234 PYGMIES AND PAPUANS 



to one side or the other it would not have been long 

 enough to reach the other bank, and if it had bent a little 

 more in the middle, the water would have snatched it 

 up like a straw and carried it away in a moment. But 

 it kept just clear above the water and made a safe 

 temporary bridge by which they could cross, and before 

 nightfall a single rope of rattan was securely tied across 

 the narrowest part of the river. 



During the night the river rose and carried away 

 the tree, and it seemed that with only one strand of 

 rattan across the river the prospect of our reaching the 

 other side was not very good. Nobody seemed inclined 

 to risk the passage, even with the promise of a large 

 reward, until one of the Gurkhas, Jangbir by name, 

 said he would go. " There was only one way to go 

 " over — hand over hand, vith a rattan round his 

 " waist held by us in case the bridge strand broke, a 

 " very likely thing, for it was extremely flimsy. Again 

 " the rope to hold him had to be very thin, or the 

 " weight would tear him from his hold. He got across 

 " finely, being dragged out straight by the torrent, 

 " until nearly over, when he could make no more 

 " headway. The rope tied to his waist was paid out 

 " fast, but was caught by the current, and then it was 

 " touch and go. Thus he hung for half a minute, 

 " dragged out in a horizontal position. If both rattans 

 " gave, it meant certain death ; if he let go, the great 

 " strain would snap the rope round him with a like 

 *' result. The rope was pulled in as quickly as possible, 

 " and then the lucky thing occurred. The strain was 

 " too great, and the rope we were pulling on snapped. 



