ACCOUNT OF A TRIP UP THE PAHANG AND OTHER RIVERS 35 



providing guides, we started up-stream about 1 1 a.m., being 

 obliged to wait for night tide to get out into the main stream, 

 Pekan being situated on a sort of loop. Mr. TOWNSON, a 

 young Australian, accompanied us. By 5 p.m. we had reach- 

 ed Tanjong Bedang, and went ashore for a short time. Here 

 we saw some peafowl, which are very plentiful all along this 

 part of the river, and large numbers of the ground dove 

 " Terkuku " {Turtur tigrina), which are exceedingly good 

 eating, also specimens of the Burmese lapwing {Lobiva7ieiliis) 

 atrojticchalis, and the small Malayan hornbill {AutJiracocercs 

 coftvexus). At dusk we started again meaning to travel all 

 night, but owing to our constantly running on sand banks, 

 with which the river abounds, w^e made but little progress. 

 Our means of progression was by means of polles or gallaks, 

 eight men poling at a time, four at each side. 



2Qth June. Wq went ashore for an hour or two in the 

 morning to collect but did not get anything of note ; a couple 

 of specimens of the Eastern little Tern {Sterna sme?isis) were 

 shot. 



The general character of the country bordering the river 

 up as far as Kuala Tembeling is pretty much the same. Along 

 the river bank is a strip of jungle, lOO to 200 yards wide, with 

 frequent small villages and plantations of coco-nut, banana, 

 and mangosteen trees. Inside of this lias a tract of open 

 grass or swampy land, varying from lOO yards to half-a-mile 

 in width, and beyond this comes the jungle proper. The tract 

 of open land is in places ploughed and cultivated by the 

 natives, who use rude wooden ploughs, which, however, do 

 the work required of them fairly well. The draught animal is 

 the water-buffalo [Bos bubalus), of which there are large 

 herds in a semi-domesticated condition. We continued 

 travelling b\' night, and made better progress than before. 



jotli June. We heard a Wau Wau in the early morning, 

 the first we had noticed. We made good progress during 

 the day, and got as far as Kuala Luit, about 50 miles from 

 Pekan. Here we went ashore for a short time, and got speci- 

 mens of Tupaia j'avanica ; Cy^nborrJiynchus niacrorrhyncJius 

 the Rouge-et-noir Broadbill, and the Malayan Falconet 



