duly deposited in the
shed, I started off alone for the fall, which was about a quarter of a
mile further on. The river is here about twenty yards wide, and issues
from a chasm between two vertical walls of limestone, over a rounded
mass of basaltic rock about forty feet high, forming two curves
separated by a slight ledge. The water spreads beautifully over this
surface in a thin sheet of foam, which curls and eddies in a succession
of concentric cones until it falls into a fine deep pool below. Close
to the very edge of the fall a narrow and very rugged path leads to the
river above, and thence continues close under the precipice along the
water's edge, or sometimes in the water, for a few hundred yards, after
which the rocks recede a little, and leave a wooded bank on one side,
along which the path is continued, until in about half a mile, a second
and smaller fall is reached. Here the river seems to issue from a
cavern, the rocks having fallen from above so as to block up the channel
and bar further progress. The fall itself can only be reached by a path
which ascends behind a huge slice of rock which has partly fallen
away from the mountain, leaving a space two or three feet wide, but
disclosing a dark chasm descending into the bowels of the mountain, and
which, having visited several such, I had no great curiosity to explore.

Crossing the stream a little below the upper fall, the path ascends
a steep slope for about five hundred feet, and passing through a
gap enters a narrow valley, shut in by walls of rock absolutely
perpendicular and of great height. Half a mile further this valley turns
abruptly to the right, and becomes a mere rift in the mountain. This
extends another half mile, the walls gradually approaching until they
are only two feet apart, and the bottom rising steeply to a pass which
leads probably into another valley, but which I had no time to explore.
Returning to where this rift had begun the main path turns up to the
left in a sort of gully, and reaches a summit over which a fine natural
arch of rock passes at a height of about fifty feet. Thence was a steep
descent through thick jungle with glimpses of precipices and distant
rocky mountains, probably leading into the main river valley again. This
was a most tempting region to explore, but there were several reasons
why I could go no further. I had no guide, and no permission to enter
the Bugis territories, and as the rains might at any time set