44 THE SULU ISLANDS. [chap. 



not the smallest danger, for the men all swam like ducks, and the 

 boat, relieved of its load, floated awash on the surface of the water. 

 The Panglima, hearing the shouting, rushed at once on deck, and 

 seeing what had happened, jumped into our lifeboat with half a 

 dozen of his men, and pushed off to the rescue. It was the only 

 pleasing trait that we ever saw him exhibit. 



The country round Parang, though perhaps not so pretty as the 

 neighbourhood of Meunbun, was very pleasant under the rays of 

 the early morning sun, when the grass was sparkling with the 

 heavy dew. N'ot only is this time the most enjoyable of the whole 

 day in the tropics, but it is by far the best for the collector. A 

 few hours later, when the freshness of the morning has disappeared 

 before the blazing heat of mid-day, animal life has also gone, and 

 bird and beast hide themselves in the thicker jungle till evening. 

 Parang, however, did not appear to be a good place for the naturalist, 

 in spite of the considerable amount of cultivated ground and fruit 

 groves. The soil was wonderfully good — a rich, dark loam of great 

 depth — and the jack-fruit was of a larger size here than I have 

 ever seen it elsewhere. The Papaw (Carica papaya), with its palm- 

 like crown of large deeply-cut leaves and bright yellow melon-like 

 fruit, was growing wild, or — more correctly — uncultivated, in the 

 forest. It is curious how little this really excellent fruit is used. 

 Not only is it of delicious flavour, but it is actually a digestive of 

 considerable power. In the "West Indies alone does it seem to be 

 properly appreciated. In the Straits Settlements it appears but 

 rarely at table, while in Java and the Malay Islands there is an 

 idea among the Dutch that it is absolutely harmful. 



"We came upon a great number of graves in the forest, some of 

 them collected in groups and surrounded by a ditch six feet or 

 more in depth to keep off the wild pigs, others lonely and over- 

 grown with vegetation. Even over the latter, though long neglected, 

 the Champac flowered and strewed its blossoms. Many of the 

 headposts w^ere very tastefully carved, but there were no inscrip- 

 tions of any kuid. Nearer the village were the tombs of a former 



