IN BORNEAN FORESTS [chap. 



yet be seen. A last point is rounded and a few white houses with 

 wide roofs come into view, next the stores of the Borneo Company 

 near the water's edge, the Chinese bazaar, and a small wooden fort 

 over which waves the Rajah's flag. All this is on the right bank. 

 On the left are few houses, but conspicuous amongst them the x\stana, 

 or palace of the Rajah, painted grey, and situated on a hill which 

 overlooks the river. Such was our first view of the capital of 

 Sarawak ; but since our visit the town has increased very con- 

 siderably in size, and has now some 25,000 inhabitants. 



We were expected at Kuching, and a Government officer boarded 

 the steamer at once with a kind invitation from the Tuan Muda 

 for us to land and take up our quarters with him. The then Tuan 

 Muda — for whom we had special letters of introduction from Sir 

 James Brooke, the first European Rajah of Sarawak, whose acquaint- 

 ance I had made in London before I started — is the present Rajah, 

 H.H. Sir Charles Brooke, nephew of Sir James. 1 He received us with 

 courteous and kind hospitality, which he extended to us during our 

 residence in Sarawak, and which I shall ever remember with the 

 sincerest gratitude. 



We were lodged in a bungalow not far from the Astana or palace, 

 and only a few hundred yards from the primeval forest. The house 

 was constructed entirely of wood, somewhat in the style of Malay 

 dwellings, resting on piles some five or six feet above the ground, 

 thus enabling a man to walk beneath. It consisted of two big rooms, 

 with a wide verandah all round, from which we had an extensive 

 view of the town and its surroundings. The river which flowed 

 at our feet is here about 250 yards in width. Its waters are 

 turbid and completely influenced by the tides. The Malay 

 quarter ( Kampong Malayu) is composed entirely of houses built 

 on piles which encroach upon the water along the muddy bank. 

 A couple of miles away, in the direction of the Mattang range, 

 rises the isolated conical hill known as Gunong Siul. Across the 

 stream, in a south-easterly direction, the green forest covers the 

 land as far as the eye can reach, with a distant border formed by 

 rugged mountains. Not a village nor even an isolated hut was to 

 be seen. 



Such was the country which was to be the field of our explora- 

 tions. Nothing better could be wished for by a naturalist — a wild 

 and virgin country untouched by man, near a populous and civi- 

 lised centre. Here we could study at our leisure the natural products 

 of the land, then but little known, and enjoy at the same time most 

 of the advantages of civilisation. Later, I travelled over a large 

 portion of Borneo, penetrating into its far interior ; I visited also 



1 In Malay the title of " Rajah " corresponds to king, and that of " Ranee " 

 to queen. The Crown Prince bears the title of " Rajah Muda " (young king), 

 the second heir that of " Tuan Muda " (young sir). 



A 



