4 KELANTAN ASD GUNONG JTAHAN. 



job pulling- the boats over the rapids, of which the river was 

 full. We had to stop at each village we passed on the way, 

 to get fresh boatmen, as none of these would go any farther 

 with me than to the next village, and this continual stopping 

 and changing men delayed us a good deal. On the third day 

 Quala Aring was reached ; and as it w T as my intention to go up 

 that river, we had again to wait to procure still smaller boats, 

 but we soon managed to get six of these and plenty of men, so 

 were able to proceed the next day. It was at Quala Aring that 

 the Skeat expedition stopped, while Mr. Skeat went across to 

 Pahang and tried to get up the Tahan from that side, but failed, 

 I believe owing to want of provisions, the same as Messrs. 

 Ridley and Davidson before him. The river Aring is of course 

 much smaller than the Lebeh, and is full of rapids, but it was 

 not very difficult to get the boats over them. I counted them 

 several times, and found that on an average we passed over 

 about ten of them an hour the whole way up. There are very 

 few people living on this river, there being only one village of 

 any size, about three days up stream, so I had not to stop on the 

 way to change men, as those from the Quala took me right up 

 to that village. The village is called Buntie, and is the last 

 inhabited place in Kelautan, so I had to halt there to get to- 

 gether coolies and to find out the best way of ascending the 

 mountain, of which I got a good view away to the southward 

 on clear days. The natives there called it Gunong Siam. There 

 is plenty of game to be had round the village, as there are lots 

 of old clearings, where deer and pigs are plentiful, and tigers 

 are also found in numbers. On the very first day I stayed 

 there, while out collecting butterflies close to the house, I 

 heard a noise in the thick low jungle close by, resembling the 

 purring of a cat, only louder, but took no notice of this until 

 a couple of Malays came running after me telling me to come 

 back at once, as there was a tiger quite close by. As I had 

 then about forty Malays with me I wanted them to go into the 

 jungle and drive the tiger out into the open, a distance of not 

 more than twenty or thirty yards, where I could get a shot at 

 him ; but though they were all armed with spears and I offered them 

 some of my guns also, they were afraid of doing so, and 

 I did not get a sight of the brute though he stayed in that 



