On reaching the summit we got a splendid view of the
surrounding country, and could plainly see the distant sea; but all
else was thick, billowy forest, dotted at long intervals with limestone
ridges, also covered with forest. Here we found the hole on the top
of the large cave, and stretching across it were two long, thick
"bilian" logs, to which the natives were now fastening their long
rattan ladders before descending them to collect the nests. We crept
along the logs and listened to the everlasting twittering far below;
but, although we could see nothing but pitchy darkness, the thought
of what was below made me soon crawl back with a very shaky feeling
in my legs
We then descended again till we came to the mouth of a curious cave,
which was practically a dark chasm at our feet. We climbed down
into the depths on a straight, swaying ladder, which required a good
grip, and then, after a climb over slanting, slippery rocks, we found
ourselves in the large cave, on a sort of ledge, within perhaps sixty
feet of the roof. We were told that we were the first Europeans who
had ever descended on to this ledge. From here we watched the natives
collecting the nests. In a short account of this description it is
impossible for me to detail all the wonderful methods the natives
had for collecting the nests, but the chief method was by descending
rattan ladders, which were let down through the hole on the top of
the cave. It made one quite giddy even to watch the men descending
these frail swaying ladders with over five hundred feet of space
below them. The man on the nearest ladder had a long rattan rope
attached low down to his ladder, with a kind of wooden anchor at
the end of it. At the second attempt he succeeded with a wonderful
throw in getting the anchor to stick in the soft guano on the edge
of the slanting ledge where we were. It was then seized by several
men waiting there; by these it was hauled up until they were enabled
to catch hold of the end of the ladder, which they dragged higher and
higher up the steep, slanting rocks we had come down by. This in time
brought the flexible ladder, at least the part on which the man was,
level with the roof, and he, lying on his back on the thin ladder,
pulled the nests off the rocky roof, putting them into a large rattan
basket fastened about his body.
We saw many other methods they have of collecting these nests by the
aid of long bamboo poles and rattan ropes, up which they climbed to
dizzy heights.
These eaves, we were told, were full of very large harmless snakes,
but we did not come across them. If I had had a good head and plenty
of skill and pluck as a climber, I might have come away a wealthy man,
as the Hadji told us that in a sort of side cave high up in the large
cave were the coffins of the men that first discovered these caves,
and with them were large jars of gold and jewels, but no one dared
touch them, as they said it would be certain death to the man who did
so. A man once did take some, but a few days later was taken violently
ill and so had them put back and thus recovered. It was not for any
scruples of this kind that I declined the Hadji's offer to help myself
when he pointed out to me the spot where they were, but I think he
must have guessed that I would not have trusted myself on one of those
frail swaying ladders with over five hundred feet of space beneath me.
On the way back we scrambled up to a small cave where there were
numerous carved coffins and bones which belonged to some of the former
owners of the caves, but alas! no jars of gold; possibly poor men, they
did not realize good prices. We returned down the rocks a different
way, which made Richardson indulge in some hearty language at the
Hadji's expense, who must have had fears that the Panglima-ship was
at the last moment slipping away from him. It certainly was awkward
and dangerous work climbing down the steep precipices, and we could
never have done it, but that the rocks were quite honeycombed with
small holes which enabled us to get a good hold for our hands.
That night was a busy one for me, skinning my numerous birds and
blowing the eggs by a dim light to the accompaniment of Richardson's
snores, and I did not get to bed till 2 a.m. We were up again at 4
a.m. for the return journey. But I had seen one of the most wonderful
sights in the world, and to me it seemed extraordinary that until I
came to Borneo I had never even heard of the Gomanton eaves. Some
day, perhaps within our time, they will become widely advertised,
and swarms of noisy tourists will come over in airships from London
and New York, but there will be one thing lacking - all romance
will have gone from these lonely wilds and forests, and that is the
chief thing. The Hadji returned with us to Bilit, and got his desire,
the Panglima-ship, and well he deserved it.
NOTES
[1] - C is pronounced as Th.: E.G., "Cawa" - "Thawa."
[2] - Nabuna, pron. Nambuna.
[3] - Panes of glass in a FIJIAN house are very unusual, but this
house, being Government-built, was European. I can only recall one
other instance, that of Ratu Kandavu Levu on his small island of
Bau, and then it was only in the native house where he entertained
European guests.
