CHAr. xn.] TAKING A CENSUS. 2 79 



capital city ; and when they were all assembled in anxious 

 expectation, he thus addressed them : 



"For many days my heart has been very sick and 1 

 knew not why, but now the trouble is cleared away, for 

 I have had a dream. Last night the spirit of the ' Gunong 

 Agong' — the great fire mountain— appeared to me, and 

 told me that I must go up to the top of the mountain. 

 All of you may come with me to near the top, but then 

 I must go up alone, and the great spirit will again appear 

 to me and will tell me what is of great importance to me 

 and to you and to all the people of the island. Now go 

 all of you and make this known through the island, and 

 let every village furnish men to make clear a road for us 

 to go through the forest and up the great mountain." 



So the news was spread over the whole island that the 

 llajah must go to meet the great spirit on the top of the 

 mountain ; and every village sent forth its men, and they 

 cleared away the jungle and made bridges over the mountain 

 streams and smoothed the rough places for the Bajah's 

 passage. And when they came to the steep and craggy 

 rocks of the mountain, they sought out the best paths, 

 sometimes along the bed of a torrent, sometimes along- 

 narrow ledges of the black rocks ; in one place cutting down 

 a tall tree so as to bridge across a chasm, in another con- 

 structing ladders to mount the smooth face of a precipice. 

 The chiefs who superintended the work fixed upon the 



