IN BORNEAN FORESTS [chap. 



Chapter XX of the present work. The few further details obtained 

 amply confirm what I noted and observed more than thirty years 

 ago, namely, that no very high mountains form the water-parting, 

 where the rivers which flow in opposite directions through Borneo 

 have their sources in the very heart of the great island. If moun- 

 tains of any considerable height exist in that central region, they 

 would have been undoubtedly recorded by recent explorers, for 

 of late the watershed has been crossed with tolerable frequency. 1 



The Kayans of the Baloi and of the Batang-Kayan frequently 

 pass from one versant to the other, and between the natives of 

 the rivers on each side reciprocal head-hunting is carried on. 2 In 

 1884 some Ukits of the Makam (Koti) came to settle on the Rejang. 3 

 Rival feuds and hostilities have existed from time immemorial 

 between the Peng Kayans of the Makam and the tribes of the Upper 

 Rejang, also between the natives of the Barram and those of the 

 Batang-Kayan. In 1885 a party of Peng Kayans and Ukits from the 

 Makam came to Kapit, one of the forts recently constructed on 

 the Rejang. 4 Kinya Dyaks from the Koti also have reached 

 Bintulu by way of the Tubao, carrying rhinoceros horns and 

 bezoar stones for trade. 5 Finally in March, 1900, 6 a party of 

 about 500 Kayans of the Batang Bulungan, belonging to the Leppu 

 Jalang, Leppu Bams, Leppu Teppus and Uma Tukon tribes, 

 arrived at the upper stations of the Rejang river. This party 

 had travelled about five months, with frequent halts, to build 

 canoes, and to collect food and forest produce. The expedition 

 was led by Pingang Sorang, who with other of the principal chiefs 

 was invited by the Rajah to visit Kuching. They thus can boast of 

 having crossed Borneo nearly in its greatest width, from the Celebes 

 to the China Sea. The trade which was done by these people at 

 Kapit and at Sibu was very considerable. They brought gutta- 

 percha and indiarubber of excellent quality, valued at thousands 

 of dollars, taking in exchange salt and various goods. Notwith- 

 standing the great distance they had come, they asserted that as 

 long as they were on good terms with the Hivan Dyaks they found 



1 In the Geographical Journal, London, July, 1901, p. 87, is an account 

 of Dr. Nieuwenhuis's journey to the Sarawak frontier. He ascended the 

 Makam to the mouth of the Rata and reached the source region of that 

 river, whence a route leads to the Nyangeyan, a tributary of the Rejang. 

 Batu Tibang was seen directly to the eastward, and estimated at over 6,500 

 feet, and the boundary of Sarawak — in other words the water-parting between 

 the Makam and the Nyangeyan — consisted of a ridge from 2,300 to 5,200 

 feet in height. 



2 'Mr. Low's Diary' in Sarawak Gazette, June, 1884, p. 51. 



3 Cf. Sarawak Gazette, November, 1884. 



4 Cf. Sarawak Gazette, April and June, 1885, p. 56. 



5 Cf. Sarawak Gazette, March, 1885, p. 24. 



6 Sarawak Gazette, March 1, 1901. 



362 



