Musa at last joined us with the intelligence that about one hundred yards beyond there was a precipice, which he and his companion had found it impossible to pass; so, very unwillingly, we turned our faces homeward. Descending was more dangerous than ascending, and Mr. Low got two severe falls, as his eyes were not always on the next spot to place his foot, but wandering about in search of plants. I escaped better, as my thoughts were engrossed by the difficulties and dangers of the path. It is curious that when these sharp rocks were struck they gave out a clear ringing, almost metallic, sound; there is no appearance of stratification: the rocks are of a fine-grained limestone, and some, when broken, presented a pinkish, others a whitish or grayish blue colour. We noticed during our ascent a cave in the limestone rock about forty feet high, and the roots of the trees growing on the rock above came down perpendicularly and passed into the fissures in the stones that formed the floor. Their upper parts were encrusted with carbonate of lime in the form of stalactites. Water was continually dripping from the roof of the cave, and in one place had collected in a little basin, the only time we saw any pure water on the mountain. The following day we reached our tents and enjoyed a good dinner, after four days on biscuits and plain boiled rice. In the evening there came on a thunderstorm, and the rain fell in a manner I have never before known even in Borneo; it appeared to be coming down in tubsfull instead of drops. We attempted next day to go and examine the Batu Rikan, but the rush of waters prevented our approaching it; in fact, the roar of the river, as it dashed into the caves and whirled its spray into the air, made us take precautions not to be swept into the boiling cauldron. Our return was easy, as the river had risen enough to cover all the rapids, so that their presence was only marked by the increased velocity of the water; but when we joined the Limbang it became more sluggish, and after Sungei Damit its speed had lessened from five knots to one knot per hour. These preliminary expeditions accomplished, having heard that I could procure Murut guides, I determined to explore the main stream of the Limbang, which evidently penetrated a long distance into the interior. The ostensible object of the expedition was to reach those Muruts who formerly lived upon the Adang, one of the tributaries of the Limbang, but had now been driven away beyond the mountains by repeated attacks of the Kayans. This was very vague information, but it was the best I could procure.