and are not easy to propagate, except by seeds. The
willughbeias, on the other hand, grow quickly, and may
be easily and rapidly increased by vegetative as well as
by seminal modes of propagation, hence the latter are
more especially deserving of the attention of our Government
in India, where they might reasonably be expected
to thrive.
No doubt there are yet many thousands of tons of
these products existing in Bornean woods, but as the
trees are killed by the collectors without a thought of
replacement, the supply will recede further and further
from the markets, and so prices must of necessity rise as
the supply fails, or as the collection of it becomes more
laborious.
The demand for caoutchouc from Borneo is a very
recent one, yet in many districts the supply is practically
exhausted. In Assam, Java, and also in Australia,
rubber is supplied by Ficus elastica, which is
cultivated for the purpose. There are many milk-yielding
species of ficus in the Bornean forests which might
possibly afford a supply in remunerative quantities as the
result of careful experiments. The Malayan representatives
of the bread-fruit family also deserve examination,
as excellent rubber is yielded by Castilloa elastica, a
South-American plant of this order.
CHAPTER Y.
KINA BALU, OR CHINESE WIDOW MOUNTAIN.
Journey to Kina BalU—Yisit to Pangeran Kau—Agricultural implements
■—Sea Gipsies—Datu of the Badjows—Musa—Fertile plain—Riverside
gardens—Women gardeners—Fording the Tawaran—Bawang—
Good scenery—Si Nilau—Kalawat—Rat-traps—A wet journey—
Bungol — Koung village—Native traders—Rice culture—Kiau—
Hiring of guides—Ascent of Kina Balu—A curious breakfast—Rare
plants en route—Mountain flowers—Large pitcher plants—A cave
dwelling—Scarcity of water—Mountain orchids—Cool climate—
Slippery descent—Lost in the forest—Return to Kiau—Native produce—
Journey to Marie Parie Spur—Return to the coast—Native
women of the interior—Hire of native boat—Return to Labuan.
On the 29th of November, just as the dry season was
commencing in Labuan, Mr. Peter Yeitch (who had a
few days before joined me after his travels in Australia
and the Fiji Islands) and myself started off on a journey
to Kina Balu, whicli we intended to reach by way of the
Tawaran river. We had with us twenty-six men and two
bird-hunters, so that we formed a rather imposing party
of thirty, all told. The men were armed with native
parangs, or swords; some had krisses, and eight or ten
carried muskets with which we had provided them. We
embarked our men, stores, and travelling gear on board
a little coast-steamer bound for Sulu, and the following
morning we arrived at Pulo Gaya, and the captain
lowered another boat in addition to the one we had
brought with us, and put us all safely ashore near