The traveller who finds himself for the first time in a wild tropical country devoid of roads, railways, horses, bridges, hotels, and Europeans, may be excused if he feels a little anxious when called upon to make an expedition which will require several weeks to accomplish on foot, and during which time nearly all necessaries must be carried by the party en route. A party of say twenty natives will require a clear head to manage it rightly, and it is only by maintaining a system that the thing can be conveniently done. The main points to be considered may be tabulated thus:—

Health is best preserved by regular habits, taking care to avoid chills by wearing flannel next to the skin, and great care should be taken to put on dry clothes the first thing after a halt is made for the night. One may be drenched to the skin in the tropics without any harm ensuing if this precaution is taken. Belts of soft flannel worn around the stomach are very comfortable, and are highly recommended by many medical men. All your clothing should be light, and if of flannel so much the better. A flannel shirt and tweed trowsers secured by a belt and a light pith helmet, woollen socks, and a light pair of English walking boots cannot be improved upon as a travelling costume. A small knapsack or bag should be carried containing a clean dry jersey, shirts, socks, sarong, and light shoes; you are then independent of your baggage-bearers, who will often linger miles behind yourself and guides. When a fire is made at night, have all your clothes dried so as to be ready for the following evening. To preserve them from wet in crossing rivers, etc., fold them into as small a compass as possible, and envelope them tightly in waterproof cloth. The old coverings as removed from bales of Manchester goods are very useful for this purpose. A couple of pairs of flannel pajamas may be taken for sleeping in. Three changes of travelling clothes will be sufficient, this gives one suit on, one being washed, and one suit dry and clean. For bedding take a waterproof sheet, a drab rug, and a red blanket. Light brushwood or palm leaves will make a good substitute for a mattress. If shelter is not obtainable and the ground is wet, a light net-hammock becomes useful, a roof to it being readily made with the waterproof sheet. Take soap and a comb.

Food is of the utmost importance. Rice, biscuits, and oatmeal may form the staple, and tinned soups, Liebig’s extract of meat, and dried fish may be added. Chocolate and milk in sealed tins is convenient and refreshing. Tea, coffee, sugar, and salt must be packed in well-corked bottles to keep them dry and free from ants, etc. A bottle of Yorkshire relish or Worcester sauce, and a tin or two of bloater paste are nice relishes for soups. Fowls, eggs, fruit, and sometimes freshly-caught fish may often be purchased en route. A supply of fresh limes is easily carried, and no better cooling and refreshing drink can be made than that formed by squeezing a lime in a glass and adding water and sugar. Be very careful of the water drunk in travelling, and use a pocket-filter whenever it is in anyway doubtful. I always drank cocoanut water when procurable, as being pure and harmless, and with a dash of brandy it is extremely refreshing. As to the quantity of food required, two pounds of rice is ample for a man’s daily supply, and less will suffice at times, as natives are generally good foragers. It is generally best, however, to pay less wages, and agree to find the men rice, otherwise they will take only a small quantity, and when that is gone much time will be lost, as they have an excuse for foraging. A few pounds of that universal vegetable, the onion or garlic, should be taken for soup. Jam in tins is also very handy, and a treat to eat with rice for a change. Each man of the party should receive his daily supply of rice every morning, and in order to facilitate progress, all cooking for the first morning’s meal may be done overnight.

