10 JOURNEY ACROSS THE MALAY PENINSULA. 
the import of nearly every necessary and luxury seems to be 
farmed to certain Chinese at Pékan, the Yam Tian’s residence 
at the mouth of the river. Holding a monopoly, the farmers 
of course charge any price they like, and it is perhaps in con- 
sequence of this that the Chinese miners in Pahang are said 
to number about one hundred only, and all the Malays seem to 
be wretchedly poor. 
1 tin Kerosene oil, $2.C0. 
Tobacco, $1 a kati. 
4O bits of Gambier, 8 cents. 
6 gantangs Salt, $1. 
1 ball of Opium $22; and so on. 
The highest price for rice is said to be $1 for twelve gan- 
tangs. ‘The currency of the country is gold, and the following 
are the weights and values :— 
1 Itam Tengko = 4 cents of a dollar. 
] Kénéri of gold = 2 Itam Tengko = 8 cents. 
1 Buso = 2 Kénéri = 2 Saga = 16 cents. 
1 Suku = 1 Kipang = 2 Buso = 334 cents. 
3 Kuipang — $1. 
4 Kipang = 4 Suku = 1 Mas — $1.334 cents. 
16 Mas = 1 Bingkal eae in Pahang 2 at $24, which seems 
curious as it ought only to be worth $21.2 
About 7 p.m. I heard that a messenger had arrived from Per- 
matang Linggi to say that one of my Bernam coolies, left 
behind to return, had died of cholera. J determined to send 
all my Bernam men back at once, as this makes the third man 
who has sickened in two days. One of those with us is better, 
the other worse and unable to be moved. Kept on raining till 
late in the night. Distance travelled to-day thirteen miles, 
general direction E.S.E. 
Wednesday, 22nd April.—Sent back Pénghulu Mat SaLEn 
and the Bernam men except the one too sick to move; left him 
with some money in the care of a man across the river. He 
is a very bad patient, refuses all medicine, and does everything 
he is told not todo. He looks bad, but is, I think, perhaps 
more frightened than really ill. We had a good deal of trou- 
ble in getting new men to supply the places of these Bernam 
