48 A TRI? TO A SOURCE OF THE SARAWAK BLiVEh 
requires careful walking; the lanco was found to be commodious 
and in good condition, thatched with split bamboo and arranged in 
the usual manner; here we deposited our baggage and proceeded to 
the summit, which was only a short distance. 
Bengkarum Mountain, from the isolated position of this enor- 
mous mass of sandstone, its sudden rise and the long ridge of 
suinmit gradually increasing in height to terminate with precipitous 
abruptness at its eastern extremity 1s a conspicuous feature in the 
landscape for a radius of many miles; in plan it is roughly shaped 
like a capital Y, the two ridges which form the fork bearing 
towards the west; the ascent was made from the base of the 
southernmost of these; the summit at this end which is the lower, 
I found to have an elevation of 3,500 feet. It is a plateau of some 
width, the surface being very irregular, worn into deep gullies and 
depressions which in the overgrown jungle was well nigh impossible 
to travel over; for some distance I followed a small stream which 
forms the main drainage and flows to the fork, descending in 
a series of cascades; the banks ave rich in filmy ferns and on 
a nearly submerged sandbank was growing a small fern which 
proved to be of considerable interest; being a new species which 
necessitated the formation a new genus. The Dyaks here collect 
large quantities of teardammar, these trees were very numerous and 
of large size. As usual at this altitude the ground was cuvered 
with Sphagnum, while the trunks and brushwood were also covered 
with other species of mosses. 
As I was about to descend from the edge of the summit 
the magnificence of the view at once caught my attention; in the 
foreground was the further limb of the mountain covered with 
its deep green, the base thrown into deep shadow as the sun 
declined, while the stream as it cascaded down the mountain side 
gave life and contour; then beyond was range after range, in many 
places irregular and broken, lit by the full sunshine and as the dis- 
tance increased the green gave place to blue with the final haze of 
the horizon. The conical summit of Mt. Nach could be seen to the 
south-west well above all intermediate ranges. 
While taking my evening meal the elderly gentleman asked for 
the chicken bones and much to the general amusement scrunched 
and swallowed them as well as any dog: the body of a small 
bird which I had skinned he stewed in a long bamboo, adding 
various herbs gathered in the neighbourhood. Some little excite- 
ment was caused by his difficulty in recovering it from the depths 
of this vessel, as he refused to split it. The night was bitterly cold 
with rain and wind which made sleep quite out of the question for 
the coolies, who had no extra clothing and tried as wellas they 
could to keep warm by sitting over the fire, while I in woollen 
garments was in nearly the same plight. The following morning 
was spent collecting on the slopes and a fair number of insects were 
captured before the sky clouded and the whole mountain was 
covered in mist—which decided me to return to the Dyak Kampong. 
Jour. Straits Branch 
