The second surprise was the news that Suleh had been reached several times the previous year by a team of zealous young Indonesian missionary scouts, led by ‘treacherous Punan guides from the north’. Suleh, with no help from any of the other three villages, had obeyed precise instructions and built a landing surface just atop the hillock on the other side of the river. It was an astonishing coincidence. The old chief spoke little Indonesian, but his son was an enthusiastic interpreter.
