124 ON THE PAT ANT. 



The principal of these are Kuala Barat, Kuala Plimau, Kuala 

 Tujong, or Ayer Tawar, Kuala Lisah, Kuala Kayu and Kuala 

 Tunyo, besides many smaller ones of which I could not ascertain 

 the names. The most important is Kuala Tujong, or Ayer Tawar. 

 which bifurcates from the Patani about ten miles up that river 

 and is there called Kuala Nuchi ; it has thus three names — Tujong, 

 Ayer Tawar, and Nuchi ; all the others are branches from it and I 

 have little doubt but that at one time the Tujong was the main 

 river, indeed if judged bj size and volume of water it may still be 

 considered so. At the sea it is, much deeper than the Patani, and 

 tongkangs of considerable burthen can go up as far as its junction 

 with the Patani at Kuala Nochi. 



There are many instances on the east coast of the Malay 

 Peninsula of rivers having changed their course in a very remark- 

 able manner; here a little below Kuala Nuchi, on the Patani, 

 stretches a belt of rock across the bed of the river which originally 

 no doubt caused it to take the course of the Tujong until the accu- 

 mulation of silt and detritus raised the level of its bed and then 

 the floods burst over this belt and forced a channel iu the direction 

 of what is now Patani. 



Further down the river from Kuala Nuchi is another small creek 

 called Kuala Lembu, which cuts across the angle formed by the 

 Tujong and Patani, and thus further connects these two streams. 

 The rough sketch map attached shews, to a certain extent, the rami- 

 fications of this delta. 



In reference to the term Kuala it may be well to mention that, 

 as. in the case of the Tujong, it is applied indifferently either to 

 the opening where a stream debouches on the sea or falls into 

 another river, or to that whence it breaks off from another river ; 

 this is common in Malaya, and a knowledge of the fact is neces- 

 sary to prevent confusion when perusing any description of these 

 rivers. 



The town of Patani is situated about two miles up from the 

 Kuala and is of considerable importance; a very fair amount of 

 trade being carried on with Singapore and Bangkok, as also with 

 the neighbouring Siamese and Malayan States. It exports tin, 

 lead, gutta, salt fish, tiles and earthenware, and occasionally tim- 



