OTHER EXPEDITIONS 281 



a V-formation down-river, and we were lazily watch- 

 ing them, when suddenly the leader " put the brake 

 on hard" and wheeled over at a sharp angle to the 

 right, the whole flock following him with one accord ; 

 we were at a loss to account for this sudden change of 

 direction, when all at once we perceived a huge swarm 

 of bees progressing up-river. They passed us with a 

 prodigious hum, and there is no doubt that if the 

 Egrets had not suddenly altered their course they would 

 have flown straight into the bees, and there would have 

 been trouble. It seems rather remarkable that the 

 Egrets should have realized their danger so readily, as 

 such an encounter could not have been of sufficiently 

 frequent occurrence for the birds to have acquired 

 experience of the danger ahead. 1 



The Malays living in this part of Borneo work sago 

 to a limited extent, and the method is very primitive. 

 A platform is built out over the river and beneath it 

 is placed an old canoe ; by the side of the platform 

 is rigged a lever with counterpoise at one end and 

 a string to which is attached an empty paraffin-oil tin 

 at the other. This is for raising water out of the river 

 and is the " shadoof " of Egypt. The felled sago-tree 

 is split open, and the pith is scraped out by means of 



1 Mr. H. N. Ridley thinks that such encounters would be quite 

 common. E. B. P. 



I agree with Mr. Ridley that such encounters would be quite 

 common. The birds would hear the bees coming some little 

 distance away. These bees sometimes settle on one's boat in 

 journeying along the rivers, and if they are allowed to go where 

 they please for a short time, they crawl all over one without 

 attempting to sting, and depart as quickly as they came. They 

 have nests hanging below the large boughs of the "Tapang" 

 trees, Abauria, and sometimes one of these trees will have as 

 many as seventy or eighty nests on it at the same time. C. H. 



