scalding my feet received last night. My feet were very
painful at first, but getting warm with walking, they did
not inconvenience me so much as I had expected. We
had a long walk up the mountain side to-day searching
for seeds and plants. The highest height we reached
was 10,700 feet, hut it must be pointed out that our
object was to collect all the plants and seeds we could in
the richest vegetable zone on the mountain, and not to
reach the summit. Had our object been to ascend to the
top nothing would have prevented our doing s o ; indeed,
the real difficulties of climbing “ Kina Balu” are very
few, and not worth mentioning; indeed, we found our
journey to its base from the coast far more exacting to
our strength and temper. We were fortunate in our
search to-day, having, after a long and disappointing
search yesterday, failed to obtain the particular plants
and seeds I was anxious to obtain. To-day, however, 'I
was rewarded by finding a few in good condition. We
returned to our cave at about four o’clock, and found our
Dusun followers, who had been in another direction, had
also brought me in a nice lot of seeds, plants, and flowers.
They had complained of the cold nights on the mountain,
and threatened to leave us this morning (as indeed they
did last journey), but I promised them some rice for their
evening meal, and eventually they had "consented to stay
another night. Before dinner we packed up our plants
and seeds carefully, and arranged everything ready for
our descent in the morning. I wished to start early, so
as to have plenty of time for collecting on our way, as at
one spot I much wished to make a detour to collect seeds.
Our bird visitors came around us to-day again, and fearlessly
came quite close to pick up the crumbs of rice we
threw towards them. We have had rain more or less for
two whole days, and it was bitterly cold towards eight
o’clock, when we wrapped our rugs around us to retire
for the night. My thermometer stood at 45° just outside
the cave, and during the night it had descended to 38°.
I awoke during the night quite stiff with cold, although I
lay close to a good fire. My rugs had slipped from my
shoulders, and I was glad to fold them tightly around me,
and to put more fuel on the fire. It was a lovely moonlight
night, the light being so strong on the branches
opposite our cave as to make them look as if covered
with snowr. Mr. St. John mentions having seen a sort of
hoar-frost here during one of his journeys. The great
fall looked like a silver streak down the rocky mountain
side opposite, and the rush of its waters into the chasm
below comes quite clearly through the night air.
August 18th.—While Jeludin boiled the water for our
coffee this morning, I carved my initials on the soft red
sandstone wall of our cave, and then clambered up a tree
just opposite to try and get a better view. All is mist
and cloud below us except seaward, where a strip of the
coast line and the rivers towards Menkabong and Gaya
are visible. I can see the great fall very plainly coming
down the face of the rock opposite, just where it disappears
into the wooded gully, below there is a magnificent
grove of tree ferns, and as I am fully a thousand
feet above them, I can look down on their expanded
clusters of fresh green fronds, and the effect in the morning
sunlight is past all description. About 7'30 a.m. we
started on our downward journey, at first climbing the
ridge through roots and branches which were notched
here and there for foothold. On reaching the path
above, a few minutes’ walk brings us to a series of
great steps and an open space or two covered with
jutting rocks and boulders, sedges, low bushes, and the
great pitcher-plants. Here we made a short stay collect