A FISH-DRIVE. 149 



cences of the "old custom," for among the throng 

 on the sandy bank of the Perak river below him, 

 where in his youth no white man had dared to 

 venture, some dozen Englishmen mingled with the 

 crowd of Malays. 



The occasion of the gathering was the great fish- 

 drive which was to take place the next morning. 

 Every year during the dry season, when the river 

 was at its lowest, the datoh, the native chief of the 

 district, organised a drive, and Alang Abdullah, ever 

 since his father's death, had been in charge of the 

 operations ; for whatever the hajis and sheikhs might 

 say, things had not yet come to such a pass that 

 any one would think of attending a fish-drive unless 

 the spirits of the wood and of the river were duly 

 propitiated. To Alang Abdullah the fish-drive was 

 by far the most important event of the year. 



It was an animated scene down by the river. 

 Some of the Englishmen had returned from shoot- 

 ing, others had been spinning with a minnow for 

 the Malay perch, and some were swimming in 

 mid-stream. The shelving bank was fringed with 

 boats. There were craft of every size, from the tiny 

 dug-out which carried a single occupant, and made 

 its way through the press like a darting needle, to 

 the huge be-flagged house-boat which lay anchored 

 bow and stern. On the bare sandy stretch little 

 clusters of Malays gathered round rice -pots and 

 improvised fireplaces : others were hurrying on 

 various errands between the boats and the datoh's 

 house, and some were overhauling the casting- nets 

 which were to be used the next morning. From a 



