THROUGH THE MALAY JUNGLE 23 



after following it for several hours until almost 

 on the animal, we were obliged to abandon the 

 chase on account of the darkness. Tiger-spoor 

 were everywhere, and more than once news came 

 to us of a native or bullock killed in some near-by 

 village ; yet to carry out a successful beat in such 

 vast stretches of thick jungle would have been 

 absolutely impracticable. 



In the other respect, however, we were well re- 

 warded, for though rain poured almost incessantly 

 day after day and week after week, with a tenacity 

 and vigor which are known only in the tropics, all 

 such handicaps were many times repaid by the in- 

 terest of seeing at close hand the wilder places and 

 people of this comparatively little-known country. 



British influence is fast bringing the Malay Fed- 

 erated States to a condition of civilization and 

 prosperity undreamed of thirty-five years ago. 

 Then the country was unopened, wars between the 

 tribes were continuous, the murder of white settlers 

 the rule rather than the exception. To- day each 

 district is orderly and progressive under the able 

 guidance of a British Resident, cities are springing 

 up, roads are daily being pushed farther into the 

 interior, and as far as the roads extend, the smallest 

 kampong, with its schoolhouse and police-station, 

 is learning the demands of a higher civilization. In 



