dA JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANT FRONTIER. 85 
present boundary between Perak and Patani, was pointed out. 
The tracks of elephants were everywhere extremely numerous, the 
lalang was tramped down in many places, and here and there wild 
fruit of different kinds partially eaten lay scattered on the ground. 
When we had crossed the Kenering river—it seemed for the 
fiftieth time—at Padang Langkuas, the men in front shouted out 
that there were elephants in sight, and I hurried forward just in 
time to see a female elephant and a young one standing knee deep 
in the lalang on the edge of the forest. They were not a hundred 
yards from us; the cow stood still facing us, while the calf trotted 
round her. There were no weapons among the party fit for 
elephant shooting, even if I had felt inclined to try to bag a female 
which has no tusks, so both mother and young one were allowed 
to disappear into the jungle uninjured, though several of the men 
would have tried the effect of smooth-bore carbines if permitted 
to do so! 
In the afternoon we camped at Ayer Jiri, a stream which runs 
into the Kenering. Traces were not wanting of Sultan Isaart’s 
temporary encampment here. Relics were picked up and brought 
to me by the men—the rattan ring of a shield, the sengkala or 
hobbles of an elephant, a vessel made of bark for cooking pulut 
rice, &c., &e. 
By the time that the huts were ready, the hammock slung, and 
dinner in course of preparation, I received a welcome surprise in 
the arrival of messengers from Kwala Kangsa, who brought me 
letters and the supplies for which Haji Anusaxkar had written 
while we were at Tampan. They had been following in our wake 
all day. These messengers fared better than others subsequently 
sent off by Captain SrrEepy, with letters, &c., for me, who were 
surprised and disarmed by Raja Axnsas and his party, and only got 
away with the loss of their rifles and despatches. 
The letters, curiously enough, reached me months later, having 
been again stolen in Kedah from the original robbers and taken 
to some one who could read English through whose means they 
were ultimately forwarded to their destination. 
April 5th.—Soon after leaving camp this morning, we crossed 
the Kenering river for the last time and struck a much smaller 
