AN EXPEDITION TO MOUNT BATU LAWI. — 3 
After Sir Spenser St. John’s visit there appear to have been no 
further lengthy excursions by Europeans up the Limbang River 
until the occupation of that district by the Sarawak Government. 
This took place in 1890 and in the Sarawak Gazette for November 
1895 (p. 207), there is a brief account of Mr. O. F. Ricketts’ * first 
visit to the Kuala Madihit and Adang country. He left Limbang 
station on August 24th, and arrived at Kuala Adang on September 
4th, the last three days of the journey having been accomplished 
on foot. After staying for three days at a native house some little 
distance up the Adang River, he returned again down the Limbang 
River, arrived at the Government station on September 10th, after 
an absence of just three weeks. He remarks on the peaceable 
nature of the Adangs, but gives little further information about 
them or their district. 
Mr. W. F. de V. Skrine, Assistant Resident at Limbang, made 
an exactly similar trip to this village in March 1911, being away 
25 days. 
The Limbang Reports which appear regularly in the Sarawak 
Gazette mention no other visits to the Adang country; mention 
however is made of Mr. Ward, then Assistant Resident at Limbang, 
visiting the natives in the Madihit River in 1907. He was away 
just 3 weeks. ‘Thus it will be seen that during the last 20 years: 
only three Europeans have succeeded in reaching the Kuala 
Madihit, which is itself the real starting place for the more arduous. 
journeys into the interior. It should be noted however that on 
several occasions would-be visitors to this region have had to turn 
back on account of the river suddenly rising and becoming impass- 
able for weeks at a time. It is only during certain months of the 
year that this up-river journey can be made, and even then, unless 
one has limitless time and patience it can only be accomplished with 
the assistance of a good deal of luck; if the down-coming torrent 
of water is too swift, the boats cannot get up against it; and as 
sometimes happens, if the river is too dry the task of dragging the 
boats up the rapids becomes stupendous and the traveller’s progress 
painfully slow. 
Two other routes to this elevated region present themselves to 
the Sarawak traveller; one up the Trusan River, which flows out 
into Brunei Bay a few miles east of the Limbang River; the head- 
waters of this river run very near the Adang stream (an upper 
branch of the Limbang River), but with this river too the same 
difficulties are present, although I am informed by natives that one 
has a better chance of getting up it in the right season than up 
the Limbang River. The other route is up the Baram and Tutau 
rivers, which would lead one up to the western side of the plain. 
_ Two long trips have been made up the Trusan River, the first 
in 1889 by M. O. F. Ricketts accompanied by Dr. G. D. Haviland 
(afterwards Curator of the Sarawak Museum). An extract from 
1. Resident of Trusan 1885-1890, of Limbang 1890-1909. 
R. A. Soc., No. 63, 1912. 
——— ae 
