IN BORNEAN FORESTS [chap. 



on catching them had it not been for the mosquitoes and sandflies, 

 but these came out in myriads, and tormented me so incessantly that 

 I eventually had to bring to a conclusion what had been a most 

 successful morning's hunt. 



This was the third night which I passed at Grogo, but I did not 

 wish to prolong my stay. The place was in no way pleasant, for 

 the house was old, and the stench which came up from the ground 

 beneath the " lante " was intolerable. Besides the dirt and refuse 

 of all kinds which naturally accumulate under these pile-built houses, 

 and which are never removed, a host of domestic fowls in large 

 cages were kept beneath this one. The odour of a large poultry- 

 yard, mingled with many others still worse, penetrated through the 

 floor to our sleeping-mats, and was enough to turn the most robust 

 of stomachs. I do not know whether it was the effect of this in- 

 sanitary condition or not, but in this place I found more people 

 sick with fever and dysentery than anywhere else in Borneo. I 

 gave medicine to several, and this caused my presence to be some- 

 what more acceptable. 



On the 13th, as soon as the welcome call of the " Wa-wa " told 

 us that dawn was nigh, I awoke my men, and for a wonder we 

 actually managed to get off before sunrise. 



It was one of those cool delicious mornings which are not infre- 

 quent in Borneo after violent rain. Many birds which had kept 

 hidden during the bad weather were now flying from branch to 

 branch. The river was still very full and the current strong, and 

 our descent would have been rapid enough were we not often obliged 

 to stop to remove the tree-trunks with which the flood had barred 

 our way. By and by we came to the boat we had lost, caught in 

 the fork of a tree above our heads and quite undamaged. The 

 white and rosy flowers of a fine tree (Dipterocarftus oblongifolius, 

 Bl.) perfumed the air strongly. Plants in blossom of many kinds 

 which I had never seen beyond the hills increased in number as we 

 progressed, taking the place of those which I had been wont to 

 see on the Sarawak river. Often, within reach, we came across 

 tree-trunks or overhanging branches loaded with epiphytes, amongst 

 which the magnificent Vanda suavis, one of the most charming 

 orchids of our hothouses, with its splendid racemes of big milky- 

 white odorous flowers, was most conspicuous. Several species of 

 Ficus, 1 too, threw a cool shade over the water, attracting many 

 birds who feed on their fruits. 



The course of the river was very tortuous and its bed narrow, 

 but the water spread widely in the forest on both sides. The 

 space free of vegetation alone marked out its course; the banks 

 being lost to view beneath the water. We paddled thus for six 



1 Ficus Miquelii, King ; F. pisifera, Wall. ; F. parietalis, Bl. ; F. consociata, 

 Bl. ; F. cucurbitina, King. 



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