42 ABOUT SLIM AftD BERNAM, 



along the right (western) bank of the Slim ; for the first three miles 

 we just skirted between the wet padi fields, and the foot of the 

 hills; after this we began to rise gradually along a ridge, our course 

 continuing pretty nearly North ; after reaching an elevation of 

 some 2,000 feet, we descended about 600 feet, and camped for the 

 night on the bank of a tributary of the Slim called Sungei Kudin. 



The following morning we crossed this stream on a Sahei 

 bridge — a fallen tree — by no means pleasant work ; we were encour- 

 aged by being told that a man broke his leg crossing here some time 

 ago with a slab of tin on his shoulder ; another 100 yards further 

 on, the Slim itself had to be crossed in the same way. After this, as- 

 cending to an elevation of about 2>100 feet, we came on an extensive 

 tableland drained by a number of little streams formerly used by 

 the tin miners. 



As we came along, a hill was pointed out to us some two or three 

 miles to the East, which could not have been less than 4,000 or 

 5,000 feet high, called G-unong Dandan, said to be at this point one 

 of the joints in the back-bone range. 



Some four or five miles further on, we again came on the Slim, 

 which we had not seen for some time ; it was here reduced to very 

 modest dimensions, it did not take us much more than ankle deep 

 wading across it. The country about was comparatively flat, with hills 

 a few miles off, apparently some thousands of feet higher than we 

 were. I made the elevation at our camp 2,200 feet by the aneroid, 

 Mr. Smith was very much pleased with the soil, and some Sakeis, 

 in whose clearing we encamped, gave us some roasted ubi Jeayw, which 

 were remarkably good. SaJceis are the only people who know 

 how to cook these roots ; they roast them in a joint of bamboo split 

 longitudinally ; when done they come out as white and floury as 

 the best murphy I ever saw. 



Up to this I did not notice much change in the vegetation from 

 that seen in the plains ; there was rather an absence of large trees, 

 but the bamboos were exceptionally fine, some as much as four or 

 five feet between the joints and six or seven inches in diameter. 

 Mr, Smith pronounced favourably of the soil, and what appeared 

 to me to be an immense advantage was that it would be possible to 

 grow coffee here without being condemned to everlasting tread- 

 mill, climbing up and down hill. 



