Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
sufficient causes for the production of such valleys. But the resemblance between their
forms and outlines, their mode of divergence, and the slopes and ridges that divide them,
and those of the grand mountain scenery of the Himalayas, is so remarkable, that we are for-
cibly led to the conclusion that the forces at work in the two cases have been the same, dif-
fering only in the time they have been in action, and the nature of the material they have had
to work upon.
About noon we reached the village of Menyerry, beautifully situated on a spur of the
mountain about 600 feet above the valley, and affording a delightful view of the mountains
of this part of Borneo. I here got a sight of Penrissen Mountain, at the head of the Saráwak
River, and one of the highest in the district, rising to about 6,000 feet above the sea. To the
south the Rowan, and further off the Untowan Mountains in the Dutch territory, appeared
equally lofty. Descending from Menyerry we again crossed the Kayan, which bends round
the spur, and ascended to the pass which divides the Sádong and Saráwak valleys, and
which is about 2,000 feet high. The descent from this point was very fine. A stream, deep in
a rocky gorge, rushed on each side of us, to one of which we gradually descended, passing
over many lateral gulleys and along the faces of some precipices by means of native bam-
boo bridges. Some of these were several hundred feet long and fifty or sixty high, a single
smooth bamboo four inches diameter forming the only pathway, while a slender handrail of
the same material was often so shaky that it could only be used as a guide rather than a sup-
port.
Late in the afternoon we reached Sodos, situated on a spur between two streams, but so
surrounded by fruit trees that little could be seen of the country. The house was spacious
clean and comfortable, and the people very obliging. Many of the women and children had
never seen a white man before, and were very sceptical as to my being the same colour all
over, as my face. They begged me to show them my arms and body, and they were so kind
and good-tempered that I felt bound to give them some satisfaction, so I turned up my
trousers and let them see the colour of my leg, which they examined with great interest.
In the morning early we continued our descent along a fine valley, with mountains rising
2,000 or 3,000 feet in every direction. The little river rapidly increased in size till we
reached Senna, when it had become a fine pebbly stream navigable for small canoes. Here
again the upheaved slaty rock appeared, with the same dip and direction as in the Sádong
River. On inquiring for a boat to take me down the stream, I was told that the Senna Dyaks,
although living on the river-banks, never made or used boats. They were mountaineers who
had only come down into the valley about twenty years before, and had not yet got into new
habits. They are of the same tribe as the people of Menyerry and Sodos. They make good
