53 
AN KXl'EDITION TU MOUNT KINA BALU. 
I 
tween the house and the river, whilst T, with iii.y men from 
Sing'a}>ore, slept inside. 
Tuesdtni. March Udh, We left the (’hinaman’s house at 
about 7 a.iii., walking through an ojxm cultivated ])lain, ixissing 
many buffaloes grazing there who were apparently on the 
best of terms with liocks of snow-vvdiite herons wlio stalked 
about between them, or skiod on their l)road backs. \\ e reach- 
ed Menkaladai at 8 a. m., and soon after arrived at the toot of a 
long chain of hills. The ascent was stee]! and slippery, some- 
limes passing through old jungle, more often througli high 
bamboo, lalang and fern. W^e rested on tlie top of the hill, and 
refreshed ourselves with delicious water trom the launches oi 
a creeper, called Pokok (Junatol by the natives, which the men 
cut off with their ixirangs, for every man was thus armed, 
some als(^ carrying siiears in addition. We mai'ched on, and 
reached Kap])a at l..'l() )).m. d’his is a miserable village of four 
or five houses in the midst of the jungle, with no attempt at a 
clearing, but plenty of tilth and pigs about. \\ e settled down 
in a house adorned with ancient skulls ol deer and wild boar. 
WcdiieMaij, March loth. We left I\apj)a at 8 a.m., and 
walked along mountain ridges through bamboo, fern, and deep 
grass, or occasional forest. Drizzling rain set in soon and lasted 
for some hours. In the afternoon we passed through several 
cle^arings indicating the vicinity of a village, and reached Kala- 
wat at 4 p.ni., though some of the men only turned up at G p.m. 
d’his was a small but picturesque village, looking like an oasis 
in the wilderness around : an open grassy space with granite 
boulders lying about, and clumps of coco-iiut palms shading the 
houses, the houses, however, were few, about live, and small, 
and their unpromising interiors together with the tineness of the 
night induced us to pitch our tent and camp outside. Many of 
the men did likewise. Malagup showed himself useful by buy- 
ing for us a fowl and a joint of liamboo full of honey for seven 
cents. 
Thnrrdai/, March 16ch. About 2 a.m. I was awakened by 
a heavy thunderstorm. I felt safe and comfortable in my tent 
(lent by the P. W. 1).. Singapore), till suddenly a little rain came 
trickling through my blanket, and I roused myself to find that it 
was pouring into the tent which was supposed to be waterproof. 
