74 



HINTS TO TKAVELLHRS 



Bathing in any of the rivers is attended with great risk, 

 as all the Borneo rivers are infested with crocodiles, and 

 natives are constantly being seized by these animals. Use a 

 bucket and bale the water over yourself. On the mountains, 

 about 4,000 feet up, the change in the temperature of the 

 water is so great, that the bath, though very cool and re- 

 freshing, if too much indulged in during the day, soon 

 produces ague. 



It rains most days on the mountains. The best time to 

 go out shootuig is the very early morning, as soon as it is 

 light, and before the mist rises. By nine o'clock the mist has 

 risen from the rivers, and often nothing can be done for 

 hours but wait for it to clear, an event which takes place about 

 two o'clock in the afternoon. 



Keep your matches in a tin bo.\, or they will soon become 

 useless from the damp ; you will then have to resort to a Dyak 

 means of making a fire, which is obtained by manipulating a 

 contrivance, consisting of two pieces of wood, called a "sukan." 

 Never take matches that will strike only on the box, as the 

 prepared surface on which the matches are ignited soon 

 becomes damp, and the matches are useless. Wax matches 

 are better adapted for the jungle than the wooden, as they are 

 not so easily extinguished. If in a strong draught, fray a 

 portion of the wax match before striking, as the larger flame 

 which results is not easily put out. 



If your gun caps are damp, or if your stock of them is 

 exhausted, and you have no means of firing your muzzle-loader 

 guns (good muzzle-loaders are by far the best for the natives), 

 a match-head makes an excellent substitute. Cut off the head 

 of a match, and fix it on top of the nipple of the gun ; pull 

 the trigger in the ordinary way, and the gun is discharged as 

 if by a cap. 



Never allow the Kerosine oil — which is necessary for you 

 to take for light-giving purposes — to be placed anywhere but 

 in the bows or stern of your boat ; failing this precaution, you 

 will soon detect a flavouring of this nauseous oil in your food. 

 Servants are not at all particular in a cramped boat as to where 

 they put the lamps, oil, etc., and as likely as not, you will see 

 the bottle of oil in the box with the potatoes, or rubbing up 

 against your small store of bread. A small lamp is often 

 placed in a saucepan to be out of the way, but a trace of it 

 will be found in everything subsequently cooked in that 

 not-too-well- washed utensil, and only disappears after constant 

 scrubbing. By having the lamps, oil bottles, etc. tied in the 

 bows of the boat at the start, much unpleasantness can be 

 avoided. 



