becoming quite hilly, and towards the south, mountainous.
I took bearings and sketches of all that was visible, an
operation which caused much astonishment to the Dyaks
who accompanied me, and produced a request to exhibit
the compass when I returned. I was then surrounded by
a larger crowd than before, and when I took my evening
meal in the midst of a circle of about a hundred spectators
anxiously observing every movement and criticising every
mouthful, my thoughts involuntarily recurred to the lions
at feeding time. Like those noble animals, I too was used
to it, and it did not affect my appetite. The children here
were more shy than at Tabokan, and I could not persuade
them to play. I therefore turned showman myself, and
exhibited the shadow of a dog’s head eating, which pleased
them so much that all the village in succession came out
to see it. The “ rabbit on the wall” ;does not do in
Borneo, as there is no animal it resembles. The boys had
tops shaped something1 like whipping-tops, but spun with
a string.
The next morning we proceeded as before, but the river
had become so rapid and shallow and the boats were all
so small, that though I had nothing with me but a change
of clothes, a gun, and a few cooking utensils, two were
required to take me on. The rock which appeared here
and there on the river-bank was an indurated clay-slate,
sometimes crystalline, and thrown up almost vertically.
Right and left of us rose isolated limestone mountains,
their white precipices glistening in the sun and contrasting
beautifully with the luxuriant vegetation that elsewhere
clothed them. The river bed was a mass of pebbles,
mostly pure white quartz, but with abundance of jasper
and agate, presenting a beautifully variegated appearance.
It was only ten in the morning when we arrived at Biidw,
and, though there were plenty of people about, I could
not induce them to allow me to go on to the next village.
The Orang Kaya said that if I insisted on having men, ot
course he would get them, but when I took him at his
word and said I must have them, there came a fresh remonstrance
; and the idea of my going on that day seemed
so painful that I was obliged to submit. I therefore
walked out over the rice-fields, which are here very extensive,
covering a number of the little hills and valleys
into which the whole country seems broken up, and
obtained a fine view of hills and mountains in every
direction.
In the evening the Orang Kaya came in full dress (a
spangled velvet jacket, but no trowsers), and invited me
over to his house, where he gave me a seat of honour
under a canopy of white calico and coloured handkerchiefs.
The great verandah was crowded with people, and large
plates of rice with cooked and fresh eggs were placed on
the ground as presents for me. A very old man then