12 GUNONG TAHAN AND GUNONG RIAM. 
was trying to persuade to cuf down a tree, work he had been hired 
to do, sat down and burst into tears, telling me that the axe was 
hurting his hands. 
The jungle as far as the first camp seemed to be much the 
same as the jungle below, except for the abundance of a fine palm 
with broad leaves, usuful for building huts. These the Malays call- 
ed Pokok Dongkok. At the first camp, however, situated on the top 
of a spur, there was a marked change in the vegetation, things look- 
ing lke conifers making their appearance. I have seen similar plants 
up other mountains in the States. 
The view from the first camp was very fine. One could look 
over the broad tract of lowlying land drained by the Pahang River 
and also over the belt of hilly land formed by the great outcrop.of 
quartzite and conglomerate, of which the Tahan Range is part. 
Far away could be seen Gunong Sinyum, the huge limestone hill on 
the left bank of the Pahang River. Looking towards Gunong Tahan, 
big cliffs were visible which I was told by Bulang were on “ Gunong 
Gedong.” I passed over no other mountain on my way to Gunong 
Tahan and gathered on my return that the name was merely a 
nickname bestowed by Malay coolies on part of Tahan, on account 
of its shape. The mention of this name as belonging to a aistinct 
mountain unfortunately led me to a serious misconception as to the 
lay of the land at the time of my visit. 
After a comfortable night, broken only by the usual onslaught 
on Jeher, we set out again, plunging down into a ravine and rising 
on the other side to a long ridge separating the valley of the Teku, 
and, I believe, the Ulu of the Tahan River. We had to walk along 
this ridge to reach the elevated plateau-land of the range, some of 
which we could now see. How long this ridge is I hesitate to say, 
knowing how easy it is to exaggerate. Perhaps two miles would be 
near the figure, and were it not for the vegetation, I can quite believe 
that the passage might be a thrilling experience. The view was 
magnificent. On the right was a great curtain of vegetation in many 
hues of green falling away from the ridge with billowing undulations. 
On the left was the precipitous valley of the Teku with vertical 
cliffs that gave the impression of a huge canyon. On the other 
side of the valley was a great stretch of high, but plateau-like coun- 
try of which Gunong Ulu Kechau 1s, I believe part. The valley of 
the Teku, as seen from the ridge, and from the high land beyond, is 
a sight of which I have never seen the equal in the Peninsula. 
The cliffs, the great depth of the canyon, and the waterfall at its 
head, mark it as something distinet from all the other valleys that I 
have seen during my travels in the-Malay States, and it has always 
been a matter of regret that when I- saw it I had no camera with 
me. It would be difficult to do justice to the scene, however, even 
with a camera. The rough sketches on Plate II will perhaps convey 
some idea of it. 
At the end of the ridge a short ‘scramble up a cliff brought us 
to the plateau-land. Here we left the big jungle behind us and found 
Jour. Straits Branch 
