xix] A DANGEROUS ADVENTURE 



but that night I felt better, and turning in under my mosquito 

 curtain was soon sound asleep. In the middle of the night I was 

 suddenly awakened by water pouring into the boat on one side. I 

 rushed to the other to rind water coming in there also ; and at the same 

 time discovered that the stern was being submerged. It was rather 

 a critical moment : the night was as dark as pitch, the river running 

 with a very strong current, not to mention the crocodiles, while to 

 make matters worse I was entangled in the mosquito curtains, from 

 which I had some difficulty in freeing myself. As soon as I did 

 so I rushed forward, and catching hold of the projecting branch 

 scrambled ashore. In vain had I called out to my men for help ; 

 they slept like tops, including the one who ought to have been on 

 guard in the fore part of the boat, who had quietly slipped ashore 

 directly I had fallen asleep. The only one who had remained with 

 me had gone to sleep in the stern, and had been capsized head 

 foremost into the water without being able to understand what 

 had happened. Once safe on shore I soon found out the cause of 

 the mishap : it was simply that the river had subsided during the 

 night, and, as the rope which secured my boat to the projecting 

 branch was too short, the boat had risen out of the water by the 

 bows, and had, consequently, soon brought the stern under water. 



When the disaster happened it was a little past midnight, and 

 happily no rain was falling. I endeavoured at once to save my 

 things, but many were lost or else spoilt by the water. Fortunately, 

 my gun and revolver, a Dyak tambuk in which I kept various instru- 

 ments, the medicine chest, and the more important objects, had 

 got entangled in the mosquito curtain and were saved. My am- 

 munition and botanic paper were, happily, stowed away in a tin 

 case in the fore part of the boat, and did not suffer at all. We lighted 

 a big fire to dry ourselves, and huddling up round it waited for 

 morning. 



Next day we were fully occupied in drying oar things and re- 

 placing them in the boat. Greatly to my dismay I found that all 

 our supply of rice had been spoilt, and, as I could not replace it in 

 any of the nearer villages, I was obliged once more to return to 

 Bintulu. The three Kayans continued on their way to Tinjar, 

 and at 2 p.m. I began to descend the river. 



In my various journeys up and down the Bintulu I had always 

 been struck by the paucity of animal life. On this occasion I met 

 with a couple of undang-undang, the strange bird which I had 

 noticed on a former occasion on this river. When I saw them they 

 were perched on a branch projecting over the water. I chased 

 them for a long time, but they always flew away just before I got 

 within range. They never took to the land, and certainly cannot 

 run or walk conveniently on account of their short legs and long 

 tail. When in the water only the long slender neck and head, 



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