IN BORNEAN FORESTS [chap. 



tose, and alternates with strata of sandstone containing pebbles of 

 various kinds and nodules of iron pyrites. In some places these 

 pebbles are small or broken up, and cemented into a kind of pudding- 

 stone. Large masses of granite of different kinds are scattered on 

 the beach. 



In the sand along the shore I noticed many Foraminifera. Not 

 infrequently during high tide turtles land for the purpose of laying 

 their eggs ; but their favourite resort, as I have already mentioned, 

 is the neighbouring island of Satang, nearer to the mouth of the 

 Sarawak river, but farther off the mainland than Sampadien. In 

 the sea, on rocks, I found a few algae growing, the more common 

 being a species of Sargassum. 



The Dugongs, or Duyon, as the Malays call them (Halicore aus- 

 tralis), frequent these shores, feeding, I was told, on sea plants, 

 perhaps a species of Thalassia. They appear, however, to be very 

 rare in Sarawak, for although I offered a reward of twenty dollars, 

 I was unable to get a specimen. 



We passed the night near the mouth of the Lundu. Wishing to 

 take advantage of the inflowing tide, we set sail at 2 a.m. next morn- 

 ing, and, helped by a good breeze, soon reached Samatan. Here 

 we stopped to breakfast, and I shot a species of kingfisher (Sauro- 

 patis chloris, Bodd.) which I met with for the first time. 1 It was 

 hunting small crabs along the sandy shore, and each time it cap- 

 tured one it perched on some low tree to eat it in comfort. 



We soon passed the Talang-Talang Islands, leaving them on 

 our right, and at 3 p.m. came to anchor in a small bay marked on 

 the Admiralty chart as " Sleepy Bay " or " Pirate Bay " ; but the 

 native name is, I believe, Labuan Gadong. On the cliffs around grew 

 specimens of Cycas circinalis from twelve to eighteen feet high, 

 some with fruit, others with male flowers like fine cones rising in the 

 midst of the crown of leaves. Here, too, were branching pandani, 

 a Podocarpus, feathery casuarinas, nibong palms, and those ever- 

 present rampant climbers, the rotangs, and many other plants. 

 On the beach the Kayu pennaga (Pongamia glabra, Vent.) was pre- 

 dominant, a common tree on the sea-shore throughout Malaysia. 

 When in blossom it is covered with bunches of lilac flowers which are 

 sweetly fragrant. The place appeared to abound in game, and I saw 

 footprints of plandok, deer, and wild boar, but nothing of the animals 

 themselves. 



On the sixteenth of June, after a few hours' paddling, we 

 reached Tanjong Datu, distant about seven miles from our 

 last halting place. I shot a few terns, which were abundant here, 

 and found many of their eggs, which were deposited on the bare 



1 Sauvopatis chloris is a bird of wide distribution, occurring throughout 

 the Philippines, Celebes, the Moluccas, etc. — Ed. 



224 



