Tabin’s highest waterfall, rhinos and snakes...
Published on: Saturday, July 31, 2021
By: British North Borneo Herald
Text Size:
Sumatran Rhino: The last Sabah rhino died in captivity a few years ago.
Time passed and we "clocked" the sun; for no decent jungle man carries a watch, not even should he happen to be Swiss! And jungle time! But as Kipling has it, that is another story. It was almost two o'clock and time to return to camp. Only the waterfall had to be climbed first with the Piulin aneroid. The latter registered a height of 23m (80ft).
This is probably the highest known important waterfall in B.N.B., if we expect the much higher but far less powerful falls around Kinabalu. Although this waterfall may not be compared with those found in Africa or in New Guinea, in Switzerland tourists would be charged at least 50 cents for the privilege of seeing it.
Even the wounded mandore accompanied us to the top of the falls. But on the way back to camp his foot started swelling and he was glad that the boats were not far away, as were also the men who had to carry the deer.
It was disturbing to imagine the situation in the case of severe accident; with all the resources at our disposal – gobang close by motor below and launch standing by at Kuala Tabin, it would have taken us four days, probably even more, to reach a doctor in Sandakan!
That was the third giant python I met in B .N.B .
In September 1936, I shot one that measured 17 feet. This was in upper S. Bangan (Kinabatangan), on the sandy shores of the basin below the highest of the many waterfalls there. According to my men, these giant pythons are typical up-country snakes and frequent the pools or basins below rapids and waterfalls.
This one had a wild pig inside it and could only move very sluggishly. Pythons must be exceedingly tenacious of life as this one, 24 hours after I had smashed its head with a No.4 cartridge at point black range, was still alive.
The second one which also had a newly devoured wild pig inside it, was killed in September 1937 by my coolies in a rentis that runs through the swampy country between Togopi and Maruap.
The coolies obtained an excellent meat supper to go with their rice (I mean python not pork!). Unfortunately, when I arrived there some days later the stench was such I had to refrain from measuring the snake.
Smaller pythons, of course, are to be met with in any river and are, apparently, quite harmless. Perhaps it would be well to add, for timid, natures, that during two years travel in B.N. B., the S. Jabin incident was the first occasion in which a python attacked a member of the expedition.
There was one other occasion, when I was personally attacked, but by another type of snake. This occurred in S. Gologob (Dewhurst Bay). I was quite ignorant of any danger when the man behind me suddenly rushed to my right and slashed something with is parang; whilst I was examining the dead snake, another one, with extended hood, rose up before me and was dispatched by the man ahead.
Both of the snakes were about 4-5 feet long, and according to the American-Swiss zoologists then at Abai, were king cobras. But again, this remained a unique occasion. Travelling in B.N.B. is quite un-dangerous! I had better return to Sungei Tabin.
The day after the python incident the left hand branch of the river was our destination. Considering the lessons of the previous day, I took the smaller gobang and only four men with me. We made a pangkalan as soon as advisable and out right across all the tanjongs indicated on the aerial photos.
And that way we made much faster progress than on the previous day. Finally we left the river, followed a compass bearing and everybody took a share in the lead whilst cutting the rentis. The leaches were had that day! At a small stream we watched the play of three otters.
Higher up many deeply entrenched elephant tracks were running in the direction of our rentis. Other tracks were on our left and right leaches increased too! We were walking along jungle highways, evidently converging towards one point.
Following these tracks and talking about the different foot prints, we did not think much orientation until on the top of a flat hill, we found out that we had walked round in a circle! On our left had been an impenetrable type of thick under brush, that seemed to form the top part of that hill.
We had no time to examine things. A violent thunderstorm passed over our heads. In a hurry we built a 'sulap'. Leaves fit for roofing – the Dusuns call them biru - were plentiful, and within two minutes we had a dry shelter.
How I enjoyed my pipe, whilst pouring rain beat on our roof as on a drum! A non-smoker must go crazy in jungle! My companions did not smoke and I asked discreetly whether they felt sick; whereafter they admitted that their tobacco was all gone the previous evening. They felt sure that I would pity them in their plight.
