A Trip to Mt. Penrissen, Sarawak 



At midday on the 5th of May of this present year of grace, 

 Mr. E. A. W. Cox, of the Sarawak Government service, and 

 myself left Kuching for the upper waters of the Sarawak river on 

 a long talked-of collecting expedition. Our ultimate destination 

 was Penrissen, a mountain of 4,800 feet high, five miles from 

 the " u lu" of the left hand branch of the Sarawak river, and 

 about fifty miles as the crow flies from the sea-coast. The 

 mountain had previously been scaled, in part at least, by Signor 

 Beccari, Mr. A. II. Everett, Dr. G. P. Haviland and Mr. 

 llenlerson, but had never, from a zoological point of view, been 

 thoroughly collected over, so that our hopes of obtaining inte- 

 resting and valuable results ran high. 



Our staff consisted of five Dyak collectors, Malay and 

 Chinese boys, and a Chinese cook; to convey these, ourselves 

 and our somewhat, bulky baggage, three boats were requisition- 

 ed, but as events turned out proved insufficient ; however the 

 start was fair and through the lower reaches of the river all 

 went well and comfortably. The night was spent in part at the 

 little village of Selobang, but to catch the tide and to avoid the 

 din of a neighbouring Chinese " wayang." we re-embarked at 12 

 p.m. and proceeded quietly on our way till at G.30 in the morn- 

 ing the first "karungan" or gravel bed was encountered; here 

 we stopped for breakfast and a delightful bathe in the now some- 

 what iapid river. At 9 we were on again, and soon began to 

 experience some difficulty in progression. The river abounded 

 with shallows and small rapids ; up and over these our heavy and 

 heavily-laden boats, which tD use a Malay expression "ate much 

 water," were poled and hauled only with the greatest difficulty 

 and exertion. At the very bad places a general halt had always 

 to be called, whilst the respective crews joined forces and hauled 

 with ropes one boat up at a time. Late in the afternoon we 

 finally won to Segu, and right glad were we to partake of the 



