Six Years in the Malay Jungle

“In 1913, Carveth Wells, then in his twenties, applied for a job with the Crown Agents for the Colonies. At his interview, he was told that ‘we send dozens of young fellows like you abroad … you see, they don’t last very long’ and was immediately posted to the Unfederated Malay States, where he remained until 1918, surveying routes for railways and roads in Kelantan and Kedah and living in camps in jungle clearings.
Fortunately, Carveth Wells was quick to make the best of what must have been a fairly uncomfortable existence (made more so by countless attacks of malarial fever) and Six Years in the Malay Jungle is an entertaining account of his experiences, containing, as he says, ‘neither nature-faking nor travellers’ tales’. Rather, there are plentiful facts about the flora and fauna he encountered in the jungle and amusing stories about his escapades. He also provides recipes for gin sling and a gin pahit and describes how his cook prepared four-course dinners in fifteen minutes. Despite the fever, he seems to have spent a very pleasant time. …”