10 JOURNEY ON THE SEMBRONG RIVER. 



During" the day we passed the mouth of the S'lai, which can 

 be ascended, it is said, for three or four days in large jalors. 

 The source of this river is in the hills near Hulu Indau and 

 there is in that district a considerable Jakun settlement. 



About an hour after passing- the S'lai all the small channels 

 reunited and the river once more became of a respectable size 

 at Kuala Tamok. There is a Jakun settlement a short distance up 

 this river. From this point there is a succession of beautiful reaches, 

 each several hundred yards long and 60 to 70 yards wide, and 

 the neighbouring country becomes more hilly ; then comes a 

 chain of "Palohs" or lagoon like expansions of the river, each 

 several hundred yards long and 100 to 250 yards wide. These 

 Palohs are full of Rasau Bakong {Susum anthelminticum) 

 and other swamp plant'^, and have a very picturesque ap- 

 pearance. After an hour and a half of easy and rapid progress 

 through these fine open reaches the channel suddenly narrowed 

 for a short distance to three or four yards and then widened out 

 again, and soon the fine open reach at Pengalen Panau, where a 

 Chinaman and a few Jakuns Uve, was reached. 



Here a short halt was made to talk to Inche Krani, a Peng- 

 hulu who was collecting specimens of Damar, woods, &c., for the 

 Chicago exhibition. 



About half an hour after leaving this place the river once 

 more became a labyrinth of narrow channels which it took us 

 two hours and a half to traverse and then we came to the last 

 open reach just below Londang, where we camped for the night. 



This place is the head quarters of the Penghulu, Che Ma 

 Dajang, and there had been here a considerable Jakun settlement 

 but some months previously they migrated to the Batu Pahat 

 Sembrong on the western side of the watershed. 



The only animals noticed during this part of the journey 

 were black lotongs, which are very common in these jungles, and 

 a few birds, including a small parrot {Psittacus incertus) and a 

 Drongo called by the Jakuns " T'ntong," from its note which 

 consists of the syllables " T'ntong" in falling cadence ; some 

 hornbills were also seen. The next day (1st Nov.) we continued 

 our journey up stream. The river is very narrow from here up 

 to its source and consists of a net work of *' trusan " or narrow 

 channels, meandering- through a flat swampy country in which 



