18 KELANTAN AND GUNONG TA1IAN. 



4500' high in front of us, and this proved such hard work that 

 the men could not walk any farther when we reached the top, 

 and so we camped there, going" down the other side next morn- 

 ing. There we again got into K elan tan territory, crossing a 

 branch of the Galas river, and went up a long and high ridge 

 forming the boundary between Fahang and Kelantan. It was 

 right from the foot of Tulong Kabong to Gunong Tahan, and as 

 it did not appear to be known to the Malays, we christened it 

 Bukit Gajah on account of the number of elephants that were to 

 be found there, the top of the ridge seeming to be their regular 

 highway. We saw only female elephants, the males being very 

 scarce in Kelantan, where everybody is allowed to shoot them, 

 and before long these will be quite extinct. A Ye kept along this 

 ridge for four days, reaching a height of 4500' and then com- 

 menced to descend, being then opposite to Gunong Tahan, and 

 only separated from it by a river, which proved to be the Relai, 

 a tributary of the Lebeh. None of the branches of the Galas 

 come from the mountain, and it was evidently a great mistake 

 my trying to get up from there, as the way up from the Relai 

 or Aring rivers is much nearer and easier. The descent was 

 difficult and Avould have been well nigh impossible if the ele- 

 phants had not been there before us ; but by following their 

 tracks, and using the deep indents made by their huge feet, we 

 managed to scramble down and reach the river, which is here 

 1200' above sea level. Arriving there the Kelantan Malays left 

 nae and returned to their homes, and I was not sorry to lose 

 them this time, as these men had enormous appetites and 

 were eating up nearly all my provisions. The rest of us stayed 

 a couple of days at the river, and then, having found a spur that 

 seemed to go in the right direction, we commenced the ascent. 



The first 1000' were very difficult, and took us a long 

 time to negotiate, but after that we got out on another spur 

 and the ascent got much easier, there being a fairly good track 

 made by wild beasts. Reaching a height of 4000' we got into 

 rattan jungle, which seems to grow on all the Kelantan 

 mountains of any height; so we left the comb of the spur and 

 went down the side until we found water, where we then 

 camped ; but could not find any level place for our shelter, and 

 had to build it on the side of the hill, and as it came on to rain 



