THROUGH THE MALAY JUNGLE 39 



dark he became frightened at the noises in the 

 jungle, and tried to turn, but the driver kept him on 

 with an ever-increasing volubility of epithets, and 

 finally we met the others, who of course were de- 

 lighted to find that they would not have to spend 

 the night alone. We forded the river, reached Grik, 

 a small kampong composed of a few little thatched 

 huts, and turned in, wet and very weary. 



Through the assistance of the penghulu of Grik, 

 Ibrahim ben Ishmail, a bamboo hut was now built 

 for us on a game-field some seven miles away, 

 called Padang Sambai. These penghulus, by the 

 way, invariably showed us the greatest courtesy 

 and good-will, and indeed all the natives with whom 

 we had dealings proved the recognized cheeriness 

 and light-heartedness of the Malay character. But 

 indolence is their vice ; it is the Tamil from Madras 

 and the Chinaman who do the work in Malay. 

 Even in the most solitary places we were continually 

 running across well-ordered Chinese farms ; were it 

 not for the great number of Chinamen who have 

 settled in the peninsula, and who by their thrift and 

 energy have established themselves in successful 

 farming and commercial enterprises, the Malay 

 Federated States would be very much more back- 

 ward in civilization and exploitation than they are 

 to-day. 