Cooking should be well understood by all who propose to “rough it” in a wild land, and it may be defined as the art of preparing food so that it is—1, nutritious; 2, tasty; 3, nice to the eye. Two cook-pots are necessary—one large enough to boil a fowl when cut up, and the other for rice. A frying-pan and a few pounds of flour render you independent of the baker, and with oatmeal oat-cakes may be indulged in. Put a few currants in your boiled rice now and then for a change. Most Madras, and some Chinese “boys” are good hands at a curry, and if you give them a share of it when made they are encouraged to excel. A favourite jungle-dish of my own was a fowl cut up and boiled with two onions, a handful of rice, salt and pepper, and thin slices of gourds, sweet potatoes or other vegetables, and three or four small chilies; when it was nearly done, a small tin of soup—julienne or ox-tail—was added. Oatmeal forms a nice change from boiled rice, and biscuits are a treat, as also are sweet potatoes nicely boiled, or corn cobs, yams, or kaladi roasted in the embers. Tinned soups are much improved by having fresh vegetables boiled in them, such as palm cabbages, sweet potatoes, or cucumbers. Eggs may be eaten boiled, poached, or beaten up in a cup of tea or coffee, in which case the yelk only should be used. A nutritious drink is made by beating up the yelk of a fresh egg with a squeeze of lime, a little sugar, whisky, or gin and water. If a dash of Angostura bitters be added, so much the better. Native cook-pots may always be borrowed, or on occasion biscuit or soup-tins form good substitutes. If pressed for supplies, corn cobs or “mealies” form a good substitute for bread, and may be varied now and then with bananas or sweet potatoes. Bananas may be eaten with cheese. The nebong (Oncosperma) palm, generally common beside the Malay rivers, affords a tender “cabbage,” with a delicate asparagus-like flavour. Pigeons are generally plentiful, and in extreme cases even monkeys may be “potted.” On boating expeditions a baited hook should always be towed astern. Most natives understand the style of fishing, and best bait to use.

Packing is important. Rice should be made up into small parcels of 10 lb. each, and wrapped in waterproof sheeting, as if it gets wet it soon turns sour, unless spread out in the sun to dry. Oatmeal should be baked in an oven, and then packed in dry bottles or tins. Biscuits should be bought in 2 lb. tins. All clothes, books, and other damageable articles should be enveloped in waterproof sheeting. In giving the stores to the carriers, put down the man’s name and the stores he carries in a book, so that they may be readily found when wanted. Aneroids, thermometers, &c., should be fitted into japanned tin cases, which may be covered with leather. If tightly fitted into leather cases, they are liable to become damaged, as the leather contracts on becoming wet.

Bathing.—Always bathe in the morning. Care must be taken not to frequent alligator-infested streams. Whenever there is any doubt, never enter a stream, but bale up the water and pour it over the body. Nearly all Eastern people bath in this way, and one is not so liable to become inordinately chilled as by plunging into a large body of cold water. Never bathe at night when tired or feverish. At such times a towel-bath is sufficient if the thing is really needful. Dip a towel in water, and wring it partly dry, and then rub the body briskly and quickly all over. The dipping and wringing process may be repeated as desired, then finish with a clean dry towel. A good way of securing a refreshing bath where water is a long way off, or limited in quantity, is to send for some in a common wine or spirit bottle, in which it is handy for pouring over one’s head and body, and a dry towel completes the work. When in vigorous health, a good douche-bath in a cool hill or mountain stream is a great treat in a hot land, but it must be remembered that to bathe in this way when exhausted or feverish is in the highest degree suicidal.

Medicines.—In nearly all towns and colonies good medical advice is obtainable, and, as a rule, preferable to self-help. On long inland journeys, however, one must frequently trust to one’s own resources, and to secure a supply of medicines must be one of the traveller’s first cares. The three most useful of all medicines for travellers, prospectors, hunters, or emigrants, are Cockle’s pills, Collis Brown’s chlorodyne, and Howard’s sulphate of quinine. These and a bottle of brandy must always be taken, together with a roll of sticking-plaster, needles, silk thread, and a few long bandages. Cold compresses are easily made of towels, and a bottle of mustard may be useful for poultices on occasion. A small bottle of carbolic acid is useful for mixing with oil as a dressing for mosquito bites, scratches, or other flesh-wounds. One part of acid to fifteen or twenty parts of oil is a good proportion for ordinary use. All travellers, before leaving the beaten track of civilisation, should acquire some knowledge of bone-setting. The whole thing is easy, but nothing short of actual demonstrations can teach the elements of the art. A broken limb in the forest a month’s journey from professional aid is a serious thing, and must always be regarded as a possibility. The only thing to be done is to reach some shelter where a stay can be made, and then to get the limb into position as near as possible like its uninjured fellow, and of the same length. This question of length is most important—in the leg especially—or a limping gait is sure to follow after the bones have united. Once in the right position, the thing is to secure it with a splint and bandages. A heap of sand makes a capital cushion for the limb, and also helps to hold it in position. Of course professional aid must be had if possible, and all whose business calls them far from it should be wise enough to gain the knowledge requisite to preserve life and limb as far as is possible without professional skill.

