BY THE REV. J. E. TEXISOJMYOODS. 



147 



usual mode of progression up rivers is by "poling/' an exceedingly 

 tedious method, which sometimes barely exceeds a mile an hour. 

 My first resting place was at the old village of Kota Barn (New 

 Fort), which was the central village of the district, and where 

 the local magistrate or resident commissioner lives. The place, 

 however, was nearly abandoned, owing to the floods in the river 

 and the consequent prevalence of fever. A new settlement has 

 since been formed at Batu Gadja, about six miles further up the 

 river by land and 14 miles by water. From the new settlf ment 

 Mr. Hewett, the local magistrate, sent a boat with four Malays, 

 who in five hours poled us up to the station. The site of the 

 town had just been cleared of jungle and was being surveyed. 

 A s an instance of the inconveniences to which Europeans are 

 exposed, I may mention that the survey was being conducted by 

 a gentleman who had brought his family with him. When the 

 river overflowed everybody but himself got fever, and one of his 

 daughters died. At the time of my visit there were 70 Chinese 

 hi id Hindoo patients in the hospital of Kota Baru laid up with 

 Beriberi fever. I am happy to add that the newly chosen 

 station is much more healthy. 



My journey from Batu Gadja was continued on elephants. 

 The first stage was to Poussen mines, distant three and a half 

 miles, where Malays were working shallow tin deposits. The tin 

 occurred in an alluvial drift contained in pockets ami pot-holes, 

 in a much eroded crystalline limestone, which still retained traces 

 of stratification. This limestone was either covered by a river 

 gravel or cropped out in pinnacles and blocks. Here was also 

 seen the only dyke of recent trap-rock observed by me in this 

 part of the Malay Peninsula. At Pappan, four and a half miles 

 from Batu Gad ja, large tin mines were in operation, at least an . 

 opening was being made by a European company formed in 

 Shanghai. The place had formerly been extensively mined by 

 the Malays, and the former workings, now filled with water, bear 

 curious testimony to the extensive nature of the deposit. Much 

 of this country, extending over a large area, has been mined in 

 former times by the Malays, and some of the operations date back 



