The sandstone near the mountain is almost perpendicular, being at an angle of 80°: lower down the sides it lessens. It appears as if the molten granite had been forced up through the sandstone. Along the sides of the spurs were huge boulders of granite, left, doubtless, by the streams ere they cut their way deeper in the earth. Mr. Low having finished collecting, we returned, and during the walk were continually regaled with the rich perfume of the flowers of the magnolia, but could not find one of them, though the plant was a common shrub. After a tiring descent, we reached the plain about five, and made preparations to pass the night at a hut belonging to Li Moung, in the valley of Pinokok. We never had a finer view of Kina Balu than this evening. A white cloud in the form of a turban, its edges richly fringed with gold, encompassed most of the highest peaks, while the brightness of the setting sun rendered every other portion of the mountain distinctly visible, except those dark valleys cut deep in its sides, where the Dahombang and the Pinokok have their rise; and even here a succession of cascades reflected back the sun’s rays from the shadowy gloom. [Illustration: T. Picken, lith. Day & Son, Lith^{rs} to the Queen. Published by Smith Elder & C^o. 65, Cornhill, London. KINA BALU FROM PINOKOK VALLEY] We were standing opposite its western face, and having no high buttress between us and the mountain, we could observe the great precipice, which is here nearly perpendicular from the sloping summit down to an elevation of about 5,000 feet. As we stood there admiring the extreme beauty of the scene, a double rainbow began to appear, and apparently arching over the mountain, formed, as it were, a bright framework to the picture. We stayed there until the sun setting beyond the distant hills threw the valley into shade, but left its brightness on the craggy peaks above. Gradually the wind rose and drove the clouds over the heavens, and the form of the mountain and the brilliant rainbows vanished. The land in this valley is of the richest description--far superior, Mr. Low thought, to that used in Ceylon for coffee plantations. The hut where we stayed the night was 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, and the hills around about 4,000 feet.