Modes of Travelling.—The only sure method of progression in a wild land is on foot; now and then ponies or buffaloes are obtainable, and along the coast, or where there are rivers, journeys may be wholly or partially made in native boats. In walking journeys, the first care is boots. These, for hot climates, should be strong, and of English make, but light. Woollen socks are softer and better suited to tender feet than cotton ones. Native guides should be obtained from some one in authority, and passports are desirable, if not actually essential. Buffaloes are often useful for riding, carrying heavy baggage and rice, and for crossing rivers. For the latter service two or three good water-buffaloes, accustomed as they are to the country and fords, are invaluable. Get a good buffalo-driver. In crossing rapid fords, keep the buffalo’s head to the current, and take him well up stream, so as to allow for the force of the current, or you will find yourself below the ford, and perhaps in deep water, ere the opposite bank is reached. Ponies are best for riding (a saddle should be taken out from Europe), but are not as a rule so useful for river crossing as water-buffaloes. Nearly all coast natives are good sailors, and accustomed to make long boat journeys. Every traveller, however, should understand how to sail a boat for himself. A compass is useful for bearings either in boats or for forest travel, where it is often difficult to see the sun.

Shelter.—A light tent of oiled calico is often useful, as timbers for it can be cut almost anywhere en route. A waterproof sheet will protect you from ground-damp if spread on brush-fern or palm-leaves. In the Malay islands the natives are very clever at constructing huts or tabernacles of palm-leaves, &c., but wherever there are native houses one is always welcome to the large public room, firewood, and water. Field-huts, overhanging rocks, and caves, have sometimes to be taken advantage of. I have slept very comfortably many nights in the open forest in a light net hammock swung between two trees, with a waterproof sheet put roof-fashion as a protection from the rain. It is often difficult to light a fire. I used to carry a few dry sticks, and when a fire had to be lighted, I whittled these into shavings with my knife. These light readily as a rule. A small bottle of spirits of wine may be carried, as paper soaked in it will set fire to almost anything. I have seen the Borneans wet paper with cocoanut-oil, or mix whittled shavings with melted beeswax in order to get a fire. If the matches are damp, tinder may be made by blowing a piece of rag or paper out of a gun. A small spirit-lamp cooking apparatus, if well and strongly made, is a great convenience to a traveller, enabling him to get his coffee, chocolate, or a refreshing cup of tea while the men are rigging up shelter, or lighting a camp-fire.

Barter.—There are not many countries wherein it is now necessary to carry goods for barter. In the interior of the Malay islands, and in the far interior or mountainous districts of other countries, however, it still happens that money is useless. White or grey shirting and chopper blades are generally acceptable throughout the interior of Borneo and the Sulu islands. Black and red cloth, looking-glasses and knives, are also valued; needles and thread are currency for small trifles inland in nearly all wild lands. Muskets and ammunition are also often highly prized. The best goods for barter with natives, and all information, may generally be obtained from the bazaars in the coast towns. Whatever you take let it be good of its kind, and always remember that necessaries are more valued than beads and other ornaments. Tobacco is often highly valued, even by people who cultivate their own, as in Sulu.

The following list of articles would be useful in Borneo or Sulu Archipelago:—

All goods for barter should be so packed that any article may be brought out for examination without exposing the remainder. The more goods the natives perceive you to have the higher will they value their own edibles or services. Beads, Birmingham jewellery, &c., may be taken for presents or for small payments.

