it was a bad collecting ground generally. The only steed I could obtain was a large black bull, which I hired for a bundle of tobacco. He was all right when I had fairly mounted, but whenever I got off to shoot at a bird, or gather plants, he became exceedingly restive, and the only way to mount him again was to put the rope (by which I steered him, and which was fastened to a twisted ring of rattan cane in his nose) round the trunk or branch of a tree, and then to pull his nose up to it by sheer force, holding it firmly with one hand while I sprang on his back. The few country people I met appeared rather surprised, but I expect the bull was well known, and so that served as a passport to me. Near the houses on the shore a bushy euphorbia, with candelabra-like branches, and a clump of yuccas were seen, both doubtless introductions. I returned about three o'clock. After dinner I and Captain Cowie visited one or two of the traders' houses, which resemble those of Sulu in internal arrangement, large beds or platforms occupying the principal apartment, covered with fine mats and pillows, the valuables in boxes being piled up behind. In the morning we bore away for Sandakan, which we reached ere daybreak the next day. The steam-ship America was in the bay, having Baron de Overbeck on board. We stayed here one day for cargo of trepang, rattan, pearlshell, and birds'-nests. These edible swallows'-nests are highly valued by the rich Chinese, and it is from a cave on the face of the sandstone rock on Pulo Bahalatolois, at the mouth of this bay, that the finest white nests are obtained. These rocks rise nearly perpendicularly from the sea, and to reach the entrance to the cave a man has to descend a distance of a hundred or more feet with the aid of a rattan rope tied to a tree on the slope above. It is dangerous work, as the least slip, and the man would

CH. XII.]

Edible Swallows' Nests.

237

be dashed to pieces on the rock-strewn shore below. The nests thus obtained fetch as much as eighteen dollars per catty, a weight equalling 14 lb. English. The finest birds'-nests are clean and white, as if made of isinglass; the worst resemble dirty glue, to which feathers and other impurities are attached, and between these extremes there are all sorts of intermediate qualities. These nests are obtained in rocky caves throughout Borneo, Java, and Sumatra, but nowhere are they obtainable finer in quality than here, at Sandakan Head. Large quantities of small or seed pearls are obtained here, also Bornean camphor, the produce of Dryobalanops camphora, a large tree often one hundred to a hundred and fifty feet in height. As a product, it is quite distinct from the common camphor of commerce, which is obtained from Laurus camphora by the Chinese of Hong Kong, who send nearly all of it to our markets, while they, in their turn, highly esteem the Bornean produce, and pay high prices for it. It is obtained in the form of tears and crystallised lumps from the trunk of the tree, and in general appearance is so like the finer kinds of "dammar gum, that this latter is often used by the collectors as an adulterant. The Chinese traders, however, are rarely imposed upon. The camphor, in its pure state, resembles solidified spirit, and being extremely volatile, it burns with a clear light flame. To detect adulteration, the Chinese are said to spread a little on a white cloth and set it on fire; the pure camphor burns cleanly, and does not soil the cloth, whereas the dammar, if such is mixed with it, melts and sets the cloth on fire. The people from the Teutong river, and the Kayans on the Baram, collect large quantities of camphor and caoutchouc, and prahus with a cargo of these products, worth from one to two thousand dollars, visit Labuan,

On our

Sarawak, and other ports during the season.

leaving Sandakan, on our return voyage to Labuan, we obtained a capital view of Pulo Bahalatolois, and on our rounding the point, the rattan rope dangling down the rocks to the dark entrance to the swallows' cave was plainly visible. This island has a very commanding position, and a battery here would sweep the entrance to this fine bay. We were four days in reaching Labuan, there being a thick fog along the north-west coast, and we were aground twice, although fortunately we got off again without injury.

CHAPTER XIII.

KINA BALU, viâ TAMPASSUK.

Preparations" Salaamat jelan," or safe voyage-Contrary winds—A total wreck-A sea bath-Making the best of it-Native visitors from the Bornean shore-Drying stores-Pigeon shooting-Foraging -Football-Tent life-A new boat-A marine visitor-Pulo TigaA fish dinner-Shore plants-Big fish-The Tampassuk-" The Fatted Calf "-Start for Kina Balu-Bare hills-Land cultureBad roads-Ghinambaur village-Textile fibres-A chance shotThrifty natives-Buffalo riding -A friendly chief-SineroupNative wealth-Charms-Crossing swollen river-New OrchidsKambatuan-Rokos-Butterflies-Koung Green-Aboriginals from the interior-Pretty weeds-Lemoung's death-Native ornaments— Native cloth-Bee keeping-How to manage "guides "—" Kurow " -Start for "Kina Balu "-Sleeping rock-Dusun cookery!-New plants-More of the "guide" nuisance.

It was now the end of July, and I had been waiting four or five days, expecting the arrival of the steamship Far East, in which I had hoped to have again taken a passage, with my friend, Captain W. C. Cowie; but as his vessel was now overdue, and my own time was limited, I resolved to leave in a native boat at all hazards. I soon chartered a prahu, large enough to carry twenty men, and our stores; and on July 31st I was ready to start. I had given my Chinese "boy," Kimjeck, and the men orders to have all in readiness; but when I reached the little jetty, at two P.M., I found only half the men there, the remainder being as busy as bees on shore, running in and out of the Chinese shops, buying betel

nut, salt, dried fish, onions, and other private stores for the voyage. As soon as they saw me, however, they came running down, and we all went on board. Altogether our craft was heavily laden; but as these native boats are generally carefully built, we saw nothing to fear.

At 3.30 we bade our friends, who had kindly come down to see us start, "good-bye;" and, amid the cries of "Salaamat jelan!" from the men's friends on shore, we hove anchor, and sheered off with a tolerably good wind. We soon got our large mat-sail hauled up, and with the Union Jack astern (we carried the "mails" for Tampassuk by the way), glided out of the harbour, and, rounding the old flagstaff-point, steered nearly due north. We did this, intending to stand out, and make "Pulo Tiga," an island lying about forty miles northward of Labuan, by the morning. In this, however, we were doomed to disappointment; for after an hour or two of indifferent sailing, a bit of a squall arose, and the wind having changed, we hove in shore, towards Lumbedan, intending to anchor under the shelter of a little islet of the same name for the night, and start away in the early morning.

This was now the only judicious course left us, since we were close in-shore, on a dangerous coast, and the squall of wind and rain was coming down on us like a hurricane. Our men pulled in around the island, and were approaching the shore, to enable us to land, when the boat rose a little on the surf, and the next moment her bows came down on a rock, and this knocked a large hole in her bottom. We subsequently found out that all her lower timbers were rotten. Happily we were not far from the land, and could make ashore, or the consequences might have been serious. As it was we suffered enough, being drenched with rain and surf; and as the