1846.] WESTERN SIDE OF BANGUEY. 117 



ascertain how far Banguey, in case of need, could assist 

 in supplies, more especially of water, for our shipping. 

 Horsburgh states that the boats of some vessel visited 

 a river on the western side of Banguey and obtained 

 fresh water. Two apertures, supposed to be rivers, 

 were examined by us, but both were salt, apparently 

 estuaries, possibly sending forth ] fresh water in wet 

 seasons, but this year being considered remarkable for 

 the general failure of the rivers on the north coast of 

 Borneo, may account for our want of success. But, in- 

 dependent of the question as to fresh or salt, neither of 

 these estuaries could be conveniently made use of, owing 

 to the shoals which prevent any large boats from ap- 

 proaching, except at the period of high water. On our 

 first arrival, the natives were seen quitting the western 

 shore of the island in five prahus, and rounding its 

 southern extreme, shaping their course easterly, subse- 

 quently, when working along that coast, I noticed eight 

 or ten small prahus hauled up amongst the trees, two, in 

 particular, very neatly painted, but no inhabitants were 

 noticed either on the beaches, hills, in canoes, nor any 

 huts, during the entire period of our detention in this 

 neighbourhood. The soil of the island appears to be 

 good, and the trees and shrubs of luxuriant growth ; the 

 rocks noticed upon the coast-line were slate ; conglome- 

 rate, the pebbles being quartz or jasper ; and jasper ; 

 one very tall pyramidal rock, rising to the height of eighty 

 feet, entirely of contorted laminae of red and yellow 

 jasper ; the soil, overlying the slaty portions, was generally 

 of a yellowish steatitic clay, very friable, and evidently 

 not adapted to promote vegetation. The entire coast- 



