ch. xiv.] Slippery Descent. 285 



last gone on a-heacl quite disgusted at my stopping here 

 and there to take up a plant or gather seeds, which I 

 can never resist doing. My boots had given way like 

 brown paper owing to their being constantly wet, and 

 I had to tie them on my feet with strips of bark. My 

 feet had chafed where scalded, and were now very pain- 

 ful, while the constant strain on the legs during the 

 slippery descent was very exhausting. However after 

 many falls backwards and forwards we reached Kiau 

 about four o'clock p.m. thoroughly tired and hungry. I 

 felt thankful when I regained the hill above the village 

 where all the hard work is over. I had tired out the 

 patience first of our guides, then of my Labuan men, 

 and even Smith had at last left me lingering collect- 

 ing roots and specimens, and so I was the last man of 

 our party to reach the village. As I descended the hill 

 three of my men met me and took my load of plants, for 

 I had both arms full besides the basket at my back. 

 Tired and wet as I was I could not resist the impulse to 

 look at the plants my men had brought down two da} r s 

 before, and I was glad to find that they were fresh and 

 healthy. A mist swept around us soon after I got inside 

 the house, and the steady rain we had experienced all the 

 afternoon changed to a regular downpour. I was glad 

 to put on my dry clothes after a thorough good wash and 

 rub down with a towel warmed at the fire. I found that 

 the skin was off my feet in great patches, and they swelled 

 very much after removing my boots. Smith had a large 

 sore on his heel, and he agreed with me that our ascent 

 was child's play compared with the descent. 



My " boy " had cooked us some rice and had bought us 

 some fine ripe tarippe fruit to eat with it. We afterwards 

 had a cup of nice warm chocolate each, and lighting our 

 cigarettes, our fatigue and bruised shins were soon for- 



