v.] GAY A. 113 



Nibong palm. At the end of it there was a depth of four fathoms 

 at low water. The township is placed on the little island of Gaya, 

 which with the mainland, sundry reefs, and another island, forms a 

 line harbour, even more protected than Sandakan. Native canoes 

 can cross to the mainland in all weathers. The soil in the neigh- 

 bourhood is not particularly good, and no attempts at planting 

 had been made. What trade existed was chiefly in rattan, bees' wax, 

 dammar, and other natural products. Since then, however, a 

 number of Chinese have immigrated from Singapore, and a sago 

 factory has been established. The population in 1885 had in- 

 creased to 1000, nearly half of them being Chinese. The place 

 was said to be tolerably healthy. It was at any rate quite as much 

 so as could be expected, for the clearing of jungle and erection of 

 houses must almost inevitably be followed by more or less malarial 

 fever in the tropics. There were a few cases only during our visit, 

 one of which proved fatal. 



In places such as these I cannot hope to interest the general 

 reader, unblessed with the love of dry facts and still drier figures. 

 The struggle between ci\dlisation and Nature in a new country, 

 however interesting to a traveller, is rarely so when put on paper. 

 I confess to a slight predilection in favovir of the latter of the two 

 opposing forces, but I will take no unfair advantage by filling my 

 pages with statistics. These can be obtained by consulting the 

 pages of the " China Directory," or the official publications of the 

 North Borneo Company. I should, however, say that from its 

 admirable harbour, and for other reasons, Gaya is likely to prove the 

 most important post on the west coast of the Company's territory. 



Some twenty-five and thirty miles farther to the south-west 

 are the settlements of Papar and Kimanis, both situated on rivers 

 of the same name. The coast here is low and flat, and subject to 

 heavy rollers in the north-east monsoon, and, as there are no 

 harbours, both these stations labour under considerable disad- 

 vantages, the bars of the rivers being dangerous at that season. 

 Between them lies the Benoni Eiver, winding through a flat plain 

 VOL. II. I 



