THE ORANG-OUTANG. 115 



We were travelling through the edge of a great swamp 

 where peat pits and stagnant pools alternated strangely 

 with little oases of clustered trees, contrasting sharply 

 with the surrounding level and looking for all the world 

 like floating islands. 



We landed and began a careful march across the quak- 

 ing ground toward one of the larger islands. The soft 

 mud sliowed recent tracks of orang-outangs, some of them 

 evidently of the largest size. It was a long and difficult 

 tramp, and my heart began to misgive me that the Dyaks 

 had misled me in promising good sport before night-fall, 

 when the leader of our file stopped suddenly in the 

 greatest apparent excitement and terror. 



"What is it?" said I to Thursday, sternly. "Let us 

 have no nonsense." 



" He says he has made a mistake, and that the tide is 

 risino;." 



" Well, what of it ? There is n't tide enough here to 

 drown a dog. Tell him to go on." 



And on we went, to the Dyak's intense disgust and 

 soon to our own apprehension ; for, although the tide rises 

 but little, it soon covered our path, raised but little from 

 the surrounding marsh, and made advance or retreat at 

 first dangerous and then impossible ! I was very angry 

 with the rascal, but decided to take it out of him later, 

 when we should be out of our unpleasant predicament, 

 and to bear the discomfort of standing in water up to 

 the knees for a few hours with what philosophy I could 