Arms.—The strength of right and gentleness is the best of all protections for the traveller anywhere, and in any case the moral force of firearms is generally sufficient. A good revolver is always a source of interest and amusement (perhaps sometimes of awe) to uncivilised people, and a good double breech-loading shot-gun is really useful, besides affording some amusement to the traveller who obtains food or natural history specimens thereby. Where there are wild pigs, deer, elephant, or other large game, a rifle is of service, and a Winchester repeater is both handy and effective, weighing about 10 lb. A shot-gun is the most useful, however, of all weapons, and if fitted with ball or No. 1 shot cartridges is very effective at short ranges with deer, wild cattle, or pigs. It should be of what is called No. 12 bore, as cartridges of that size may be bought nearly everywhere, where ammunition is sold.

If we except the Sarawak principality and the Dutch possessions to the southward and eastward, Borneo may be called a perfectly wild country—a land where laws, jails, horses, roads, and missionaries are unknown. The future prospects of this tropical island, so rich in natural products, so fertile under rude cultivation, and withal so extensive and beautiful, are deserving of more than a passing notice. A large proportion of the country is hilly, and covered with old forest. Near the coast the land is generally well watered by shallow rivers. On the higher hill ranges which lie a few miles inland from the north-west coast, the climate, which is in the plains sultry and malarious, becomes fresh and salubrious. The natives are few in proportion to the area, and generally peaceably disposed towards strangers, but suspicious of ulterior motives, and remarkably cautious, and now and then avaricious in matters of trade and barter. They invariably prefer sound useful articles, such as white or black cloth, to ornamental gewgaws.

The products of the island may be tabulated as follows:—

The vegetable products are mostly indigenous, and obtainable in the primÆval forests. Some few, however, such as cotton, tobacco, coffee, and cocoa have been introduced, and are only cultivated by the natives in a desultory manner. Under systematic culture, and with Chinese coolie labour, nearly all the vegetable products of tropical countries might be grown.

The mineral products are known to exist, but it is not as yet determined whether the lodes are workable, or if the metals exist in remunerative quantities. A great drawback to mining operations is the enormous rainfall. The want of British protection, and the difficulties of travel or transit inland, are against colonisation. The river Kinabatangan opens up the country from the north-east coast, and affords a good water-way by which produce could be brought down to the coast; but nearly all the other rivers to the north-west, as far as Brunei, are shallow and unnavigable, except for a mile or two near the sea; the roads inland being mere buffalo tracks, and extremely irregular on the hill slopes.

The highest land and coolest climate in the island is on Kina Balu (altitude 13,700 feet), a large mountain about five days’ journey from the mouth of the Tampassuk river. The lower slopes of this range might possibly grow good coffee; cinchona would be more likely to succeed in the cool and fresh, but humid, climate of the large spurs. The land here is in places deep and rich with forest dÉbris. In places good red land, with belts of luxuriant bamboo amongst the sandstone boulders, was seen. In estimating the richness of the soil, the growth of a particular species of ginger common everywhere was observed, on poor soils it rarely exceeded a foot in height, but on some of the hill slopes near Kina Balu it attains a height of six or eight feet.

The bamboo is also here more luxuriant than I observed it elsewhere in the island, and the greater variety and luxuriance of undergrowth shows that the climate or soil, or both, are here better than near the coast. There are rich alluvial deposits on the plains, where wet rice, tapioca, sago, and fruits and vegetables generally, grow well. Dry or hill rice, and the cocoanut palm, succeed inland up to 3,000 feet elevation.

In Sarawak land culture has not proved to be so remunerative as the antimony and gold mines; in the north, however, this order of things might possibly be reversed. An English company has been formed for the purpose of colonising the northern part of the island, and the cessions obtained comprise the whole northern portion from Kimanis on the north-west coast to Sabuco on the east, the total area being computed at 20,000 square miles.

It seems to me, however, that Borneo is too far from the great highway of eastern commerce to attract any but the most sanguine of planters and capitalists. I saw very good land in Jahore on Gunong Puloi, and recent explorations in Perak by Mr. Murton of Singapore (as also by practical coffee planters from Ceylon, and tobacco growers from Province Wellesley) prove that, so far as soil and climate are concerned, Perak, Quedah, and Jahore offer equal advantages for land culture, besides being much nearer to Singapore and the great sea-way between England and the East.