i66 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



unusually warm, there was a refreshing coolness in the 

 shade under the trees that grow among the rocks along 

 the river. 



Early in the afternoon we camped at the foot of the 

 first of twelve great kihams which must be passed be- 

 fore arriving at Djudjang, the rattan gatherers' camp. 

 During a heavy shower a Pcnyahbong went into the jun- 

 gle with his sumpitan and returned with a young rusa, 

 quarters of which he presented to Mr. Loing and myself. 

 Bangsul had travelled here before, and he thought 

 we prt)bably would need two weeks for the journey to 

 Djudjang from where, under good weather conditions, 

 three days' poling should bring us to Tamaloe. He had 

 once been obliged to spend nearly three months on this 

 trip. 



We spent one day here, while all our goods were being 

 taken on human backs to a place some distance above the 

 kiham. Four Malays and one Penyahbong wanted rem- 

 edies for diseases they professed to have. The latter 

 seemed really ill and had to be excused from work. The 

 rest said they suffered from demum (malaria), a word 

 that has become an expression for most cases of indis- 

 position, and I gave them quinine. The natives crave 

 the remedies the traveller carries, which they think will 

 do them good whether needed or not. 



Much annoyance is experienced from Malays in out- 

 of-the-way places presenting their ailments, real or fan- 

 cied, to the traveller's attention. The Dayaks, not being 

 forward, are much less annoying, though equally desirous 

 of the white man's medicine. An Ot-Danum once wanted 



