LAKE SEMBULO 105 



one of these, who pretended to have no knowledge in such 

 matters. 



In order to get relief from the increasing throng of 

 men and boys, I went for a walk, in which I was joined by 

 the kapala and the mantri, a small native police authority 

 whom the controleur had sent with me to be of assistance 

 in making arrangements with the Malays. An old-look- 

 ing wooden mosque, twenty years old according to reports, 

 stands at the turn of the road. Near by is a cemetery 

 covered with a large growth of ferns and grass, which hides 

 the ugly small monuments of the graves. The houses lie 

 along a single street in the shade of cocoanut-palms and 

 other trees. On account of the white sand that forms the 

 ground everything looks clean, and the green foliage of 

 handsome trees was superb. Everywhere silence reigned, 

 for the women, being Mohammedans, remain as much as 

 possible inside the houses, and no voice of playing or 

 crying child was heard. 



On returning from our walk, near sunset, I asked the 

 kapala how much I had to pay for the bringing ashore of 

 my baggage. "Fifteen rupia'* (florins) was the answer. 

 As things go in Borneo this was an incredibly excessive 

 charge, and as my intention was to go by boat to the 

 Dayak kampong on the lake, and from there march over- 

 land to the small river, Kuala Sampit, I demanded to 

 know how much then I would have to pay for twenty men 

 that I needed for the journey. ''Five rupia a day for 

 each,*' he said. Dayaks, who are far more efficient and 

 reliable, are satisfied with one rupia a day. Those near by 

 protested that it was not too much, because in gathering 



