_September 19th._--Many of the women in this village wear fillets of beads round their heads to keep back the hair; it looks well at a distance, but when near, most of them are so dirty that nothing could look well upon them. Here is a girl going out to the fields to work, and she is putting on her ornaments; first, the bands round the head; then a necklace of beads of twenty strings; then a chain made of brass wire, each link four or five inches long, but most of them wear the last ornament round the waist. Perhaps she is in a hurry. One might suppose that these adornments are worn in honour of our visit, as they must be inconvenient to a woman at work. Yesterday morning, while out walking, a young girl brought me some sticks of sugar-cane; her companions remaining a hundred yards off; for this, in the afternoon, she was duly rewarded with a looking-glass. I like this confidence, and detest the system they have in some tribes of running away shrieking--all false modesty, as they are seldom really afraid. The trade in beads for rice appears brisk, and so we need have no fear about provisions. I have been trying to understand the geography of this part of Borneo, but I am exceedingly puzzled by the position of Brayong; it bears N. E. by N. The valley leading up to these mountains is very picturesque and park-like, with its extensive clearings and clumps of trees scattered about. To the north the hills slope gently to the rivers, and appear to afford splendid spots for cultivation; from this view, even Brayong appears approachable by a very easy ascent. I am trying to make arrangements for a six days’ trip in the jungle, in search of new flowers, and also for a reported edible bird’s-nest cave, the latter, most probably, a myth. I am rather troubled by my feet. I have seventy-three wounds on one leg, and seventy-two on the other, all from leech bites, and some of them are festering; but a few days’ rest will probably restore them to a proper walking condition. I dislike living in these little close houses, they are very dirty, and there is little new to observe or to interest. I prefer the freedom of the woods and the freshness of the tents. _20th._--The women are hard at work preparing the tapioca for food; they cut it into slices, then dry it, and afterwards pound it to a flour. Took a walk, notwithstanding my tender feet, as I dislike remaining quiet a whole day. We went down to the stream which runs to the eastward of the village, the Manipa (its bed 2,957 feet); observed only sandstone intermixed with quartz; from thence we ascended to a village on top of the opposite hill (height 4,403 feet), Purté being the name of the rivulet that flows near it.