30 S. E. Peal — Notes of a trip up tie Diking. [No. I, 



a ladder, partly by rocks and by roots, or down to the river. In two places 

 we had to wade along the crest of a narrow shingle ledge in the centre of 

 the stream and deep blue water on either hand. 



Suddenly we came across the shanty and stores of men out for rubber, 

 but the only thing taken was a light for a pipe. Here while halting a few 

 minutes to give the weaker men breath, I could not help admiring the 

 gorge and wishing I had my Rob Roy. The river was flowing though very 

 sluggishly through a sort of rift or chasm in the hills, and in the bed at 

 the sides were huge rocks. The sides of the gorge had jungle in every 

 nook and cranny and its rockiness did not look so conspicuous. At every 

 few hundred yards, there was material for a really fine picture, up-stream or 

 down. On starting up, we took to a gully and it led up — up till our legs 

 ached. Progress was very slow, at last after about half an hour's climb 

 we came to where there was a small ledge of soil, about 12 feet x 8 or 

 10, and a spring. The Singphus were for stopping as they said we should 

 get no more water that day or night, and when I insisted on going on 

 they filled bamboo tubes. This was rather too good, so I told my men to 

 follow me and fill their stomachs, and proceed. It turned out that the 

 track above certainly was steep, indeed it was a case of holding one's breath 

 now and then, but by going at it steadily we got on, and at last the track 

 got more level, and then quite so, and as I guessed we began to descend. 

 Two of the Singphus now went on ahead, and I soon pointed out to the 

 guide where we could have got water down a gully. At last we espied 

 the valley below and listened and heard the rush of the river, so pushed 

 on down at as rapid a pace as possible, and at dusk emerged off a flat ledge 

 on to the river. After marking the track by paper, we crossed a little 

 knoll, and found the remains of an old camp at a cliff overhung by a 

 rubber tree. As a large rock of some eight or ten tons had fallen on and 

 collapsed the former hut, we voted it best to camp to one side, and finding 

 bamboos handy, the men were soon housed. The two Singphus who had 

 gone ahead now turned up with two large fish (mahseer) which they had 

 netted, and came in very handy. Here again I issued a little tea all round, 

 and we soon got to sleep. In the morning we were all surprised to find 

 the little branch of the river that ran beside us the night before clean gone. 

 While having a wash at the rapid not far off, I could not help every now 

 and then remarking a deep-toned noise or ring coming from the water, I 

 had heard this noise before in Disang at a rapid and could not make it 

 out. It was not regular, but occurred now and then. At last I concluded 

 it was caused by very large boulders, poised in such a way that an extra 

 rush of water overset them against another rock down-stream, and the 

 concussion was the sound I heard. The boulder falling back again so soon 

 as the extra rush was somewhat abated, repeated the sound. Just above 



