64 SOME VISITS TO BATAM ISLAND. 



" 23rd. Hired a large leaky boat and paddled and sailed 

 to Pulo Sambu where we found a launch going to Singapore 

 which gave us a lift : arrived home 9 p.m." 



My second visit to Batam was the outcome of a desire 

 to collect on Bulang Peak. I left. Singapore on March 18th 

 1906. I had a Malay prau on this occasion which didn't sail 

 anything like as well as the cutter and we had to do a lot of 

 rowing, particularly amongst the tide-rips behind Pulo 

 Sambu. However we got to Pulo Boyan, where the Con- 

 troleur is stationed, at seven o'clock and anchored in the 

 strong tide of the Batu Hadji Straits for the night. 



I found that the Controleur, who was newly appointed, 

 could give me no information about Bulang but he courteous- 

 ly offered me the services of a constable for the trip which I 

 refused as a useless encumbrance. There was a strong tide 

 against us and no wind all the morning so we passed the time 

 in filling our water-jars from a well on Bulang, as there is no 

 water on the small island, and in the afternoon when the 

 tide slackened we made sail again, reaching at night-fall the 

 kampong where I had hoped to put up. It was in ruins and 

 had evidently been deserted for a long time but I was less 

 disappointed, in that next morning when I made a trip to 

 the Peak I found the way thither to be through swamps while 

 the hill itself had been cleared except on the top, and there 

 was no sign of animal life anywhere. So we sailed back again 

 looking for a place to stop at, but both sides of the strait had 

 been long cleared and were no use for collecting and as I was 

 not provided with any sort of material to form a shelter I 

 decided to put in at Telok Senimba once more — as I was 

 particularly anxious to shoot the bearded pig — and see if I 

 could not add to my former list of specimens, though the 

 locality was not a good one as there was so much cleared land 

 and swamps while the accessible jungle was on hill sides and 

 exceedingly poor. There are no doubt more satisfactory 

 places in the interior but thither one would have to go pre- 

 pared to camp out. 



After leaving the sheltered strait we had a lively time 

 against a strong head wind : the prau, with peak dropped, 



Jour. Straits Branch. 



