guests, whether “ unbidden ” or not I cannot say, but it
is probable certain kinds are attracted by foetid odours as
others are by sweet ones, while in many cases nectar or
pollen supply the little visitors with food. The bright
scarlet flowers of the erythrina trees in Liabuan sheltered
myriads of tiny flies and beetles which, in their turn,
afforded food to large flocks of starlings and other birds
which were always attracted to these trees when they were
in bloom. Quite accidentally I came across the evidence
of a celebrated traveller in South America, Waterton,
who at p. 98 of his Wanderings, says “ almost every
flower of the tropical climates contains insects of one
kind or other,” thus bearing out what I have observed
to be universally the case in the eastern jungles and
gardens.
On returning to the house I found Mr. Cowie had shot
a beautiful paroquet and two pigeons I had never seen
before, and he had directed his men to bring all the ferns
and plants he had met with on his way around the jungle
patches near the houses. Our birds and flowers securely
packed, we walked around the village and paid a visit to
a hospitable old hadji who lived here, apparently prosperous
and happy. He told us that many of the women
had been much frightened on hearing that a white man
was coming to their village, adding that he had had great
difficulty in assuring them that we were not Spaniards.
He had erected a neat little musjid, and his son, a tall
well-favoured youth, who had accompanied his sire to
Mecca, had just been married to a very comely Sulu
girl. This hadji had a tradition that the aboriginals
of the island had been driven out by the Chinese emigrants
many years ago, even before the Arab Sultans
and Datus became the dominant party here. He may
be right, since it is a well known fact that the Chinese
had extensive settlements in the northern portion of
Borneo, as in part attested by the native names of the
places in which their settlements were made, as Kina
Balu (Chinese widow mountain), Kina Batangan (Chinese
river), Kina Tanah, Kina Taki, and others. There is
one tribe of Dusun who wear pigtails, and although they
use the Dusun vernacular, yet they converse in very fair
Chinese after a little practice, having never quite lost
the tongue of their Chinese ancestors, of whom these
are the lineal descendants by Bornean women. This
peculiar tribe inhabit the Bundu country, but St. John
mentions Muruts from the Limbang, who spoke Hokien
Chinese on their being confronted with Chinese in
Brunei, the capital, although they failed to express
themselves in the Malay language of the coast!
Just as the sun was sinking behind the trees we
mounted our ponies and started for Meimbong. The air
was now cool and fresh, and a pleasant ride of two hours
brought us to Meimbong. This was my last ride in the
island. All the cargo had been stowed below, the hatches
closed, and early in the morning we were to leave. We
were awoke at daybreak by the steam-whistle, and just as
the sun tinted the peaks of Timantangis and Dahau we
steamed slowly out of the harbour for the Island of
Siassi, one of the Tapal group, where more cargo awaited
us. We arrived at Siassi about noon, but the cargo
could not be put on board until the next morning. We
stayed at Siassi all the following day, and I took the
opportunity of riding inland, and to the peak, which I
found capped with old forest; but owing to the extreme
drought, everything here was parched and dry, and but
few plants of interest, were seen. As most of this island
is entirely denuded of old forest, of course birds are
scarce; indeed, I saw enough of it to convince me that