102 IHROrCH CENTRAL HORNEO 



metre deep. The route is at present marked out, but in 

 bygone years many ships were wrecked here. 



As the sea became more shallow the yellow-crested 

 waves of dirty water mixed with sand assumed an aspect 

 of fury, and lying on my back I seemed to be tossed from 

 one wave to another, while I listened with some ap[)rehen- 

 sion to the melodious report of the man who took the depth 

 of the water: "Fourteen kaki" (feet) ! Our boat drew 

 only six feet of water; ** Seven kaki," he sang out, and im- 

 mediately afterward, "Six kaki!" Now we are "in for 

 it," I thought. But a few seconds more and we success- 

 fully passed the dangerous bar, the waves actually lift- 

 ing us over it. My two assistants had spent the time on 

 top of the baggage and had been very seasick. We were 

 all glad to arrive in the smooth waters of the river. The 

 captain, with whom later I became well acquainted, was 

 an excellent sailor, both he and the crew being Malays. 

 It was the worst weather he had experienced in the two 

 years he had been at Sampit. According to him, condi- 

 tions in this part of Borneo may be even more stormy from 

 August to November. 



In the Malay kampong, Pembuang, I procured a 

 large pomelo, in Borneo called limao, a delicious juicy 

 fruit of the citrus order, but light-pink inside and with 

 little or no acidity. After the exertions of the night this, 

 together with canned bacon, fried ;iii(l I)oiIed potatoes, 

 furnished an ideal midday meal. Necessary repairs hav- 

 ing been made to the engine, next day, on a (harming, 

 peaceful afternoon, we continued our trip up the river. 

 An unusually large number of monkeys were seen on both 



