was a handsome young fellow named “ Sallia,” a relative
of poor old Musa, and from him I heard that Mr. Prety-
man, accompanied by Mr. Dobree, a Ceylon coffee
planter, were following, and that their object was to proceed
to “ Kina Balu ” in search of land suitable for coffee
KINA BALU FROM GHINAMBAUR (EVENING).
culture. A few minutes later we met them and had luncheon
together on the dry stones of an old river course.
In answer to Mr. Dobree’s inquiries I told him what I
had seen of the country, of the large extent either
actually under cultivation by the Dusun or lying fallow
as jungle, and that virgin soil in large tracts would only
be obtainable by felling the primaeval forests on the enormous
spurs of Kina Balu itself. We parted just as a
heavy shower came on, and pursued our way to Ghinam-
baur, which place we reached about four o’clock, drenched
to the skin and covered with mud to our waists, the roads,
being in a frightful state owing to the rain. We sought
our old quarters, and soon made ourselves comfoi'table for
the night. We heard that a court-house was being built
here by Mr. Pretyman, but did not see it, and inquiries
as to what the “ white man” was going to do were numerous,
as indeed they had been.all along our route.
After resting, I could not resist making the accompanying
sketch of the great mountain as it loomed up through
the cloud strata just before sunset. We were four days’
journey from its base, and yet it seemed so very nigh to
us in the last hours of sunlight as to appear only a mile
or two distant through the sun-lit air of evening.
August 23rd.—We started early this morning from
Ghinambaur, having a walk of fifteen miles before us over
wretched roads ere we arrived at Mr. Pretyman’s residence,
“ Port Alfred,” on the Tampassuk. My buffalo
w'as nearly knocked up, and so I left her in charge of the
men, and I and Smith, trusting to our knowledge of the
way, pushed on ahead. We had a hard day’s work a
greater part of the way, floundering about in the mud of
buffalo tracks, or crossing streams and creeks up to
our necks, with just such a suspicion of lurking alligators
being in them as made the thing exciting. I stayed at
one place to collect palm-seeds, and the roots of a dwarf
zingiberaceous plant, bearing pretty little white and lilac
flowers. Here and there in the jungle we also saw a
large amorphophallus, bearing erect spikes of red berries,
and a pale-leaved variety of banana had its leaves beautifully
blotched with reddish purple. In one place we had