n, we took with us a good supply of rice, a
little biscuit, butter and coffee, some dried fish and a little brandy,
with blankets, a change of clothes, insect and bird boxes, nets, guns
and ammunition. The distance from Ayer-panas was supposed to be about
thirty miles.

Our first day's march lay through patches of forest, clearings, and
Malay villages, and was pleasant enough. At night we slept at the house
of a Malay chief, who lent us a verandah, and gave us a fowl and some
eggs. The next day the country got wilder and more dilly. We passed
through extensive forests, along paths often up to our knees in mud,
and were much annoyed by the leeches for which this district is famous.
These little creatures infest the leaves and herbage by the side of the
paths, and when a passenger comes along they stretch themselves out at
full length, and if they touch any part of his dress or body, quit their
leaf and adhere to it. They then creep on to his feet, legs, or other
part of his body and suck their fill, the first puncture being rarely
felt during the excitement of walking. On bathing in the evening we
generally found half a dozen or a dozen on each of us, most frequently
on our legs, but sometimes on our bodies, and I had one who sucked his
fill from the side of my neck, but who luckily missed the jugular vein.
There are many species of these forest leeches. All are small, but some
are beautifully marked with stripes of bright yellow. They probably
attach themselves to deer or other animals which frequent the forest
paths, and have thus acquired the singular habit of stretching
themselves out at the sound of a footstep or of rustling foliage. Early
in the afternoon we reached the foot of the mountain, and encamped by
the side of a fine stream, whose rocky banks were overgrown with
ferns. Our oldest Malay had been accustomed to shoot birds in this
neighbourhood for the Malacca dealers, and had been to the top of the
mountain, and while we amused ourselves shooting and insect hunting, he
went with two others to clear the path for our ascent the next day.

Early next morning we started after breakfast, carrying blankets and
provisions, as we intended to sleep upon the mountain. After passing
a little tangled jungle and swampy thickets through which our men had
cleared a path, we emerged into a fine lofty forest pretty clear of
undergrowth, and in which we could walk freely. We ascended steadily up
a moderate slope for several