414 ASCEND A RIVER. 



The Borneons call it upas. Bina (the name we formerly 

 got from a Borneon for upas) is by Sulerman's statement 

 a thin creeper, the root or stem of which, being steeped 

 in water, is added to the upas to increase the poisonous 

 quality: it is not, however, poisonous itself. There is 

 another creeper, likewise called bina, the leaves of which 

 are steeped and mixed with the upas, instead of a stem of 

 the first sort." With this interesting statement, we dis- 

 miss the Upas, by admitting in the words of Crawfurd 

 that, "Every thing we know of the true history of the 

 Upas tree proclaims the egregious mendacity of the man 

 who promulgated the fable respecting it, which has 

 obtained currency in Europe, and the extraordinary 

 credulity of those who listened to his extravagant fic- 

 tion."* 



On the 27th of November, we left Manila, for the pur- 

 pose of rescuing from the hands of the Sultans of Bulungan 

 and Gunung Taboor, the crew of the ' Premier,' a mer- 

 chant ship which had been wrecked on a shoal near Pulo 

 Panjang, on the coast of Borneo, first touching at Sooloo 

 for the purpose of procuring a pilot. On our passage to 

 the Pantai river we perceived the remains of the ill- 

 fated vessel. As we ascended the river, the scenery was 

 observed to be very wild and romantic, conveying a strik- 

 ing view of the vast extent of vegetation which exists in 

 every part of this island. Meeting with no traces of 

 habitations, however, in this long branch of the river, we 

 returned to the ship, and on the following day proceeded 

 to explore the other branch, which, as we ascended it, 

 expanded in one part of its course into a large, wide, 

 *Hist. Ind. Arch. vol. i. page 471. 



