were filling themselves with rice. We had so much to talk
about that we did not think of the meagreness of our
fare, but, on the contrary, thoroughly enjoyed it. As it
grew dark we had a large fire made, and posted sentinels
for the night, it being rumoured among the
natives that there was a tribe who lived in the jungle
close by of a hostile and warlike character. I noticed
when it was quite dark that two or three of Frank’s
men kept dropping a kind of powder into the fire, and
asking him what it meant and what the powder was,
he said his natives were, very superstitious, and were
afraid of ghosts. The powder which they threw into
thé fire was, he said, composed of bits of worsted,
the bark of the upas-tree, and an occasional glass
bead. This they believed pleased the deity, who in
return for this attention kept watch over them through
the night, to protect them from the attack of the
spirits of their departed relatives. This led to Frank
telling me many interesting things about the superstitious
fears of the natives. The fitful -firelight and
the intense outer darkness made the stories all the
more impressive. My visitor and fellow-countryman
also taught me many Malay words, and gave me many
valuable hints in regard to the language, all of which
1 thoroughly remember to this day. We finally retired
to our respective sleeping-places and fell asleep.
' “ Next morning at daylight we were up again, and in
half an hour were once more battling our way against
the swift current. The rapids now became more frequent,
and during the whole of that day we did not,
I think, cover more than three miles. We shot a
monkey, had one canoe upset, and were both stung
very much by mosquitoes. The travelling was rough