1.04 TJIE Sndatj and its tkibutaeies, 



religion, not having adopted Mahomedanism as yet (the legends I 

 referred to in my trip to Blumut seem to he quite unknown to the 

 body of the people) , though such women as are married to Malays 

 have to be formally converted, not, however, unless they are really 

 married. 



The Bentara presented me with a fragment of a very fine 

 prism of smoky quartz, which he said had been brought to him by 

 one of his men some time previously. Two of them were at the foot 

 of Gunong Bcchuak, ( x ) when a large boulder came rolling down 

 the steep, they saw something glittering become detached from it 

 in its downward course, and secured it ; but thinking it too bulky, 

 they smashed it and brought home only the fragment which was 

 given to me ; the original prism must have been 7 or 8 inches long 

 by 3 or 4 in diameter. 



On the 25th, I started in a small jalor with two Malays and four 

 Jalcuns for the source of the SCmbrong, and after 3J hours' work 

 along a very winding, narrow and often blocked-up stream, reached 

 the landing-place, Pengkalan Tongkes, where our boat-work ended. 

 About 1 hour 40 minutes from Kenalau Ave came upon what was 

 called kdi/u telekong, a tree stem sunk in the stream ; it used 

 to overhang the river, and was said to be punka, or haunted by 

 an evil-spirit who was certain to cause death or illness to any one 

 who should cut it. After 1J hours' smart walking from Pengkalan 

 Tongkes we reached IJlu Meletir. Che Musa told me a story, the 

 second day of our ascent of the Sembrong, about the filar sdwa 

 rendam (water python),( 2 ) which I heard at the time with some 

 incredulity ; subsequent personal experience, however, induced me 

 to be less sceptical. Che Musa's story was that a Malay of his ac- 

 quaintance was asleep one night in his boat on a river wLen he was 

 disturbed by a pull at his sleeping-cloth, on rousing himself he 

 found the intruder to be a water p3>-thon, which, finding itself 

 observed, got away before the Malay could get hold of his parang 



( x ) A two-peaked mountain of the Belfimut range. 



( 2 ) This is rendered "'water python," being, according to the 

 Malays, the water variety of the ''filar sawa," which is their name 

 for the "python," but it is hardly necessary to observe that they 

 are unsafe authorities on such points. 



