AN EXPEDITION TO MOUNT BATU LAWI. 5 
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strange natives and their ways of life can be materially increased 
is by. the constant publication of a large number of apparently 
trifling observations collected by men who have spent many years 
among natives, by men who know their language, their customs to 
a certain extent, and more important, by men who know the natives 
sufficiently well to be able to attach a fairly correct value to inform- 
ation received from them. And here let me at once hasten to deny 
all claim for inyself to be in such a position so that my observations 
on native life are of any real importance. My excuse for appearing 
to take up that position is that this Journal is probably read by men 
in the East more than by men in Europe, and my article will more 
than serve its purpose, if, after reading the small details of interest 
I have recorded, men of long experience in the East can be induced 
to publish the trustw orthy records of their own travels and obser- 
vations, which are of such infinitely higher value than the “ ex- 
periences ” published year by year by hurrying globe-trotters, for 
whom a week in one country is found sufficient fo enable them to 
write a book thereon. (ii) The details of places and native houses, 
I have hoped will some day be of interest to others who may make 
a journey to that region. Sir Spenser St. John’s book, which I 
earried with me, consulting it nearly every day I found most useful 
and interesting for that purpose. His map was particularly useful 
and trustworthy : I regret that mine, based on very limited obser- 
vations, is no more than a very rough ‘ sketch map,’ only difficult 
to indicate the journey accomplished. 
The collections made were regrettably small, although in spite 
of that, surprisingly rich in new and rare species, which clearly 
indicates the interesting and little known nature of the fauna and 
flora of that region. The hurried character of the expedition may 
be understood by the following brief summary, which explains the 
lack of opportunity for any “steady collecting. In the 40 days’ 
journey from the Government station at Limbang to the Govern- 
ment station of Baram (Claudetown) 31 were “spent in actual 
travelling; or to put it another way, we slept two consecutive nights 
in the same place on five occasions and once for three consecutive 
nights. ‘The river journey occupied 10 days (excluding a day spent 
at the kuala Madalam and another at the kuala Madihit), the walk 
in the mountainous region occupied 12 days excluding three days 
spent at Penribut’s house, one on Mt. Derian and one on Mt. Selin- 
guid. My return journey to Baram took 4 days to walk and 5 days 
in boats. 
Unfortunately the Madihit district is very sparsely populated 
and for that reason we were unable to procure enough coolies to 
carry provisions sufficient for any length of time; between the 
Madihit ( ee house) and Batu Lawi there are no natives 
and we were away 13 days without seeing anyone except the mem- 
bers of our party. Again from the Murut ‘house just above the 
kuala Madalam up to the kuala Madihit, there are also no houses 
and we were travelling the best part of four days without meeting 
R.A. Soc., No 63, 1912. 
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