92 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



At two o'clock in the afternoon a start was made and 

 we proceeded rapidly down-stream. The man standing 

 at the bow is the commander, not the one that steers 

 with his paddle at the stern, and it appeared to be 

 their custom always to take the boat where the cur- 

 rent was strongest and the water most turbulent. It 

 seemed reckless, but my prahu, heavily laden, acted 

 admirably, shooting through the waves without much 

 exertion. After nearly an hour of refreshing passage 

 we approached the main rapid, Kiham Raja. I kept be- 

 hind the rest of the fleet, in order, if possible, to get a 

 snap-shot. In the beautiful light of the afternoon the 

 prahus afforded a splendid sight as, at short intervals, 

 they passed along one after another, the first ones already 

 considerably lower than mine. My Kenyahs, all stand- 

 ing, seemed to know exactly where to go and what to 

 do, and we moved along rapidly. Without a moment's 

 hesitation we shot down the kiham. This time they did 

 not choose the place where the waves ran highest, and we 

 quickly slipped down the rapid, turbulent current, while 

 the big waves on our right threatened to engulf our craft. 



As usual, it was difficult to get away from Long Pan- 

 gian, but the posthouder exerted himself to the utmost, 

 and after a few days we were ready to leave for Tand- 

 jong Selor. To a large prahu that we had obtained we 

 had to lash a log on cither side to keep it steady. I 

 found that the Kenyah f)rahus in these parts usually are 

 unstable. One Dayak that had been loading mine in 

 stepping ashore tipped it to such a degree that two large 

 green waterproof bags containing clothing, blankets, 



