A PERSONAL TiECONNAISANCE OF GUNONG TAHAN. 81 



avoiding as far as possible the steep slopes which are so characteristic 

 of these ranges. But, beside this, it is possible that the natural angle 

 and formation of the ridge may itself in many cases favour the forma- 

 tion of rain channels along the skyline. 



In the earlier part of the day we stopped to get some "tampor" 

 fruit ; one of the Pahang Malays, who was a very expert climber, 

 running up the stem of the lofty tree which bore it, with extraordinary 

 ease and agility, and lopping off the fruit-laden branches, which were 

 then stripped as they lay on the ground. This man made himself of 

 use, too, on several occasions by climbing trees for scouting purposes. 

 On the present occasion he found out for us the exact direction in 

 which the river was running, and thus enabled us to descend to its 

 banks by the nearest way. On reaching the river we camped there, my 

 unexpected arrival scaring away a rhinoceros which had been placidly 

 browsing hard by. Both this night and the previous one, the tent 

 contained some very unwelcome visitors in the shape of fire-ants whose 

 bite was exceedingly painful. We had been eating rice without " lauk " 

 (meat or vegetables) since we left the village near Kuala Tahan (Peng- 

 kalen Dato), but to-night we had some roasted seeds of the " bangkong," 

 or wild " chempadak," and found them a very welcome addition. 



That no game could be procured to eke out the failing supply of 

 rice was due to the fact that our handful of cartridges had to be 

 reserved for the purpose of self defence, as we had been told at Kuala 

 Tahan that the lower ranges literally swarmed with big game, elephants, 

 bears, rhinoceros and especially sladang, which, it is needless to say, we 

 did not meet, though we had to provide against the possibility of doing 

 so. One of the wonderful stories that was told us was that animals there 

 bore a charmed life and one of the white men who had accompanied a 

 previous expedition had shot at a bear on the banks of the Tahan and 

 had wounded it mortally, but that instead of dying it had promptly 

 turned itself into a siamang. 



Though we had but one rifle, we were well armed with krisses and 

 a spear or two, but it must not be forgotten that we were travelling in 

 light inarching order — the lightest possible — so much so that we left 

 behind as superfluities at Pulau Dato on the Tembeling my ground 

 mattress and one of the men's sleeping mats, which the Acting 

 Resident very kindly returned to us on our subsequent arrival at 

 Trengganu. A shot gun would have been an extra encumbrance and 

 would almost certainly have become unserviceable, owing to the 

 frequent drenchings that we experienced, besides which we saw 

 remarkably few birds. What would have been of far greater assistance 

 would have been a few dynamite cartridges, which would have secured 

 us an abundance of fish in the upper reaches of the Tahan and its 

 tributaries. I had tried more than once, unsuccessfully, to get some 

 sent me from Singapore. 



Next morning (the fifth day) we tried some of the young shoots or 

 "'cabbage" of a hard wood palm called " bayas." 



