298 AN EXPEDITION TO MOUNT BATU LAWL. 
him to shake hands with me, apparently a novel proceeding to him, 
and then he joins me in my bathe, taking care to bathe below me so 
that I shall not get his wash!! I have been told that in certain 
places natives make a point of bathing in the stream below a 
Kuropean while he is bathing above, so that they can enjoy the 
water tainted by him and thus partake of some of his superior (7) 
qualities. ‘The same principal is in evidence when a Malay shakes 
hands with a Hadji (man who has done the pilgrimage to Mecca) 
and draws lis hands away from the Hadji into his own chest, 
with the idea of partaking of some of the Hadji’s holiness. Malays 
and many other natives do it too after shaking hands with Euro- 
peans, though the actual good obtained thereby in some of these 
cases must be a little doubtful. 
When we arrived at this house there was hardly a soul to be 
seen, most of the men being away feasting at Tama Kulsng’s and 
the women were too afraid to come out of their rcoms for some 
time. Belulok told me a message had been sent from ‘lama 
- Kuling’s house the night before to advise them of our coming and 
to-assure them of our peaceful intentions, otherwise they would all 
have fled into the jungle. 
After a few friendly overtures to the smaller children of the 
house in the shape of a biscuit or two, their shyness disappeared 
and the inmates began to show themselves. I found it always 
answered remarkably well to pay attention to the babies, as that 
seemed to dispel any feelings of distrust at once; the women 
beamed silently at one, while the men were more disposed to help. 
The men themselves seem to pay more attention to the children 
than do their mothers, for in every house one would see a proud 
father or two strolling about with a child on his back, no matter 
whether he was an important chief or not. Thus a request to the 
chief for the loan of a boat was certain to be acceded to without 
further trouble, if one adroitly oiled the way first with a sardine 
tor the chief’s baby son! Noticed a small monkey (“brok”’) 
Macacus nemestrinus tied up to the house, the first pet I have seen 
on this journey, except for countless ill-fed dogs which are the 
greatest nuisance in every house. 
May 19th: Weare still short of men to act as carriers and we 
have to leave some things behind, such as kadjangs and food for the 
return journey. We get off at 8.30, thirty-nine of us in all and a 
Dayak, a Chinaman and myself, the representative of Hurope. ‘The 
path almost at once leads down and cross the river, then up a steep 
bit on the left bank, past the site of a former Kalabit house visited 
by Mr. Ward in 1907; the posts were still remaining, but no more, 
the people having moved elsewhere; then up to 1,400 ft. and later 
to 1,700 ft., the path running along the top of a range of hills 
running more or less parallel to the Madihit; in one place we pass 
a solitary jar standing by the path; this is pointed out as contain- 
ing the remains of a Kalabit, who died last year; at midday we 
descend to a small stream, the Gritang, where we feed. According 
Tour. Straits Branch 
