A VISIT TO selaMok. 12? 



posed mostly of huge thorny ferns, and the soil is undoubtedly 

 rich. Usually the ground is high and hilly, so that swamps 

 ore the exception and not the rule. 



We passed through a number of old clearings, some of 

 which had been abandoned almost as soon as completed. It is 

 evident that as an agriculturist., the Malay is not a success, nor 

 does beseem to succeed even passably at it. It seems to me 

 that those clearings should by all means be kept well in hand, 

 and not allowed to grow up again into worse jungle than be- 

 fore. 



From Kwabi Lumpor we went on six miles farther to the 

 North, to a village called Batu, on the river Bctu, which falls 

 into the river Klang ; which is here a mere creek. We stayed 

 at this place seven days, and hunted through the jungle in 

 every direction for several miles. Finding that wild elephants 

 were plentiful, we determined to bring down one for the sake 

 of its skeleton. The second day out, we struck a fresh trail 

 early in the morning and followed it diligently for some hours. 

 We had two Jaktins as trackers, and were also accompanied by 

 two policemen. The trail led us a merry-go-round through. 

 swamps of tall grass, through comfortably open forest, through 

 tangled and thornyjungle that would have been very nearlv im- 

 passable to us but for the broad trail left by the herd. At last, 

 about 2. p. m., after two hours' wading through mud and water 

 of various depths, we came up with the herd in the middle of 

 a forest-covered swamp. We could not possibly have been led 

 into worse ground. However, there was no help for it, so Mr. 

 Sycrs and I undertook to stalk the herd, while each of our fol- 

 lowers promptly swarmed up a tree. The herd consisted of 

 eight or ten elephants, hut there was no tusker to be seen. 

 They were quietly browsing off the tufts of grass which grew 

 here and there, or breaking down branches for their favourite 

 leaves. We selected our victim, the largest male in sight, and 

 began cautiously working our way up to him. We had to 

 climb over several rotten tree-trunks and piles of dead branches, 

 to go through mud and water up to our knees, and it seemed 

 to me scarcely possible to get within proper range without be- 

 ing discovered. But we persevered, and at last fetched up be* 

 hind the root of a fallen tree within fifteen paces of our ele- 

 phant, who was standing broadside on. Just as we raised our 

 rifles, he stooped his head almost down to the ground, but we 

 quietly waited until he raised it again, ami then at the word 

 our rifles rang out exactly together. The elephant sank down 



