Gantisan in Gaya Bay. We waited here at a Roman
Catholic Catechist’s Station for some time, and I ascended
to the summit of the grass-covered hills northwards.
These are forest-covered below, the nebong
palm being very abundant, and attaining large dimensions.
The hill-tops above, which look so smooth and green
when seen from the sea, are found to be clad with coarse
“ lallang ” grass a yard high, among which the men who
accompanied me pointed out several deer lairs. Fresh
green tufts of Cheilanthes tenuifolia grew in the crevices
of the decomposed sandstone, and among the clumps of
nebong palm ; a singular fern, Schizcea digitata, was
very plentiful.
Returning, we re-arranged our baggage, and sending
our boat round to Pangeran Rau’s place at Kalombini,
by sea, we and the majority of the men started over the
ridge of the wooded hill on foot. It was a stiff climb in
the hot sun, the path being both steep and rough. In
descending to the plain on the other side we shot three
large swallows and a crimson and blue-painted barbet ;
we were also fortunate in finding a pretty pink-flowered
zingiberad in bloom. The flat plain into which we
descended was partly cultivated, and the rice especially
looked strong and healthy. Fine buffaloes were also
grazing here.
We reached Pangeran Rau’s house at three o’clock,
and had the usual bichari or talk, arm-chairs and mats
heing at once brought into the head-house on our arrival.
Some of the women were busy pounding the rice to
separate it from the husk ; and one or two ran away
shrieking at our approach—it was simply affectation, and
not fright. We found the Pangeran rather reserved,
hut hospitably inclined. He was a gray-haired old
fellow of over sixty, and spoke but little, asked no questions,
and spent most of his time sitting cross-legged on
a mat drinking tea, chewing limed “ sirra ” leaf and betel,
or smoking long cigarettes of tobacco rolled in nipa leaf,
all being brought to him from time to time by little
Malay boys. The head-house was soon filled with men
from the other houses, who flocked in to see us and to
hear the news from Labuan of our followers. We rested
a little, and then walked out to obtain a bath before
dinner. Some natives directed us to a spring about half
a mile off across the plain, which here, near the houses,
is of sand covered with coarse sedges and scrub, We
.passed two or three palm-leaf cottages on our way; and
here I noticed the first implement of agriculture I saw^ in
Borneo. It was a wooden harrow; and a native seeing
me interested in it, pointed to a rude iron-shod plough
which hung in a large mango tree near one of the
huts.
A good many of the people who live here are Badjows
or ic sea gipsies,” so called from their habit of wandering
about from place to place in boats, in which they seem
more • thoroughly at home than in the wretched huts
they now and then build on shore. They are essentially
lazy, and will not walk a yard if they can get a buffalo or
anything having four legs to carry them. We saw two
Badjow boys going to the spring for water, and they
both rode on a buffalo calf, which seemed used to its
mischievous load. We returned to dinner at dusk, and
managed to get a good night’s rest here, as the houses
were cool, being built over the water, and the mosquitoes
were not nearly so bloodthirsty as usual.
Our boat did not come round until nearly ten the
following morning. We had been up since sunrise, and
had our breakfast; so, when our craft appeared, we