JOURNEY ON THE SEMBRONG RIVER. 7 



these rivers, and were fortunate in procuring- several to select 

 from, and on the 26th October we started. 



Mr. Lake went up the Kahang-, taking with him a plant col- 

 lector. This river is, after passing the village of P'niot, quite un- 

 inhabited. The jungles through which it flows are, however, the 

 favourite hunting ground for the camphor seekers, especially in 

 the neighbourhood of Bukit B'bap (Jakun — a frog) a hill about 

 800 feet high and shaped somewhat like an inverted basin. 



Rotans are also very abundant, although not of the best 

 kind. Mr. Lake met one party of Jakuns and another of Malays 

 collecting rotans. He also saw several camphor trees. One 

 night the " Bisan Kapur" or spirit of the camphor tree was 

 heard, which the Jakuns declared was a sure sign that there 

 were camphor trees close by and sure enough on search being" 

 made the following day trees were found. This '* Bisan Kapur " 

 is one of the Cicadas, of which many species abound in the 

 jungle, each one of which makes its own peculiar sound. The 

 Jakuns who were with Mr. Lake secured a fine specimen of a 

 tortoise, called by them " Binku." 



After two days continuous hard work, poling and dragging 

 the jalors over fallen trees, the liver became extremely narrow 

 and completely overhung with jungle and the surrounding country 

 once more became very swampy. Two more days were spent 

 by Mr. Lake retracing his course to Kuala Kahang- he having 

 mapped about twenty miles of the river. 



While he was exploring the Kahang I went up the Madek 

 for a short distance to collect such information as was possible 

 about the Jakuns on that river. 



A short distance up the Kahang, at Tanjong P'nting, there 

 is a small settlement of Jakuns. The banks of this river rapidly 

 get higher and steeper and the jnngle becomes less swampy. 

 On one tree overhanging the river I saw a plant of the fine 

 orchid Grammatophyllum speciosum and on many of the trees 

 was growing a large epiphytic pandan called by the Jakuns 

 " pandan lari." 



About two houses after leaving Kuala Kahang I passed the 

 mouth of the Madek but, as this river is much encumbered with 

 fallen trees, it was necessary to continue for some miles up the 

 Kahang to a place a little above the large Jakun village called 



