254 UDA PEANG 



een-inch blade, fashioned at the point and deco- 

 rated according to the whim of the maker. 



I had not nearly the difficulty in organizing a 

 party here as elsewhere in Sumatra, and none 

 whatever in securing a sampan and a four-paddle 

 dug-out. Two Chinamen manned the sampan 

 and carried the bulk of provisions, which consisted 

 chiefly of rice, dried fish and coffee, while three 

 natives and Uda comprised the crew of the canoe. 

 Two of my natives brought along some kind of 

 rifle, not known to me, which they had picked up 

 in trade from a coaster ; Uda had an old Martini, 

 and my armory included a .50 half magazine and 

 a double 12-bore. No one at the settlement could 

 give us specific information concerning the up- 

 country rhinoceros. We could find no one who 

 had hunted the country, or seen tracks, or talked 

 with any man that had. It seemed to be entirely 

 a matter of tradition that rhinoceros lived in that 

 country, yet all the natives, even my well meaning 

 old friend, glibly assured us that up the river three 

 or four days we should find plenty of rhino. Na- 

 tives have a casual way of misinforming the 

 adventurer, and the Europeans I found in the Far 

 East appear to have acquired a somewhat similar 

 habit. It's one of those things the hunter should 

 accept along with fever and leeches, as of the 

 handicaps indigenous to the country. 



