decomposed and removed by water, and the known action of the
abundant tropical rains, are in this case, at least, quite
sufficient causes for the production of such valleys. But the
resemblance between their forms and outlines, their mode of
divergence, and the slopes and ridges that divide them, and those
of the grand mountain scenery of the Himalayas, is so remarkable,
that we are forcibly led to the conclusion that the forces at
work in the two cases have been the same, differing only in the
time they have been in action, and the nature of the material
they have had to work upon.

About noon we reached the village of Menyerry, beautifully
situated on a spur of the mountain about 600 feet above the
valley, and affording a delightful view of the mountains of this
part of Borneo. I here got a sight of Penrissen Mountain, at the
head of the Sarawak River, and one of the highest in the
district, rising to about 6,000 feet above the sea. To the south
the Rowan, and further off the Untowan Mountains in the Dutch
territory appeared equally lofty. Descending from Menyerry we
again crossed the Kayan, which bends round the spur, and ascended
to the pass which divides the Sadong and Sarawak valleys, and
which is about 2,000 feet high. The descent from this point was
very fine. A stream, deep in a rocky gorge, rushed on each side
of us, to one of which we gradually descended, passing over many
lateral gullys and along the faces of some precipices by means
of native bamboo bridges. Some of these were several hundred feet
long and fifty or sixty high, a single smooth bamboo four inches
diameter forming the only pathway, while a slender handrail of
the same material was often so shaky that it could only be used as
a guide rather than a support.