122 MY TRIP TO BELUM. 



running away fell down and hurt his back but not seriously. 

 Wan Man was sure that the tusker was still across the river, 

 but enjoined upon us the advisability of strict silence. We 

 followed his gigantic tracks for half a mile up the Tapong path 

 and then sure enough found that he had turned back to cross 

 the river. So we walked on with quicker steps and uncon- 

 strained tongues, meeting with uncountable leeches, which 

 kept us both, and indeed all the party, continuously occupied. 



We walked through two sira and reached Perenggan at 

 10 a.m.* We found that Wan Husein was encamped there, 

 but he had gone to visit some Sakai, so Simmons and I, with 

 our party, pushed on, on small bamboo rafts, one mile up-river 

 to Tapong. 



The kampongs are all deserted at Tapong and the people 

 have moved down to Perenggan, where there are now 39 of 

 them. 



But we found a delightful white-sand bank on which the 

 sun was blazing. We had taken the precaution to bring all 

 our washed and wet clothes in two bundles and we spread them 

 out and completely dried everything by the time (1.30 p.m.) 

 Berkeley came in with the elephants. As soon as the tents 

 were pitched the cast-nets were at work and we got quite a 

 good catch. 



The bank on which we camped was covered with bay am 

 pasir (sand spinach) in full blossom. The flower is like an 

 everlasting, ranging from pink to magenta in colour. 



Wan Husein paid us a visit and chatted, and the Tapong 

 people came up to sell fowls and fruit, and were commissioned 

 to make five rafts for us to be ready for our return journey 

 down river. 



* This old boundary of a hundred years ago is always described 

 in the Malay Saw — "Batu bciah kekabu hutan Pa dang Limau Nipis." 

 We saw the split rock (a poor specimen) left by a Sultan's sword, but 

 the wild cotton tree had disappeared. It shed white blossoms on the 

 I'erak side and red on the Hatani side. The other boundary referred 

 to, Padang Limau Jsipis, is loot now part of Peiak. 



Jour. Straits Branch 



