Page:The further side of silence (IA furthersideofsil00clifiala).pdf/104

 Meanwhile, the magnificent dûri-an groves, which grow on the banks of the upper reaches of the Tělom, are rich with a profusion of fruit, and the semi-wild tribes of Sâkai come from far and near to camp beneath the shade of the giant trees, and to gorge rapturously. They erect small shaeks just beyond. the range of the falling fruit, for a blow from a dûri-an, which is about the size of a Rugby football, and covered all over with stout, pyramidal thorns, is a by no means infrequent cause of death in the Malay Peninsula. By day and night they maintain their watch, and when, during the hours of darkness, the dulled thud of the fruit falling into the underwood is heard, a wild stampede ensues from the shelters of the jungle dwellers, in order that it may be immediately secured. This is necessary, for every denizen of the forest, including the big carnivora, delight in the dûri-an, and are attracted to it by its strange and wonderful smell; and a man must be quick in the gathering if he would avoid a fight for possession with some of the most formidable of his natural enemies.

But it is not only by human beings that the valley of the Tělom is overrun during the dry season of the year; for it is then that the great salt lick of Mîsong is crowded with game. The Mîsong is a small stream that falls into the Tělom on its left bank, some miles above the rapids. About a couple of thousand yards up the Misong, from its point of junction with the Tělom, there is a spot where its right bank, though covered with virgin forest, is