ch. xiii.] " The Fragrant Weed" 259 



grown and manufactured by these inland people. It is 

 cut very neatly, and is made up for sale into ropes or 

 rolls a yard or more in length, these being folded so as 

 to make convenient bundles about nine inches long. 

 Although not given to trickery, it is customary for these 

 people to make the rope " core " of refuse tobacco, or of 

 the leaves of kaladi, or other plants, aiid over this the 

 really good manufactured tobacco is wound. The result 

 of this is that the useable produce is not above one-fourth 

 of the apparent bulk, and although all are well aware of 

 the subterfuge, and carefully examine every roll of this 

 tobacco before they purchase it, yet the practice con- 

 tinues year after year. For smoking, this dark shaggy 

 tobacco is carefully unwound from the " core " (or " prot," 

 literally stomach), and enfolded in a neat wrapper formed 

 of the young leaf of the nipa palm, or occasionally in the 

 thin husk of the maize cobs, both of which serve the 

 purpose of cigarette paper by burning slowly but freely, 

 producing neither flame nor flavour. There is scarcely a 

 more national trait observable among Borneans than the 

 smoking of the " roko." It is the one luxury common 

 to all. From the Sultan to his meanest subject — male 

 or female — everyone indulges in smoking them ; indeed 

 I have repeatedly seen unweaned infants partaking of the 

 solace of the breast and of their tiny "rokos" alternately, 

 both the gift of indulgent Bornean mammas. 



August 10th. — All night we could hear the rain pouring 

 down in torrents, but it cleared up towards morning, and 

 at sunrise all was beautifully clear and bright. This is 

 the view we obtained of the mountain as seen this morn- 

 ing at 7 a.m., all the lower part being obscured by the 

 trees in the foreground. By 7.30 we had breakfasted, 

 and were on our way. Yesterday had been a most un- 

 fortunate day so far as real progress towards the moan- 



s 2 



