The doctor of
the garrison kindly furnished me with knives and pincers for the
taxidermist, as the collector's outfit was missing from the boxes that had
been returned from Macassar.
The Otto needed only one and a half hours to run down stream to the Muara
Laong, a Malay kampong at the mouth of the river Laong, which we intended
to ascend by boats to the kampong Batu Boa, where the overland journey was
to begin. As soon as we arrived in the afternoon the kapala was sent for to
help in procuring a sufficient number of prahus for the next day. I brought
twenty-nine coolies from Puruk Tjahu to serve as paddlers. The kapala was
unable to find enough prahus, but it had grown dark, so we waited, hoping
for better luck next day.
In the morning search was continued, but no great results were obtained.
The Malays evidently disliked to rent their boats, which were coming in
but slowly. In the meantime our luggage was being unloaded to the
landing-float. Mr. Demmini was able to secure some large prahus, among them
a specially good one belonging to a Chinaman, and the goods were placed in
them. At 11 A.M. all the baggage had been unloaded from the steamer, and
having worked like a dog for the last few days I felt that I had earned
twenty minutes for my usual bath, applying tepid water from a tin can,
with rough mittens. According to the opinion of those best able to judge,
bathing-water in the tropics should be of the same temperature as the
body, or slightly lower. There are three important items in my personal
outfit: A kettle in which drinking water is boiled, another (of a
different colour) in which water for bathing is heated, and a five-gallon
tin can which serves as a bathtub.
Much refreshed from my bath, I felt ready for further action. In the
morning I had requested the captain not to wait for me, and he had already
left. At 12 o'clock the Otto departed, and a few minutes later our
flotilla was under way. We stayed over night at Biha, a small but clean
Dayak kampong. The Murungs, as seen here for the first time, are rather
shy, dark-complexioned, somewhat short and strongly set people. They are
not ugly, though their mouths always seem ungainly. The next day we
arrived at a Malay kampong, Muara Topu, which is less attractive on
account of its lack of cleanliness and its pretense of being civilised.
I soon realised that it would not be possible to overtake the captain,
still less to proceed overland, as our men from Puruk Tjahu were rather a
poor lot.
