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gage would have to be put in convenient shape for travel 

 in boat and overland, and where we hoped it might be 

 possible to buy prahus and obtain men by searching the 

 kampongs higher up the river. In this we were dis- 

 appointed, so the lieutenant went back to Puruk Tjahu, 

 in the neighbourhood of which are many kampongs, 

 nearly all Malay, there as well as here. He took with him 

 one soldier who had proved to have an obnoxious disease, 

 leaving us with five for the expedition, which we deemed 

 sufficient. 



On Christmas day I bought from an old Dayak a 

 large, ripe fruit called in Malay nangca {ariocarpus 

 integrifolia) of the jack fruit family. It is very common. 

 Before maturing it is used as an every-day vegetable, 

 which is boiled before eating. I was surprised to find 

 that when fully ripe this fruit has an agreeable flavour of 

 banana, but its contents being sticky it is difficult to 

 eat. The sergeant, with the culinary ability of the 

 Javanese, prepared for the holiday a kind of stew, called 

 sambil goreng, which is made on the same principle as 

 the Mexican variety, but decidedly superior. Besides 

 the meat or fish, or whatever is used as the foundation, 

 it contains eight ingredients and condiments, all indige- 

 nous except red pepper and onions. 



In the ladangs is cultivated the maize plant, which 

 just then was in condition to provide us with the coveted 

 green corn, and carried my thoughts to America, whence 

 the plant came. Maize is raised on a very limited scale, 

 and, strange to say, higher up the river the season was 

 already over. At Poru we tried in vain to secure a kind 



