are composed of the red, recent river-
gravels, containing pebbles of quartz, ferruginous sandstone,
&c. All along here tried for minerals—no trace.
. . . At 8.30 just escaped a fearful rapid, a place where I
set my teeth and held my breath as we dashed into the
terrific current. . . . Stopped at 4.20. Elevation 100 ft.
Jan. 28th.—Left our station at 6.25, D. 240° (S.W.).
Terrific rush of water, as a fresh flood had come down
during the night. Bar. 29.1, ther. 28°. At 7.15,
330° (K.W.). Yery hard work to-day. . . . We go
now only about half a mile per hour. At 9.15 stopped
to cook. At 10.50 got away again. D. 300° (N.W.).
At 12.20, having madehalf a mile by fearful exertions,
230° (S.W.). The current is so swift that paddling is
impossible, poling equally so, and the banks are so
steep and wooded that dragging by a rope is not to be
thought of. The only way to advance is for a man
to push on ahead a little way by clinging to trees and
half-swimming, get a foothold on a tree-branch or on
the bank. A rope from the prahu is then thrown to
iim, and we drag ourselves up a few yards. The
current, I should think, is at least twelve miles per
hour in the middle of the river. . . . EngO agOed a man
named Jabit, who is from Pinungah.
* * * * *
Jan. 30th.—Got away at 5.45. D. 300° (N.W.).
Bar. 29.85, ther. 29°.
At 6.30, D. 220° (S.W,). At 6.40, 260° (W.).
The natives all say that the Kinabatangan rises in
Kina Balu; but no rolled pebbles of porphyritic granite,
as in the Labuk. At 6.45, D. 250° (N.W.). . . . At 8.40