They Turned Out Very
Awkward, Constantly Running Aground, Striking Against Rocks, And
Losing Their Balance So As Almost To Upset
Themselves and the
boat - offering a striking contrast to the skill of the Sea Dyaks.
At length we came to
A really dangerous rapid where boats were
often swamped, and my men were afraid to pass it. Some Malays
with a boatload of rice here overtook us, and after safely
passing down kindly sent back one of their men to assist me. As
it was, my Dyaks lost their balance in the critical part of the
passage, and had they been alone would certainly have upset the
boat. The river now became exceedingly picturesque, the ground on
each side being partially cleared for ricefields, affording a
good view of the country. Numerous little granaries were built
high up in trees overhanging the river, and having a bamboo
bridge sloping up to them from the bank; and here and there
bamboo suspension bridge crossed the stream, where overhanging
trees favoured their construction.
I slept that night in the village of the Sebungow Dyaks, and the
next day reached Sarawak, passing through a most beautiful
country where limestone mountains with their fantastic forms and
white precipices slot up on every side, draped and festooned with
a luxuriant vegetation. The banks of the Sarawak River are
everywhere covered with fruit trees, which supply the Dyaks with
a great deal of their food. The Mangosteen, Lansat, Rambutan,
Jack, Jambou, and Blimbing, are all abundant; but most abundant
and most esteemed is the Durian, a fruit about which very little
is known in England, but which both by natives and Europeans in
the Malay Archipelago is reckoned superior to all others.
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