Fortunately, the rain stopped before my tobacco was all gone too. We succeeded in solving the mystery of that hill: following elephant foot-prints, we cut right through the underbrush and hit a vast, blindingly white opening. No vegetation, not even grass was growing. Only bleached rocks and salty mud existed. In the centre of the place a saltwater spring with fresh elephant as well as rhinoceros, deer, pig and wild cattle tracks and many humming wasps called our attention. This was obviously a favourite meeting-ground for all-kinds of game. Some of the rhino foot-prints were very impressive. Imagine, the Chinese pay $450-$500 for one rhino: what a chance! The coolies planned to return to Ulu-Tabin as soon as they had saved enough money for a shot-gun and ball-ammunition.
Their arguments were that firstly, it was a good place, secondly, a safe place and thirdly, it was close to Sandakan, where empirically the best price is paid for rhino. My argument, that the Government might not be so enthusiastic and might impose a fine of some hundred dollars, was not well received.
Well, we had to hurry home and this had been one of my longest jungle trips. We shot the rapids at dawn and reached camp, as the stars appeared – with plenty of new stuff for talk.
My boy had already noted that this Sungei Tabin was an exciting river, he was disconsolate at not being able to accompany us and that evening he attacked his friends with questions even before we landed. I suppose the reports were satisfactory.
I remembered that S. Tabin trip, when all my men, the best bunch of coolies I ever had resigned in the beginning of December. But they did not return to S. Tabin for hunting rhino. The went home to their kampongs. Several of them married and spent their saved money in that way. Other ones rejoined me later on. They knew weather-conditions in B.N.B. during December/January better than Oil Companies do!
Next morning, which was the seventh day of our Tabin trip, my tobacco was all finished. We had been on the way for three weeks. Once the tobacco was gone, we had an urgent motive for return and there was nothing to be done but to hurry home to my lofty residence on Tambisan Island, where a "war-time-stock" had been laid in.
The retreat order was gladly accepted and within no time the cargo was loaded and the `gobangs' carefully balanced for the rapids. Jalan!...there is no more cheery thing in Borneo than shooting the rapids. So at least think my men and I thought the same. It was a glorious morning, with sunrays falling obliquely into the misty gorges and making pictures-que, colourful scenes.
_(1).jpg)
Though the rapids of S. Tabin cannot be compared with those of S. Kuamut, we enjoyed it very much and we did not lose one tea spoon. Presently the motor with the `biawak' was reached. But then, long before midday, it started raining. The following day, on the way to the licuain' we had pouring rain. In the second half of November, when working, in other parts of the country, we were met every day before eleven o'clock in the morning. Now, afterwards, I really can't remember that the rain stopped even once from that day in S. Tabin until the end of January.
In the lowest part of S. Tabin - it was raining but we clearly saw it – we drove our motor behind seven elephants for fully five minutes. They evidently enjoyed walking in the river, but became nervous when they discovered that the motor was faster than they and escaped to the safety in the jungle. There they showed us that at least they could trumpet louder than that noisy Johnson Sea-horse.
Apart from that nothing happened on the way home, with exception of the escape of the 'biawak'.
The other day, at Miri, when I related my python and elephant adventures, I became the object of much chaff regarding these 'Wild West' stories from B.N.B.
No, this happens to be the Wild East! Real B.N. Borneo beyond the golf courses! But who knows much about this Borneo?
The journey described may appear tempting as holiday trip and I must admit that it was one of my most interesting expeditions in this country. Upper S. Tabin is a natural preserve for all kinds of wild life. Wild cattle, deer and apes are plentiful, and whoever cares to see elephants should visit that river. I am certain that both during the day and the night, he will see and hear much more of them that he desires.
There are no human, settlements: apart from almost unrecognisable traces of a timber-camp in the lowest course of the river abandoned long time ago and of a `sulap' and two `rentissans' higher upstream, we did not see any trace of man. Above the rapids we had the impression of travel in a new land. Indeed, Segama people do not know the falls and they do not know the saltwater seep; but of course, Segama and Litang natives are – from the jungle man's point of view - spoilt by the estates, and the lazy `bakan' - people from Maruap know nothing at all.
A holiday trip to Sungei Tabin cannot be recommended unrestrictedly: official maps of that part of the country do not exist. Coolies and boats, suited for the journey, have to be collected from far away, and an insufficiently equipped expedition, with inexperienced coolies would likely find an early end in the lower course of the river.
ADVERTISEMENT
