SS ABOUT SLIM AIs T D BEBNAM. 



Selangor. I was told that it is about two clays' journey from 

 Kampong Bernam to the first Malay kampong in Pahang. A road 

 through either this or some of the other passes into Pahang would 

 bring a good deal of traffic over to the western side, as the transport 

 by water from a navigable point on the Bernam or Slim is shorter 

 and easier than by the Pahang river ; moreover the ports on the 

 western side of the peninsula are always open, whereas on the 

 eastern side they are closed for six months of the year by the North- 

 east monsoon. 



I was told by the people both at the Slim and the Bernam that 

 at present a steam launch can go up the Ben. am to a place called 

 Chankat Mentri, to which point the river is tidal. The ordinary 

 country boats can reach that point in three tides ; from Chankat 

 Mentri to Kampong Bernam on the Bernam river, or the Kwala 

 Galetin on the Slim, is about three or four days' poling. The freight 

 at present charged from Kampong Bernam to the sea is $1 per 

 hhar a for tin, which is not excessive. 



Prom Kampong Bernam can be seen a hill to the North-east, 

 which at this point is the much talked of back-bone range ; the 

 Bernam rises on the South of it, draining the south-western face, 

 the Berong takes its rise on the North of this hill, draining the 

 north-western face of it. The Sungei Berong fails into the Bernam, 

 a short distance above the Kwala Slim. 



On my return to Kampong Chankat I made the acquaintance 

 of the Peugulu, who was absent when I first arrived; his name is 

 Datoh Sempuh ; he is an oM man, but full of energy, one of the finest 

 specimens of Malay I have ever .met. Unlike the generality of his 

 countrymen, who have seldom or never been beyond their own 

 immediate neighbourhood, he has wandered over the whole penin- 

 sula, from Siam to Johor, and has commemorated his visit to each 

 country by marrying a wife there ; he told me the names of his 

 wives, but broke down at about nineteen when trying to count the 

 number of his children ; he speaks Safari fluently, and possesses great 

 influence with these people. I found him an invaluable guide and 

 companion on my return journey. For any one wishing to explore 

 the still unknown mountain regions of the peninsula, or to study 

 the habits and customs of the Sa/ceis, a better guide could not be 

 obtained than Xoh Sempuh. 



