IN BORNEAN FORESTS [chap, i 



( We had left Siul about three hours when we reached a slightly 

 rising ground covered with a vegetation different from that of the 

 surrounding forest, and especially marked by the presence of two 

 conifers, Dacrydium elatum and the umbrella casuarina (C. 

 sumatrana ?), '^besides other shrubs, trees, and ferns which we had 

 not met with previously in the forest, even a few paces off. 

 The Malays name such patches of different vegetation " Mattang," 

 and consider them sacred and inhabited by spirits. There are 

 several of them in the neighbourhood of Kuching. One of the ferns 

 always to be found on the mattang is the lovely Polypodium 

 dipteris, BL, and Nepenthes are also often met with. 



Our progress was almost immediately after this arrested by a 

 watercourse ten or fifteen yards wide and very deep, with singularly 

 dark brown water. On this mattang the trees were less lofty 

 than elsewhere, and the shade, on account of the peculiar foliage 

 of the conifers just mentioned, less dark. The Tuan-ku climbed up 

 a tree, helping himself with a liana, and was thus able to see that we 

 had hitherto followed the right direction, but also that we had 

 hardly got through one third of the distance. We had travelled at 

 the rate of rather over half a mile an hour ! 



It was near noon, and we took advantage of the dry spot to eat 

 our rice. To push on farther was difficult, for we had to find a 

 means of crossing the stream. My object was, however, in a 

 measure attained, and I had seen enough of the forest to know the 

 sort of difficulties I had to contend with in crossing it. Big streams 

 could hardly be met with ; most probably the one we had seen was 

 the biggest, and this could easily be got over by cutting down one 

 of the trees growing on its banks, so as to make it fall across and 

 act as a bridge. W T e accordingly turned homewards, laden with a 

 large collection of botanical specimens. Many, however, I had to 

 leave ungathered, it being difficult to reach them ; but these were 

 all noted and destined for collection at some future day, and the 

 completion of my rapidly increasing herbarium. 



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