116 BORNEO. [chap. v. 



At length we came to a really dangerous rapid where 

 boats were often swamped, and my men were afraid to 

 pass it. Some Malays with a boat-load of rice here over- 

 took us, and after safely passing down kindly sent back 

 one of their men to assist me. As it was, my Dyaks lost 

 their balance in the critical part of the passage, and had 

 they been alone would certainly have upset the boat. 

 The river now became exceedingly picturesque, the ground 

 on each side being partially cleared for rice-fields, afford- 

 ing a good view of the country. Numerous little granaries 

 were built high up in trees overhanging the river, and 

 having a bamboo bridge sloping up to them from the 

 bank ; and here and there bamboo suspension bridges 

 crosseYl the stream, where overhanging trees favoured their 

 construction. 



I slept that night in the village of the Sebungow 

 Dyaks, and the next day reached Sarawak, passing 

 through a most beautiful country, where limestone moun- 

 tains with their fantastic forms and white precipices shot 

 up on every side, draped and festooned with a luxuriant 

 vegetation. The banks of the Sarawak River are everywhere 

 covered with fruit trees, which supply the Dyaks with a 

 great deal of their food. The Mangosteen, Lansat, Eam- 

 butan, Jack, Jambou, and Blimbing, are all abundant ; but 

 most abundant and most esteemed is the Durian, a fruit 

 about which very little is known in England, but which 



