After leaving the
village we had a walk of about an hour and a half over a very steep
hill through luxuriant, tall forest, and on the other side came to a
small river, the Menungal, on the banks of which was a shed full of
"gobangs" (canoes) which were speedily launched, we both getting into
the leading one. We were followed by three others, in one of which was
the Hadji. Most of the way was through fine forest, the trees arching
overhead to shade us from the hot sun, the only exception being when
we passed through a stretch of swamps, with low, tangled growth, when
the river broadened out, but in the shady forest it was delightful,
gliding along to the music of the even dip of the paddles.
The most striking feature about the forest on this Menungal River
was the extraordinary growth of a species of banyan trees (FICUS
sp.). I have seen many curious stilted trees of this FICUS family in
various tropical countries I have visited, but these I think were more
curious than any I had ever seen. One hardly knew where they began and
where they ended, for they all seemed joined together, and roots and
branches seemed one and the same thing. It was the acme of vegetable
confusion. Even the river could not stop their progress, and we were
constantly gliding between their roots and branches.
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