We Then Had A Level Plateau Or
Shoulder To Cross, After Which The Ascent Was Steeper And The
Forest Denser Until We Came Out Upon The "Padang-Batu," Or Stone
Field, A Place Of Which We Had Heard Much, But Could Never Get
Anyone To Describe Intelligibly.
We found it to be a steep slope
of even rock, extending along the mountain side farther than we
could see.
Parts of it were quite bare, but where it was cracked
and fissured there grew a most luxuriant vegetation, among which
the pitcher plants were the most remarkable. These wonderful
plants never seem to succeed well in our hot-houses, and are
there seen to little advantage. Here they grew up into half
climbing shrubs, their curious pitchers of various sizes and
forms hanging abundantly from their leaves, and continually
exciting our admiration by their size and beauty. A few
coniferae of the genus Dacrydium here first appeared, and in the
thickets just above the rocky surface we walked through groves of
those splendid ferns Dipteris Horsfieldii and Matonia pectinata,
which bear large spreading palmate fronds on slender stems six or
eight feet high. The Matonia is the tallest and most elegant, and
is known only from this mountain, and neither of them is yet
introduced into our hot-houses.
It was very striking to come out from the dark, cool, and shady
forest in which we had been ascending since we started, on to
this hot, open rocky slope where we seemed to have entered at one
step from a lowland to an alpine vegetation. The height, as
measured by a sympiesometer, was about 2,800 feet. We had been
told we should find water at Padang-batuas we were exceedingly thirsty;
but we looked about for it in vain. At last we turned to
the pitcher-plants, but the water contained in the pitchers
(about half a pint in each) was full of insects, and otherwise
uninviting. On tasting it, however, we found it very palatable
though rather warm, and we all quenched our thirst from these
natural jugs. Farther on we came to forest again, but of a more
dwarf and stunted character than below; and alternately passing
along ridges and descending into valleys, we reached a peak
separated from the true summit of the mountain by a considerable
chasm. Here our porters gave in, and declared they could carry
their loads no further; and certainly the ascent to the highest
peak was very precipitous. But on the spot where we were there
was no water, whereas it was well known that there was a spring
close to the summit, so we determined to go on without them, and
carry with us only what was absolutely necessary. We accordingly
took a blanket each, and divided our food and other articles
among us, and went on with only the old Malay and his son.
After descending into the saddle between the two peaks we found
the ascent very laborious, the slope being so steep, as often to
necessitate hand-climbing.
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