ACCOUNT OF A TRIP UP THE PAHANG, AND OTHER RIVERS. 43 



On the 25th July, Mr. RiDLEY started off early with a few 

 men to clear the path ahead. The rest of the men were 

 employed most of the day making " auibongs " or back 

 baskets in which to carry loads. 



On the 26th, we all started early with as much baggage as 

 the men could carry and marched about 2\ miles along the 

 path cleared by Mr. RiDLEY. This path was in parts very 

 bad, being steep, narrow and along the face of a hill which 

 made the progress of the coolies with baggage very slow, 

 and it was well on in the afternoon before the distance was 

 accomplished. 



The river here is very beautiful flowing in a narrow valley 

 between steep jungle-covered hills rising to a height of 800 

 to 1,000 feet. The stream itself is full of large boulders. 



Camp was formed in a small, clear space in a small ravine 

 near the river which was the only few yards of level ground 

 we could find. The six men we had left at Kwala Tahan to 

 follow overtook us at this camp (Camp No. 3) soon after dark. 

 About 7.30 p.m. it commenced to rain heavily and continued 

 for three or four hours. We had with us three large sheets of 

 strong linen to serve as tents and a small tent of Mr. TOWN- 

 SON. Two of these we used, the native servants had one 

 and one was used to cover up the stores at night. These 

 tents we found were anything but waterproof and being open 

 at the ends the rain used to blow in and we all frequently got 

 very wet. The coolies made pondoks of palm leaves for them- 

 selves each night. 



On the 27th, Messrs. RiDLEY, Kelsall and TOWNSON 

 went forward with a few men cutting a path, while Mr. 

 Davison spent the day exploring the neighbourhood of the 

 camps for birds and insects but without much success. The 

 bulk of the men were sent back to Kuala Tenok in charge of 

 a Mandor to bring up more stores. During the day about 

 two miles of path were cut along the river bank and Mr. 

 Ridley and his party returned to camp at 5 p.m. 



The comparative abseiice of bird life in these jungles is 

 most remarkable. Sometimes one would spend the whole day 

 in search of specimens and only obtain half a dozen or so. 



