WILD LIFE ACROSS THE WORLD 



nipashacks perched high on poles above the water, we 

 headed for the mouth of the Labuk River, which at 

 this point is half a mile in width, being joined there 

 by another stream coming in from the south-east. 



Landing after sunset, I set to work at once to 

 collect men for my journey into the interior, a task 

 which proved by no means easy. Two days were 

 passed in wearisome delays, with maddening excuses 

 on the part of the headmen ; but at last we managed 

 to get and, more important still, to keep sufficient 

 natives for our purpose. 



I cannot say I liked our boats. As a matter of 

 fact, they were simply small dug-outs, trees hollowed 

 out at the cost of infinite labour and patience. I shall 

 never forget the first day I spent in one of these 

 abominable canoes. My whole time was taken up in 

 trying to balance myself and prevent the primitive craft 

 from capsizing, because in addition to the valuable cargo 

 of photographic apparatus I had on board there was the 

 unpleasant fact that the river was full of crocodiles. 



Yet really I believe the second day was worse still, 

 on account of the stiffness set up through the strain 

 of having remained for hours in an unnatural position. 



Our first camp up-river was on a small sand-spit, 

 by no means an ideal spot. Every traveller in the 

 tropics knows the penalty of camping close to water, 

 on account of the superabundant insect life one finds 

 there. 



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