THE TAWARAN AND PUTATAN RIVERS, 

 NORTH BORNEO, 



■:o: 



HE following sketch of these two rivers, taken 

 from the notes of a trip which the writer had the 

 pleasure of undertaking recently in the company of 

 Mr. A. H. Everett, known for his researches into 

 the ornithology of the Philippines, do not claim to be 

 more than a cursory survey, but may contain some elements 

 of interest, as treating of two rivers that have remained prac- 

 tically unvisited since the respective visits of Mr. Burbidge, 

 the botanist, on his journey to Kina Balu, and of the present 

 Sir Spexser St. John, in one of his numerous exploring 

 expeditions. 



The Tawaran river is reported to take its rise in the moun- 

 tains flanking the great mountain of Kina Balu to the South. 

 An affluent of it, however, called by the local Dusuns the 

 Sungei Damit, which flows into the main stream on its 

 true right bank at a point some few miles only from the sea, 

 is said by them to flow more from the North of East, and may, 

 therefore, be surmised to take its rise from the western flank 

 of the big mountain. The mouth of the Tawaran opens to the 

 westward, and is partly closed by the invariable sandy bar 

 which obstructs the entrances of all the rivers of this part of 

 Borneo. 



Starting from the island of Gaya, where the North Borneo 

 Company have a station, our route lay across the bay of that 

 name, past the mouth of the Menggatal, or Kabatuan river, 

 which, debouching to the westward, has good anchorage in 

 deep water off its mouth, to a landing place called Ganlisan 

 situate in the bight of Sapangar bay, where formerly the vil- 



