60 INTERIOR OF BORNEO, 



feet. The man in the bow of the canoe, apparently being 

 satisfied with the state of the water, pronounced that the 

 passage was possible and with a final injunction to sit still and 

 hold tight, we let go and started off. Then ensued one of the 

 most exciting times I have ever experienced. For five 

 hours we simply flew down between those cliffs, without a 

 single stroke of the paddle to assist us, except a quick touch 

 every now and then from the men in the bows and stern to keep 

 the boat straight or to avoid a rock or whirlpool. It was 

 breathless work and nobody seemed inclined to speak, but all 

 attention seemed to be strained as to what was going to 

 appear round this corner or that rock. On we dashed between 

 those grim cliffs on which there was absolutely no foothold 

 to be gained if the boat happened to upset. It gave one the 

 idea of what one would imagine the river Lethe (Long 

 Balek Mati, the River of Death, as the Kayans call it) 

 to be like ; although the sun was shining brightly above us still 

 it was chilly and dull down in the gorge between the grey lime- 

 stone cliffs, whilst the mountains towered thousands of feet 

 above us, and absolute silence reigned, except for the hiss of 

 the rushing waters; and no sign of life was visible. 



Just before noon a small cleft in the cliffs on the left bank 

 appeared, where the Maap stream tumbles down a valley be- 

 tween the hills and manages to burst its way through the rocks. 

 This being the first place when it was possible to obtain a foot- 

 hold, we got out and ate a hurried lunch, the water and weather 

 being closely watched, as a heavy shower of rain would have 

 caused the river to rise several feet and we should have 

 been caught in a trap, unable to proceed up or down-river. 

 Happily luck was still with us, and having finished our meal, we 

 continued our career downstream. After about an hour we 

 heard the roar of waves, which warned us that we were 

 approaching a large rapid, and we quickly pulled into the 

 bank, where, luckily, the cliffs were broken down, and, the 

 pilot having pronounced that it was impossible to shoot 

 this rapid, we carried all our luggage and hauled our canoes 

 over the rocks to a place below the rapid. This proved 

 very hard work as some of the rocks were thirty to forty 



Jour. Straits Branch 



