Scarcely fifty metres below the top of the hill was our water supply,
consisting of a scanty amount of running water, which stopped now and then
to form tiny pools, and to my astonishment the Dayaks one day brought from
these some very small fish which I preserved in alcohol. Naturally the
water swells much in time of rain, but still it seems odd that such small
fish could reach so high a point.
Many insects were about at night. Longicornes scratched underneath my bed,
and moths hovered about my American hurricane lamp hanging outside the
tent-door. Leeches also entered the tent and seemed to have a predilection
for the tin cans in which my provisions and other things were stored. In
the dim lamplight I could sometimes see the uncanny shadows of their
bodies on the canvas, raised and stretched to an incredible height, moving
their upper parts quickly to all sides before proceeding on their "forward
march." To some people, myself included, their bite is poisonous, and on
the lower part of the legs produces wounds that may take weeks to cure.
One day native honey was brought in, which had been found in a hollow
tree. It was sweet, but thin, and had no pronounced flavour. A few minutes
after the honey had been left on a plate in my tent there arrived a number
of large yellow hornets, quite harmless apparently, but persevering in
their eagerness to feast upon the honey.
