ODOAEDO BECCARI. 
171 
define. It is undoubtedly very real. Beecari suggests among other 
things contributing to the pleasure of it is “ the sensation of exul- 
tation at having reached the upper dominating regions of the at- 
mosphere, and vanquished Xature which has tied man down to the 
earth. Or it may be,” he continues, “ that our gratification is 
merely the outcome of those ambitious feelings which spur on so 
many to endeavour to rise above their fellows.” But can we go no 
further than this? 
Sir Martin Conway, a great traveller and inveterate mountain- 
lover, perhaps touches the secret when he writes : 
“ At such times Xature gathers her lover unto herself, 
transforming his self-consciousness into consciousness of her. 
The landscape becomes the visible garment of a great person- 
ality whereof he himself is. a part. Ceasing to think, while 
Xature addresses him through every sense, he receives direct 
inspiration from her. The passage of time is forgotten in 
such nirvana , and bliss is approximated if not attained.” 4 
The mountains of Borneo run to no great height and offer no 
great difficulty in climbing as a rule. But the fascination of at- 
taining their summits is the same. The pleasure of standing on 
the top of Snowden 3,000 ft., — even though one may have been 
conveyed thither by the mountain railway ! — is much the same as 
that experienced in reaching the top of, say, Mt. Kinabalu, 13,455 
ft., the highest point in Borneo — in fact the highest in all Indo- 
Malaya from the Himalaya to Xew Guinea. 
Beccari climbed many mountains in Sarawak: Matang (3.050 
ft.), Santubong (2,650 ft.), Poi (5,600 ft.), Wa (4,000 ft.), close 
to l’enrissen, Tiang Laju (4,000 ft.), Lingga (3,000 ft.). Those 
who have had the good fortune to follow Beccari's footsteps to 
the summits of these mountains have compared, and no doubt will 
continue to compare, with keen interest the notes he made thereon 
now over 50 years ago. The Journals of this Society contain 
descriptions of subsequent explorations of some of these mountains. 5 
The ascent of mountains within easy reach evidently did not 
satisfy his appetite for exploration. An account of his travels in 
Sarawak would not be complete without mentioning a remarkable 
journey he made from Bintulu, at that time the northern boundary 
of Sarawak, right across the whole State of Sarawak to Kuching 
the capital, a distance of some 300 miles. This he did in 1867 
starting from Bintulu on September 15th and arriving in Kuching 
on November 20th. His route lay up the Bintulu river across to 
Belaga, down the liejang River to Sibu, thence across country to 
Simanggang, Banting and Kuching. 
4 Mountain Memories by Sir Martin Conway, pp. 217-218. 
Aft. Santubong by J. Hewitt amlH, H. Everett. 1908. No. 51. pp. 1-30. 
Mt. Poi by J. C. Moulton, 1913, No. 65, pp. 1-12. Mt. Penrissen by R. Shel- 
ford, 1900, No. 33, pp. 1-26. 
R. A. Soc., No. 83, 1921. 
