ABOtT sini xyj) EEny.ni, 



■il 



:- to some gold and tin mines in Pahang, although 

 when I asked him at that place he said they were still more than 

 a clay's journey distant ; he explained himself by saying that these 

 mines being in Pairing, beyond his jurisdiction, lie was afraid that 

 I would have wanted to go there, and had anything happened 

 he would be blamed, 



These gold mines at the TTlu Pahang are opoken of as being 

 exceptionally rich. I heard stories which were quite incredible of 

 the quantities of gold dust got in a short time. One fact is well 

 known, that Pahang gold is of very fine quality, in this respect 

 differing from Perak gold, which is very pale. A good deal of gold 

 and ivory is said to pass westward from Pahang, and I met a trader 

 at the Slim who made no secret that he had just returned from 

 Pahang, where he had been negotiating for the purchase of tin to 

 be taken down the Bernain river. 



After returning from Batu Gaja a couple of days were spent 

 in collecting coolies and making prepartions for our journey back ; 

 these preparations consisted chiefly in buying rice, padi was 

 procurable apparently in any reasonable quantity, but some delay 

 occurred in pounding out the rice. 



SaJceis are the coolies here, in fact they take the place of 

 elephants further North as beasts of burthen. Physically they are 

 a remarkably fine race, much fairer and more robust than the Kinta 

 and Kampar Saheis. 



Eaja Bila. a Mandeling man, and the head of the traders 

 in the Kinta district, who accompanied me, was formerly engaged 

 working tin here, and he informed me that his people had no 

 difficulty in getting Saheis to carry rice up to, or tin down from, 

 the mines, which I subsequently ascertained were about fourteen 

 or fifteen miles distant at an elevation of over 2,000 feet ; the 

 established rate was thirty cents per fifty catties up or down, 

 consisting usually of a slab of tin down or ten gantangs of rice up, 

 when Malays carried they were paid in coin, SaJceis usually took 

 their pay in kind — cloth, tobacco, &c. 



"When we started for the journey back our party consisted of 

 thirty-two all told, including some female Saheis, who appeared as 

 willing and able to carry a load as the males, The track took ua 



