VILLAGE OF PEDIR. 385 



shoaled at others, except the channel was kept, 

 which usually had a sufficient draught of water 

 for light boats ; but an inexperienced person had 

 better have a native to pilot him, which prevents 

 the annoyance of continually getting the boat 

 perched upon spits and sand-banks. The course 

 of the river is very serpentine ; and after enter- 

 ing it, the banks are covered with shrubs and 

 plants, forming a dense vegetation, among which 

 Acanthus iUcifolia, covered by a profusion of 

 cserulean blossoms and other flowering shrubs, 

 were numerous, as also the Achrosticum aureiim, 

 and other ferns. Native houses appeared min- 

 gled with the graceful, waving bamboo, cocoa 

 palms, plantains, and other trees. 



After proceeding a short distance up the river, 

 we arrived at the small village of Pedir, which 

 is a collection of thatched Malay habitations. 

 Herds of buffaloes were refreshing themselves in 

 the stream, and had a strange appearance wheji 

 seen with only the head above water. The na- 

 tives informed us that alligators were numerous 

 in the river. We did not observe any during 

 the time we remained at Pedir ; and from the 

 buffaloes not being attacked, it is probable they 

 are not numerous about the lower part of the 

 river. After bathing, the buffaloes not being 

 troubled with many of the projections called 



VOL. I. c c 



