MALACCA. 
17 
they become firmly fixed; soon another puff of wind sends a few more hooks over the 
branch, until the cane is firmly held. As the .growth of this creeping palm is very rapid it 
is easy to account for the height they attain, their object always being to breathe the fresh 
air and bask in the sun’s rays at the top of the forest roof. The wire-like continuation of 
the leaf is often a great nuisance in the forest-paths: without the least warning one’s hat 
is suddenly taken off, and on looking round is to be seen dangling at the end of one of 
these strings some feet above you ; besides, they give plenty of work in mending clothes 
and nets. 
The best sorts of cane, however, form a valuable article of commerce, and find their 
way into this country, where they are used chiefly for chairs ; but in the tropics everything 
is tied with rattan, in the same way as we use string. 
2nd March.—The three Malays have begun to grumble, also the Chinaman, and want 
to return to-day; but I have resolved to stay until to-morrow, so I left them at our camp 
doing nothing but stuffing themselves with rice, which seems to be the kind of work most 
congenial to them. I enjoyed a ramble among the rocks, but it was not productive as 
far as my collections were concerned; in fact there are no birds about the summit of this 
mountain—it is not high enough to have species peculiar to it, and I have no doubt the 
forest birds think they are better off lower down. - """ 
The moon has been at its best the five nights we slept at the Paclang-batu, which was 
lucky, as the wind prevented me using candles. The mists and clouds at night wet 
everything through, and were far too cold to be pleasant, so I was not surprised at the 
Malays grumbling. 
The next morning we left for the lowlands, and after a weary tramp in the broiling 
sun reached the chiefs house at 3.30 p.m. ; then a jolting bullock-cart carried us to Chin 
Chin. The China boy is quite done up, and no doubt will retire from forest travel as soon 
as 1 reach Singapore. On the way down from Mount Ophir I saw a wonderful gathering of 
pale yellow millipeds, about six inches long; they were in a mass, one on the top of the 
other, which must have numbered several hundreds, and reminded one of a huge dish of 
macaroni. 
On the 4th we left for Kesang, ten miles distant; the next day for Malacca, when we 
had a weary journey in a bullock-cart, with little to eat; at last, as it was getting late, and 
we had still seven miles to do, I walked into the town, and was, luckily, just in time to 
share dinner with Mr. Hervey. We were getting hard up for food at Chin Chin, most of 
my provisions being finished; and as my boy told me one day “ if we stop here longer, Sar, 
we make all chickens finish,” so this caused my return sooner than I expected. After 
waiting until the 8th of the month, we left by the SS. £ Bemnore ’ for Singapore. The 
behaviour of a fat half-caste Portuguese school-girl, who was being teased and flirted with 
by some six Eurasian Singapore clerks, prevented all chance of sleep that night. 
The results of my trip to Malacca were insignificant: I collected only one hundred 
and fifty birds and some four hundred butterflies ; but this being my first experience, and 
as I was without native collectors, was by no means time wasted, and served me in later 
years, during my most successful expeditions in Borneo. 
Of course Malacca is a well-civilized State, with excellent roads; a bullock-cart may 
D 
