48 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. iv. 



and soon after turned into our rugs beneath the awning 

 and slept until morning. We awoke about daybreak, 

 and found ourselves some miles distant from the mouth 

 of the river ; but the heavy swell we had had all night 

 had now subsided, and the men w r ere making headway 

 fast. About 7.30 they stopped pulling suddenly, and 

 pointed to a large sea-snake lying full length on the 

 surface of the water in the sun. It was about eight feet 

 in length, and of a blue-black colour, barred with rich 

 golden-yellow, the belly being dull white. Mr. Treacher 

 fired at it with a shot-gun, striking it about the centre of 

 its body ; and we could see quite plainly where the shot 

 had ripped the skin. As it lay quite motionless after 

 the shot for several seconds, we imagined it to be dead, 

 but on the men paddling the boat towards it it dived 

 quite suddenly ; and as the water was clear and still, we 

 could distinguish it at a great depth below the surface. 

 A week or two before, during my voyage from Singapore 

 to Labuan, we had noticed a good many of these snakes 

 on the surface of the sea, but none so large as the one 

 seen here. The natives say it is a very dangerous kind, 

 and some strange tales are told of their hiding themselves 

 in boats and huts near the shore. About ten o'clock we 

 entered the mouth of the Lawas, the well-wooded banks 

 of which formed a beautiful foreground to the picturesque 

 mountains behind, which rise higher and higher right 

 away into the interior. We soon reached the first cluster 

 of huts on the right bank, and it is here that one of the 

 Sultan's relatives, Pangeran Bazar, resides. His house 

 is built on nebong piles over the water, from which you 

 climb up a rude ladder on to a spacious platform, on 

 which are half-a-dozen or more brass swivel guns of 

 native manufacture. This platform is roofed over, and 

 an immense wooden drum hangs over the entrance. 



