242 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. xm. 



smoke and a chat over our misadventure. Several men 

 came over from the opposite coast of Lumbedan, where 

 there are a few native houses, to look at us ; and I asked 

 them to bring over a boat in the morning, which they 

 very civilly promised to do. About nine o'clock we 

 sought our blankets, and turned in for the night, and 

 slept weU, notwithstanding our recent mishap. 



August Ist. — ^We were all astir by daybreak this morn- 

 ing ; and, after having had our customary cup of coffee 

 and dry toast, we set our followers to work to spread 

 out the wet rice on mats in the sun, and to rearrange 

 aU our stores. Some of the men were sent to cut down 

 *'nebong" palms, the young tops of which form a 

 •delicious vegetable when boiled, and others were em- 

 ployed in cleaning our arms, cutting fire-wood, and other 

 necessary work. While this was going on, I took my 

 gun, and went out on a stroll around our little island. 

 The vegetation I found was rather dense, and the whole 

 surface rocky. I noticed several species of palms, and an 

 epiphytal fern or two, and plants of the white-flowered Den- 

 drobium crumenatum hung here and there on the trees. 



I shot two of the beautiful white island pigeon {Car- 

 pophaga bicolor), called " Pragam pulo " by the natives, 

 and a larger species, of an ash colour (C. cenea), the 

 wings and neck being shot with purple and bronze tiats. 

 This is a very large and handsome bird, common in 

 Borneo, and when cooked, is very good eating. On my 

 return to the tent I found the man from the coast had 

 brought over his boat, as promised, and I at once sent 

 it off, with eleven of my men, with a letter to Mr. A. 

 Boosie, the manager of the coal mines in Labuan, asking 

 him to lend me one of his boats, in wliich to continue 

 my journey. 



It is a lovely day to-day, and our rice and clothes are 



