Through Central Borneo An Account Of Two Years' Travel In The Land Of The Head-Hunters Between The Years 1913 And 1917 By Carl Lumholtz
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This Kampong Had Recently
Been Visited By The Government's Mining Engineer, Mr. W. Krol, On One Of
His Exploring Expeditions.
At first glance it might seem unpromising to
make researches in a region so near to a stronghold of
The Malays, but as
he was the first and only European who had been in the upper country of
that river, there was a fair chance that the natives might prove of
considerable interest. It was a matter of five or six days by prahu from
Bandjermasin, followed by a three days' march, and I decided to return by
a different route, cross the mountain range, and emerge by Kandangan.
Accompanied by Mr. Loing, the surveyor, and the soldier-collector, I
started from Bandjermasin on November 1. To travel by the canal to
Martapura can hardly be regarded as a pleasure-trip, as mosquitoes and
flies are troublesome. Half a year later I went by the road to the same
place under more cheerful conditions, and though the day was overcast, the
flooded country just north of the town presented a picturesque appearance.
Rows of high-gabled Malay houses, with narrow bridges leading out to them,
were reflected in the calm water, and beautiful blue morning-glories
covered the small bushes growing in the water. Along the road were forests
of melalevca leucodendron, of the family of myrtaceae, from which the
famous cajuput-oil is obtained. It is a very useful, highly aromatic, and
volatile product, chiefly manufactured in the Moluccas, and especially
appreciated by the Malays, who employ it internally and externally for all
ailments.
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