slightly to drink, and water-vessels are readily replenished.
The whole hillside is dotted with flat-roofed field-huts of
clean yellow bamboo. These afford shelter during the
mid-day siesta enjoyed by the workers in the field, who
are for the most part women and children. Tiny streamlets
are met with now and then, and in favourable spots
the most graceful tree-ferns of the primaeval jungle still
linger, although fully exposed to the hot sun. The lower
parts of their black trunks, however, are shaded by coarse
herbage, and their roots revel among the earth, debris,
and wet stones below. In some places the wet earth and
stones beside these streams were carpeted with lovely
mosses, and of these several rare kinds in good condition
were obtained. We met one of my old guides, “ Kurow’’
(see p. 97)j this morning as we came along. He came
up to me laughing and vociferating loudly. “ Soung,’’
who interprets Dusun for me, says that he wants me to
understand that he, “ Kurow,” is glad to see me again,
and that he will do all he can to help me. We reached
the village about three o’clock in a dense white mist, and
it commenced raining heavily a few minutes after our
arrival. Among the plants we saw to-day was a splendid
large bolbophyllum (B. Petreianum). A vanda grew on
the trees overhanging the river, but was not in bloom.
The deliciously-perfumed snow-white flowers of Dendrobium
crumenatum, which were especially beautiful on the
immense boulders of granite on the green at Koung, was
also often met with to-day, and at one of the fords
a large-growing coelogyne (C. racemosd) bore drooping
spikes of yellow and white flowers, the entire inflorescence
being nearly a yard in length. While my boy was cooking
dinner I made sketches of the most peculiar plants
of botanical interest met with en route, much to the surprise—
I might almost say awe—of the natives, who
To face page 264,
DUSUN BORNEANS AT A STREAM.