DOWN THE RIVER 279 



following day the remainder of the baggage arrived, 

 carried on the backs of the men, and I was glad to have 

 all here safe and dry. 



In a couple of hours we arrived in the kampong 

 Batokelau (turtle), and below are other rapids which, 

 though long, are less of an obstacle. A beautiful moun- 

 tain ridge, about 1,200 metres high, through which 

 the river takes its course, appears toward the southeast. 

 The population includes fifty "doors" of Busangs, forty 

 "doors" of Malays, and twenty of Long-Glats. Croco- 

 diles are known to exist here, but do not pass the rapids 

 above. The kapala owned a herd of forty water- 

 buffaloes, which forage for themselves but are given salt 

 when they come to the kampong. When driven to 

 Long Iram, they fetch eighty florins each. The gables 

 of the kapala's house were provided with the usual orna- 

 ments representing nagah, but without the dog's mouth. 

 He would willingly have told me tales of folklore, but as- 

 sured me he did not know any, and pronounced Malay 

 indistinctly, his mouth being constantly full of sirin 

 (betel), so I found it useless to take down a vocabulary 

 from him. 



Continuing our journey, we successfully engineered 

 a rapid where a Buginese trader two weeks previously 

 had lost his life while trying to pass in a prahu which was 

 upset. Afterward we had a swift and beautiful passage 

 in a canyon through the mountain ridge between almost 

 perpendicular sides, where long rows of sago-palms were 

 the main feature, small cascades on either side adding to 

 the picturesqueness. At the foot of the rapids we made 



