MY TRIP TO BELUM. 123 



On the 1st August, we left the best camp we had so far 

 found at 4 to 8. We crossed the river at once on elephants, 

 entered some belukar (secondary growth) and lost our way. 

 We took nearly an hour to find it. 



The midges were terribly annoying, a species called rengit. 

 It would be quite improper to put on paper the only language 

 in which they were fitly described. We forded the Perak river 

 six times, and near one of the crossings Berkeley told us the 

 story of the death of Mengkong Gos. He lived about 80 years 

 ago, and was a well-known Patani Chief. He gave offence to 

 the Eaja of Eeman because of his friendly attitude to Perak 

 people. The Eaja sent for him and at the little lalang patch 

 at Bruah he met the Eaja's messenger. They both got off 

 their elephants to shake hands and, while the Eeman man 

 gripped the old Mengkong's hand, a Chinese Mualaf (convert 

 to Islamism), stabbed the Mengkong from behind. The kris 

 bent double, and the old chief, seeing that his life must be 

 taken, said : " No kris can kill me unless Ijampiit " (imbue it 

 with magical power). He then took the kris in his hands and 

 straightened it out. When he had done so, he handed it back 

 to the Mualaf who stabbed him. So the legend goes : it is a 

 good story, but the Mengkong seems to have sought his fate. 

 He was the great-grandfather of the present ; Mengkong of 

 Temengor. 



We reached camp at Tronoh at 3 p.m. when Husein 

 pitched his tent on the river bank, but we all set up ours on a 

 stony island and there made the acquaintance of yet another 

 insect. It is called tungdu (sand-tick), and is most diminutive. 

 Bright red in colour, it looks exactly like a grain of Cayenne 

 pepper. It invades your person and proceeds without 

 delay to bury itself under the skin. It is difficult to 

 see, and more difficult to pick out. It is said to feed for about 

 four days and then work itself out and drop off. Meanwhile, 

 as most of our party can vouch from experience, it is itchy. 

 It does not deserve to be spoken of in nicer language. 



i« Berkeley and the Datoh Sri Adika'Eaja went out fishing 

 and their success compensated us for small evils. 

 £. A. Soc, No. 54, 1909. 



