6 AN EXPEDITION TO MOUNT BATU LAWI. 
NARRATIVE. 
May 2nd, 1911. Embarking in Kuching, the capital of Sara- 
wak, on the 8. S. “ Gladys,” one of the company’s coasting-steamers, 
and somehow getting Dayak collectors, boy and stacks of baggage 
on board just in time, we left the wharf punctually at 7 a.m. and, 
steaming down river, reached the sea a little before 10 am. In- 
quired anxiously of the Dayaks as to the nature of last night’s all- 
important dreams and was relieved to hear that they were all right, 
no bad ones. A Dayak always pays great attention to any dream 
that he has on the night before starting on any expedition, regard- 
ing such as a guarantee for the success or failure of his mission. 
When on their own, if the dreams are bad nothing will induce them 
to start, but when following the un-believing European they allow 
their fore-bodings to take second place, and when disaster comes, 
content themselves with a reproving “I told you so.” In March 
1910 I set out from Kuching with the intention of doing this same 
expedition, but bad dreams” pursued our party for the first three 
days and the expedition ended of course in dismal failure and ill- 
ness. 
May 3rd. 'The sea pleasantly calm all yesterday and we anchor 
off Kedurong point at 10.30 this morning to drop mails and a few 
passengers; arrive midnight at Miri, where the Anglo-Saxon Oil 
company have just opened a new oil-field. 
May 5th. Reach Broeoketon early in the morning and aiter 
a few hours there steam across Brunei Bay and into the mouth of 
the Limbang River, which, considering the length of the river, is 
remarkably narrow, and, like practically all Sarawak rivers, has a 
dificult bar which can only be negotiated by steamers of shallow 
draught and even then at not less than half-tide. However, we are 
over the bar and for good or bad we are started on our long river 
journey which is to take us a hard monih’s traveiling through 
strange countries and among strange peoples before reaching the 
upper waters of this river and even then to fall far short of its 
actual sources, unknown to white men and but vaguely determined 
by the natives sparsely scattered along its banks. We arrive at the 
Government station of Limbang (or Pangkalan Térap, as it is 
known by the natives) at midday and disembark, the preliminary 
stage of the journey done. Heavy rain all night, registering 3.92 
inches next morning. This looks bad for a start, as, if anything 
like that amount fell up-river, it will mean a heavy fresh and make 
progress against it very slow or perhaps impossible for a day or two. 
May 6th. Mr. Ermen, the Acting Resident of the station, 
kindly makes the necessary arrangements for boats, coolies, food, 
_ ete., and informs me that he has called twelve Sea- Dayaks from the 
Pandaruan River to assist me in the up-river journey. These and 
their friends came up to the bungalow in the evening and try to 
persuade us to let them all go. They refuse to believe in the 
peaceful nature of my mission and being firmly convinced that it 
Jour. Straits Branch 
