54 
AN EXPEDITION TO MOUNT KINA BALU. 
'I’o le^ve the tent and take refug-e in the houses seemed impossi- 
ble ; it was pitch dark and the weather outside too awful. So 1 
remained soaking till G a.m. when I tied to the next house. This 
experience cost us dear, since many of our things g’ot wet 
through and remained so for several days. ^Ve left Kalawat in 
disgust at 1).50 a.m.. line rain fallijig at the time, but fortimately 
the sun came out soon after. C)iir })ath now descended, and we 
had an easy march to the Inuman Kiver, arriving there about 
noon. This is a splendid river, rushing along over boulders and 
shaded by mighty trees. Here we bathed and the men caught 
me some remarkable tadpoles with huge suckers carif/fin- 
ixmiun). They always fcnmd these tadpoles attached to the 
boulders in the most foaming parts of the river. W'e crossed by 
a ford to the lelt bank, and then over a low watershed and 
reached the Menternan Riven'. This river we had to ford three 
times in close succession t the natives apijarently making a spe- 
ciality of short cuts : in this case it seemed to me it would have 
teeii much easier to ford the river once and then proceed along 
the bank, but my guides had different ideas. At 2.45 p.m. we 
i-eached Biingol, a large village on the left bank of the Menter- 
nan. Here the men begged me f(jr a treat to buy them a 
bull. As this somewhat startling proposal only involved an ex- 
penditure of $3, and it was a splenclid young beast, I agreed," and 
much admired the speed with which the animal was despatched 
and disappeared in the various cooking pots. I myself had an 
excellent steak before me about an hour after the bargain had 
been concluded. Heavy rain fell during the late evening. 
Fridnij^ March 17th. The day opened somewhat foggy, 
but line, and we started at 7.45 a.m., fording the Menternan 
three times, and ascending (kiiiong Kampil by a slow incline. 
'I’hen followed a tremendously steep descent, about 2000' down 
a grass-covered slope, to the Kadamaian river, which is the local 
name for the upper course of the Tampassuk. The river here is 
already deep and difficult to ford on account of its strong cur- 
rent. The men were up to their necks in water, and liad to 
carry the luggage on their heads. fortunately everything re- 
mained dry, with the exception of my camera." We rested on 
the right Bank of the river, and reached Komig at 2.15p.m., 
ha\dng had hue weather during the march, though rain set in 
