20° AN EXPEDITION TO MOUNT BATU LAWI. 
relations in the cave behind and from that day it became a regular 
burying place. 
St. John records the fresh traces of a Kayan war-party at this 
place (Salindong), noticed on his arrival here. A long pole orna- 
mented with three palm-leaf tassels was interpreted by some of 
his party to mean that the Kayans had obtained three heads. 
May 14th: (Temp. 75°). Leave our camp about 7.30 and 
soon find the river running between narrower and more rocky sides. 
In one place it narrows quite suddenly and a large rock on each 
side gives the name of “ Tiger’s leap ” to this part. ‘Tama Belulok 
as usual sits in my boat and proves a patient conversationalist in 
spite of my wearying stream of questions. One thing he told me 
which was rather astonishing; he said that the nomad Penans have 
large families as a rule, averaging perhaps 6 or 7; which in con- 
sideration of their hard life was in startling contrast to the smaller 
families of 2 and 3 to be found among the more sedentary tribes 
of this region. The Penans were spoken of with disdain by the 
Tabuns owing to their uncleanly habits; “you can always tell a 
Penan by his smell, as he never washes except in the rain!” And 
this latter statement was certainly true of a few whom I picked up 
later on, although I did not observe the smell. 
After 4 hours paddling we pass the kuala Tuan, where I 
camped for three nights last year, and after an abortive attempt 
to proceed further against the flood had to give up my first ex- 
pedition and return defeated. Half an hour later we arrived at 
the kuala Sipangi, the furthest point reached on that expedition 
and we sit down to a midday meal and discuss the troubles of | 
getting here experienced last year. This last reach was particularly 
bad, as the stream was too strong to allow the men to pole against 
it and only the slowest progress could be made by sending on two 
or three with a rotan rope, and then they had the greatest difficulty 
in climbing along the steep rocky sides, catching hold of any 
shrubs or branches to save themselves falling into the river and 
being swept away by the raging torrent. Not counting an interval 
of six days in which we went up the Madalam, as the Limbang 
was too high to allow us to start, it took us 12 days to reach the 
kuala Tuan from the kuala Madalam, while this year we had 
accomplised the same distance in 24 days only. Natives say they 
are frequently held up for a month at a time, and at kuala Saladong 
we found a party of Dayaks, who, after a month’s wait for the river, 
were just going down river again to obtain some more provisions. 
At the kuala Tuan, we found six more Dayaks, who said they 
had been waiting 20 days for the river to go down. Once we had 
decided to give it up, the return journey was very different, and a 
most exciting time we had shooting down the rapids at a great pace. 
missing certain destruction on rocks by a hair’s breadth every few 
minutes. The Muruts are particularly clever at guiding a boat 
down these swift rivers and indeed they have to be, as many lives 
have been lost in these very places. Only last year the chief of the 
Jour. Straits Branch 
